Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Watching AppleTV with ipod settings using handbrake

G

goodwilldrums

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2008
119
6
Oklahoma City
Ok,

I have just converted almost 200 video files
from dvd's (tv shows and movies) using handbrake
of course, and I used the ipod setting, because
initially that's where I wanted them to go, there
and to my iPhone. Now looking towards an :apple:tv, I really
do not want to reconvert all of my files again using the
:apple:tv setting, (this process has taken me weeks to complete
my collection)

I would just like to know if anyone knows
what an ipod setting on handbrake would look like on :apple:tv??

Thanks for any input!
-jake
 
If they were encoded using the newer iPod High-Res preset, I think you'll be OK, but that's just my opinion; it really boils down to personal preferences.
 
Most of them have an average bit rate of 1600 - 1650 or so...

and dimensions of 640x368
video codec H.264

I'm just worried that it will look a little "pixelated" on my 42" plasma (the tv i plan to use :apple:tv on)
it looks great on my 20" cinema display (full screen) when playing through itunes.


i have used my ipod video out to play videos on the tv i plan to use :apple:tv
with....do you think this is a good idea of what it will look like? Or will it be different since it's not played through an ipod?!
 
I am sure that if you are far enough away from your TV they'll look fine. I'd recommend the following:
1. If your TV is larger than 11", consider re-encoding.
2. If your TV is smaller than 11", it might be okay if you sit, say, 10 to 15 feet away.

Seriously, it's all in the eyes of the beholder. On a 57" set, from 14' away, I cannot watch iPod quality encodes without cringing, thinking all the while, "when will this torture be finished? What more does The Steve expect of me?"

I refer you to a recent thread here about a gentlemen who purchased an AppleTV, saw some purchased content off of the ITMS, and then wanted to return it. Beauty (as well as pixel density) is in the eye of the beholder... etc.

YMMV.
 
MikieMikie said:
I am sure that if you are far enough away from your TV they'll look fine. I'd recommend the following:
1. If your TV is larger than 11", consider re-encoding.
2. If your TV is smaller than 11", it might be okay if you sit, say, 10 to 15 feet away.

Seriously, it's all in the eyes of the beholder. On a 57" set, from 14' away, I cannot watch iPod quality encodes without cringing, thinking all the while, "when will this torture be finished? What more does The Steve expect of me?"

I refer you to a recent thread here about a gentlemen who purchased an AppleTV, saw some purchased content off of the ITMS, and then wanted to return it. Beauty (as well as pixel density) is in the eye of the beholder... etc.

YMMV.
Click to expand...


....Did you mean to print 11" (inches)??!!?
 
MikieMikie said:
Seriously, it's all in the eyes of the beholder. On a 57" set, from 14' away, I cannot watch iPod quality encodes without cringing, thinking all the while, "when will this torture be finished? What more does The Steve expect of me?"
Click to expand...

I think it is definitely personal preference. I encode all of my movies at iPod quality so i can occasionally watch them on my iPod. My :apple:TV is connected to a standard def 32" TV. I occasionally in action heavy scenes notice some pixeling, but it really doesnt bother me. Then again i have a standard def TV so I am not the most concerned about the quality. I really am not too concerned about seeing the pores on the face of some actor in a movie. so you should ask yourself how much the quality will bother you. some people think its torture, some could not care less.
 
wPod said:
I think it is definitely personal preference. I encode all of my movies at iPod quality so i can occasionally watch them on my iPod. My :apple:TV is connected to a standard def 32" TV. I occasionally in action heavy scenes notice some pixeling, but it really doesnt bother me. Then again i have a standard def TV so I am not the most concerned about the quality. I really am not too concerned about seeing the pores on the face of some actor in a movie. so you should ask yourself how much the quality will bother you. some people think its torture, some could not care less.
Click to expand...

The idea isn't to count pores -- it's to see things (all things) with a crisp clarity. Zooming in on pores is left to "directors" like Joel Schumaker (sp?)
 
Hmmm...

peeaanuut said:
I encode everything using the AppleTV setting and it looks fine on the aTV, iPhone, iPod. Saves me encoding several times.
Click to expand...

I thought movies with an aspect ratio encoded for the apple tv couldn't be played on an iPod (720, not 640).

Am I mistaken?
 
appleretailguy said:
What's the approximate size for a half hour or hour show?
Click to expand...
That's dependent on the bitrate used, not the resolution. I typically encode TV shows at 1500kbps (audio = 160kbps), which gives me ~250-280MB for a 21-minute show (1/2 hour w/o commercials).

The resulting file looks great on my iPhone and pretty good on my AppleTV.
 
NightStorm said:
That's dependent on the bitrate used, not the resolution. I typically encode TV shows at 1500kbps (audio = 160kbps), which gives me ~250-280MB for a 21-minute show (1/2 hour w/o commercials).

The resulting file looks great on my iPhone and pretty good on my AppleTV.
Click to expand...

Nice.

