Streamclip Settings for Apple 3?

It appears to say: "ATV2++" so does that mean you started with ATV2 and then made these changes?

The other way around. Basically, I modified my settings to create the settings posted in the images and am now telling you how to modify them back to the "best" settings for my use. "Best" is a relative term and what is best for me may not be best for your purposes. That is why I told Thomas to run his own test to determine what worked best for him on his system. More over, compressing data is more of an art that a science. Each video should be treated as being unique if you are trying to get the highest quality results. Many of my videos have been recompressed several times starting with 320x240 files for my original iPod Classic 5th gen device and moving upwards with each revision by Apple providing higher resolutions and playback standards for revised and new devices.

You are Da Man!

What no MPEG-1 VCD's?

Any classic TV that is collectible?

What no MPEG-1 VCD's?

Making or buying? Never really purchased any VCDs. Started out collecting tapes and moved on to replacing them with DVDs. From there I switched to BDs and am now adding BD 3D content to my library. Unfortunately, the TV is not BD 3D display compatible which is why I they're the only form of media I currently view from the original disc at this time.

Any classic TV that is collectible?

WOW: I'll have to study that list...

Have any rare ones that are not generally available on home video/DVD?

My AppleTV3 just arrived!!! 😝

YES: I both purchased and burned VCD's in the old days! Then started burning my collectable VHS' and Laserdisc's to DVD...

Have any rare ones that are not generally available on home video/DVD?

Everything I have is available to the public/was purchased on the open market. The problem is that many of the things I want are in the "lost" category— missing episodes of Doctor Who, Tomb Corbett, Rocky Jones and similar TV shows, as well as, "lost" Charlie Chan movies, "lost" Little Rascals shorts, etc.

Hey Jon:

After two days of missing UPS (Apple always wants a signature and I forgot to leave it posted on the 2nd day), I was home all day Friday AND posted my signature just in case.

Luckily I kept refreshing the UPS Tracking page and at 5:29pm (after being Out For Delivery since 6:44am), they posted Will Call at Office. I called UPS at 5:49pm and they acknowledged the error and contacted the truck driver, who delivered my AppleTV3 about 30 mins later. Glad I caught him...

So, I was hoping that the AppleTV3 would play the raw output of the Hauppauge HDPVR-1212 without any transcoding, but with a simple container conversion to MP4. Of course with only an AC3 audio track, I would have to listen to audio through my Samsung Home Theater (with no corresponding 2 track AAC file for compatibility with for example my Panny 42" Plasma - although since the HDMI cable should be passing the digital AC3 track, maybe there is a way I can get it to play on the HDTV, as well).

Later on, I'll start experimenting with possibilities of video passthru and audio conversion to AAC, so that I can quickly get a file that will play on the ATV3 without the delay of video transcoding. Here are my results:

My 720p file plays flawlessly, looks great and sounds great.

The 1080i will not load into iTunes, so of course it will not play on the ATV3.

Here are two analysies of each file. Can you figure out why the 1080i will not load into iTunes? Maybe I can make an adjustment that will allow the file to load:

720p:

* * * MediaInfo Mac 0.7.36.0 file analysis report.

* * * MediaInfo Mac is ©2010 by Diego Massanti - http://mediainfo.massanti.com

* * * MediaInfoLib by Jerome Martinez - http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net

