handbrake? ffmpegx? into itunes???

[Keebler]

Hi folks,

I don't own an appletv (yet), but i've been ripping some of our DVDs for my imac and macbook pro. I've loving the idea of having all my multimedia in one place.

Then I was thinking: our own home movies. I have about 85 digital8 tapes to be transferred (yes, i'm a bit of a video freak). The great news is that I offer video transfers so I have the equipment (but maybe not the time

My kids would think it would be so neat to have all that footage at their fingertips. I could buy a massive external to house everything. Imagine having instant access to when they were born or 1st birthdays...very cool!

But in reading HB's 'sources' page of their manual (http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/Sources), it seems they're suggesting I use ffmpegx. Is the quality comparable?

I'm not sure how to proceed b/c I'll be creating DVDs of each tape anyhow. I might as well considering I'm taking the time to transfer everything. But the DVDs would be created in 4:3, but would I need to create them as 16:9 in preps for a widescreen TV? I think my current TV handles widescreen so I might be alright for now. I know how to change the sequence settings in Final Cut to add 4:3 to a 16:9 clip. I could then output a .mov for ffmpegx to convert to h.264 appletv format.

Or, should i just transfer the footage, create the DVDs, then use handbrake to rip those DVDs into the h.264. ?

My apologies for any confusion. I must admit despite knowing quite a bit for home transfers, I need to learn more about the appletv format.

I'm just really excited at the possibility of having our home movies in a digital format where the kids can't screw up the disc or something crazy. Plus, I would take the time to add descriptive chapters etc... so everything would be logged appropriately.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[smilinmonki666]

If you've transferred them via iMovie, you should be able to save the file type via iMovie & drag them into your iTunes library from what I can remember. Not at the mac at the mo so can't tell you for sure.

Sorry. Otherwise, the DVD option is prob best. Plus you get a back up copy wich is always a bonus.

 

[spice weasel]

When you import your digital8 videos you will have a bunch of dv files. Handbrake can only encode VIDEO_TS folders/DVDs. That's why the devs suggest using ffmpegx.

Once you have your dv footage, just export that to h.264 for the Apple TV from within Final Cut or iMovie. If you want a DVD as well, then author one from the same dv source. Don't burn a dvd, rip it, and then transcode to h.264, because it's a) a huge waste of time, and b) will result in quality degredation from the re-encoding.

As for quality of ffmpegx vs. Handbrake, I couldn't tell you because I never use ffmpegx for vobs or VIDEO_TS folders. But in your case it won't matter anyway because you can't use Handbrake.

You can also use MPEG Streamclip, which in my opinion is more user friendly than ffmpegx. It also works with the Turbo.264 from elgato if you have one or decide to get one (it is what I use to get my old home movies into h.264).

 

[kolax]

If you are creating DVD's anyway, you might as well convert the tape to DVD, then rip it using HandBrake.

As for changing 4:3 to 16:9 - I'd be careful of stretching the aspect ratio. I've converted a lot of stuff from 4:3 to 16:9 but it is mainly cartoons like South Park and they look fine stretched. Home videos might look pretty bad stretching. I'd preview it first to see what it looks like stretched.

 

[Keebler]

thanks folks.

spice weasel - i thought of the direct export from final cut when i was walking my kids home from school. it's the right idea. probably my smartest option. i'll run a test between it and mpeg streamclip as i've always been leery of compressor's quality.

as for the 4:3 into 16:9, i find that simply resizing the 4:3's height works well. Just means I have bars all around, but it's not stretched and it's my own footage so it should be fine.

I think I might run the 1st tape tonight for the fun of it.

I'll keep this updated as I go along b/c it would be interesting.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[spice weasel]

Let me know how MPEG Streamclip compares to Compressor. I just recently got Final Cut Pro and haven't used it yet. I have many, many hours of tape to convert, and the bit I've done so far was done using iMovie. I used MPEG Streamclip because it gives you the option to deinterlace. I don't know anything about Compressor, so I'm curious to see how it fares.

EDIT: Burning DVDs is a great idea for sending copies to people, etc., But if these are treasured family moments, you might want to buy a large external drive, load it up with the dv files when the project is all done, and put the drive in a safe place. That way you keep them in the highest quality format possible. For the future you would have to migrate the files to any new technology, but that's the case with any data (ahh, remember those 5.25" floppies of yesteryear...)

 

[Keebler]

Let me know how MPEG Streamclip compares to Compressor. I just recently got Final Cut Pro and haven't used it yet. I have many, many hours of tape to convert, and the bit I've done so far was done using iMovie. I used MPEG Streamclip because it gives you the option to deinterlace. I don't know anything about Compressor, so I'm curious to see how it fares.

EDIT: Burning DVDs is a great idea for sending copies to people, etc., But if these are treasured family moments, you might want to buy a large external drive, load it up with the dv files when the project is all done, and put the drive in a safe place. That way you keep them in the highest quality format possible. For the future you would have to migrate the files to any new technology, but that's the case with any data (ahh, remember those 5.25" floppies of yesteryear...)

yup. thinking about saving the original transfers. i just saw a 2 terrabyte mybook and if it's 1 terrabyte then raided, that would be sweet.

i know there will be stuff i'll cut out so hopefully i can get each tape under 13 GBs (the original transfer file size). If not, that is 1.1 Terrabytes right there

hmmm..i wonder if i can pick up a high capacity server for cheap?

cheers,
Keebler