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How can I have best quality for Apple TV but still iPhone compatible?

S

suburbiton

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 9, 2009
92
0
Videos handbraked for the iPhone do look rubbish when played on a 32" TV, but if I rip DVDs at ATV quality it won't play on the iPhone!

Does this mean I need to rip each DVD twice and have each show/film listed in my iTunes library twice - with evey other one labelled "iPhone version"??

How do you do it?
 
There is not much to this. You have to encode for the "lowest" device you are watching on. If you encode for the highest quality supported for the iPhone, it will work on the AppleTV.

So, as suggested, use the Universal Preset or the iPhone preset. If you think the iPhone preset looks like rubbish on the AppleTV, you will have to encode it twice and have it in your iTunes twice. All the Universal preset is going to do is maximize the encode for the "lowest" device Apple makes. I would doubt you are going to like the quality of the Universal Preset either.
 
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Yes, you need the latest Handbrake, and use the "Apple Universal" setting.

I do this and there is no need to do 2 copies of every video.

My files look fine on my 42" TV AND my iPhone (and my wife's Nano for that matter).
 
You also have the option of encoding two files. One high quality file for the Apple TV and a low quality for the iPhone. Then tag the high quality as HD and the Low quality as SD and finally set the two files cnid to the same value. This creates one entry in iTunes with the tag HD-SD. When this file is selected on the apple tv the high quality version will sync/stream. When added to the iPhone the low res version will be synced. I have been meaning to do a video on how to do this. Ill get on it tonight and post it.
 
Gotrpms said:
You also have the option of encoding two files. One high quality file for the Apple TV and a low quality for the iPhone. Then tag the high quality as HD and the Low quality as SD and finally set the two files cnid to the same value. This creates one entry in iTunes with the tag HD-SD. When this file is selected on the apple tv the high quality version will sync/stream. When added to the iPhone the low res version will be synced. I have been meaning to do a video on how to do this. Ill get on it tonight and post it.
Click to expand...

Now that's something I'd be interested in! Am I understanding you correctly in that the AppleTV will automatically sync and play "HD" files; ignoring the "SD" files (as it does when I download HD television shows from iTunes)? I'm sure the Universal preset is sufficient, but I'd love to know how to do what you described for movies I care about.

I suppose I'll encode every episode of the Andy Griffith Show using the Universal preset...How good can it possibly look?! :) And, yes...That is the greatest show of all time. ;)

Nathan
 
Andy Griffith

nathanjbrown said:
Now that's something I'd be interested in! Am I understanding you correctly in that the AppleTV will automatically sync and play "HD" files; ignoring the "SD" files (as it does when I download HD television shows from iTunes)? I'm sure the Universal preset is sufficient, but I'd love to know how to do what you described for movies I care about.

I suppose I'll encode every episode of the Andy Griffith Show using the Universal preset...How good can it possibly look?! :) And, yes...That is the greatest show of all time. ;)

Nathan
Click to expand...

I just wish I had every episode, it's a classic.
 
best quality

Just a simple question.

What presets on Handbrake would preserve the best possible quality from a standard DVD? I am not too worried about file size. (sure smaller than a Video_TS folder would be nice). I don't care for playing on iPhone either.

I want to build a jukebox library of my DVDs and have the same quality but easy to access it using iTunes.

Thanks!
 
This reiterates what other people have already said, but I'll try to emphasize the important steps for accomplishing what the OP asks in the simplest way:

  • Download Handbrake 0.9.3 if you don't have it already
  • Once installed, Launch Handbrake then find the menu option to update the presets.
  • In the presets drawer (on the right side of the Handbrake window), expand the 'Apple' heading and select 'Universal'.
  • Use this setting to create files that will play on the iPhone but still look reasonable on the :apple:TV.

The HD-SD option (two files tagged with the same CNID) is the elegant solution to this problem, but so far I haven't found a simple way to accomplish it that is reasonable for the average user. If someone has a way, I'd love to hear about it.
 
Gotrpms said:
You also have the option of encoding two files. One high quality file for the Apple TV and a low quality for the iPhone. Then tag the high quality as HD and the Low quality as SD and finally set the two files cnid to the same value. This creates one entry in iTunes with the tag HD-SD. When this file is selected on the apple tv the high quality version will sync/stream. When added to the iPhone the low res version will be synced. I have been meaning to do a video on how to do this. Ill get on it tonight and post it.
Click to expand...

What's 'cnid'?
 
suburbiton said:
What's 'cnid'?
Click to expand...

I think it's some kind of a catalog number identifier (CNID?) that's embedded in the file that identifies it. Someone else here can undoubtedly tell us more. As far as I can tell they're supposed to be unique to each video file, to identify the content. People have succeeded in creating the HD-SD dual files in iTunes by assigning their own, randomly generated CNIDs, or apparently it's possible to determine the CNID for some files from their iTunes Store URLs.
 
how come I downloaded a trailer from apple (lost 5 recap) and it was 800x600 or something around this resoultion and it still played on my iphone and apple TV?
 
gugy said:
Just a simple question.

What presets on Handbrake would preserve the best possible quality from a standard DVD? I am not too worried about file size. (sure smaller than a Video_TS folder would be nice). I don't care for playing on iPhone either.

I want to build a jukebox library of my DVDs and have the same quality but easy to access it using iTunes.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just use the AppleTV preset, bump up the quality slider to 61-62%, and use the decomb filter. I might not be as picky as some on these forums, but to my eyes it looks pretty much the same as the DVD source and with a huge reduction in file size.
 
if you don't have leopard and are using an older version of handbrake, the ipod hi-res setting with an average bitrate bumped up to 2500 worked well for me. i used this with great success until the release of the universal preset.
 
spice weasel said:
Just use the AppleTV preset, bump up the quality slider to 61-62%, and use the decomb filter. I might not be as picky as some on these forums, but to my eyes it looks pretty much the same as the DVD source and with a huge reduction in file size.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will try that.
 
spice weasel said:
Just use the AppleTV preset, bump up the quality slider to 61-62%, and use the decomb filter. I might not be as picky as some on these forums, but to my eyes it looks pretty much the same as the DVD source and with a huge reduction in file size.
Click to expand...

As a note, I found no reason to use the Decomb option for feature films. It can help with interlacing, but movies don't really have any, and the option can cause a little blocking (typically unnoticable but anyway). However, for TV shows, especially animation, decomb can help a lot, at the cost of some of the blocking, but it's definitely worth it then.
 
Here are my settings and they look great on my 32" Bravia and play on my iPhone.

Start with iPhone & iPod Touch pre-set
then change:
VIDEO
- 2-pass and turbo first pass
- Average bitrate 2500
PICTURE SETTINGS
- Anamorphic Strict
- Decomb Default
AUDIO & SUBTITLES
- Track 2 AC3 Passthru
ADVANCED
- Reference Frames 3

that works for me.
 
OK guys im recording the video on this tonight, ill post a link when its finished uploading. This does require a little terminal action but once you get the hang of it, its actually quite simple.
 
Ok i have posted a video with instructions on creating a dual resolution file in iTunes check it out and tell me what you think. Its a very useful technique whether your using it for HD or just a high quality rip that wont play on the Apple TV. http://bit.ly/3bG5ly
 
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