Just to be clear about using Handbrake........

[hikeNM]

Ok, I've searched threads for a while now and I can't find the answer to this exact question.

I'm purchasing an TV in a few weeks and am in the process of converting my movie collection using Handbrake.

Am I correct that if I use the Apple TV preset on Handbrake, I will not be able to view those movies I've converted on an iPod?

If this is true, then will I have to have the same movie multiple times in my library for each device I have?

Boy, I hope this isn't true.

Thanks

 

[netdog]

Sorry to answer a question that you didn't ask, but use Mac The Ripper to archive your collection, and then create a copy converted from the archive to the appropriate format for each platform with Handbrake. If you are digitizing your assets, you want to store it bit for bit as it is on the source (or at least completely losslessly).

 

[hikeNM]

Sorry to answer a question that you didn't ask, but use Mac The Ripper to archive your collection, and then create a copy converted from the archive to the appropriate format for each platform with Handbrake. If you are digitizing your assets, you want to store it bit for bit as it is on the source.

Thanks. That's what I'm converting from. I've ripped them from MTR and am now using Handbrake.

 

[peeaanuut]

you are correct. i was mistaken about this before, but if you choose the aTV setting you will not be able to play it on the iPod or iPhone. I am not exact on the setting name I use but I think its iPod hi-rez or something like that and it works for all my devices. Until I get more harddrive space I do not have the room to store 2 copies of each movie.

 

[filmguy15]

With the current Apple TV preset in Handbrake, no. You can't view it on an iPod. BUT if you wait till the dev team comes out with the latest version of Handbrake, I believe there has been talk of the "one preset to rule them all" in regards to Apple TV/iPod/iPhone. However, I'm not entirely sure what iPod model this will support. It could be just the iPod Touch and iPhone...

So I would wait to convert your entire collection until Handbrake 0.9.2 is released. If there is no preset that can make an Apple TV and iPod compatible movie even with the update, then yes, you will have to have 2 versions of each movie. Keep in mind though, that if you uncheck the iPod versions in iTunes, they won't show up on your Apple TV by default, so that will help a little bit.

 

[medavecool]

Hold On

Look, you can do what you want but the Mac The Ripper step is not necessary. There's no need to archive your dvds. You have an archive already. It's the dvd.

In answer to the original question, odds are a movie ripped on handbrake at the AppleTV setting will not play on your iPod. It's my understanding that an AppleTV image is too big to play on an iPod although someone might want to chime in with a more technical answer.

If you want to create an iPod version of the movie in addition to the AppleTV version you created with handbrake, take your AppleTV file and put it into a program like visual hub or turbo .264. These programs convert movies much faster than handbrake and the quality is just dandy to watch on your iPod.

BTW, while I don't think it's necessary to archive your dvds to a hard drive using Mac The Ripper, MTR definitely can serve a purpose. I went on Bit Torrent and picked up the lastest version of MTR (I think it's 3) and use Mac The Ripper for the more trickier discs. Sometimes Handbrake has issues with DVD's that have the newer protections (especially those darn Disney DVDs). With MTR 3, I just extract the movie(without all the extras) and then don't have too much trouble handbraking the movie from there.

 

[alFR]

Look, you can do what you want but the Mac The Ripper step is not necessary. There's no need to archive your dvds. You have an archive already. It's the dvd.

Unless you don't want to have to rip them all again every time you create a new encode, that is.

 

[NightStorm]

Look, you can do what you want but the Mac The Ripper step is not necessary. There's no need to archive your dvds. You have an archive already. It's the dvd.

In answer to the original question, odds are a movie ripped on handbrake at the AppleTV setting will not play on your iPod. It's my understanding that an AppleTV image is too big to play on an iPod although someone might want to chime in with a more technical answer.

If you want to create an iPod version of the movie in addition to the AppleTV version you created with handbrake, take your AppleTV file and put it into a program like visual hub or turbo .264. These programs convert movies much faster than handbrake and the quality is just dandy to watch on your iPod.

BTW, while I don't think it's necessary to archive your dvds to a hard drive using Mac The Ripper, MTR definitely can serve a purpose. I went on Bit Torrent and picked up the lastest version of MTR (I think it's 3) and use Mac The Ripper for the more trickier discs. Sometimes Handbrake has issues with DVD's that have the newer protections (especially those darn Disney DVDs). With MTR 3, I just extract the movie(without all the extras) and then don't have too much trouble handbraking the movie from there.

It isn't the image resolution that makes the file incompatible with iPhone/iPods; it is the additional advanced x264 options used (b-frames). I am one of the HB testers who have been working on "one preset to rule them all" and have been able to create high-quality encodes that use CRF, anamorphic, and AC3 (along with an AAC track) that will work on both devices. We'll see if an official preset makes it into .9.2; I imagine if one does, it probably won't use CRF since it makes it impossible to judge exactly how large the final encode will be (not something you necessarily want due to storage limitations, but works for me).

 

[peeaanuut]

the advantages to using MTR first come in a few ways. First, its easier on the drive. Doing a rip and than the encode allows the drive to be used once instead of started and stopped over and over again when doing an encode on the fly. Also, you can set up a que. Rip a few movies with MTR, put them in the que, go to work or class and when you come home they should be done. This way you can do quite a few at once.

It is a personal preference of course, but adding the MTR step actually saves me time in the grand scheme of things.

 

[spice weasel]

Look, you can do what you want but the Mac The Ripper step is not necessary. There's no need to archive your dvds. You have an archive already. It's the dvd.

