Quicktime Pro - convert DV to H.264 BUT file won't play on iPod?
 

Hello,

I have been trying to encode Microsoft DV or Pinnacle DV AVIs into MPEG4 (H.264) for iPod, BUT the resulting files do NOT play in an iPod!?

I use Quicktime Pro for Windows (v7.1) and use the Apple recommended settings, here are the exact settings I have tried and failed in an iPod;

VIDEO: H.264 at 200kbps, Baseline Profile, 25fps, Auto Key Frames, 320x240 or 640x480, Multipass Best quality encoding.

AUDIO: AAC Audio at 96kbps, 24kHz sampling freq, Stereo.

I'm actually doing it for a client and they cannot play the file, they apparently have to 'convert' my file in their MAC based iTunes for it to work.

Anyhow can anyone please give me an idea if I am doing something wrong?

Regards,
Jack

Do the files end with ".m4v"? If not, the iPod will not recognize them. I am not sure if 640x480 files will play on any but the most recently announced iPods.

The format has to be H.264 or MPEG-4. the File Extension has to be .m4v, and the Video has to be 320x240 and Audio has to be 48000hz or under.

You have to update the firmware of the ipod to play 640 x 480. Maybe that will help.

--William;
My client says his iPod can play m4v and mp4 files as long as they are iPod spec, I asked him to just rename the extension to see if it would work but no, his iTunes still had to convert my file for him to play it on his iPod.

--Jack Z;
My client's iPod is capable of playing 640x480, it is apparently one of the later models so that isn't the issue either.

--Nate;
This sounds like a good tip for perhaps 'older' iPods... but as mentioned above my client has no trouble playing the larger 640x480 files.


--My dilemma;
I can indeed export files for iPod in the default settings (in fact the options are greyed out so no adjustments can be made), but I always wanted to tweak settings so the files looks readable and don't take up much room.

The Quicktime Pro I bought is version 7.1 and if I export Movie to iPod then it spits out a pretty average file at 320x240 (and slides are unreadable) and it seems to do it quickly suggesting it only does a single pass. Along with that the data rate is up at 100KB/sec which is more than double of the file I have custom produced with multi-pass, my file's data rate was around 35KB/sec. However, I have come across an article stating that multi-pass 'can' allow peaks in the data rate which is what may be causing 'problems' for iPods as they have a limit of around 700KB/sec, but I'm not sure.

Now the latest Quicktime Pro is v7.1.3 and it is a bit different, I have downloaded it and tried it and it now exports Movies to iPod differently! It spits out a 640x480 file which is great looking, but its data rate is around 200KB/sec so yet again the size is quite huge. From my calculations;

At 35KB/sec 1 hour would roughly be 126MB
At 100KB/sec 1 hour would roughly be 360MB
At 200KB/sec 1 hour would roughly be 720MB

When I get time I will try to do a series of test files (10 secs or so) especially with different audio, I think this may still be a factor as I currently make them 24kHz / 96kbps and not 44.1kHz or 48kHz at up to 160kbps.

To be continued...
Jack

Hi Guys,

I've had a chance to make a few different sample files for iPod, hopefully one of these will work on a video ipod!

If someone has some spare time, could you please load into ipod (without conversion) to see if any of them will play? Then post your feedback.

I should really buy an ipod, but I don't have a need for it ;(

1
http://www.box.net/public/531eydb8mk 480KB

2
http://www.box.net/public/u4x8k4ct50 561KB

3
http://www.box.net/public/slxj6j9odk 447KB

4
http://www.box.net/public/lgf02uj4qn 457KB

Best Regards,
Jack

File Not Found

I can try this for you, but I can't grab the files.

Hi Steven,

I have just tried to repair the links... (I had problems with hosting place).

If that won't work I can email them as they are small.

Thanks,
Jack