I ask because I encode my videos for use with my video iPod, which is connected to a 32" LCD TV. I can't wait until that thing breaks and I can spring for an apple tv.

Anyway, I appreciate the help.
 
Encoded with AppleTV settings, don't play on iPhone

This is a great question. I see that someone claims that the AppleTV encodings he's done work for both his AppleTV and iPhone. However, I have not had the same success. The movies I've converted with Handbrake using it's AppleTV settings don't work on my iphone. I would love the "perfect" conversion that would give a single file that would play as "best quality as possible" on my 42" LCD via AppleTV as well as play well with my iPhone. Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
Phippster said:
This is a great question. I see that someone claims that the AppleTV encodings he's done work for both his AppleTV and iPhone. However, I have not had the same success. The movies I've converted with Handbrake using it's AppleTV settings don't work on my iphone. I would love the "perfect" conversion that would give a single file that would play as "best quality as possible" on my 42" LCD via AppleTV as well as play well with my iPhone. Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
If you encoded using the AppleTV preset, it is not compatible with the iPhone.
 
Phippster said:
This is a great question. I see that someone claims that the AppleTV encodings he's done work for both his AppleTV and iPhone. However, I have not had the same success. The movies I've converted with Handbrake using it's AppleTV settings don't work on my iphone. I would love the "perfect" conversion that would give a single file that would play as "best quality as possible" on my 42" LCD via AppleTV as well as play well with my iPhone. Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Your only option, using presets in Handbrake, for encoding a file that will play on an iPod, iPhone, and AppleTV is the iPod High-Rez (or Low-Rez) preset. The AppleTV preset will NOT play on an iPod or iPhone.

In my opinion, the quality of the High-Rez video is great on an iPod and very good on my 37 inch HDTV. It is slightly worse than DVD quality. I have noticed that for some content, it is important to turn on Deinterlacing in Handbrake for best quality though. You can see the difference in the screen samples in the picture settings.
 
I would like to clarify. Most of my encoding is done in visual hub at the appletv setting just under go nuts. But I have ripped a DVD in handbrake and can play it on my appletv iPod 5g nano and iPhone. It was ripped using the apple tv setting.
 
peeaanuut said:
I would like to clarify. Most of my encoding is done in visual hub at the appletv setting just under go nuts. But I have ripped a DVD in handbrake and can play it on my appletv iPod 5g nano and iPhone. It was ripped using the apple tv setting.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, but using the AppleTV preset in Handbrake will generate an incompatible file with an iPod/iPhone. It uses advanced x264 options that are not supported by the portable devices.
 
i have always used handbrake to rip to the ipod preset.

i would rather have a slightly lower res file that will easily play on all of my various devices (iPhone, iPod, appleTV...) than a higher res file that will need to be converted to play on the phone or pod.

Not to mention i kind of look at the appleTV as a "convenience device", not a high quality playback option. If i want high quality, i drop the DVD in the player (99% of my rips are from my own collection of 1000+ dvds). Its just nice to be able to quickly switch from tv show seasons, to movies, to music without hunting for discs, changing sources etc...

it would be nice if there was an easy way to rip to full quality, with a relatively small file size and have it support 2 channel and 5.1. Apple should have a cross platform standard for video standards (what works on one video device should work on all). Unfortunately, that isnt an option right now.

btw- i have my appleTV connected to a 57" Sony HD rear projection CRT. Like stated above, quality is decent most of the time, but fast action can digitize up a bit. not bad though.
 
I use the ipod hi-res with the 2-pass encoding. I then increase the screen size to the maximum without changing the aspect ratio. The two pass encoding takes quite a bit of time, but turns out superior looking video that works on my appletv (using 1080i), iphone, new ipod nano and my ps-3. Having a single file that looks pretty good on all of those works well for me :)
 
Divindude said:
I use the ipod hi-res with the 2-pass encoding. I then increase the screen size to the maximum without changing the aspect ratio. The two pass encoding takes quite a bit of time, but turns out superior looking video that works on my appletv (using 1080i), iphone, new ipod nano and my ps-3. Having a single file that looks pretty good on all of those works well for me :)
Click to expand...

Here is what I'll be doing. I'm ripping two versions. One for Apple TV setting/Anamorphic/2Pass/1700 to 1800 kbs/DPLII sound/Forced subtitles. My Onkyo has DPLIIx which outputs to 7.1 surround sound.

Tried it on the current AppleTV I borrowed and I swear, the image is so close to DVD quality at 1080i, that I have to look closely to see the differences. This is on my Sony 42" HDTV screen.

For audio, DPLII is a must for now to get decent surround sound. Stereo just won't cut it. DPLIIx takes full advantage of DPLII and gives awesome sound and amazing bass even without the dedicated .1 channel from the DPLII track.

Then I will do a second batch optimized for iPhone only. The file size are around 400 to 500 MB @ 320x240 and they look amazing on the iPhone. I will tag these as TV shows to keep it out of the move folder in iTunes and add " - iPhone".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back