HVX and PS3- Delivery in HD?

Eugenia Loli-Queru said:
Look, I explained it above and that's not a "work around": files that are encoded with the x264 encoder require WAY MORE cpu than Apple's encoder. Apple's encoder is one of the worst in the industry regarding h.264 quality and as you have seen, it takes forever to encode. It is easier to decode simply because it uses no CABAC and it has no advanced optimizations to speak about. All Apple's 1080p trailers decode beautifully on a P4 3 Ghz for example, but if you try to decode the same video but encoded with x264 instead, you will get about ONE FRAME PER FIVE SECONDS. And remember, the lower the MBps, the easier the decoding process because the CPU will have to deal with fewer data.

I am a Windows and Linux user mostly, and so I am using x264 via ffmpeg or mencoder. You are obviously using a Mac and Apple's encoder. We have different experiences. And don't forget, I talked about both the xbox and the PS3, not just the PS3. Obviously, the PS3 can work faster than the Xbox, but if you want *compatibility* between the two systems (e.g. if you want to share your file with your friends who have an xbox instead), you MUST stay below 10mbps for xbox's sake.

And besides, you are using 25fps, while in my tests I always use 30 fps. That's 1/6 less data you know, and so it helps your decoding process and experience. You are obviously shooting PAL, while I am shooting NTSC that has more frames.

As for AppleTV's preset, AppleTV can only do 720/24p, not 1080/30p. So the difference will be obvious in quality no matter how many Mbps you boost to it.

Let me know, and I could encode a small 1080/30p 18 MBps file via the x264 encoder and I could upload it for you to test it out if you like.
Click to expand...

No need beating a dead horse here. Like you said, you're working on a Windows/Linux based system so your workflow is obviously different, and your H264 encoders interpret things differently from Apple's.

I do not agree with the quality statement you said, tough. Encoded at 18mbps, the footage looks very, very close to my original DVCPRO HD footage. (It seems like it even performs some sort of inteligent noise reduction to the footage, while maintaining sharpness and definition. Motion looks great.)

Apple was one of the original developers of the H264 format, If I'm correct. Altough I'm not that technical, it would seem strange that their encoding process would be inferior or less efficient than your commercial PC encoders. But I may be wrong.

However, this doesn't take merit for your encoding workflow for PC.

I'm getting excelent results and playback on my PS3 with an 18mbps encoded h264 file. I will continue to encode it and play it like this, since its working, for me.

I just want people to know that, If you're on a Mac and you have a PS3, you can encode at that quality, and playback without a problem.
 
Where your source for the statement that "Apple's encoder is one of the worst in the industry regarding h.264 quality . . . ?"

Never read that; never heard that; and I don't experience it either.
 
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