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Convert Video for Ipad and ATV2

stuartmeyers

stuartmeyers

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2010
128
0
Sydney
Hi All,
I have a PC and use ******** for converting video to mp4 for my Ipad. I am getting an ATV2 in 5 days and am wondering about peoples experience when looking at the best settings for video output that will play on the Ipad and the ATV2. I would prefer not to have two versions of every video so is there a best setting for both?

Since the Ipad is 480p and the ATV2 is 720p, will the Ipad view the 720p videos?

I am not worried about viewing the black stripes on top and below the video so I can see widescreen on the Ipad.

Note: The forum automatically replaced the brand name with ******** ???? It must of thought it was a swear word or is there a forum rule I don't know about.
 
The ********* instead of the name of the application indicates, that this is software that often gets spammed here, like Wonderhsare or something similar.

There is a free program called Handbrake (www.handbrake.fr), which has an Apple TV preset (for which you might have to change the resolution to 720p and can save it as your own) and this works with the Apple TV and the iPad, as the iPad can display 720p according to the specs Apple listed on its iPad page.
 
Thanks for the quick answer. I had read so much about Handbrake on the Mac I didn't realise it was Windows too. I hate it when I miss the obvious - domestic blindness.

Do you do anything different when ratio is 1.3333 or 1.77777?
 
stuartmeyers said:
Do you do anything different when ratio is 1.3333 or 1.77777?
Click to expand...

1.333 = 4:3, the aspect ratio used in old SD times (until the 2000s)
1.777 = 16:9, the aspect ratio in HD television and for many movies.

nl39rk.png
 
Last edited:
Thanks again. Using the ****** app that I use (c u c u s o f t) I have to choose 1.333 for anything from my Panasonic HDD recorder and 1.777 from DVD.

I will retry it all again with Handbrake. It will be interesting to see the file size comparisons too.

Cheers.
 
Updated...

Interesting. I used the above mentioned software and it had the following stats.

Test DVD Movie 1h 45mins

640 x 480..... 450Mb..... 3/4 hr to convert
1280 x 720..... 1.15Gb..... 1.5hrs to convert

I tried handbrake and it estimated 1.5 hrs just to encode and it ran the CPU so hot that the fan was going crazy. I just shut it down.
 
stuartmeyers said:
Interesting. I used the above mentioned software and it had the following stats.

Test DVD Movie 1h 45mins

640 x 480..... 450Mb..... 3/4 hr to convert
1280 x 720..... 1.15Gb..... 1.5hrs to convert

I tried handbrake and it estimated 1.5 hrs just to encode and it ran the CPU so hot that the fan was going crazy. I just shut it down.
Click to expand...

Handbrake does utilise all available cores and CPUs, therefore the CPU gets used more. It also uses a much better algorithm to encode video, thus it takes longer. Video transcoding takes time, especially if you want good results.
Btw, your PC should shut down itself if it gets too hot, therefore it is unnecessary to shut it down manually, unless it has poor heat management.

Anyway, it is up to you, if you want to use your ***** software or the one software, that gets recommended every single time one asks for a recommendation for proper video DVD and video conversion.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Btw, your PC should shut down itself if it gets too hot, therefore it is unnecessary to shut it down manually, unless it has poor heat management.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I shutdown the conversion not the notebook. It has 8 CPU's and was chewing them all :)

simsaladimbamba said:
Anyway, it is up to you, if you want to use your ***** software or the one software, that gets recommended every single time one asks for a recommendation for proper video DVD and video conversion.
Click to expand...

True - I will test more when I get the ATV2. I am currently testing from Ipad to TV using the Composite Cable.

Thanks for your help.
 
Half way through conversion tests but some dvd's don't open with handbrake. Is their a specials ripping method for handbrake on windows?
 
From A Buick 8 said:
use DVDFab, does a great job.
Click to expand...

Yep, DVDFab is the king kong of PC disc rippers. I have not tried transcoding with it, but there is nothing stopping you from ripping on the PC and using a Mac to do the transcode (this is what I do... it is nice way to cue up a dozen or so movies for overnight jobs).
 
Thanks.

Sedulous said:
....ripping on the PC and using a Mac to do the transcode....
Click to expand...

Only prob there is I don't have a Mac :)

I am getting good results with both products so far. The other paid one does ripping and transcoding in 1 step at 720p at about 1gb in size around 1.5 hrs whereas Handbrake takes over 2 hours and is 400mb larger and won't rip everything.

Looking forward to getting my Atv2 for Xmas tomorrow for final tests. At the moment using composite cable from ipad.
 
Last edited:
stuartmeyers said:
Thanks.



Only prob there is I don't have a Mac :)

I am getting good results with both products so far. The other paid one does ripping and transcoding in 1 step at 720p at about 1gb in size around 1.5 hrs whereas Handbrake takes over 2 hours and is 400mb larger and won't rip everything.

Looking forward to getting my Atv2 for Xmas tomorrow for final tests. At the moment using composite cable from ipad.
Click to expand...

Don't forget, handbrake is available for PC. I only mentioned the Mac because that is the workflow I use. DVDFab runs on the PC and sends the rips to a networked drive. While the PC rips, I use another computer (Mac) to transcode the files dumped to the networked drive. At this point, I think I have done 300 videos this way... all have chapters, softsubs, and meta tags and playable on iPad/ :apple:TV2 / airvideo.

Also, the difference in speed and file size may be due to different settings... frame size isn't everything. As long as you are happy with your videos, then do what works for you.
 
Sedulous said:
....I only mentioned the Mac because that is the workflow I use. DVDFab runs on the PC and sends the rips to a networked drive. While the PC rips, I use another computer (Mac) to transcode the files dumped to the networked drive.
Click to expand...

Good idea - i have two notebooks...

Sedulous said:
As long as you are happy with your videos, then do what works for you.
Click to expand...

Cheers - It's always good to get different perspective of what others do.
 
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