iPod MPEG-4 or H.264?

[Ashapalan]

This may be included within a 'relative' thread but the question isn't directly adressed. Or at least my search hasnt shown it to be...

I am converting movies into ipod form for when mine arrives, the tech specs page shows that the ipod supports MPEG-4 format 480 by 480 pixel res compared to 320 by 240 in H.264 format.

I dont really know the difference between the two, and was wondering which would give the best qualitly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lacero]

H.264 gives the best quality. Apple's MPEG-4 encoder sucks donkey balls.

 

[snowmoon]

ffmpeg encoding to mpeg-4 gave superior results for me compared to ffmpeg to h.264...

IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER VIDEO ENCODER PEOPLE OUT THERE WITH QT Pro I WOULD LOVE TO DO A SIDE-BY-SIDE OF DIFFERENT TEQNIQUES ONCE MINE ARRIVES. Drop me a PM and I'll exchange emails.

 

[Josh396]

H.264 gives the best quality. Apple's MPEG-4 encoder sucks donkey balls.

Well that's a good way of putting it.

 

[JonHimself]

I think a thing to do would be to differentiate which is better depending on the source. What I mean is, based on the source file (DVD or DIVX) which is best to use? I have found that when converting from a DVD source (using handbrake) the h.264 codec is the best however when converting an existing DIVX file (using ffmpegx) the MPEG codec appears to produce better quality. Any thoughts?
Also, I am planning on re-ripping my TV show DVD's. I am going to rip higher quality files for viewing on my computer and then create iPod versions as well (thanks to external drives I don't mind having two copies). Would it be best to convert straight from the DVD twice (like convert to a high quality first, then using the DVD again convert to iPod) or would it be better to convert from the DVD to high quality, then from the high quality file to the iPod quality? I would think using the DVD twice would be best...

 

[TheMonarch]

H.264 gives the best quality. Apple's MPEG-4 encoder sucks donkey balls.

No it doesn't, well, a little using really low bitrates (H.264, is touted for its efficiency, so obviously its more efficient), but at moderate bitrates, MPEG-4 is not bad at all, especially on a 2.5" screen, plus MPEG-4 encodes 10X faster, only thing is slightly larger file sizes (But you have 30-60GB of space, so it doesn't matter much...)

Just because a newer codec has come, doesn't mean all other codecs suddenly suck donkey balls...

 

[snowmoon]

With a resolution up to 480x480 mpeg-4 also has some real benifits when you use the A/V Cables or when watching on your computer. I have been doing some testing and with good VBR encoding with ffmpeg I'm down to as little as ~1200 kbit for 480x480 4:3 video ( i'm shooting for 10mb/minute average ). Testing with the elgato shows very sharp video output and a very space econimal file size.