Handbrake Video Encoder Hits 0.9.4
A year to the day after the previous version was released, Handbrake has hit 0.9.4, and boy is it faaaaaaaaast:
There’s an old proverb in the video encoding world: “Speed, size, quality: pick two.” It means that you always have to make a trade-off between the time it takes to encode a video, the amount of compression used, and the picture quality. Well, this release of HandBrake refuses to compromise. It picks all three.
If you have video you want to get onto your iPhone, Handbrake is the way to go — and it’s free. New, streamlined presets still include Apple Universal, iPod, iPhone & iPod touch, and Apple TV (as well as others if you’re rocking the Xbox, PS3, Zune, or whatever floats your video boat).
Improvements include much better H.264 encoding via the x264 project, a new build system, new soft subtitles, live preview, and constant quality encoding. As can be seen by the list above, they’re all about x264 now, so they’re also winding down support for AVI, OGG/OGM, and XviD — they’ll tell you why via the link above, but basically they want to pull you kicking and screaming into the better looking future. Love them.
Here’s the direct link to downloads for Mac OS, WIndows, and Linux.
Note to 64-bit Mac users: If you decide to go with Handbrake 64-bit for OS X, and intend to rip DVDs, know that Handbrake uses VLC for the task and VLC 1.0.3 doesn’t yet have a 64-bit version, so you’ll have to stick to 32-bit Handbrake, or downgrade your VLC to 1.0.2 64-bit.
If you give it a spin, let us know how it transcodes for you!
[via TUAW]
November 28th, 2009 at 11:56 am
First
November 28th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
SwAgZZ is so cool for being first! He is just so amazingly cool for being first that I can’t even make a meaningful comment.
November 28th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I think I’ll just wait for VLC to catch up. Oh, and Handbrake is AWESOME!
By the way, I always change the m4v to mp4 since all my previous movies are mp4. Will someone tell me what the difference is between the two? Should I just leave it m4v or what?
November 28th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Nvm, I just looked it up on the MacRumors forum. Apparently the m4v file will open with iTunes by default (and something about a3c audio and AppleTV). I think I’ll stick with my mp4s.
Link: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=441377
November 28th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
M4V is just MP4-Video (M4A is MP4-Audio). Apple TV rendering defaults to large size and Stereo + 5.1 audio, and the M4V extension.
Smaller files, like those targeted at the iPhone, default to generic MP4 extensions.
November 28th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I have trouble doing a full DVD extraction using Handbreak? For those, I am using MacTheRipper. Any idea how to use Handbreak for entire DVD?
November 28th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
can some one tell me why sometimes i use handbrake and scenes from my movies are not in order
November 28th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
2 great things for iPhone users: 1. Custom anamorphic, which allows you to convert just like the iTunes store (640×480 source to 853×480 output) 2. CC-support, so you can have optional CC text support rather than the burned in bitmap subtitles (good for the hard of hearing or for those watching movies not in their native language).
I’m still testing, but so far I’m loving it.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
This is awesome. It takes about 30 minutes to rip a DVD to MP4 for me. Use to take about 1 1/2 hours.
November 29th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Works good. I did die hard in about 25 minutes. Picture quality good and sound is synced with movie. Initial test A
November 29th, 2009 at 1:28 am
JBird- sometimes movie studios try to mess up the order. Just open the movie in DVD player, look at which title is playing, then go to handbrake and rip that title.