Convert to H.264

Brian Boyko · January 6th, 2009, 11:45 AM

I find that I get a lot better rendering times if I render to MPEG-2 in Sony Vegas when I'm applying effects than when I render directly to H.264 or WMV9. I could just re-import the MPEG-2 file back into Vegas and re-render as H.264, but I'd rather have something like Compressor (a batch transcoder) running in the background encoding the MPEG-2 file into H.264 while I get to work on the next scene in Vegas. Any recommendations?

Perrone Ford · January 6th, 2009, 01:41 PM

You are throwing away OODLES of information going to MPEG-2. Why would you then go from this very lossy format, to mpeg4 which is lossy (though not as bad)?

You will get much higher quality going from your source file, straight to mpeg4.

Bill Ravens · January 6th, 2009, 02:30 PM

Ervin Farkas did a bunch of tests and found that MPEG_streamclip gave the best conversion. I've been testing it on that basis and really like what I'm getting out

Brian Boyko · January 6th, 2009, 07:38 PM

You misunderstand me.

I'm not looking for a particular codec to convert one file.

I'm looking for an application to convert multiple files in a batch.

As for why I'd render to MPEG-2 then H.264 - I probably wouldn't, now that I think about it.

Devin Termini · January 10th, 2009, 06:05 PM

There are loads of programs that can do that for you.
One product that comes to mind is Autodesk Cleaner. It has been used by many professionals for many years.

If you're looking for the fastest encode possible, check out Badaboom media converter. You'll need a Geforce 8 series or higher nvidia graphics card to use the program, but it will be the fastest encoder by a mile. I'm not sure if it does batch processing, and it's input and output file types are limited. However it will do h.264.

badaboomit.com

Graham Hickling · January 15th, 2009, 08:52 PM

TMPGEnc Xpress, Sorenson Squeeze and Procoder will all batch process, and have H.264 support.

January 6th, 2009, 11:45 AM	#1
Brian Boyko Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 773	Convert to H.264 - program like Compressor? I find that I get a lot better rendering times if I render to MPEG-2 in Sony Vegas when I'm applying effects than when I render directly to H.264 or WMV9. I could just re-import the MPEG-2 file back into Vegas and re-render as H.264, but I'd rather have something like Compressor (a batch transcoder) running in the background encoding the MPEG-2 file into H.264 while I get to work on the next scene in Vegas. Any recommendations? __________________ Equip: Panny GH1, Canon HG20, Juicedlink, AT897, Sennh. EW/GW100, Zoom H2, Vegas 8.1 Last edited by Brian Boyko; January 6th, 2009 at 12:52 PM.

January 6th, 2009, 01:41 PM	#2
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	You are throwing away OODLES of information going to MPEG-2. Why would you then go from this very lossy format, to mpeg4 which is lossy (though not as bad)? You will get much higher quality going from your source file, straight to mpeg4. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

January 6th, 2009, 07:38 PM	#4
Brian Boyko Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 773	You misunderstand me. I'm not looking for a particular codec to convert one file. I'm looking for an application to convert multiple files in a batch. As for why I'd render to MPEG-2 then H.264 - I probably wouldn't, now that I think about it. __________________ Equip: Panny GH1, Canon HG20, Juicedlink, AT897, Sennh. EW/GW100, Zoom H2, Vegas 8.1

January 6th, 2009, 02:30 PM	#3
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	Ervin Farkas did a bunch of tests and found that MPEG_streamclip gave the best conversion. I've been testing it on that basis and really like what I'm getting out

January 10th, 2009, 06:05 PM	#5
Devin Termini Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mount Pleasant, MI Posts: 177	There are loads of programs that can do that for you. One product that comes to mind is Autodesk Cleaner. It has been used by many professionals for many years. If you're looking for the fastest encode possible, check out Badaboom media converter. You'll need a Geforce 8 series or higher nvidia graphics card to use the program, but it will be the fastest encoder by a mile. I'm not sure if it does batch processing, and it's input and output file types are limited. However it will do h.264. badaboomit.com

January 15th, 2009, 08:52 PM	#6
Graham Hickling Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 1,669	TMPGEnc Xpress, Sorenson Squeeze and Procoder will all batch process, and have H.264 support.