Created on: May 19, 2012 10:25:51 AM PDT

Report for file: 20120127_141204.m2ts.mp4

General / Container Stream #1

Total Video Streams for this File.................1

Total Audio Streams for this File.................1

Video Codecs Used.................................AVC

Audio Codecs Used.................................AC-3

File Format.......................................MPEG-4

Play Time.........................................7mn 56s

Total File Size...................................363 MiB

Total Stream BitRate..............................6 389 Kbps

Encoded with......................................Lavf52.47.0

Encoding Library..................................Apple QuickTime

Video Stream #1

Codec (Human Name)................................AVC

Codec (FourCC)....................................avc1

Codec Profile.....................................Main@L4.0

Frame Width.......................................1 280 pixels

Frame Height......................................720 pixels

Frame Rate........................................59.940 fps

Total Frames......................................28531

Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9

Scan Type.........................................Progressive

Color Space.......................................YUV

Codec Settings (Summary)..........................CABAC / 4 Ref Frames

QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.109

Codec Settings (CABAC)............................Yes

Codec Settings (Reference Frames).................4

Video Stream Length...............................7mn 55s 992ms

Video Stream BitRate..............................5 995 Kbps

Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR

Bit Depth.........................................8 bits

Video Stream Size.................................340 MiB (94%)

Video Stream Language.............................English

Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2009-04-04 16:00:00

Color Primaries...................................BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177

Transfer Characteristics..........................BT.709-5, BT.1361

Matrix Coefficients...............................BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

Audio Stream #1

Codec.............................................AC-3

Codec (FourCC)....................................AC-3

Audio Stream Length...............................7mn 56s 0ms

Audio Stream BitRate..............................384 Kbps

Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR

Number of Audio Channels..........................6

Audio Channel's Positions.........................Front: L C R, Back: L R, LFE

Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz

Bit Depth.........................................16 bits

Audio Stream Size.................................21.8 MiB (6%)

Audio Stream Language.............................English

Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2009-04-04 16:00:00

1080i:

* * * MediaInfo Mac 0.7.36.0 file analysis report.

* * * MediaInfo Mac is ©2010 by Diego Massanti - http://mediainfo.massanti.com

* * * MediaInfoLib by Jerome Martinez - http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net

Created on: May 19, 2012 10:31:31 AM PDT

Report for file: Daily SHow 1080.mp4

General / Container Stream #1

Total Video Streams for this File.................1

Total Audio Streams for this File.................1

Video Codecs Used.................................AVC

Audio Codecs Used.................................AC-3

File Format.......................................MPEG-4

Play Time.........................................1mn 55s

Total File Size...................................192 MiB

Total Stream BitRate..............................13.9 Mbps

Encoded with......................................Lavf52.47.0

Video Stream #1

Codec (Human Name)................................AVC

Codec (FourCC)....................................avc1

Codec Profile.....................................Main@L4.0

Frame Width.......................................1 920 pixels

Frame Height......................................1 080 pixels

Frame Rate........................................59.940 fps

Total Frames......................................6951

Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9

Scan Type.........................................Interlaced

Scan Order........................................TFF

Color Space.......................................YUV

Codec Settings (Summary)..........................CABAC / 4 Ref Frames

QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.109

Codec Settings (CABAC)............................Yes

Codec Settings (Reference Frames).................4

Video Stream Length...............................1mn 55s 965ms

Video Stream BitRate..............................13.5 Mbps

Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR

Bit Depth.........................................8 bits

Video Stream Size.................................187 MiB (97%)

Video Stream Language.............................English

Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2009-04-04 16:00:00

Color Primaries...................................BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177

Transfer Characteristics..........................BT.709-5, BT.1361

Matrix Coefficients...............................BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

Audio Stream #1

Codec.............................................AC-3

Codec (FourCC)....................................AC-3

Audio Stream Length...............................1mn 55s 968ms

Audio Stream BitRate..............................384 Kbps

Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR

Number of Audio Channels..........................2

Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz

Bit Depth.........................................16 bits

Audio Stream Size.................................5.31 MiB (3%)

Audio Stream Language.............................English

Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2009-04-04 16:00:00

My 720p file plays flawlessly, looks great and sounds great.

The 1080i will not load into iTunes, so of course it will not play on the ATV3.

Rather than repeating what I have previously said, here is a chart depicting property limitations by Level:

As you can see, High Profile Level 4.0 supports playback of 1280x720 playback at up to 68.3 fps but does not support 1920x1080 playback above 30.1 fps.

