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AVI or MKV? XviD or H264?
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samsayit
Newbie
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8. November 2009 @ 18:21 |
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Forgive me if this has been discussed to the end of the World already, but I really have a hard time finding some conclusive info.
I have a rather large DVD collection. Now that I have gotten a PS3 system setup and a media server, I want to make life easier and simply rip all my DVDs to the media server.
Traditionally, this would be done with Xvid or DivX in an AVI container. But now I'm sitting here with DVDFab and wondering...
Basically, two questions to firm up my basic knowledge on all this:
1) Why would I choose MKV over AVI? I'm sure it has a lot of advantages over AVI since it's newer. I read somewhere the MKV container can include several streams, so I take it I can include several subtitles and/or audio tracks, and if yes can I then during playback choose between these as when playing DVDs?
2) What exactly is H264 as opposed to XviD/DivX, and why is it so much better (if it is) - I see a lot of stuff being released in H264 today...
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Senior Member
28 product reviews
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20. November 2009 @ 21:18 |
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1. I would go with MKV, if your player supports it. MKV has B-Frame support, supports variable audio bit rates, multiple audio streams, chapters, subtitles, tags and menus. AVI's are mostly used for Standard Def video, and are usually bellow 2GB. MKV's are mostly used for High Def video and are usually much larger in size.
2. H.264, XviD, DivX, are all compressions used. H.264 is used mostly for blu-ray, and can offer better quality then when Xvid or DivX is used. H.265 is still being worked on, but that's a different topic, so go with H.264 instead.
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jony218
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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20. November 2009 @ 22:23 |
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I do all my high quality recordings with the avi h264 codec. For me it offers the best quality at the smaller file sizes. It's almost as good as the divx codec.
Divx offers the best quality but I had audio/sync problems and stopped using it.
Xvid is the default codec that works everywhere. But the quality is lower than h264 at the lower file sizes.
My advice is record a small file using all 3 codecs (mkv also) then compare them. Also test them to see if they will stream to your mediaserver.
Rule of thumb for me is for low quality video (recorded off my tv tuner) I compress with xvid (quicker to compress). For DVD quality video, I use the h264 codec 2-pass mode and min of 900kps.
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scorpNZ
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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20. November 2009 @ 23:39 |
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The only issue you'll run into is whether your comp has the grunt to do a fast two pass,if it's single core it'd probably quicker to download the AVI
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ocdstream
Newbie
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11. March 2010 @ 22:32 |
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I am doing the same thing. I am burning some of my DVDs to my PC's hard drive where I use the PS3 Media Server to stream videos to the PS3 and played back on a 40" Samsung LCD TV. I am also using DVD FAB and I have been trying to see if there is any quality differences between the various containers and formats. There are 3 that I am testing:
1. MP4 container/H.264
2. AVI container/??
3. MKV container/H.264
I will use H.264 as the format, which I understand is of best quality. I am debating on which container to use. Some say that avi is better while others say mp4 is better and many say that mkv is the best. However, mkv is not supported by most players unless you transcode the file, which PS3 Media Server will do with a few extra clicks through the navigation screen. AVI and MP4 are nice as you don't need to transcode on the PS3, just click the movie thumbnail that is attached to the video file and away it goes (I am using a 3-D thumbnail generator for the cover art). So...the question remains...do I go with AVI, MP4 or MKV for best quality on PS3. I'd really like to have a solid answer to which combonations provide the best quality with a 1-1.5GB (~1200 bitstream) size allocation for each video file.
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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12. March 2010 @ 00:26 |
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Quality wise, the container doesn't mean much, is all about the codec used for compression.
It is well established that H.264/X.264 will yield best results at smaller size, so there's no question about it.
If you stream the videos, you'll have more options. If at some point you want to be able to play off an USB stick or external hard drive, then go with the most compatible, MP4 with H.264, VOB, or m2TS with H.264. MKV and AVI is not even an option if you want to use H.264 and play off USB.
If you will never consider playing off a USB device, then go with any, MKV,MP4...All you have to look into is what kind of audio each container supports(in case you have any files with HD audio).
 Piss me off, and I Will ignore You! |
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ocdstream
Newbie
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12. March 2010 @ 13:58 |
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Thanks! I have decided to just go with the MP4/H.264-AAC audio(96-128) with a bitstream of 1200-1500. This keeps the files under 2GB and with great quality and there's no compatabilty issues--just click my thubnail and it plays--no transcoding needed. I was having some hiccups with the AVI and MKV tests....plus I really couldn't see a distinct quality difference.
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gmontalc
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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9. July 2010 @ 21:35 |
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Originally posted by ocdstream:
Thanks! I have decided to just go with the MP4/H.264-AAC audio(96-128) with a bitstream of 1200-1500. This keeps the files under 2GB and with great quality and there's no compatabilty issues--just click my thubnail and it plays--no transcoding needed. I was having some hiccups with the AVI and MKV tests....plus I really couldn't see a distinct quality difference.
you've nail it, the correct choice have you made !
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