Which compression format is best for HD movie transfer and storage?

[AliceN1derland]

Hi everyone!

I need help choosing correct software and correct compression formats for HD movies.

Here in the USA, we can freely and legally record HD movies directly off the airwaves right onto our hard drives. The only problem with this is some HD movies take up to 20 GB per movie!

Here's my challenge:

I would like to take some of these movies and compress them into a format where we do not lose massive amount of quality. The main purpose for this is so I can upload some of these movies to my husband's new Tablet computer.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Here is a couple of ideas that came to my mind:

Use either Pinnacle Ultimate v.15 or Corel VideoStudio Pro X4 [I have both software programs], and see what formats they offer, then convert all movie files to a format that can compress the files into smaller storage files.

Ok, can anyone help me out on this?

It's me,

Alice

PS And yes, I did read Ksod's list of video converting software [Conversion of video files to different formats:

[AutoGK, VirtualDub, AviSynth, DVD Decrypter, mEncoder, FFmpeg, Nero Vision, Convertxtodvd, WinAvi creator, Magic Video Converter | Any Video Converter | Super ©],

...but I was hoping to use my Pinnacle Ultimate v.15 or Corel VideoStudio Pro X4 if possible. Anyone use either of these two programs yet?

 

[Yami]

Personally I use Handbrake (it's free), Set it to convert to MKV, at an RF of 22 for HD-quality files.

 

[AliceN1derland]

Yami,

Thanks for your reply...

Ok, but can you elaborate on what is MKV and RF 22?

Also, what type of compression would I receive on a 20 Gig HD movie?

Thanks,

Alice

Personally I use Handbrake (it's free), Set it to convert to MKV, at an RF of 22 for HD-quality files.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

MKV is a container like .AVI, except better. Compression depends on the quality settings you use, i.e. what bitrate you encode at. If encoding at RF 22 is too large a file for you but quality is still ok, try increasing. Get a balance between quality and size that you're happy with.

edit: oh, RF without going into detail is basically how much handbrake decides to compress (or not) your video. A high RF will mean small file sizes but poorer quality. A low will mean the opposite

 

[AliceN1derland]

Ok, thanks guys! I'll give it a try!

Alice

EDIT: I just read that I must "shrink" the files to the screen size/video size of my tablet which is 800x600. Can anyone tell me exactly how to shrink the output size of the video?

Finally, I am not sure what media player to use to play the MKV file. Windows Media player will not play it.

Thanks,

ALice

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Download k-lite, that'll install the necessary codecs.
As to the size of the video, in handbrake there's a "Picture Settings" button where you can set width/height if the source is greater than 800x600. I'd recommend ticking the 'keep aspect ratio' button, and get it as close to 800x600 as you can. You might have to settle for 800x524 or something like that, but that's ok.

 

[AliceN1derland]

Thank you SoulPhire!

I am working on it!

Alice

 

[Fat.Clown]

I've used handbrake to convert some movies to my cellphone too.

settings that works for me.

Video
Size - as noted by soulphire, get as close to your screen's size as possible, and keep aspect ratio.
Video Codec - H.264
frame rate - same as source
cropping - auto
Quality - 1,500 kbps works for me, you may want to experiment though. my phone's screen is a lot smaller than yours. (about 11.1 MB per minute, 666 MB per hour)
2 pass will have better quality, but 1 pass is fine.


Audio
Codec - AAC 96 Kbps
mixdown - stero
samplerate - 48