I want to start my own anime distributing group, but I need to now how to get and use the new H.264 codec to convert(Mainly mpeg2 converting). I'd prefer free but if I have to pay, I'll pay. Thanks.
h.264 is a standard. Fortunatly the only free encoder is also the best and that is x264. It is not a codec though, just an encoder. ffdshow includes x264 for encoding and libavcodec for decoding, so I guess that qualifies it as a codec. CoreAVC is a much faster decoder though. For encoding with x264 I would suggest that you stick with the command line encoder. With anime, there is a fair chance that your source is VFR, so I'd go with mkv for a container. The x264 cli encoder can output mp4 or mkv. You can then just remux with your time codes, audio, subs, etc. What ever you do, don't use the x264 VfW encoder and don't use avi as a container. For my latest x264 build try: http://ffdshow.faireal.net/mirror/x264/ Otherwise: http://www.x264.nl/
thanks, and if it's not too much trouble, can you tell me what settings I should have in VirtualDubMod
Is there a reason you wouldn't use AVI for h264 content? I've been making h264 encoded AVI files with mencoder for a while and have had no problems with them.
Is there any reason why you would want AVC in avi? At least with mencoder you avoid VfW though. The only thing avi has going for it is compatibility and with AVC you loose that. Plenty of standalone players that support XviD/DivX in an avi container. Not so many that support mp4 and I think still none that support mkv. There are no players that support AVC in avi so it is basically just as incompatibile as mp4 or mkv. mkv/mp4 on the other hand support AVC natively (no FourCC's, properly handles bvops and other out of order frames) and have numerous other advantages over avi. So why bother with avi? For XviD, etc. we are pretty much stuck with it, but with AVC we can make a clean break.
I don't really know a lot about the specifics of how each container works. All I know is the AVI files I make with h264 have never been a problem. I don't need subtitles so I never messed with mkv files. I've been using SimpleDivx which is just a GUI interface to start mencoder and can make mkv files if I wanted... just never saw a need. I've also used Nero Recode to make a few mp4 files but never saw much difference in video quality. Mencoder runs about 10.2 fps on my A64 3200 where as Recode runs around 5fps. I've had a few people tell me to stay away from AVI's when encoding with h264 but never give a good reason except that mp4 or mkv is better. None of them so far can explain why though. I play these avi files with Media Player Classic and ffdshow and have had good results.
Well the main point is that you loose some frames. Like I said, why do you want to use avi though? If there is no reason then why use it? VfW is much worse than avi though, but the two do kinda go together. VfW is a simple 1 frame in 1 frame out setup. AVC just doesn't work that way. Even when encoding via mencoder you still loose some frames. avi just isn't designed for storing frames out of order. With recode any differences are to do with the different encoders, not the container. Containers don't really effect quality, although if one container has lower overhead than another, then you can use a higher bitrate with it and still hit the same target size. Also mkv/mp4 handle aac audio better (supported by pretty much all tools, not just AVIMuxGUI) so you can save some bitrate on the audio. mkv/mp4 also support chapters which can be usefull. edit: Maybe mencoder can actually output an avi without missing frames. But what I originally said is don't encode via VfW which is what most people mean why they say don't use AVC in avi, since as I said the two are somewhat linked.
That seems reasonable to me. I can start encoding them into mkv's from now on just to avoid the situation you are referring to. Sorry for being dense, I'm just not very knowledgable about such things... I'm one of those people that will keep doing something if it works even if it's not the best way to do it.
