Apple TV Support

Discuss encoding for devices and presets.
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scaife
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:54 am

Apple TV Support

Post by scaife »

Well, the day is upon us: they have shipped! I am honestly surprised no one has posted anything about it yet.

Has anyone dissected the files that the new QuickTime "Export to Apple TV" option produces? From their web site: "1280 by 720, 24 fps, Progressive Main Profile."

I tried to get it to produce a file that contained a 5.1 audio track, but given a surround source, it still produces stereo audio. (I'm not really sure why they even include optical out if surround isn't possible)

Regardless, I wonder how feasible it is to get HB to produce a file at original quality with the "new profile." Maybe once we get this working 100% there is hope for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD -> 720p Apple TV...
jbrjake
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Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:38 am

Re: Apple TV Support

Post by jbrjake »

scaife wrote:Well, the day is upon us: they have shipped! I am honestly surprised no one has posted anything about it yet.
http://handbrake.m0k.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=654
Has anyone dissected the files that the new QuickTime "Export to Apple TV" option produces? From their web site: "1280 by 720, 24 fps, Progressive Main Profile."
http://handbrake.m0k.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=102
Maybe once we get this working 100% there is hope for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD -> 720p Apple TV...
There's not even a decrypter yet for Macs so all content would be pirated off the net. I don't think there's even an encoding workflow for OS X for dealing with that content. Like...an evo demuxer. Or utilities for working with DTSHD or DD+ audio. Plus, QuickTime doesn't support AVC High Profile, so the quality will be horrible or the files ridiculously huge.

Don't get me wrong, this stuff will happen on the Mac eventually. But IMO the Apple TV's place in it all will be an after-thought. First some actual video gurus have to get HD-DVD/BDR -> x264 working on the Mac...which to the best of my knowledge has not happened.
Cyander
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Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:19 pm

Re: Apple TV Support

Post by Cyander »

jbrjake wrote: There's not even a decrypter yet for Macs so all content would be pirated off the net. I don't think there's even an encoding workflow for OS X for dealing with that content. Like...an evo demuxer. Or utilities for working with DTSHD or DD+ audio. Plus, QuickTime doesn't support AVC High Profile, so the quality will be horrible or the files ridiculously huge.
If you want a workflow, I can show you one. The catch is that without a UDF 2.5 driver that works on OS X, the workflow still requires Windows to do the inital rip from the disc. It doesn't work with all discs yet, but I have gotten a handful of Blu-Ray discs re-encoded into an AppleTV friendly 720p. ;)

Fifth Element, Monster House, Tears of the Sun... those were pretty easy. Then again, they have a standard DD track, and use MPEG-2 for the video. I haven't tried an AVC disc yet, since the one I have (X3) lacks a DD track, so it plays like a silent movie. :/

There are a couple things holding back Blu-Ray and HD-DVD mucking about on the Mac:
- ffmpeg's support for EVOB, DD+ and LPCM is incomplete.
- iTunes/AppleTV have issues with files larger than 4GB.
- Until Leopard ships, we need Windows to do the disc rip, although backupHDDVD and backupBluRay will work once a UDF2.5 driver is available.
Anamonde
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Posts: 71
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:11 pm

Post by Anamonde »

* You are chatting with Keegan, an Apple Expert

*

Hi, my name is Keegan. How may I help you today?
*

Keegan: Let me know what I can do for you today! I would be happy to assist you.
*

You: hi... does the apple tv output 5.1 audio?
*

You: or just stereo
*

Keegan: Great question! It is capable of 5.1, so long as the content is in 5.1 surround. Content purchased from the iTunes store is not in 5.1.
*

You: so if I have a movie encoded with AAC 5.1 it will be able to translate it to my digital receiver? through the optical cable?
*

Keegan: Based on the specs I see here, yes. If you have an appropriately formatted video with 5.1 sound, The toslink cable should output 5.1 channels.
jbrjake
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Post by jbrjake »

Anamonde wrote: You: so if I have a movie encoded with AAC 5.1 it will be able to translate it to my digital receiver? through the optical cable?
*

Keegan: Based on the specs I see here, yes. If you have an appropriately formatted video with 5.1 sound, The toslink cable should output 5.1 channels.
Notice how Keegan skillfully dodges the question. What *is* "appropriately formatted video with 5.1 sound" ? The question is specifically about AAC 5.1 and he does not specifically reply...
maurj
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Post by maurj »

"so long as the content is in 5.1 surround" sounds like "so long as the audio is an AC-3 track". But why no definitive answer?
student
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:05 pm

Post by student »

maurj wrote:But why no definitive answer?
Probably because they dont know.

I went in to a apple store in southampton uk and asked one of the so called genius.

But what I found was a arrogant idiot who said go look on google.

Wow what a genius now why didnt I think of that :•) javascript:emoticon(':roll:') LOL
cbud
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Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:24 am

Post by cbud »

maurj wrote:"so long as the content is in 5.1 surround" sounds like "so long as the audio is an AC-3 track". But why no definitive answer?
They might be holding off on a definite answer because they want it to be a big announcement, maybe at NAB next month. "Now on Apple TV; HD Movies, true surround sound, and closed captioning.”
Anamonde
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Posts: 71
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:11 pm

Post by Anamonde »

cbud wrote:They might be holding off on a definite answer because they want it to be a big announcement, maybe at NAB next month. "Now on Apple TV; HD Movies, true surround sound, and closed captioning.”
Seeing as they are shipping now, I am sure a lot of people will have taken these things apart and will know everything about it loooong before NAB.
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