[bearcatrp]

Not sure if we should add a poll but thought I would post this to see what folks are doing for the best conversion process for apple tv. For me, I have been using handbrake with the default settings. Looks good for me. Please post what your best way of doing this. Include your settings, what type of mac your doing this on and how long it takes.
1. Handbrake. Normal settings.
2. about 45 minutes for a 1 hour 30 min movie.
3. Mac pro (sometimes my iMac using a scratch disk).

Randy

[swiz]

1. Handbrake. AppleTV Setting
2. Avg of 10 hours for 2 hour movie
3. 2.1 ghz iMac G5 with 1.5gigs of RAM

Seriously thinking of selling this iMac to get the 24" 2.16 Core Duo iMac.

[BRussell]

Wow, only 45 minutes? That Mac pro must be nice. It takes me 4-5 hours with AppleTV settings on an iMac G5 - but not 10 hours.

[swiz]

Originally Posted by BRussell 

Wow, only 45 minutes? That Mac pro must be nice. It takes me 4-5 hours with AppleTV settings on an iMac G5 - but not 10 hours.

I have a feeling something is amiss with my setup or process, my iMac is quite fast at most things so I was shocked to see Handbrake take so long to work a movie.

Are you running Handbrake with no altered prefs and simply clicking the Apple TV settings then adding to queue? A 2 hour movie as well?

[bearcatrp]

Ooops, should have stated my settings are for the ipod touch. I haven't done anything for the apple tv yet. sorry about that. I'll run one now for the apple tv settings and compare. I''l do this on both the iMac (2.16ghz) and the mac pro (2.0ghz). Be back in a little while. I will do this with apple tv preset.
Randy

[Wiskedjak]

Handbrake with default settings for DVD conversions
PSPVideo9, again with default AppleTV settings, for everything else (95% of my conversions).

Videos converted from PSPVideo9 run on both my AppleTV and my Touch.

[swiz]

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

Ooops, should have stated my settings are for the ipod touch. I haven't done anything for the apple tv yet. sorry about that. I'll run one now for the apple tv settings and compare. I''l do this on both the iMac (2.16ghz) and the mac pro (2.0ghz). Be back in a little while. I will do this with apple tv preset.
Randy

Awesome, thanks!

[bearcatrp]

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak 

Handbrake with default settings for DVD conversions
PSPVideo9, again with default AppleTV settings, for everything else (95% of my conversions).

Videos converted from PSPVideo9 run on both my AppleTV and my Touch.

Could you tell us which one produces better video quality-PSPVideo or Handbrake- using the same encoding settings? Also, time to complete on both? Isn't PSPVideo for the PC only? Whats your PC setup (if so)?
Randy

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by swiz 

I have a feeling something is amiss with my setup or process, my iMac is quite fast at most things so I was shocked to see Handbrake take so long to work a movie.

Are you running Handbrake with no altered prefs and simply clicking the Apple TV settings then adding to queue? A 2 hour movie as well?

Just regular 2-hour DVD movies. I'm not exactly sure how long it takes, but I can start one in the evening and it will be done later on in the evening. It's definitely not a 10-hour process. Just standard AppleTV settings.

I have heard about people getting all kinds of strange times ripping DVDs, and that it may have something to do with the ripping process rather than the video conversion. What happens if you rip with something else - like MactheRipper - and then encode with handbrake?

[bearcatrp]

Here is what I have using Tiger 10.4.11

Imac 2.16ghz, 2gb memory, using a external scratch on FW800
Bad Boys 1:58:43
Apple Tv setting: Apple Tv normal settings, Bitrate 2500
Time to complete: 2:42 (finally)

Mac Pro 2ghz, 8gb memory, using internal scratch
Hitch 1:58:14
Apple Tv settings: Apple Tv normal settings, bitrare 2500
Time to complete: 1:15

Randy

[k squared]

A typical Video TS file takes about 2-2.5 hours on my first generation MacBook (2 GHz, 2 GB ram). This is ripping off an external HD over FW400 using the appleTV settings.

I use MTR first and then Handbrake to encode.