I think the advice about using Mac the Ripper was to avoid having to rip each DVD twice to encode it - once for the ATV and once for the iPod. If you rip it once you can just Handbrake the VIDEO_TS folder for whatever device you want. Maybe I read the answer wrong though. I agree that there is no reason to actually keep the ripped DVD files for any longer than you need them to produce the mp4's you want.

As for running the ATV version through VisualHub (or ffmpegx) to get an iPod version, I think that is good advice. The video quality will suffer a bit perhaps, but I don't think it's noticeable on such a small screen anyway. And it is much faster than doing two Handbrake encodes.

 

[hikeNM]

Thanks for all the quick replies!

Won't movies that are purchased from the iTunes Store play on both the TV and iPods?

If so, then what kind of codec(?) are store movies in, and how come us mere mortals can't do that too?

I'm really sorry if this is a stupid question.

 

[slate1]

Thanks for all the quick replies!

Won't movies that are purchased from the iTunes Store play on both the TV and iPods?

If so, then what kind of codec(?) are store movies in, and how come us mere mortals can't do that too?

I'm really sorry if this is a stupid question.

They do - but they are encoded to the least common denominator (the 5th gen iPod). You can encode in Handbrake for the iPod and it will play on the AppleTV, it just won't look nearly as good as a file encoded specifically for the AppleTV using the AppleTV preset.

Trust me - if you plan on watching these on the AppleTV you'll want them encoded using the higher quality AppleTV preset!

 

[hikeNM]

They do - but they are encoded to the least common denominator (the 5th gen iPod). You can encode in Handbrake for the iPod and it will play on the AppleTV, it just won't look nearly as good as a file encoded specifically for the AppleTV using the AppleTV preset.

Trust me - if you plan on watching these on the AppleTV you'll want them encoded using the higher quality AppleTV preset!

OH! Makes perfect sense! Thanks.

 

[Superman07]

This is why I was confused when I read zedsdead's post last week in the Handbrake SVN now has AC3 in the MP4 container thread.

iTunes does not down-res files when copying them to iPods. They get transferred at full res, but are scaled down on the device itself.

But yes you have the right idea that when played by the Apple Tv 5.1 will play, but when on the iPods, AAC will play. Video is the same.

This still doesn't address the x264 issues discussed above. Are these video sync issues, scaling issues, audio issues or a combination thereof?

 

[fandsw]

After doing a google search last night on the same subject ( I have a Touch and will be getting an AppleTV soon) I was trying to find the optimal settings for Handbrake to work on both. The issue is that the max. resolution capability (720) of the Apple TV is higher than any iPod, including the Touch (640). As others have mentioned, you must then find the highest Ipod capability that will look good on AppleTV. It turns out that the iPod High-Res setting in Handbrake is the one that fits that bill. It makes a larger file than the iPhone/Touch setting, however the quality is better for viewing on AppleTV.

Do a google on "appleTV handbrake touch setting". You'll find plenty of other threads all over the different Apple/handbrake forums discussing this.

 

[NightStorm]

No, resolution is not the reason the preset is incompatible... its the advanced x264 options. Many people encode 720-wide iPhone-compatible videos.

How many times do I have to say this?

 

[fandsw]

No, resolution is not the reason the preset is incompatible... its the advanced x264 options. Many people encode 720-wide iPhone-compatible videos.

How many times do I have to say this?

Well then I read something wrong...my apologies.

However, I did read the part about iPod High-Res correctly as the best compromise that will work on both, look good, and take up minimal space.

 

[Superman07]

So if you used handbreak to output an ATV "quality" file, but left off the audio options you could drag it into a capable iPod/Touch/iPhone and it would play?

 

[Diode]

So if you used handbreak to output an ATV "quality" file, but left off the audio options you could drag it into a capable iPod/Touch/iPhone and it would play?

I don't know what ipod you have so I will quote from the iphone.

According to apple:

Video formats supported: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 768 Kbps, 320 by 240 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

What I would do is wait for the next release of handbrake to come out and do a "hybrid" setting (combining some of the ATV settings with iphone/ipod whatever). IE use the iphone x264 setting as the base (which should encode video's at 1.5mbps) and add the ac3/aac option.

 

[dynaflash]

What I would do is wait for the next release of handbrake to come out and do a "hybrid" setting (combining some of the ATV settings with iphone/ipod whatever).

Why wait ?

http://handbrake.fr/

 

[Superman07]

I don't know what ipod you have so I will quote from the iphone.

According to apple:



What I would do is wait for the next release of handbrake to come out and do a "hybrid" setting (combining some of the ATV settings with iphone/ipod whatever). IE use the iphone x264 setting as the base (which should encode video's at 1.5mbps) and add the ac3/aac option.

I understand that, however, when you reference NightStorm's comment above about a 720 iPhone video I am confused. To me, that notion is not in line with the specs you posted.

 

[jeffburk]

About how much time does it take to rip a DVD containing a two-hour movie? I've been considering ripping all my DVDs to my hard drive to be viewed via Apple TV, but I'm concerned that it might take forever to get this done.

 

[jbellanca]

About how much time does it take to rip a DVD containing a two-hour movie? I've been considering ripping all my DVDs to my hard drive to be viewed via Apple TV, but I'm concerned that it might take forever to get this done.

I have an aluminum 2.8ghz iMac, and the ripping process takes 15 minutes and the encoding process takes about 60 mins for a 90 min movie. If I rip using the one-step HB process, it's about 75-80 mins per 90 min movie. I usually prefer using MtR though, from both a wear-and-tear perspective, and from a queue-it-all-up perspective.