Handbrake Format Question

[kitki83]

I am researching in Handbrake website but the Post your Settings is outdated or to me not clear what was the ratio of file size/quality.

Making backup of my DVD collection as everyone but I am lost as to the Codecs,

Avi vs MP4

Mpeg 4 vs AVC/H264

I dont know what to choose from, I read in HB forums which has settings but not clear as to what is outcome or quality (most are now for iPod Video), and if I want to aim at this ratio of quality, size and use. But from my research around these are the setting that seems popular

File Format:mp4
Codec:AVC/H264/AAC Audio
Ave Bitrate: 1500
2-pass encoding On.

I am hoping to go in the idea of for every 1 hour of movie its about 500 mgs file size. I tested a 30 second video in Mp4 and Avi with all the codes available other than file size, the quality looked the same. Mp4 file size was 5-10 mgs vs Avi was 10-20 mgs. Sorry if this is another HB question but I am lost to the differences among the setting.


Thank you

 

[Jaimesharp]

Basically the difference between formats

Avi is a large file format which is used for high quality video with no compression.

Mpeg 4 offers a little compression but is a lesser quality than the avi and h264 is the newest compression format as of quicktime 7.0 this offer smaller files sizes and provides a high quality image also. as far as settings go it depends what you want to do with the files as to what seetings to use.

 

[ibglowin]

Not quite right

Actually AVI is a "container" for a file. Its a flavor of MPEG4 compression technology and the same as DIVX. If you rename an AVI file as a DIVX file it will open and play with DIVX.

If you are interested in putting your movies into itunes for playback you need to use MP4. The bitrate you choose depends on alot of things like what your going to play it back on. 300KBS is fine for an ipod but will look like crap on a good size monitor. 1000 is the bare minimum for good quality on a monitor. 1500-2000 is required for playback on a large 50-60" screen HDTV. 2 pass encoding will always make a sharper file than one pass but takes longer obviously.

H264 takes alot longer to encode and IMHO offers no improvement at all over MP4.