I've noticed that the latest version of HB takes longer to encode. Not complaining, just an observation.

[swiz]

I refuse to believe that my 2.1ghz G5 iMac is that much slower than a 2ghz Intel chip in a Macbook. Something is definitely not kocur with my setup.

My entire process is:
Three open apps- Finder, MTR, Handbrake- Computer is solely ripping and encoding
Rip DVD's with MTR- Takes about 20 minutes for a 7gig retail DVD
Encode with Handbrake using AppleTV setting- No less than a 9 hour process

Avg of only 5FPS That is teh suck!

I only have 1.5 gigs of RAM, maybe I should bump that up to 3 or 4, would that really make a noticeable difference or should I just plan on upgrading to the 2.16 Intel Core Duo iMac?

[swiz]

Oh BTW, Im running Leopard 10.5.1 and I have heard of people stating that Handbrake is far slower in Leopard than Tiger... If this is the case, I'll be installing Tiger on a partition.

[k squared]

Originally Posted by swiz 

I refuse to believe that my 2.1ghz G5 iMac is that much slower than a 2ghz Intel chip in a Macbook. Something is definitely not kocur with my setup.

When I first started encoding video, I was using a G4 PowerBook. Took forever. When I upgraded to Intel, I honestly couldn't believe how much the encoding time dropped. The C2D's really seem to be that much faster than PPC chips.

Regarding the increase in encoding times with the most recent version of HB (0.9.1), I've noticed that that the preset for "appleTV" increased the bitrate from 2000 to 2500. Might have something to do with it.

[hyteckit]

You guys should look into getting the Turbo.264 from elgato. I just bought one myself online. I can't wait to get mine.

Speeds up encoding the takes the load off your CPU so you can actually do work when encoding.

Read that the max limit is 800x600 resolution though, so no 720p.

[bearcatrp]

You will have to let us know how well the turbo.264 works. I am going to try encoding at 100 percent quality to see how long it takes on the pro. Definately won't try it on the iMac, way to slow.
Randy

[swiz]

Alright I had enough.
Research has shown that those C2D Intel chips really are a buttload faster than the G5's.
So I just ordered a 24" 2.4ghz iMac.
The G5 is outskypootsky.

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by swiz 

Alright I had enough.
Research has shown that those C2D Intel chips really are a buttload faster than the G5's.
So I just ordered a 24" 2.4ghz iMac.
The G5 is outskypootsky.

LOL

[hyteckit]

Testing out handbrake.

Mac Mini 1.83GHz Core Duo. 2GB RAM.

AppleTV settings. No ripping with MTR. Running handbrake directly on DVD.

Avg. 17 fps. Source is 23.97 fps.

[bearcatrp]

Originally Posted by swiz 

Alright I had enough.
Research has shown that those C2D Intel chips really are a buttload faster than the G5's.
So I just ordered a 24" 2.4ghz iMac.
The G5 is outskypootsky.

Not sure what you paid but would suggest you snag a refurb mac pro. Alot more expandable. I had the delema, which one to get, grabbed the new 24 inch when they were first introduced. Great machine. I started video editing and grabbed a refurb 2ghz nac pro for 1999.00. Nice thing about this is I can change the chips myself to a octo core when I am ready. Apple has one now for 2100.00 for a 2.66ghz. If all you do is photos and web stuff, the imac will do though.
Randy

[swiz]

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

Not sure what you paid but would suggest you snag a refurb mac pro. Alot more expandable. I had the delema, which one to get, grabbed the new 24 inch when they were first introduced. Great machine. I started video editing and grabbed a refurb 2ghz nac pro for 1999.00. Nice thing about this is I can change the chips myself to a octo core when I am ready. Apple has one now for 2100.00 for a 2.66ghz. If all you do is photos and web stuff, the imac will do though.
Randy

I typically get a new computer every 2 to 3 years and for this last stretch of design work I've been doing mostly web design, most of the video work I do is personal and with a couple rugrats its cool if I have to let the computer chug away on its own for short times. Just not 10 hours for Handbrake .

[GORDYmac]

Turbo.264 here. 26FPS on a G4 933, using the AppleTV setting.