Xvid vs H.264

[indijay]

Hello folks,

I have a question regarding codecs. I regularly rip DVDs to Xvid using DVD decrypter and AutoGK. Its been smooth and no issues for my requirements. After reading about Handbrake, I checked out the webpage. I didn't understand the technical details about their preference for H.264 but I felt like H.264 is superior to Xvid.

I would like to know how long does this hold true or its another fanboy thing? I prefer Xvid, just because my DVD player supports Xvid and the quality it produces is good enough for my needs. At the same time, there are few movies which I would be keeping for near future. In such case, whats the best choice?

Many thanks in advance.

[lowellriggsiam]

If it's not broken don't fix it. Are you planning to change because a new technology comes along? H.264 is nice, but as for myself, I have felt no need to change, either way you slice it it is an mpeg-4 container.

[guns1inger]

H264 allows for better quality in the same file size, or the same quality in a smaller file size. However it comes at a cost. Generally it requires more computing power to encode and playback, and less standalone devices support it (although the gap is much smaller than it used to be). Since moving to the PS3 for playback, I encode most of my DVB material to H264 with Xvid4PSP. I get better bang for my buck, and using a quad core for encoding means not having to wait too long for the results.

At the moment, while you are using your standalone Divx player and are happy with the results, you gain nothing by changing.