To be honest, I don't know what's so bad about this re-encoding. I downloaded a few episodes. It just looks great.
peter777
I downloaded 6.1.6.8 on a second laptop..... then I specifically chose 3 titles that I had downloaded using AMAZON under 6.1.6.7..... which had resulted in 540p even though the popup showed they were available in 1080p meaning their acquisition date was on or after January 25, 2024.....
I then downloaded those 3 titles using 6.1.6.8..... and as the changelog said they would..... they downloaded as 1080p after reencoding.....
Starting with the first title...... I played the 1080p title for a couple 30 second segments..... making note of the start times..... so I could watch the same segments in the 540p file of the same title for comparison..... and I switched back and forth a few times looking at various things to compare quality.....
As you said..... I am seeing very little difference..... if any..... however..... I am looking at these movies on a 40 inch screen..... and it's common knowledge that the larger the screen..... the more you can see video artifacts..... and since lower resolution video files can begin to have a pixelated look as the screen gets larger..... I can see where Users with the larger screen sizes available today may be frustrated with the reencoding that StreamFab has invoked.....
The other negative about reencoding is..... it's being done in H264 with no option for H265..... so the file sizes are going to be larger..... If that's a consideration..... and your storage space is that much of a concern..... you should probably stay on 6.1.6.7.....
For me..... I'll just wait and stay with 6.1.6.7..... hoping that a real fix is coming and the reencoding will end.....
But everyone should make the choice on their own based on what their eyes tell them.....
I will say..... and I'm sure this will ruffle some feathers..... if you don't take the time to see what the reencoding looks like for your specific situation..... how can you complain?.....
I understand the additional frustration with Netflix and Peacock..... and I know "the competition" has Amazon fixed without having to reencode..... but as I have said before..... there are two old adages which govern how I choose to use StreamFab.....
"Just because you can..... doesn't mean you should!"..... and.....
"The only thing worse than the devil that you know..... is the devil that you don't!".....
So I guess for now..... I'll stick with the devil that I know.