MPEG4 H.264 encoding tests (vs Xvid)
Heyall,
In my endevours of latest codec trials I just wanted to share a few with you.
The latest HandBrake 0.7 beta 2 is what I used since it supports H.264 encoding. www.m0k.org It can rip a DVD directly without needing to copy to the HD first.
I did the following with the DVD of "Almost Famous" which is about 2hours long.
I set resolution to 544x304 for encoding for both
Target size was 700MB
1) H.264 encoding, 2-pass, AAC Audio (Stereo although 5.1 is supported) @ 128bit. It calculated that bitrate was 775kbit/sec for video.
2) Xvid encoding 2-pass, MP3 (Stereo) @ 128bit) Said that average bit rate was 680kbit/sec
The H.264 file actually came out to 675.4MB, the Xvid came out to the desired 700.1MB (on the dot).
Result?
H.264 comes out on top. By quite a margin. I took a lot of screenshots I will post in PDF format (links will be given)
The downsides I saw are that H.264 encoding takes twice the time and the file is a lot more processor intensive to playback. A Dual G5 2.5GHz did the H.264 file at about 20fps. The Xvid at about 40.
Congrats Apple. Seems like you have a hell of a winner on your hands.
PS The MPEG4 files (H.264) created with HandBrake are 100% compatible with QuickTime 7.
Screenshots coming soon
In my endevours of latest codec trials I just wanted to share a few with you.
The latest HandBrake 0.7 beta 2 is what I used since it supports H.264 encoding. www.m0k.org It can rip a DVD directly without needing to copy to the HD first.
I did the following with the DVD of "Almost Famous" which is about 2hours long.
I set resolution to 544x304 for encoding for both
Target size was 700MB
1) H.264 encoding, 2-pass, AAC Audio (Stereo although 5.1 is supported) @ 128bit. It calculated that bitrate was 775kbit/sec for video.
2) Xvid encoding 2-pass, MP3 (Stereo) @ 128bit) Said that average bit rate was 680kbit/sec
The H.264 file actually came out to 675.4MB, the Xvid came out to the desired 700.1MB (on the dot).
Result?
H.264 comes out on top. By quite a margin. I took a lot of screenshots I will post in PDF format (links will be given)
The downsides I saw are that H.264 encoding takes twice the time and the file is a lot more processor intensive to playback. A Dual G5 2.5GHz did the H.264 file at about 20fps. The Xvid at about 40.
Congrats Apple. Seems like you have a hell of a winner on your hands.
PS The MPEG4 files (H.264) created with HandBrake are 100% compatible with QuickTime 7.
Screenshots coming soon
Comments
I'd be quite interested in those screenshots and any more details you could offer.
h264 seems to be giving xvid/divx a run for there money. Competition is good.
I dont get why the XVID file is bigger eventhough it says its a lower bitrate. That makes no sense. It should be even smaller.
Weird.
I was thinking of cropping the pics, but decided to leave them as is in PDF, uncompressed.
Average size is 1MB (1024x768 )
The window that has .AVI is the XVID file and the .MP4 is, yeah you guessed it, the H.264 version (the QuickTime 7 window)
Overall, you'll see that H.264 is much crisper and the action shots pixelise much less. I dont know if this is because of the Codec (AVC/H.264) or the Encoder (HandBrake). In the end, H.264 is better.
The window size of the videos are 1:1 ratio.
Here ya go:
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
PS Sorry if the VLC and QuickTime window sometimes change position
In a presentation at the Hot Chips conference here Tuesday, designer Masanobu Okabe described further details of the PSP chipset, which the company concealed with the non-specific title: "A 90-nm embedded DRAM single-chip LSI with a 3D graphics H.264 codec engine and a reconfigurable processor".
The fact that they used the Memory Stick Pro Duo is lame but... it's Sony (ATRAC, MiniDisc...)
Apple + Sony + Standards = WOW!
Screed
We've been dabbling in it for a while.
It scales beautifully from a cell phone video stream to HDTV
As a matter of fact, HDTV broadcasting will start in Europe in H.264, not MPEG2 like in USA now.
H.264 is THE standard for the forseeable future.
Now then... we just need uber cheap decoder chips and H.264 will explode out of control.
Originally posted by ZO
H.264 encoding, 2-pass, AAC Audio (Stereo although 5.1 is supported) @ 128bit. It calculated that bitrate was 775kbit/sec for video.
How do you get it to rip in 5.1? Is it the AC3 option in .avi file?
