DVD to H.264

Hi Guys -

I'm new to macs, but am quite experienced in h.264 encoding on the PC.

I've been spending hours upon ours looking for a decent app for the MAC that can read standard DVD format files and convert them to H.264. There are plenty of good apps on the PC, but the only one I've managed to find on the Mac that's close is Handbrake - and it does not appear to output files that work on my PVR (although they play in QuickTime just fine).

What are you guys out there using? I don't care if it's freeware, shareware or an expensive professional package. I'm looking for a best of breed H.264 encoder, and it has to be able to read native DVDs. If it can encode from MPG2/AVI and whatnot as well - all the better.

If it matters, I'm using a DVico device, which is known for problems playing back H.264's encoded on Macs...

Thanks guys. I really hope somebody out there who is more attuned than I am can provide some help.

Cheers.

what formats does your PVR support, what file format are you saving as

HAVE YOU Tried Handbrake DVD Ripper..??

Sorry I'm a complete noob about these advanced video formats..So I don't wite know what exactly you are looking for..But Hand Brake DVD Ripper is a free app & it has option to encode video in H.264 Format with some customisable advanced settings as well..

Hope that helps..

Kryten:

Here's the process that I go through when I want to make a DVD into a H.264 mp4 (for my iPod generally). First, I rip my DVD via MacTheRipper into a Video_ts/audio_ts directory.

Then I use VisualHub (costs $23 but well worth it). I simply drag the video_ts folder into the queue, select the options that I want (the menu has an easy learning curve) and click start.

VisualHub has a demo version, I'd seriously consider checking it out.

NOTE: I think that VisualHub accepts a DVD as an import media now, I just copy the disk to the hard drive via MacTheRipper first for reliability's sake.

Thanks guys, I found the solution. It was all down to my PVR not recognising the output from handbrake (MP4). As soon as I adjusted the container to a .mkv, everything worked just fine. Handbrake is the way to go.

Now that's all good and fine (and yes I'm using mac the ripper too) for simple conversion from DVD to h.264, but what are you guys using to edit ripped DVD content?

I'd hate to have to convert the whole thing to MP4, THEN open it and edit in an editing tool (painful). I'm told Final Cut Studio and Express CANNOT open native DVD format (.IFO/VOB), so do you know of any other tools out there that can open these ripped files, then spew out either native MPG2 or h.264?

They must be out there on the Mac, as there are some really good ones on the PC and I can't imagine the clunky PC outdoes the mac in this area.

The workflow of having to output to h.264 then open those files in final cut seems strange to me... For that matter, do these apps even support .mkv?

Handbrake, which you mentioned earlier, spews out the DVD in some kind of format.

VisualHub cannot convert to, but can convert from, the MKV container format. You don't need to have something in h.264 to be able to edit it as far as I know.

H.264 codecs

does any body knows where can i buy H.264 video codecs ?

I need H.264 encoder & Decoder (SP) for development purpose.

Developing software that integrates encoding/decoding is a little beyond my scope, sorry