H.264 Codec Question.

[Douglas Joseph]

Hey, everyone. How's it going? I gotta quick question about the H.264 Codec. I just recently finished up a hdv project. I put the project, downscaled 720p, 24fps on a standard dvd-r. Now, here's my question. I've heard from a few people that the H.264 codec won't play in certain dvd players? Does this hold true? If so... What dvds won't play the codec, and what dvd is player IS able to play it. I think I remember hearing that ONLY progressive scan dvd players can recognize it. Hopefully I'm wrong. I tried it out on 2 dvd players I own, both newer, and It the dvd played fine... Hopefully this is in the right forum. I did a quick search, but couldn't find anything. Thanks in advance, guys. Take it easy. Happy Labor Day!

[Emre Safak]

Douglas,

H.264 is not a DVD codec, it is an HD codec. Just about no regular DVD player will play it. Since you said 720p, I assume you are talking about BluRay or HD-DVD?

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Douglas Joseph

I've heard from a few people that the H.264 codec won't play in certain dvd players? Does this hold true?

Yes, the far majority of them.

Originally Posted by Douglas Joseph

If so... What dvds won't play the codec, and what dvd is player IS able to play it. [...] I tried it out on 2 dvd players I own, both newer, and It the dvd played fine

This is the first time I've heard of an upconverting red-laser DVD player that can play 720p h.264. What are the model numbers?

[Chris Harris]

Hi, some newer DVD players can play non-standard formats, like MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, H.264, etc. but only as an exception, and not a rule. Most DVD players usually only play MPEG-2 videos encoded to the official DVD specifications. It has nothing to do with progressive scan DVD players. So if you were going to burn something for a friend, I wouldn't use H.264, but if it works for your DVD players, then you're in luck! It's a useful feature. Let me know if this helps.

[Douglas Joseph]

Daniel, I own a Daewoo... It doesn't list the specifications on it. The other is a Phillips, HTS 3450. Both of which are progressive scan...

Now, I have another question. Is it possible to use an mpeg-2 codec in fcp to burn a dvd? If not, are there any other options? The footage on my timeline is 720p, 24fps... The reason why I ask is I shot a live event about a month ago, and I'm selling upward to 100-200 copies. Hopefully I'm not in as bad as a situation as I think I am.

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

This is the first time I've heard of an upconverting red-laser DVD player that can play 720p h.264. What are the model numbers?

Originally Posted by Douglas Joseph

Phillips HTS 3450.

I found the Phillips HTS 3450 Spec Sheet, but it doesn't say anything about h.264 or MPEG-4 part 10. Either you are wrong, or the spec is incorrect.

I hope for the latter, because I would really like to buy a red-laser DVD player that could support h264, high-profile, 1080p, at 10mbps+.

It wouldn't be any major technical achievement: manufacturers could just put the DSP from a blue-laser dvd player into red-laser DVD products. They probably haven't because the market for it is too small.

[Douglas Joseph]

Yeah, man. That's the dvd player I have. I think you're thinking, I'm burning my dvds to hd, or blu-ray dvds. I'm burning them to standard dvd-r. It's just downscaled HD.

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Douglas Joseph

Yeah, man. That's the dvd player I have. I think you're thinking, I'm burning my dvds to hd, or blu-ray dvds. I'm burning them to standard dvd-r. It's just downscaled HD.

No, I understand you are buring a file of some sort to red-laser DVD-5. I got excited for a little while when you said it was "H.264", but now I wonder if you perhaps confused that with MPEG-4, DivX, or another codec. (Or perhaps the resolution is not really 1280x720? Or the bitrate is under 1mbps?)

[Douglas Joseph]

Daniel, I'm kind of lost here... I'm still pretty knew to dvd authoring, etc. How I'm burning dvds now, will they be able to play on most dvd players? Please elaborate.

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Douglas Joseph

Daniel, I'm kind of lost here... I'm still pretty knew to dvd authoring, etc. How I'm burning dvds now, will they be able to play on most dvd players? Please elaborate.

If you want compatibilty, you absolutely must forego high-definition completely and burn regular standard-definition DVD.

If you want to distribute high-definition content on regular red-laser DVD, then you must tell your customers that it will only play in one of the following:

1. A computer or HTPC with the proper codec installed (DivX, MP4, h.264, MP2, etc.), display program (e.g. Media Player Classic), sufficient processor power (varies with codec, resolution, and bitrate), and display resolution (1280x720 or greater).

2. An up-converting DVD player that supports the codec (e.g. MP4) , resolution (e.g. 720p), and bit-rate (e.g. 4mbps), a high-definition cable (component, DVI, HDMI), and high-def TV.

Again, there's no technical reason that such DVD players couldn't be built, I just haven't heard of any. The spec on yours doesn't even claim to.

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

If you want to distribute high-definition content on regular red-laser DVD, then you must tell your customers that it will only play in one of the following:

1. A computer or HTPC with the proper codec installed (DivX, MP4, h.264, MP2, etc.), display program (e.g. Media Player Classic), sufficient processor power (varies with codec, resolution, and bitrate), and display resolution (1280x720 or greater).

Incidentally, this is exactly what I do: MPEG-2 720p at 10mbps. MPEG-2 doesn't require very much processor to decode, and 10mbps is only requires a '7X' DVD player. It's a good idea to include a free MPEG-2 codec and player on the disc with installation instructions.