Thanks for the help so far. Have not got around to taking a look at YAMB yet, to many things to do. Any other recommendations, keeping in mind I don't want to touch the actual A/V streams, just switch the container?
@ match: I'm very new to the whole video manipulation scene (pun intended) so I strongly recommend verifying everything I say. Also, if I am getting way to simple into things you already know, I apologize, but I would have strongly appreciated a water down version like this myself when I first started.
"MPEG-4 Part 10" is the name for the technical documents that define the standards for h.264 CoDec.
"h.264" is the actual video CoDec that the video stream, not the audio, is compressed through, and decompressed through at time of play back (CoDec = "Co"mpression/"De"compression).
"x264" is the name of the specific piece of software that does the encoding/decoding via the h.264 CoDec.
".mp4, .mkv, and .avi" are some of the more common container files. I think the .mp4 container is the one that is "officially" supported by MPEG-4 Part 10 (note the use of the technical documents, not the actual CoDec).
Picture a container file as a box you put both a video stream and one or more audio streams into. When your computer or other device goes to the file, it asks the container file for the video stream and a specific audio stream. The container file then looks at it's contents, and slowly distributes the two streams in timed sequence, providing a pleasant half hour or more of eye and ear bliss. Okay, so I'm getting a little carried away.
"MPEG-4 Part 2" is the technical documents referring to an earlier video CoDec, the CoDec that is used by a generic "mp4" video. Open up Handbrake, switch to the video tab, open the "Video CoDec" drop down menu. You should see too options: "H.264 (x264)" and "MPEG-4 (FFmpeg)". I believe the "MPEG-4 (FFmpeg)" option uses the CoDec associated with MPEG-4 Part 2. Please be advised that "verifying everything I say" part I wrote above should be applied by an order of magnitude stronger for this particular section on MPEG-4 Part 2.
"Xvid" is an older codec, again verify an order of magnitude more, that is more or less obsolete. I also believe there was a video service spelled "XVID" (notice the capitalization) provided by the now out of business store Circuit City. I may have the two spellings reversed. I do not know what the recommended container file
"vidX" is a freeware or OGL licensed CoDec made in direct response to Xvid.
Just some knowledge offered for general benefit on the chance you did not already know, h.264 is a "lossy" CoDec, meaning each time you run a compression on the video stream, you louse a few more bits of quality, creating analog degradation for lack of a better term. Think "A photograph of a photograph of a photograph of a photograph of a photograph of a photograph of a photograph of what ever the picture was taken of in the first place." In the most recent photograph, the picture has probably become so distorted, your not sure what it is anymore. The same concept of "lossy" and "lossless" can be applied to audio CoDecs as well.
@ General Community: I would appriciate it if anybody could verify my explanations for my own benefit as well as match'es benefit. Especially the part about containers to CoDecs. What IS the "official" container to the h.264 CoDec?
I re-posting this from the top of this post because by the time you finally get through all my explanations of terminology, you probably forgot the top of this post
Thanks for the help so far. Have not got around to taking a look at YAMB yet, to many things to do. Any other recommendations, keeping in mind I don't want to touch the actual A/V streams, just switch the container?