Video resolution for iPad now that it's been released for awhile?

[Doju]

I know of discussions regarding what resolution to encode iPad videos at for optimal viewing, but these were all before it was launched. Now that it is, what resolution have you all found to be optimal?

Most people tend to use Handbrake, so let's go by that if we could. AppleTV setting? Universal setting? Custom setting?

I'll have the 64GB when it launches in Canada, but at the same time I'd like to still fit as much video as possible.

 

[Diversion]

Using handbreak, always make sure the width is set to 1024 and set Anaphormic to "Loose".

Use Normal profile for best compatibility.. I've had issues using the "High Profile" profile on movies.. but they worked fine on shorter things like TV shows/anime, etc.

I'm in the process of making up my own Universal iPad Profile which I will share with everybody once I find the highest quality settings that the iPad can support.

I know that the folks at the Handbreak forums are currently doing the same thing creating a built-in Handbreak profile for iPad use only. The iPad is actually very powerful in the video decoding area and seems to handle some of the newer encoding features of the h.264 codec.

And believe me, a properly encoded video using an HD source looks stunning on the iPad. People are amazed at the videos i've encoded so far on the iPad. I don't see any Netbooks coming close to the video playback quality of the iPad anytime soon.

 

[MICHAELSD]

You can go all the way up to 720p for the best quality possible, if you don't mind taking up more storage space per video.

 

[Julien]

If using an HD source and looking to get the best possible playback quality on the iPad here is the HB setup.

First select the Preset High Profile. Then use Picture settings to scale output to 1024x576 (for 1.78), Anamorphic: None, Keep Aspect Ratio: checked. You can set audio (use CoreAudio Codec) up to 320kbps for maximum quality (despite Apple's spec of 160Kbps max) or 120 to 160kbps. For 5.1 source select Dolby Pro Logic II.

Save this as your iPad preset and your are ready to go.

 

[tbayrgs]

I recently started ripping/encoding my blu-rays for use on a number of devices (Mac Mini with PLEX, TV, iPhone, iPod Touch) with the TV being the limiting factor on how high a resolution I would set (720p). Tested a few of these recent 720p encodes and all played perfectly on my iPad. At the suggestion of a post in this thread over in the Apple TV/Home Theatre forums (see post #781), I tried using a Custom Anamorphic setting which yielded an even higher resolution encode that played successfully on both my TV and my iPad (Apollo 13 encoded to 1694x720 using a customized TV preset).

If the iPad is the highest resolution device you'll be watching your media on, I'd suggest just setting TV preset and bump the resolution up to 720p but if you need to go higher, the iPad can handle it.

 

[Julien]

...If the iPad is the highest resolution device you'll be watching your media on, I'd suggest just setting TV preset and bump the resolution up to 720p but if you need to go higher, the iPad can handle it.

1024x576 is a much better choice if your just looking for an HD to iPad only rip since it's native. At 720 the iPad must downscale thereby lowering pic quality.

 

[gt1948]

1024x576 is a much better choice if your just looking for an HD to iPad only rip since it's native. At 720 the iPad must downscale thereby lowering pic quality.

???? The ipad will only show 720, downconverting video to fit the iPad just doesn't lower picture quality that much.

720p - The picture is 1280x720 - 60 complete frames per second.

 

[Julien]

???? The ipad will only show 720, downconverting video to fit the iPad just doesn't lower picture quality that much.

720p - The picture is 1280x720 - 60 complete frames per second.

"...doesn't...that much.." is some so that still makes 1024 is a better choice. 1024 also has another benefit in that the files will be smaller. So you get a (marginally) better PQ quality in a smaller file. Sounds like a win/win for 1024 to me.

Also the iPad will only do 720P at 30fps and not 60fps.

Another benefit will be that background processes (multitasking) will run faster since the CPU won't have to spend time down converting. So make that a win/win/win for 1024 over 1280.

 

[Nunyabinez]

It also depends on the source resolution

Not sure if anyone is still monitoring this thread and everyone here may already be thinking of this, but you should never go to a resolution higher than the original content. I agree that the 1024 by x with loose anamorphic looks terrific for my Blu ray ripped content. However, if you are using a standard DVD as the source, there is no need to go above the resolution of the DVD. Most DVDs are somewhere in the range of 853 x 480 anamorphic (it varies based on the exact dimensions) so ripping to 1024 seems kind of silly