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Help Playing an AVI

carfac

carfac

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 18, 2006
1,244
31
Hi Everyone!

I just got some MAJOR back up- 400 gig seagate for 2 bills- so I thought I would see about putting some of my daughters DVDs on there, both to save me a bit of time, but also to protect them from little fingers. Anyway, I did some tests last night with Handbrake. First I did one in mp4, and to encode to 700 megs. I thought the quality was poor- very boxy. So I tried the next as .h264 or whatever the other option is, as an AVI.

This morning, there it was, all encoded. But I cannot play it! QT says it needs a new driver or codec or somthing, and sends me to a page to DL drivers. I chose DiVX, and now it plays, but I do not see or hear anything. So that was not it! What is the proper codec (and where can I find it) for the AVI encoding on the Handbrake?

Also, anyone have any hints on how they get decent quality at smaller sizes?

Thanks!\

D
 
carfac said:
Hi Everyone!

I just got some MAJOR back up- 400 gig seagate for 2 bills- so I thought I would see about putting some of my daughters DVDs on there, both to save me a bit of time, but also to protect them from little fingers. Anyway, I did some tests last night with Handbrake. First I did one in mp4, and to encode to 700 megs. I thought the quality was poor- very boxy. So I tried the next as .h264 or whatever the other option is, as an AVI.

This morning, there it was, all encoded. But I cannot play it! QT says it needs a new driver or codec or somthing, and sends me to a page to DL drivers. I chose DiVX, and now it plays, but I do not see or hear anything. So that was not it! What is the proper codec (and where can I find it) for the AVI encoding on the Handbrake?

Also, anyone have any hints on how they get decent quality at smaller sizes?

Thanks!\

D
Click to expand...

Quicktime cannot play AVI files natively. Download a program called VLC - it plays almost anything.

Try not to encode to avi, use .mp4

I use the following settings in Handbrake:

.mp4 file
H.264 encoding/AAC audio
1250kbps video bit rate
128kbps audio bit rate
I leave the resolution at the DVD's native res.
 
G'Day Chundles!

Thanks- I will give that a whirl!

Dave
 
carfac said:
G'Day Chundles!

Thanks- I will give that a whirl!

Dave
Click to expand...

Another advantage of using .mp4 files is full iTunes compatibility. You'll be able to add them to the iTunes library, tag them appropriately and if you use the right settings (I don't have a 5G iPod and I've heard there may be some changes to Handbrake needed for 5.5G iPod compliance) you can add them to your iPod so the kiddies can watch them on the road.

When the "iTV" comes out next year you'll be able to stream them from a Mac anywhere in your house to the TV.

Forget avi - .mp4 is the way to go.
 
i also have this problem and would like to know is handbrake my best option i tried divx doctor but it didnt work, i use vlc but its a hassle to force the file to open in vlc instead of quicktime
 
Steve Jobless said:
i also have this problem and would like to know is handbrake my best option i tried divx doctor but it didnt work, i use vlc but its a hassle to force the file to open in vlc instead of quicktime
Click to expand...

There's no need to force it to open in Quicktime, just highlight the file, hit command-I and select VLC Player in the part of the Get Info window that tells you which app to open the file with. Then check the button marked "change all" and voila, all your avis open with VLC automatically.

Stop ripping to avi with Handbrake. Use .mp4 instead.
 
awesome. by the time VLC was done downloading from it's slow mirror, i had converted and seen my video thanks to isquint!
 
Wow- ffmpegx is great! It is fixing all my old AVI's and turning them into mp4's. This is one shareware I will feel really good about paying for- VERY useful, and fast! My AVI's covert to mp4's in about 30 minutes each, double-pass!

BTW, anyone know what double pass (vs. single pass) encoding does? I do it becaue I figure it makes a pass to figure out the best way to encode, then encodes, and single pass just guesses on the fly, but that is just my guess....

D
 
carfac said:
Wow- ffmpegx is great! It is fixing all my old AVI's and turning them into mp4's. This is one shareware I will feel really good about paying for- VERY useful, and fast! My AVI's covert to mp4's in about 30 minutes each, double-pass!

BTW, anyone know what double pass (vs. single pass) encoding does? I do it becaue I figure it makes a pass to figure out the best way to encode, then encodes, and single pass just guesses on the fly, but that is just my guess....

D
Click to expand...

I'm glad FFMPEGX works well for you. I used it for quite a while to rip some DVDs, but the app's powers of file-size estimation proved to be a little too flaky for me. Quality and flexibility can't be beat though! But I digress.

The definitions of 2- and 3-pass encoding from the FFMPEGX encoding guide:

2-Pass Encoding said:
Encode in 2-pass mode. The file will be encoded two times, the first one will calculate bitrate statistics in a .log file, and the second one will use those statistics to optimize the final encoding.
Click to expand...

3-Pass Encoding said:
Encode in 3-pass mode, allowing better control on movie final size. The file will be encoded three times, the first one will encode only the audio audio and calculate the video bitrate (1st pass duration is about 1h30 on a G4 for an average movie). You will be then prompted for choosing a video bitrate amongst suggested options to fit in one or two CDs. 2nd pass will calculate statistics in a .log file, and the third pass will use those statistics to optimize the final video encoding.
Click to expand...

hope it helps! :)
 
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