iPad Encoding

Discuss encoding for devices and presets.
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jbrjake
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iPad Encoding

Post by jbrjake »

Until I add an official iPad preset to HB, here's what to do:

PRESET:

Select any of the non-legacy built-in presets. Normal, High Profile, AppleTV, and Universal are all decent choices, although I would stick to the first 2.

RESOLUTION:

When using Normal or High Profile, if your source is higher than standard resolution (more than 576p), then you have to scale down to screen size. You can see the source resolution at the bottom of the main window, labeled "Picture size: Source:". In the picture settings, make sure the Anamorphic menu is set to "Loose" or "Custom" and lower the width (not display width) to 1024 or less.

FRAMERATE:

If your source framerate is greater than 30fps, you're going to have to lower it. Generally this is going to be an fps like 50 or 59.9, so halve it to 25 or 29.97. You can see the detected source FPS in the activity log, it looks like this:

Code: Select all

[14:23:00] scan: 10 previews, 1920x1080, 23.976 fps, autocrop = 0/0/0/0, aspect 16:9, PAR 1:1
(That one's 23.976, so you could just leave the Framerate menu set to "Same as source.")

AUDIO:

If you use the High Profile, AppleTV, or Universal presets, you can remove the AC3 pass-through audio track if you know you'll never play the video anywhere but the iPad.

C'EST FINI

That's it, you're ready to encode.
SicMX
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by SicMX »

Thanks, one question though:

Why do you recommend Normal and High Profile over AppleTV and Universal?
Deleted User 11865

Re: iPad Encoding

Post by Deleted User 11865 »

SicMX wrote:Thanks, one question though:

Why do you recommend Normal and High Profile over AppleTV and Universal?
Better compression efficiency. The Universal and AppleTV presets are designed with the limitations of other devices in mind, and sacrifice some efficiency for compatibility.

Also, for iPad encoding, there is no reason to go with Normal over High Profile except encoding speed.
SicMX
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by SicMX »

Ok, thanks for the fast reply!

I'm in the process of encoding around 500 DVDs (haven't started encoding them yet, still ripping the DVDs to the comp) so I obviously want to create both efficient, high quality and somewhat future proof rips.

My target devices for the encodes are: iPad, iPhone, PS3 and AppleTV (might get rid of the AppleTV at some point)

Would High Profile be the best option for this array of devices? (getting a bit offtopic here, sorry about that)

//Andy
Deleted User 11865

Re: iPad Encoding

Post by Deleted User 11865 »

First, "iPhone" is too vague. More importantly, your new question doesn't belong in this topic; please start your own topic.
SicMX
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by SicMX »

iPhone 3G S (but yeah, I'll start a new topic)
marco79
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by marco79 »

Thank you so much for this little HowTo!

Finally I managed to encode all my video files, even the ones I recorded with my digital STB (M2TS Recordings in HD 720p/1080i).

I've benn trying for ages and wondered why some recordings worked just fine and others just wouldn't sync to the iPad with the same preset (normal or high profile).

In my case, the problem was the Framerate! Lots of my recordings have a framerate of 50 fps (which I recognized in the activity log). I just had to set it to 25 and now everythings syncs just fine.

Thank you!
Best,
Marco
mstruzak
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by mstruzak »

Can someone post the CLI options to use? Thx.
jbrjake
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by jbrjake »

HandBrakeCLI -i input -o output.m4v --preset="Normal" -X 1024 -Y 768

Then add -r 29.97 or -r 25 or whatever if the FPS is too high.
kjoe
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by kjoe »

jbrbreak,

Thanks for the tips. One question:

For DVD encoding is there any quality advantage to choosing a resolution above 480P, the native resolution of DVD's? It seems like from a file size perspective this would be the way to go. Then you let the iPad scale the video so that it fits the full 1024 width of the display. Any visual benefit to letting Handbrake generate a higher resolution file and eliminating the real time scaling in the iPad.
mduell
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by mduell »

-X and -Y are for maximum res, they don't do upscaling.
kjoe
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by kjoe »

Okay, so if I understand - all other settings being equal a DVD encoded to 480P (DVD resolution) would be roughly the same size as one encoded to 576P (resolution needed for full width display on the iPad? It sounds like the resolution in this case is just some kind of header data that specifies the max playback resolution and doesn't really impact the encoding itself (no scaling)? Am I close?

Thanks!
tropic10
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by tropic10 »

No. Upscaling just wastes space. Encode DVD's at their native resolution.
Kem
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by Kem »

How about iPad decoding limitations? Maybe we could gather them in this thread too. And I don't mean the official ones, as usual they are way off.

