MP4 H.264 CODEC

[Ockie]

Hi guys, not really a linux related question/remark, but I am more interested in your opinion than Windoze users

I have recently discovered the H.264 codec in Handbrake, and read up on it. On Wikipedia it talks about how much better the video quality is etc, so I decided to take it for a test run. I took the same DVD image and set it to 700Meg file size. The H.264 encoded video comes out brilliantly, whereas the one that is encoded with either Divx or xVid (tested both) looses a whole lot of quality and becomes rather pixelated.

The only thing that is a little frustrating is it takes a flippen long time to encode. My poor old Sempron 64bit processor takes about 3 - 4 hours to encode using H.264. But I have to admit, it is worth using it as the quality is truely beautifull considering that it takes it down to a mere 700meg.

Have you guys used it and what is your impression compared to DivX?

 

[ponder]

H.264 offers much better quality.

Maybe it's time for a cheap quad-core cpu upgrade for you

 

[Ockie]

H.264 offers much better quality.

Maybe it's time for a cheap quad-core cpu upgrade for you

I have a laptop, and far as I know you cant upgrade the processor on a laptop?? I just recently got this one....its a Compaq CQ60. Love it to bits...bit my poor baby strugles a little with this H.264 codec. Shame, I hope i dont melt the processor hehehe.

 

[koffiejunkie]

H.264 is far more processor intensive. Don't despair about the time, a few short years ago all but the most expensive kits took a day to do this.

 

[ponder]

I have a laptop, and far as I know you cant upgrade the processor on a laptop?? I just recently got this one....its a Compaq CQ60.

It's possible on some laptops where the cpu is socketed & not soldered, yours looks like a likely candidate for an upgrade
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01602064.pdf
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Hardware/Compaq-Presario-CQ60-419WM-CPU-Upgrade-Possible/m-p/118484

 

[koffiejunkie]

The AMD chips are ordinary ZIF socket chips, just like desktop processors. In fact, they use the same sockets. The catch is that the mobile chips tend to be very expensive when you buy them separately, often expensive enough that it's better to just buy a new, faster laptop. Selling off a used mobile CPU is often next to impossible too, since there are few desktop boards around that recognise the CPU IDs.

I have a Turion64 1.8GHz 1mb cache CPU sitting in my drawer. It's socket 754, it's perfect for my storage/media box, because it has a TDP of 35W and is powerful enough to cope with any type of media, given the new VPDAU capable nvidia cards. But I could identify only one board that would accept it, and I can't get stock of it anywhere. Ended up just buying new stuff instead.

 

[HavocXphere]

H.264 codec in Handbrak[...] The H.264 encoded video comes out brilliantly, whereas the one that is encoded with either Divx or xVid (tested both)

Yeah its good. I found the fairusewizard output better than handbrakes. Very subjective though & encoding time is longer I think.

 

[Ockie]

I am upset now. I went and bought a cheapie DVD player that said on the box it plays DivX and MP4 files. Now when I test it, it seems it does not play the H.264 codec...only DivX in avi format!

Do you guys know if it is possible to get a cable that can connect from my laptop to my normal crt TV so I can play it through there when I feel like a bit of a bigger screen? Or does that only work with Plasma tv's?

 

[koffiejunkie]

I am upset now. I went and bought a cheapie DVD player that said on the box it plays DivX and MP4 files. Now when I test it, it seems it does not play the H.264 codec...only DivX in avi format!

mp4 is just a container, like avi. It does not imply that the H.264 codec is supported.

 

[Ockie]

It is definately the codec it does not like. I even renamed the file from m4v to avi and it then recoginizes the file, but when I select it from the menu it just switches back to the menu screen. videos thats incoded with divx plays fine it seems. I am now investigating getting ManDVD to convert my videos back to DVD format so I can just burn it to a RW disc and play it on the bigger screen if I want.

The main reason why I am now so interested in H.264 is I want to try and pack all my DVD's away as it is driving me NUTZ having all the discs all over the show...so just wanna compress them down with good quality and save it on my little samsung usb HDD.

 

[koffiejunkie]

It is definately the codec it does not like. I even renamed the file from m4v to avi

<sigh> it doesn't work like that. Now you have an m4v container with an avi extension. If the player is smart enough to figure out the container without looking at the extension, it would have no effect. If i'ts not smart enough (like yours) it now assumes it's an avi container, which it now fails to open.

