iPod MP4 vs H.264 for TV output

[chocolate632]

Hey everyone

I just purchased the AV cables for my iPod classic. I have some episodes of The Simpsons/Family Guy that I want to convert so they look best on the TV. I already have some episodes that I converted with visual hub for iPod Classic on standard quality without H.264. I was just wondering what H.264 is exactly and if it is better quality/ a smaller file size then the regular .mp4 and if i should consider converting all my videos with that.

Thanks

 

[honeycrisp]

Pretty sure that H.264 is the format for any quicktime movie.

 

[cazlar]

Yes, H264 is better quality and/or smaller file sizes compared to mp4. Which you go for is based on your encoding settings. The only downside is that it takes more oomph to decode, and especially to encode it. Obviously all iPods and iPhones have enough speed to do the decoding, so if you have a reasonably fast machine for your encoding then H264 is the way to go. If you are stuck on a slow PPC machine though, H264 encodes of a movie can literally take days to finish, whereas MP4 will encode much faster.