E.g. max resolution (or pixels), bitrate, anamorphic support, audio bitrate, h.264 parameters (max ref? b-frames? ...) etc. Also are there iTunes limitations for transfer (h.264 level etc.)?
Deleted User 11865

Re: iPad Encoding

Post by Deleted User 11865 »

As far as video goes I bet (based on jbrjake's feedback and my experience with an iPhone 3GS which - AFAIK - uses similar hardware, only slower) it's pretty much High Profile H.264, Level 3.1, with a maximum of 1280x720 and 30 fps (iTunes sync limitation).

You can derive other limitations (like max refs, etc.) based on level: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Levels and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG ... _buffering
Kem
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by Kem »

Rodeo wrote:As far as video goes I bet (based on jbrjake's feedback and my experience with an iPhone 3GS which - AFAIK - uses similar hardware, only slower) it's pretty much High Profile H.264, Level 3.1, with a maximum of 1280x720 and 30 fps (iTunes sync limitation).

You can derive other limitations (like max refs, etc.) based on level: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Levels and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG ... _buffering
I looked it up but these seem to be only theoretical limitations. If I read the links right then the iPhone3GS should only support 5 refs at 720x576@25fps, but in practice it supports up to 7 refs.
Deleted User 11865

Re: iPad Encoding

Post by Deleted User 11865 »

7 refs at 720x576 is level 3.1. It will not sync to an iPhone 3GS via iTunes unless you "force" level 3.0 via the options string (i.e. tell x264 to indicate level 3.0 when the H.264 stream really is level 3.1).
Kem
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by Kem »

Rodeo wrote:7 refs at 720x576 is level 3.1. It will not sync to an iPhone 3GS via iTunes unless you "force" level 3.0 via the options string (i.e. tell x264 to indicate level 3.0 when the H.264 stream really is level 3.1).
Fair enough, forgot that I had that in there. But the iPhone3GS still can play it. But we would need two separate sections anyway (iPad limitations, iPad iTunes limitations) for these "in-depth" infos.
bigstuff
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by bigstuff »

Hi all

I'm in Australia, and iPad is release here in 10 days (not that I'm counting). I have used the Normal and iPhone presets to encode my vast DVD collection, and in reading this thread, am concerned that neither will allow my videos to play on iPad with any acuity.

Can someone confirm whether either of these presets will allow display on iPad? I'd like to get a head start on encoding now so I have at last some video to test out on delivery day.

Thanks in advance for the advice
jbrjake
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by jbrjake »

bigstuff wrote:I have used the Normal and iPhone presets to encode my vast DVD collection, and in reading this thread, am concerned that neither will allow my videos to play on iPad with any acuity.

Can someone confirm whether either of these presets will allow display on iPad?
Err, I covered this in the first post.
I wrote:Select any of the non-legacy built-in presets.
As far as visual acuity, why would you want to use the iPhone preset for the iPad? Your iPhone has a screen size of 480*320. Your content has a storage size of 720*576. Your iPad will have a screen size of 1024*768. Why would you want to scale 720*576 content down to 480*270 only to then scale it up to 1024*576?
theBigD23
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by theBigD23 »

Hello... I have an issue with volume. The movies that I copy aren't very loud on the iPad. I have to go ti iTunes and turn up the volume. Is there something I can do when encoding to make sure the volume is louder?
CigarMan82
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by CigarMan82 »

jbrjake,

I'm a little confused when it comes to resolution. When you say "if your source is higher than standard resolution (more than 576p), then you have to scale down to screen size."

When I look to the bottom of the screen, under "Picture size: Source:" it reads "640x272". How does this convert into 576P, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, etc?

Most of the movies I that I have ripped on my HD are in .avi format in various resolutions, 640x272, 608x304, 624x336 etc. They're all about 700mb or so in size.
What settings do I need to use in order to get the outcome file the best quality video that is utilizing the most of the screen without cropping?

Thanks!
jbrjake
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by jbrjake »

CigarMan82 wrote:I'm a little confused when it comes to resolution. When you say "if your source is higher than standard resolution (more than 576p), then you have to scale down to screen size."

When I look to the bottom of the screen, under "Picture size: Source:" it reads "640x272". How does this convert into 576P, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, etc?
When you see a number with a "p" or "i" next to it, it's referring to frame height in pixels. 576p is PAL DVD resolution: stored at 720*576, displayed at 1024*576 (for 16x9), 1024*768 (for 4x3), etc. The iPad screen is 1024*768. That means it can display PAL content and no greater without scaling. So if your encode is larger -- say, 1280*720 (720p 16x9) -- then the iPad will have to scale the image down for display, and the extra resolution is wasted.
CigarMan82
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by CigarMan82 »

Jake,

Is there a place you can direct me to that I can see all the resolution and conversions into pixel display and what not? I think it would be very beneficial.

For instance, I have a .avi of a movie that I want to transfer to my iPad. It's 608x304 at almost 24fps. When I load it into handbrake, it says that the output will still be 608x304. Do I just roll with that and start encoding, or do I change the resolution?
mduell
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Re: iPad Encoding

Post by mduell »

That's not standard, but it should work.
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