So glad it lets us rip H.264 video as a MP4 files now, as QT likes that (or will like in version 7) better than .avi
There is the option from which audio stream to rip. I had Stereo and AC3 5ch as options.
Download HandBrake (free) to test.
Im actually currently ripping another DVD with the 5channel option on to see if there is actually a difference.
dunno
edit: ok, at full screen it would stutter at very fast scenes but it's not too bad
thanks man! I've been wanting to see something like this for a while. AVC is impressive, even in the screenshots the clarity improvement is evident.
I'm excited to see what AVC can do personally.
Originally posted by ZO
I just transfered the movie I made mentioned above to an old G4 733MHz with 1.25GB ram and played it full screen on a cinema display (1600 x 1020 ) and played with no problems whatsoever. nVidia2MX 32MB card. and this was with a half dozen open apps. (MacOS X 10.3.8 and latest build of QuickTime 7)
edit: ok, at full screen it would stutter at very fast scenes but it's not too bad
Where can one obtain QT7 for panther right now?
I am too poor to join ADC but would love a legal copy to play with - even if it is marked use-at-your-oun-risk.
I havn't been torent searching but I am getting damn close to doing it.
Originally posted by a_greer
Where can one obtain QT7 for panther right now?
I am too poor to join ADC but would love a legal copy to play with - even if it is marked use-at-your-oun-risk.
I havn't been torent searching but I am getting damn close to doing it.
There is no legal copy of QT7 available for Panther, it has not been released yet. Remember, even if you find a QT 7 installer on BT, think before you install. I am a QT beta tester, and have been blown away. But that being said, do not try it on any day to day machine. These builds can cause serious havoc with your system.
PS: Freakout time! The colors I am seeing in those PDF's can not be the same thing you see on your screen.
Originally posted by a_greer
Where can one obtain QT7 for panther right now?
I am too poor to join ADC but would love a legal copy to play with - even if it is marked use-at-your-oun-risk.
I havn't been torent searching but I am getting damn close to doing it.
Well, an education copy of Tiger will likely be less than a student ADC subscription (est. $69 edu vs. $99 student ADC).
Edit: Oh. you were talking about QT7. Just wait.
Zo: Do you have any small sample H.264 clips from your testing that you could post?
Originally posted by ZO
i dunno if the final file actually has 5.1
There is the option from which audio stream to rip. I had Stereo and AC3 5ch as options.
Download HandBrake (free) to test.
Im actually currently ripping another DVD with the 5channel option on to see if there is actually a difference.
dunno
I see the AC3 5ch for one of my DVDs, but I always got the impression that that was the available audio from the DVD, as I have seen French, Spanish etc come up there too.
I can't wait for HandBrake to be able to rip surround sound, that will be awesome! Only then would I be happy to watch the ripped file as opposed to the original DVD. For now ripping my favourite movies for car journeys and headphones is great.
QT7 betas still require a serial number for pro.
Just wait a few weeks.
How can I try to encode with QT H.264 from a DVD?
With HandBrake encoding into Xvid or other is MUCH faster (double)... But I'd rather go get a crepe at the corner and wait for the better H.264 quality.
Ebby... what you mean about the colors? Are they off or bad or something?
EDIT : oops, you just gave the answer.
In order to encode your DVD with the QT H.264 codec, you need DIVA but I don't know if it'll work with quicktime 7.
http://diva.3ivx.com/
Diva can transcode any mpeg1-2 (not VOB, you must rip the DVD before) in any quicktime format.
I'd be glad to see the image quality of a QT H.264 video.
Originally posted by ZO
Ebby... what you mean about the colors? Are they off or bad or something?
Don't worry about it. It is some kind of color conversion problem most likely on my laptop. It makes the PDF look like a bad acid trip.
Originally posted by french macuser
ZO, since you have quicktime 7, why don't you use it for your H.264 encodings ?
EDIT : oops, you just gave the answer.
In order to encode your DVD with the QT H.264 codec, you need DIVA but I don't know if it'll work with quicktime 7.
http://diva.3ivx.com/
Diva can transcode any mpeg1-2 (not VOB, you must rip the DVD before) in any quicktime format.
I'd be glad to see the image quality of a QT H.264 video.
ok... this doesnt make much sense though. What do you want me to compare it to?
I would have to convert a DVD to MPEG1 or 2 and then encode it again into QT H.264? Thats two compressions.
And what "normal" Quicktime would you want me to compare it to?
In other news, yes, DIVA works with latest QT7 (lets me select H.264 as one of the CODECS)