MP4 vs. MKV

[grendel54]

I ripped a dvd to my HD using DVD Decrypter. I then used Vidcoder to make a .mp4 file. I also used Handbrake and made a .mkv file. I didn't notice a difference in video quality. The only difference i did notice was the .mkv file came out to be about 2.3GB as apposed to the .mp4 which was only 1.7GB. Both were using H.264 codec. Is there any difference in video quality? What is the actual difference? Why is there such a big difference in file size?

[Selur]

different bit rates, encoding settings, since the container overhead between mp4 and mkv isn't that huge a difference of 600MB should be possible to spot visually unless the data rate was unnecessary high to begin with

[grendel54]

so how do i get the best video quality?

[Selur]

use lossless encoding otherwise video encoding always is loss and to 'best' isn't really archive-able,..

[grendel54]

so is mp4 or the codec im using h.264 a lossy compression?

[Selur]

mp4 and mkv are just containers, both can contain different content and themself are only capable of some small 'tricks' to save headers efficiently. (only a few MB or less worth of size difference)
So, if you used the same content for your comparison your difference lies within the H.264 encoding settings (and the encoder used).
-> H.264 offers lossy and lossless compression, lossless compression will create huge files, since it's lossless like zip/rar/...

[grendel54]

so in vidcoder i would want to change the "Constant Quality" to say 0? What else would I change?

[Selur]

assuming vidcoder uses x264: yes, constant quality 0 should trigger lossless encoding

What else would I change?

sorry, no clue since I never used vidcoder

[grendel54]

what do you use? or what would you suggest i use?

[Selur]

Totally depends on you level of knowledge, personally I use my own tool (mainly because I can extend it if need be), but that is clearly not aimed for beginners, but more for advanced users, so it's probably not for you.
As beginner I would probably use the tool which has the best documentation and options and that can do what I want.
vidcoder might be a good tool, others can probably tell if it's good or not.

[grendel54]

thank you

[Krispy Kritter]

As you are using the same codec within each container, you are simply wasting your time. As noted, the difference between the containers (ie: mp4 and mkv) isn't enough to matter. And as you are trying to create an identical quality file (using the same codec, which will result in the same file specs) in each container, the final product file sizes will be nearly identcal. Containers don't dictate file sizes, the codec and encoding settings do. You are comparing h.264 to h.264, so I don't understand what you are expecting.

This becomes a matter of what you are wanting/trying to do and how the files will be used. Then deciding on the container and codec that meets your requirements.