Encoding to fit AppleTV, iPhone, MBP

[zainjetha]

HI

I am trying and have been for several months looked for a solution that would help me encode my entire library of DVDs and TV Shows to fit my AppleTv, iPhone and look good on my MBP. Basically i want to convert everything into a format that will fit all three devices. I have approximately 250 movies and quite a few series that i would like to encode. Storage is absolutely no problem and i am not willing to compromise quality.. Nor do i want to have three different files to sync to three different devices. I want one file for all...

Lastly will somebody post the EXACT settings for good quality in HB or any other DVDRipping software they recommend if it is 2-pass or whatever because i am a layman in DVDRipping....

Any help would be most gratefully received

Zain

 

[mallbritton]

See this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/437954/

Right at the top of this very forum, as a sticky.

Regards,
Michael

 

[TEG]

The iPhone can't play 2-pass, because it is high-complexity. My best recomendation is to use the iPhone/iPod default in HB, then if there are any problems, just use iTunes to convert for iPhone/iPod. The iPhone/iPod files will work on all systems, whereas the TV encoding it too complex for the iPhone/iPod.

TEG

 

[err404]

The iPhone can't play 2-pass

TEG

That's not entirely true. 2-Pass is more complex, but that is at the encoding side, not decoding. The problem is that a few applications (including some versions of HB) use a library with a bug that breaks the low profile compliance, or can spike the bitrate over the maximum supportable rate. Assuming that it's a proper low profile video file is created, 2-Pass will be fine and look better at playback.

Remember that in 2-pass encoding, the first pass is just used by the encoder to preview the scene complexity. The second pass actually creates the video using this extra information in order to more accurately allocate the variable bitrate and improve quality.

I agree with TEG and would recommend testing with 1-pass but if the settings work, redo it in 2-pass. If it still works with 2-pass and you can spare the extra encode time, make 2-pass your default.

 

[dynaflash]

The iPhone can't play 2-pass, because it is high-complexity.

Er, two pass is just two passes by the encoder. Really makes no difference to the target device. No more "complex" than single pass tbh. Should not affect playback compatibility at all.

 

[NightStorm]

Storage is absolutely no problem and i am not willing to compromise quality.. Nor do i want to have three different files to sync to three different devices. I want one file for all...

Sadly, if you want a file that works on all three devices, you're going to have to compromise on quality. The iPhone doesn't support some of the advanced x264 features that the AppleTV/MBP will support. That isn't to say you can't get very good encodes that are cross-device compatible (I do), but you do sacrifice some quality for convenience.

 

[err404]

Nor do i want to have three different files to sync to three different devices. I want one file for all...
Zain

I tried to do this for a while and gave up in the end. You give up quite a bit by going this route like the ability to have 5.1 sound on the Apple TV and the ability to have a high enough bitrate for a DVD rip to look good on a larger TV. Also due to the iPhone only being low profile, the actual quality of your 1.5MB low profile file is closer to the quality of a 1.25MB in high profile.

My Rips for my Apple TV are at 2.5MB or 3.0MB for fast moving/dark scenes.

If I want a selection of files for my iPhone i just transcode the big files for my phone the night before.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's my $.02.

BTW - I had some luck pushing the bitrate of videos to 2.5mb low profile on my iPhone and the quality looked pretty good even on a big screen, but the settings were unreliable. Some movies died half way through while others failed outright.

 

[NightStorm]

I tried to do this for a while and gave up in the end. You give up quite a bit by going this route like the ability to have 5.1 sound on the Apple TV and the ability to have a high enough bitrate for a DVD rip to look good on a larger TV. Also due to the iPhone only being low profile, the actual quality of your 1.5MB low profile file is closer to the quality of a 1.25MB in high profile.

My Rips for my Apple TV are at 2.5MB or 3.0MB for fast moving/dark scenes.

If I want a selection of files for my iPhone i just transcode the big files for my phone the night before.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's my $.02.

BTW - I had some luck pushing the bitrate of videos to 2.5mb low profile on my iPhone and the quality looked pretty good even on a big screen, but the settings were unreliable. Some movies died half way through while others failed outright.

Not true, my CRF 64% encodes with AAC + AC3 work fine on my iPhone, with no restrictions on bitrate (vbv-bufsize, vbv-maxsize). While some finish quite a bit lower than 2500 (as reported by iTunes), I've had no problems playing 3000+ bitrate encodes on my iPhone.

I just can't use things like bframes and CABAC.

 

[err404]

Not true, my CRF 64% encodes with AAC + AC3 work fine on my iPhone, with no restrictions on bitrate (vbv-bufsize, vbv-maxsize). While some finish quite a bit lower than 2500 (as reported by iTunes), I've had no problems playing 3000+ bitrate encodes on my iPhone.

I just can't use things like bframes and CABAC.

*** edit - the information in this post is completely wrong.
*** Thanks dynaflash

Fair enough, but the spec sheet for the iPhone is 1.5MB.

Like I said I've had some success with up to 2.5MB, but keep in mind that I always use ABR 2-Pass. I'm not surprised that the iPhone can handle 3MB CRF since the bitrate should have less of a swing. ABR is more variable and the iPhone would need more head room for dealing with that. While my files were 2.5MB they very likely spiked as high as 5MB. ABR encoders are not good a enforcing a hard cap.

I've heard some good things about CRF encodes, but I have not really looked into it. Guess it's time to do some more research.

As far as AC3, it was a while ago that I tried it (before take two). Now that it's a 'private' stream It probably plays nicer with the iPhone. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[dynaflash]

I'm not surprised that the iPhone can handle 3MB CRF since the bitrate should have less of a swing. ABR is more variable and the iPhone would need more head room for dealing with that. While my files were 2.5MB they very likely spiked as high as 5MB. ABR encoders are not good a enforcing a hard cap.

um, you have that totally backwards, I am afraid. It is in fact the exact opposite tbh. ABR is just that, you specify a bitrate and the encoder varies the quality to hit that target average bitrate. Whereas crf is the exact opposite, you are specifying a given visual quality and the encoder will use whatever bitrate it needs to to achieve that quality. CRF can be wildly unpredictable (unless capped with vbv buffering) depending on your source.

It occurs to me, are you confusing CRF (Constant Rate Factor) with CBR (Constant Bitrate) ?

 

[err404]

It occurs to me, are you confusing CRF (Constant Rate Factor) with CBR (Constant Bitrate) ?

Well I have egg on my face, yes I was thinking CBR vs VBR. I had written that post with with VBR and replaced it ABR after a quick google search that I must have skimmed a bit to quickly.

 

[jereitz]

How do I transcode AppleTV files to iPhone files?

If I want a selection of files for my iPhone i just transcode the big files for my phone the night before.

OK, I want to do that. I want to transcode my AppleTV files to iPhone compatible files. What tool do I use to do that?

 

[err404]

VisualHub or its little (free) brother iSquint do a very good job at transcoding video files

 

[soLoredd]

Ive been encoding with Handbrake to my iPhone using a 2500 bit rate for video and the total bit rate ends up being 3000 or there about. I haven't had any problems playing it on my phone and it looks damn good when my MB is hooked up to my plasma (I'm assuming this is how the appletv would look too?).

It would be nice if one file, including those with 5.1, could be used across all platforms.