Question about H.264 Encoding.

[Topher15]

(Wasn't sure whether to put this here of in the "Digital Video" section - please move it if it should be elsewhere.)

In VisualHub there is an option to check or uncheck H.264 Encoding (MP4 tab).

What would the difference between each file be if one was H.264 and one was not?

Cheers.

[spacepower7]

That's a huge can of worms.

In general h.264 will give you higher quality at a smaller file size but requires longer encoding and higher requirements for playback.

That's the simple answer without alot of tech talk.

What device are you encoding for? Just one, or possibly several?

[Topher15]

Primarily to watch on the computer (iMac) but I imagine I'll eventually get an Apple TV so I'm thinking I might as well start converting to MP4. I'm going to start converting AVI to MP4 (using high quality or 'go nuts' and H.264 in VisualHub). I plan on starting on DVDs too soon.

EDIT... is there any difference between the AppleTV and MP4 settings in VisualHub? I though ATV could play MP4s.