I see, this chart is terrific: thank you!

I guess I am forced to transcode, but as long as I have to do that maybe I can experiment on converting 1080i@59.94 to 1080p@29.97

I guess I am forced to transcode, but as long as I have to do that maybe I can experiment on converting 1080i@59.94 to 1080p@29.97

Setting the "Deinterlace" option for transcoding of your raw captures should reduce 1080i60 (59.94 fps) content to 1080p30 (29.94 fps) but may produce combing. Using the "Detelecine" option on your raw 1080i60 (59.94 fps) captures should reduce the content to 1080p24 (23.976 fps) but may produce skipped/dropped frames depending on how the content was originally telecined for distribution. Capturing in 720p60 (59.94) mode and not transcoding may produce smoothest playback as long as file container type is iTunes/mobile device compatible.

Jon Walker wrote:

...Capturing in 720p60 (59.94) mode and not transcoding may produce smoothest playback as long as file container type is iTunes/mobile device compatible.

That is good advice. The HDCapture software for the Hauppauge has the MP4 container conversion option built in.

It would be nice to figure out a way to add a 2 channel AAC track to the raw 720p@59.94 with AC3. VisualHub (a legacy Macintosh wrapper for ffmpegx) has a video passthru option, but that program is a bit long in the tooth these days. Handbrake, as far as I know, has no passthru option.

Anyway, I am now setup to capture with the digital toslink. Anything different I need to know while capturing? I mainly capture from TV, 720p or 1080i. I don't really do movies.

As previously stated, my advice would be to try the various proosible work flows and decide for yourself which is the best for you.

1) You can export the original capture to a 720p60 MP4 file container with H.264/AAC conpressed data using the software Michael mentioned, edit in MPEG Streamclip, and save the edited content using the "Save As..." option which does not recompress the data further. This would likely be the fastest work flow.

2) You can export the source M2TS capture file (either 720p60 or 1080i60) using Handbrake and convert the file to an TV3 compatible file (720p30, 720p24, 1080p30 or 1080p24) st the same time, edit in MPEG Streamclip, and save the edited content using the "Save As..." option which does not recompress the data further.

Both work flows have advantages and drawbacks which is why you should evaluate both work flows to see which best suits your needs and is acceptable with regard to the final output. Specific settings have already been discussed sot what you need to concentrate on is which work flow provide the size file you want with the playback quaility you can accept. Also remember that there is "no one shoe fits all" here if you are trying to get the best quality in the smallest package. Settings may have to be varied depencing on the quality of the captured source content and project requirements.

Which software did he mention? I'm so lost and this thread has become so long. I wish we had a cliff notes version of everything to get it straight, lol.

My understanding was that the GUI you were both using allowed you to either capture the content to an M2TS or MP4 file container or to move the M2TS file data to an MP4 file container.

This is what I did in the sample you saw. I will post the settings I use to be sure they are right. I have no clue what any of them mean, lol. Gets so confusing. Wish there was just a AppleTV3 preset.

Have posted an TV3 specific 1080i Handbrake settings images twice and explained the difference in transcoding to p24 and p30 data rates once, as well as, how to customize output dimensions in in anamorphic or non-anamorphic mode. (Non-anamorphic mode is same as anamorphic but without opening the "Custom" window to set anamorphic settings.) If this is too difficult for you, use the TV2 preset under "Devices" heading in the toggled "Presets" window. If the TV2 preset is not available in this window, then use the "Update Built-in Presets" settings option at the bottom of the "Presets" window to download/install the missing presets.

I'm not really worried too much about file size, I just like to keep as much file quality as possible. I wish I know how Apple makes the videos they have on iTunes!

I have three RAID assemblies on my computer totaling 32 TBs of storage space and I constantly worry about having to add more each year. My current "Rule of Thumb" here is to esimate how much storage space I need, double that, and actually order twice the doubled esitimate. In short, you never have enough storage space when it comes to editing and storing movies.