The main reason why I am now so interested in H.264 is I want to try and pack all my DVD's away as it is driving me NUTZ having all the discs all over the show...so just wanna compress them down with good quality and save it on my little samsung usb HDD.

Have you considered getting a dedicated machine for a media center? With the newer nVidia cards with their VDPAU support under Linux, you can get 1080p video going on very low-end hardware. Projects like XBMC are dead easy to use and get going, so it's pretty easy to set the whole thing up. The hardest part is likely to be getting a remote control configured, but with a little bit of research you can buy the right one and have it up and running without too much hassle - there are loads of discussions about it on-line.

 

[Ockie]

<sigh> it doesn't work like that.

Eek...now I just feel like a d@@s. I guess that was pretty stupid of me lol. The silly thing is that Handbrake does not support AVI, only MP4 and that funny Russian container...matroska I think hehe. VLC supports H.264 and AVI, but the quality for some reason when you encode with VLC is crap. Guess I must just look around again for another encoder. Perhaps that one you mentioned further up Havoc.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Eek...now I just feel like a d@@s. I guess that was pretty stupid of me lol.

Don't worry - it's an easy mistake to make, especially if you come from a windows background, where most applications are too stupid to deal with anything other than the extension.

The silly thing is that Handbrake does not support AVI

Indeed, unless you can get a 0.9.3 build going (the last version that does) but that version doesn't build against the latest GCC. I spent days chasing my tail and trying to build every SVN snapshot between 0.9.3 and 0.9.4 to see if I can find one that builds successfully and still has the AVI support, but in the end gave up. That said, I was only doing it to help a friend in a similar situation - he has a DVD player that can only read .avi. But in my opinion they made a good move. Force people to get off that horribly outdated and limited container - it's really not up to the task anymore.

If you still have an old package lying around, and don't mind using a slightly older distro, this might be your best bet.

only MP4 and that funny Russian container...matroska I think hehe.

Matroska is gaining popularity, and I've seen a few of the latest BD players support it.

 

[Ockie]

Matroska is gaining popularity, and I've seen a few of the latest BD players support it.

Interesting. The first time I saw this matroska file type was when me and mys sister wanted to watch a movie she got from someone....we could not figure out what the hell it was. So I said to her that I am sure my VLC can play it, and true as bob it did

Anyway, gonna play around some more and see if I cant find another encoder that supports good H.264 and AVI encoding.

Thanks guys...you have been a great help.

 

[murraybiscuit]

welcome to the wonderful world of containers and av codecs.
where the container sometimes but not always implies what codec is being used.
the issue with vlc is not the codec being used, it's the bitrate and other settings. unless you know what you're doing, you can bugger about for hours.
much easier: if you have windoze download "super" or "mediacoder" or "quick media converter" or "dvd43" or whatever.
but then apparently the op doesn't want windows user opinions. oh well. good luck then.

 

[ponder]

http://linuxappfinder.com/multimedia/videodvdencoders
http://ogmrip.sourceforge.net/en/index.html
http://www2.exit1.org/dvdrip/

 

[Ockie]

but then apparently the op doesn't want windows user opinions. oh well. good luck then.

OMG...i am being attacked by a evil MS fly. Sjoe Sjoe!!!! Go away...pppssstttt *sprays da doom* hehehe.

 

[Ockie]

http://linuxappfinder.com/multimedia/videodvdencoders
http://ogmrip.sourceforge.net/en/index.html
http://www2.exit1.org/dvdrip/

Wow...thanks ponder. I will go through that list when I have a bit more time. OGMRip looks very promising.

 

[Ockie]

Ok...I found something on K9Copy. It seems to have two encoders...mencoder and FFMPEG. When you select FFMPEG, it has two different profiles, x264 and x264 (high). I have selected the high one and will see what the quality is like. I see that it will take about 4 hours to encode, and I am just too damn tired to wait that long now lol....so will do it on the weekend and see what the quality is like...and yes, it uses AVI as the container.

 

[Ockie]

Hi guys. Very sorry to dig up this thread again. I just have a question. This H.264 codec takes very long to encode and makes my processor run @ 99 - 100% for about 4 - 5 hours non stop. I have a substantial amount of movies I want to convert so I can pack away my discs. I am just wondering...can this in some way cause damage to my processor? You know, making it run at full capacity for such long extended periods of time? My poor little AMD Sempron is not going to melt and start oozing out my fan duct is it??????? Sorry, you guys must think im a real drol for asking this, but I am just a little worried. :-(