What do you guys find yourself encoding videos with for the HD? WMV or H.264/MPEG-4?
Which offers better compression and quality? I have done some research and it seems that both are equal. I am just wondering if there is a clear winner before I encode 20 hours worth of video.
WMV is better on the Zune HD. For some reason (not sure why, its on the website) WMV takes up less battery than other video formats. The same is true with WMA for audio
That's interesting to hear. I already did some googling on it. It seems like you can't go wrong with either. But it makes sense that WMV would be better on the device, since it is Microsoft's format.
I backup all my Blu-rays to WMVHD 720p and the quality is excellent given you know what settings to use for encoding. I chose WMV over H.264 because of its compatibility with the Xbox360 and now ZuneHD.. Plus the fact that it plays smoother on my laptop when compared to H.264 MKV and especially MP4. (MP4 plays like crap in comparison)
I've experimented some with encoding to H264 hd using Xilisoft Video Converter Plat and Any DVD Converter Professional but haven't yet tried doing WMVHD. What Kind of settings are you using for you WMVHD files?
I've experimented some with encoding to H264 hd using Xilisoft Video Converter Plat and Any DVD Converter Professional but haven't yet tried doing WMVHD. What Kind of settings are you using for you WMVHD files?
First I should mention that I encode to standard WMV, WMVHD is just a term used by MS on HighDef WMV, but its the standard WMV codec.
The best way to go about encoding is to use custom bitrates for each individual video. Presets are convenient but they are limiting what you can pull off by alot. That being said, I usually do keep the audio set at 640KB/s for all my backups. For video, anywhere from 6000-8500 KB/s using the WVC codec over a 1 pass CBR process. The final WMV encoding process alone takes a good 12 hours on a dual core 2GHz processor and about 24hrs on a single core.
Thanks guys. I'm talking about encoding just for use on the Zune, and not outputting it via HDTV. But that's good to know that WMV is better in this case.
If I just want to play it on the Zune HD, what bitrate should I be using? I know my way around encoding, so I'm not completely lost. I was thinking 600-800. Thoughts? File size matters to me as much as quality, so I don't want to go crazy.
Thanks guys. I'm talking about encoding just for use on the Zune, and not outputting it via HDTV. But that's good to know that WMV is better in this case.
If I just want to play it on the Zune HD, what bitrate should I be using? I know my way around encoding, so I'm not completely lost. I was thinking 600-800. Thoughts? File size matters to me as much as quality, so I don't want to go crazy.
lol, I use Handbrake, and the default is 1500, but you should probably go with around 800, because I use MP4 (thats what HandBrake uses), so its probably different. so 800ish should be fine
Thanks guys. I'm talking about encoding just for use on the Zune, and not outputting it via HDTV. But that's good to know that WMV is better in this case.
If I just want to play it on the Zune HD, what bitrate should I be using? I know my way around encoding, so I'm not completely lost. I was thinking 600-800. Thoughts? File size matters to me as much as quality, so I don't want to go crazy.
Bitrate depends alot on what size your shooting for. Name that and ill tell you what I would use.
I don't know. Amazon VOD uses 600 for their portable video files. I used to encode videos on Handbrake and ended up with 750 MB for a 2-hour movie.
I'm going to put a season of a TV show on there and some other stuff. The max size I'd want would be 500 MB for a 43-minute episode, making it 1GB for 2 episodes. But I imagine you could fit that down to 300-400 MB a episode.
whoa guys whoa, what is H.264? Is it MP4? I thought zune only took WMV and MP4, i just get everything off of youtube, but for somereason the downloaded files in MP4 HD won't even open in zune software?Help plzz
I don't know. Amazon VOD uses 600 for their portable video files. I used to encode videos on Handbrake and ended up with 750 MB for a 2-hour movie.
I'm going to put a season of a TV show on there and some other stuff. The max size I'd want would be 500 MB for a 43-minute episode, making it 1GB for 2 episodes. But I imagine you could fit that down to 300-400 MB a episode.
Thanks..
Ok, so im assuming you arent shooting for 720p video given your target file size. About 1000kbps is going to get you a 400MB episode with about 1300kbps giving you around a 500MB file. Thats factoring in 240kbps audio also. Id imagine that will turn out looking sharp for the ZuneHD itself, but cant really say as I have only experimented with full blown HD so far. I might have to play with this some more because realistically, I don't need 720p video on a Zune when I don't have the HD dock anyways. I think what you are shooting for will be plenty sharp for the Zune. Especially if your source is an HD file.
whoa guys whoa, what is H.264? Is it MP4? I thought zune only took WMV and MP4, i just get everything off of youtube, but for somereason the downloaded files in MP4 HD won't even open in zune software?Help plzz
Using those bitrates I posted last, heres some comparison shots I did quick.
The full HD shots are just re-sized to the same area as the Zune encodes to compare. Most of the quality wont be recognized anyways if you aren't watching the HD on a TV so I think the smaller encodes are more efficient for ZuneHD only playback.
OK, I went out-of-town, but back now and have had some time to play with encoding. I'm no newbie to encoding, but I downloaded a few of the programs, and can't seem one to find one that will convert my DVD into WMV. Only Apple's H.264.
Any ideas? What do you guys use for WMV? Thanks, appreciate it.
WMV vs H.264 for video
putis.
