what is H.264

[chewbacalips]

Hi. I've looked this up, but still can't quite find a simple, non-techie answer.

Basically, is this some kind of new codec by which video-compressions is performed, or is this some kind of file-type (e.g., instead of FILENAME.mpg, it's now FILENAME.h264)???

Hopefully someone can explain what this is, and when/why people want to use it.

Thanks.

[Sharktooth]

It's a codec standard. It's also known as MPEG4-v10 or part 10 or simply AVC (advanced video codec).
Do not confuse it with x264 that is an IMPLEMENTATION of the encoder part of the h.264 standard, hence it's an ENCODER based on the h.264 standard (like Xvid or Divx are based on MPEG-4v3 AKA MPEG-4 ASP)

[LoRd_MuldeR]

H.264, also known as AVC (Advanced Video Coding), is a Video Compression standard (specification). Codecs (compressor/decompressor) implement the standard in software.

The advantage of a video compression standard is that any H.264 decoder will be able to decompress a valid H.264 stream, no matter which software was used to compress the stream.

For example, x264 is a H.264 software encoder (one of many!) and it creates H.264 streams. Any H.264 decoder (e.g. libavcodec, CoreAVC, etc) will then be able to decompress these streams.

The opposite of a standardized video compression format is a proprietary compression format. With a proprietary format you would be tied to the manufacturer-specific software.

About file "types": H.264 can be stored as a 'raw' stream, which would be something like "foobar.264", but usually you'll find it stored in some container like MP4, Matroska, M2TS or even AVI.

The reason why many people want to use H.264 is because it offers better compression efficiency, compared to older compression schemes (like MPEG-4 ASP or MPEG-2).

[chewbacalips]

Thanks for the input guys.

The reason I ask is because I've been using Magic DVD Ripper to rip some DVDs lately (mostly TV shows; I'm ripping episodes only, not the full DVD with VOB files and such). Using MDR, I rip with the "Original MPEG" setting, as opposed to some compressed format.

But I just bought myself a Western Digital TV Live. My goal is to load my videos onto an external hard disk, and then watch them through my WDTVL onto my 40" LCD flatscreen TV. The problem lies in the file-size. I love having "Original MPEG" rips, but it really is an inconvenience, even with massive hard disk space (I'm loading videos onto a 1.5 TB hard disk).

I got Handbrake 0.9.5 because I want to start compressing these videos. Now I'm having the toughest time finding the appropriate settings in Handbrake. Obviously I want great (nearly perfect) picture & sound, with the smallest possible file-size.

Any suggestions here?

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Any suggestions here?

Yes. If you want the maximum quality for a given bitrate or if you want the lowest bitrate (smallest file) for a given quality level, then obviously you should use the most efficient video compression format that is supported by your playback device (that should be H.264/AVC) and use the best encoder available to compress to that format (for H.264 that would be the x264 software).

Heaving that said, the "best" quality you can retain is not re-compressing at all. Copying the original MPEG-2 from your DVD's will take ~9 GB per discs, so roughly 165 discs would fit on a single 1,5 TB HDD.

[chewbacalips]

Great tip. Thanks! But I figure that I should probably compress my videos, even though I could fit a ton of uncompressed discs on my 1.5 TB HD.

1. When you say H.264/AVC, is the H.264 the video-codec, and the AVC the audio-codec? Is that what that means?

2. Also, when using Handbrake, under the Audio tab, what do you guys think is the best audio compressor (you're probably already answering this in my first question here)? My options are AAC (CoreAudio), AAC (faac), MP3 (lame), AC3 (passthru) and AC3.

3. A question about interlacing. Is video footage itself interlaced, or does interlacing happen on the TV? For example, when I rip a DVD in original MPEG-2, is the raw footage going to be interlaced? If so, would you recommend that I de-interlace with Handbrake? And if you would recommend this, can you give me advice on how to do this exactly?

Thanks again.

