Video Conversion for Apple TV

Posted September 24th, 2008 in Movies by Bill G.

If you’re like me, you have had to convert various video formats to get it to play on your Apple TV. The lack of codec support in the Apple TV is a bit of a sore point with users (this one included). Luckily there are some good programs out there that do all the heavy lifting. For the Mac, some of the most popular applications are Handbrake, VisualHub and Mac The Ripper. For a good summary, see this recent Macworld article.

I tend to use VisualHub the most and it really is a great application and is well worth the $23. It has presets for Apple TV, iPod and others. You can even convert FLV (Adobe Flash Video) files from YouTube if you are so inclined. The new version now supports Dolby Digital/AC3 5.1 surround sound encoding. I also use Mac The Ripper to backup and extract the movie from the DRM on DVD’s and then Handbrake to convert to an Apple TV friendly mode. The real skill in all of this is getting good quality video, 5.1 surround sound in a reasonable file size.

I’d like to hear what techniques people have used to get good results for Apple TV video conversion.

http://josephcrawford.com Joseph Crawford

I have been backing up my dvd collection using Handbrake and MacTheRipper along with MetaX for tagging.
ccunning

I’ve been able to get by with Handbrake and MetaX for the most part as well since I am primarily only converting my DVDs for viewing on the ATV. For the occasional avi I come across, I just use Quicktime Pro.
Gabriel

More important than the tools used is the settings in those tools… do you keep the default ATV settings in Handbrake and Visualhub, or do you use your own special mix of voodoo settings for the perfect balance of size and quality?

…cause I’m still trying to find that balance.
ccunning

I use the default Handbrake setting for ATV and it works fine for me. The only settings I’ve had to tweak are for subtitles of course. I should mention thought that there have been some movies that I have not been able to rip successfully because of sync issues. Namely “Hero” has been a pain in my rear.
Brian

I use Handbrake on the default AppleTV setting, but do the 5.1 AAC passthrough to get a 5.1 layer + the regular 2-channel, depending on the device. Then the trick is just figuring out whether or not to deinterlace, or detelicine/VFR. This of course only plays on an AppleTV and has big file sizes, but you would NEVER be able to tell that it is a compressed digital file. I always have VisualHub (or even iSquint) if I need to downconvert a few files to play on my Ipod for a trip/etc.
yodamac

Mac the Ripper and Handbrake here as well. I can usually rip (my own DVDs) and convert about 6 movies a night that way. I’ve used Lostingly for metadata stuff when needed.

I also use MPEG Streamclip to convert files from my Comcast DVR for my Apple TV – Firefly in HD!!!!!! (well, Comcast’s idea of HD anyways…)
Bill G.

So for for DVD ripping the consensus seems to be:
1) Mac The Ripper to unlock the DVD and import the VIDEO_TS folder
2) Handbrake on default Apple TV setting with 5.1 AAC pass-through enabled
3) MetaX or Lostingly for adding the tags

One thing I should have added was for downloaded content, which tends to be Xvid, is where I use VisualHub the most:
- Apple TV 5.1 setting
- Quality set to good (go nuts creates really big files)
- everything else default – I usually don’t mess with the advanced settings
ccunning

@Bill G.

I’ve always skipped step 1. What am I missing out on?
Bill G.

@ccunning

Handbrake can’t crack the DRM on many disks (it can do simple DeCSS?). Try a Disney/Pixar DVD – they use Macrovision’s structural copy protection scheme. What seems to happen if you use Handbrake is that it can’t seem to read the table of contents.

Seems crazy, since if any DVDs need backing up, it’s the kid’s Disney movies.
ccunning

Cool – Good to know. Speaking of backups, I still haven’t successfully completed a gene backup yet so I guess that explains it.

I guess it would also be nice to rip a bunch of DVDs to disk and queue them up in Handbrake to encode overnight.
austinnate

Visualhub…. MetaX…. HAndbrake…..
I just found a little gem called roadmovie…. It works great with my elgato turbo .264. I use it when there are subtitles that need to be added (it handles them like a pro!)
It is lighting fast as well…….
http://commandN.tv Jeff MacArthur

The only thing, aside from Deinterlacing if required, that I would suggest EVERYONE do in the Advanced Settings in VisualHub is to do “Two Pass” encoding.

Sure, it takes more time, but you’ll get better results, and given that you’ll be looking at your transcoded file from now on, isn’t is worth a little extra time up front to do it well .

Jeff
Ray

I also use Handbrake but use two-pass settings. On a big screen the difference is noticeable from my experience. Where Mac the Ripper doesn’t work, I use RipIt which hasn’t failed to rip a disc yet.
chris

mac the ripper is a good choice, but there are some tips:
http://www.iskysoft.com/article/mac-the-ripper.html
chris

i used to [url='http://www.iskysoft.com/article/mac-the-ripper.html']mac the ripper to rip my dvds[/url]
chris

i used to iSkysoft tools, but after trying several samples, i found mostly they are in same functions, just the convertion speed and friendly-face are different from each other, so have a try before your decision

Video Conversion for Apple TV

The Apple Movie Blog

Follow AMJ!

Top 5 Movies

Recent Posts

Archives

Write for Apple Movie Junkie

Contributors