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I'm sure these questions have been discussed ad nauseam, but while we're on the subject...
1. Does the Handbrake to Apple TV method support 5.1 audio, or are we still stuck with stereo? My guess is that the HD rentals are still the only way to get 5.1. Is that correct?
2. If I have an HD camcorder and edited the footage in iMovie HD or iMovie 08, what's the highest resolution I could get into the Apple TV?
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re: "1. Does the Handbrake to Apple TV method support 5.1 audio, or are we still stuck with stereo? My guess is that the HD rentals are still the only way to get 5.1. Is that correct?"
Google's a wonderful thing:
http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/SurroundSoundGuide
* HandBrake is now able to create 5.1 channel AAC audio tracks. For the Track Mix, select "6 channel discrete" from the drop-down menu, and your movie will contain discrete surround sound in the modern AAC format. This takes up less space than AC3: instead of 448kbps, you can do well with 384kbps (64 kbps per channel). Its real benefit is that it doesn't make QuickTime barf. Sadly, it is very difficult to hear all those discrete channels of sound. It cannot be sent over an optical cable to a home theater amp. If you try, whether on a Mac or an AppleTV, you will only hear "downmixed" surround sound, similar to Dolby Pro Logic. To hear the discrete surround sound in all its glory, you will need to attach an analog surround sound device to your Mac. One popular device is the Griffin FireWave. Then, you have to attach a cable to your amp/receiver for each of the six speaker channels. It cannot be done over optical/HDMI. This is due to limitations in QuickTime and the Mac OS Core Audio system.
#2. I'm not sure about that one, I'd check Apple docs, it might be documented at Apple's Support site.
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[quote guitarist]re: "1. Does the Handbrake to Apple TV method support 5.1 audio, or are we still stuck with stereo? My guess is that the HD rentals are still the only way to get 5.1. Is that correct?"
Google's a wonderful thing:
http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/SurroundSoundGuide
* HandBrake is now able to create 5.1 channel AAC audio tracks. For the Track Mix, select "6 channel discrete" from the drop-down menu, and your movie will contain discrete surround sound in the modern AAC format. This takes up less space than AC3: instead of 448kbps, you can do well with 384kbps (64 kbps per channel). Its real benefit is that it doesn't make QuickTime barf. Sadly, it is very difficult to hear all those discrete channels of sound. It cannot be sent over an optical cable to a home theater amp. If you try, whether on a Mac or an AppleTV, you will only hear "downmixed" surround sound, similar to Dolby Pro Logic. To hear the discrete surround sound in all its glory, you will need to attach an analog surround sound device to your Mac. One popular device is the Griffin FireWave. Then, you have to attach a cable to your amp/receiver for each of the six speaker channels. It cannot be done over optical/HDMI. This is due to limitations in QuickTime and the Mac OS Core Audio system.
#2. I'm not sure about that one, I'd check Apple docs, it might be documented at Apple's Support site.
Thanks. That answers it, but I thought it was an Apple TV thing, not a Handbrake thing, and wondered if Take 2 solved it.
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" Then, you have to attach a cable to your amp/receiver for each of the six speaker channels. It cannot be done over optical/HDMI. This is due to limitations in QuickTime and the Mac OS Core Audio system. "
This seems like a torturous process, questionable whether it's worth it. Dolby Pro Logic type sound might be satisfactory, in that case.
What if my AppleTV is connected to a Home Theater Receiver already? Which is then connected to all those individual speakers? I'd still have to work out a special combination just for the AppleTV? or does my Home Theater Receiver (a new Onkyo that handles just about everything else I can throw at it) handle the discreet channels with no special device (like the Griffin Firewave) needed?
An "analog surround sound device" is what I thought a AV Reciever already is. Maybe I need to look more closely at this.
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[quote michaelb]how long does it take to rip a disk with handbrake on average? Obviously this is dependent on computer speed. I have a 1.8 G5 imac, and my vague memory of trying this a year or so ago (and not for an apple TV, just to experiment with ripping a DVD) was that it was really slow, hours and hours of time.
On my MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz, a 2 hour movie transcodes in about 100 minutes when using Handbrake's AppleTV preset. On an iMac 2.8 GHz, it would take about 65 minutes.
Handbrake's AppleTV preset does an excellent job, BTW.
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[quote datbeme]I'm sure these questions have been discussed ad nauseam, but while we're on the subject...
1. Does the Handbrake to Apple TV method support 5.1 audio, or are we still stuck with stereo? My guess is that the HD rentals are still the only way to get 5.1. Is that correct?
2. If I have an HD camcorder and edited the footage in iMovie HD or iMovie 08, what's the highest resolution I could get into the Apple TV?
1. What guitarist said, but with the changes Apple is bringing to Apple TV in a week or so, I expect Handbrake's developers will make suitable changes so that encodes will support 5.1 audio in the format Apple TV expects.
2. Apple TV hardware supports 1280 x 720p24 H.264 at an average bitrate of 5,000kbps and burst rates up to 12,000 kbps.
In my experience, you can push the average a bit and still get flawless playback.
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If you visit the handbrake forums, you'll find that the recommended settings are just that- recommendations. You are invited to experiment and find what you prefer. "Optimum" is highly subject to context.
I ripped Ratatouille form my 'Phone on my 2.0GHz/1G mini using the "iPhone" setting and it took about one hour, maybe a little less, faster than real time. This gave me a 480x208, 264/AAC MP4. The file was a skosh over 1G.
When played back on my 23" and 24" monitors, the quality was stunning.
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