[setarip_old]

Per post #3: H.264, also known as AVC (Advanced Video Coding) (Nothing to do with audio codecs)

[Gser]

Because using google search is extremely difficult. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

[LoRd_MuldeR]

1. When you say H.264/AVC, is the H.264 the video-codec, and the AVC the audio-codec? Is that what that means?

"H.264" and "AVC" (MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding) are two names for the very same thing! And, as said before, H.264/AVC is a video format. That is a standard/specification (documents!), but not a piece of software (or hardware) that you can use. You need a Codec (Compressor/Decompresser) that implements the H.264 standard in software (hardware) and that compresses your video to the H.264/AVC format or decompresses your video from the H.264/AVC format. If you want a good H.264/AVC encoder (compressor), then x264 is the way to go. You can then use whatever H.264/AVC decoder (decompressor) you want for playing the resulting H.264 stream, such as libavcodec, CoreAVC, DivX H.264 Decoder and so on. Also your stand-alone (hardware) player should support H.264/AVC as well.

2. Also, when using Handbrake, under the Audio tab, what do you guys think is the best audio compressor (you're probably already answering this in my first question here)? My options are AAC (CoreAudio), AAC (faac), MP3 (lame), AC3 (passthru) and AC3.

MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer III) with the LAME encoder should do the job nicely for Stereo audio. AAC (MPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding) provides advantages over MP3 mainly at very low bitrates and/or when multi-channel is needed. AC3 ("Dolby Digital") is another multi-channel audio format that most hardware players should support. However most-likely the audio on your Video-DVD will be in the AC3 format already, so you should be able to copy it 1:1 and be happy.

3. A question about interlacing. Is video footage itself interlaced, or does interlacing happen on the TV? For example, when I rip a DVD in original MPEG-2, is the raw footage going to be interlaced? If so, would you recommend that I de-interlace with Handbrake? And if you would recommend this, can you give me advice on how to do this exactly?

It all depends on the nature of the footage! If your footage is not interlaced (i.e. it is progressive) then you can savely encode it as "progressive". In that case deinterlacing would reduce quality for absolutely no benefit! If however your footage is interlaced, you have two options: You can either keep it interlaced and encode it as "interlaced" (BIG WARNING: Encoding interlaced footage as "progressive" would destroy it!), or you can deinterlace it (by applying a deinterlace filter). Once the interlaced footage has been deinterlaced, you can handle it as progrssive frames (i.e. then it will be save to encode it as "progressive" again).

BTW: Only old CRT screens can display interlaced video. All modern screens, LCD or Plasma, only display progressive frames. They'll deinterlace at playback time, if you feed them with interlaced footage. Also note that movies will most likely be progressive, while shows and "live" footage usually is interlaced.

[yetanotherid]

Also, when using Handbrake, under the Audio tab, what do you guys think is the best audio compressor (you're probably already answering this in my first question here)? My options are AAC (CoreAudio), AAC (faac), MP3 (lame), AC3 (passthru) and AC3.

Personally when converting DVDs to H264 I never re-compress the audio stream.
Back in the day when space was more at a premium and you'd try to squeeze four AVI movie encodes onto a DVD, or even worse, squeeze a movie onto a CD, then re-encoding the audio was probably necessary. These days, for the time it takes and the amount of free space you get back I don't think it's worth the effort. I simply re-encode the video and copy the original AC3 5.1ch (or 2ch if you prefer) audio rather than convert it.
I assume Handbrake has a copy option?

The problem lies in the file-size. I love having "Original MPEG" rips, but it really is an inconvenience, even with massive hard disk space (I'm loading videos onto a 1.5 TB hard disk).

I know hard drive storage keeps getting cheaper, but lots of smaller files are still easier to manage than lots of large ones. It won't be long before 1.5TB doesn't seem like a lot. I just bought another 2TB drive because I was running out of space on the 5TB worth of hard drives I already own.
Personally I prefer keeping the encodes rather than the original vob files anyway, because I get to crop them properly and clean them up if need be during the conversion process.


I got Handbrake 0.9.5 because I want to start compressing these videos. Now I'm having the toughest time finding the appropriate settings in Handbrake. Obviously I want great (nearly perfect) picture & sound, with the smallest possible file-size.

Any suggestions here?

I prefer MeGUI over Handbrake, but that's just personal preference, I guess.
Just don't forget to change the input display aspect ratio to the appropriate non-ITU aspect ratio.

[SeeMoreDigital]

And lets not forget Bond's MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 Information (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=96059) topic, on this very forum...