H.264 Format

[tarrickb]

Just wondering, what is this format typically used for.
Is it an extention of MPEG-2 or MPEG4/DIVX/XVID.

[whitejremiah]

its neither.....and from what i generally see, it's used either with an .mkv or .avi container....its SIMILAR to divx in the fact that it can be seen in several differant containers and it's similar (but better) to them as it's more highly compressed than mpeg-2...but it's a completely differant standard, known as h.264......google that and you will find quite a bit of technecal info reguarding it....

[celtic_druid]

H.264 aka AVC = MPEG-4 Part 10
XviD/DivX are MPEG-4 Part 2

For more info I would suggest that you look it up on wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

It should never be seen in an avi container. Official container is mp4. TS is also ok and mkv can store it natively. avi is baaad, especially if encoded via VfW.

[whitejremiah]

and there's your tech specs

[tarrickb]

So where would you see it being applied to...
good for computer viewing, portable etc...???

[edDV]

Part of both HD and BlueRay DVD specs along with VC-1 (wmv) and MPeg2.

h.264 will be the main consumer and computer video format unless something better comes along. Broadcasters may adopt it but so far have opted for other MPeg4 variations.

The wiki article is good. ATI has a white paper more closely focused on computer HTPC.
http://www.ati.com/technology/h264.html

Software encoders and players exist but widespread use will require realtime hardware.

Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VC-1

[|bond|]

its used in hddvd and bluray
its used on the ipod and the psp
its used in hdtv

its propably the best video format existing atm

[sweetfreek]

So does anybody know what this decodes pros and cons are?
http://www.vsofts.com/h264/decoders.html

[celtic_druid]

If you are interested in buying a decoder. I would suggest coreavc. Not sure if they have their demo version ready or not yet though.

[edDV]

H.264 is still a 2008 thing. Current encoder/decoders are trying to make it work with today's PC/MAC. They even toss the kitchen sink.

[Cobra]

Gordian Knot supports x264. I use it instead of DivX now, as I tend to copy my DVDs into AVI format to take to uni (DVDs are very nickable!) and I like high quality.

I use mPlayer to view them - nice standalone app, that.

Well worth giving a shot. You can achieve a very high quality in very little space.

[celtic_druid]

GKnot encodes via VfW though, which is not the recommended way to encode x264. mencoder would be a better option if you want x264 in an avi container.