LLTI Archives

January 2007, Week 4

LLTI@LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 22 Jan 2007 14:32:04 -0500
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (146 lines)
--- Forwarded Message from Bob Majors <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:30:05 -0800 (PST)
>From: Bob Majors <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum   
<[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #8430.3 (!) Apple's just-announced iPod phone (and then some)
(fwd)
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>

> --- Forwarded Message from "Margo Burns" <[log in to unmask]> ---

> For the Mac OS X & GNU/Linux (Windows is coming), there is a free
> application called "HandBrake" that makes it easy to extract video from
> DVDs and save it as 640x480 MPEG-4 or H.264.
> 
> http://handbrake.m0k.org/
> 
> Margo Burns, Technology Integration Specialist
> Greater Manchester Professional Development Center

I'm new to DVD capture programs and am researching what might work best for our
video suite; thanks 
for the Handbrake url. What caught my attention about Cinematize 2 Pro by
Miraizon (but I neglected to 
write) is that Cinematize 2 Pro allows you to select any start/end points within
a chapter while 
Handbrake can only select at the chapter level, as well as the output formats
Cinematize 2 Pro 
supports.

Handbrake is free; Cinematize 2 Pro is not. Handbrake runs under Mac OS X and
GNU/Linux; a Windows 
port is being worked on. Cinematize 2 Pro runs under Windows and Mac OS X. Those
are possible 
factors for choice of product. I asked both Handbrake and Miraizon for
features/comparisons; I've only 
received a reply from Miraizon so far. Keep in mind the following is written by
the manufacturer 
(Miraizon) of the product, so keep this strong bias in mind; also, I cannot
verify any of the information. 
I trust this information is either OK to post (since it may be useful for those
looking for DVD capture 
programs), or will be moderated.

-------------------------------------------------------
"1. Output Formats
Handbrake is a program really designed for a single purpose, namely to rip DVDs
for playback on an 
iPod or other such device.  The output can only be an AVI or MPEG-4 file encoded
with the MPEG-4 or 
H.264 codec and nothing else.  Cinematize allows you to output into any format
supported by 
QuickTime.  Cinematize Pro even allows you to output using export components you
might have 
installed for such formats as WMV, Flash Video, MPEG-2, etc.

2. Video Output Quality
The MPEG-4 or H.264 format produced by Handbrake may be okay for viewing on an
iPod, but such 
lousy quality is simply not suitable for any kind of editing operation.  Trying
to re-edit output from 
Handbrake for a new DVD or an iPod, but such lousy quality is simply not
suitable for any kind of 
editing operation. Trying to re-edit output from Handbrake for a new DVD or a
presentation will result 
in image quality that most viewers will find unacceptably bad. Cinematize can
extract out video at any 
level of quality you desire, from low quality like Handbrake all the way up to
the lossless quality of 
studio-grade D1 uncompressed video.  You can easily re-edit clips extracted by
Cinematize with little 
or no impact on the video quality from the original DVD.

3. Audio Output Quality
Handbrake will only output audio in stereo compressed with AAC.  This may be
okay for an iPod but it 
is unacceptable for editing or for creating a new DVD or audio CD.  There is no
way to preserve multi- 
channel (5.1) audio tracks for a new DVD.  Cinematize can extract to
high-quality AIFF or WAV formats 
that you can easily edit without losses. Cinematize Pro can extract out all of
the channels from a multi- 
channel audio track and preserve them all in full quality.

4. Audio/Video Synchronization
Handbrake and other similar freeware/shareware programs generally cannot handle
DVDs that were 
encoded with variable frame rate encoding.  For these discs, Handbrake will
produce output with all 
sorts of audio/video sync problems.  Such discs now occur quite frequently,
including the output from 
many DVD recorders as well as many music video DVDs.

5. DVD navigation
Handbrake and other similar freeware/shareware programs were written by authors
with little 
knowledge of the organization of material on a DVD.  As a result, they view a
DVD as a single, linear, 
contiguous movie file when in fact it is more similar to hypermedia with lots of
jumps and 
discontinuities.  Handbrake is unable to follow the proper playback sequence for
any kind of DVD with 
even a modestly more complex organization.  For these discs, rather than clean
movie Handbrake will 
produce a mixed-up mishmash of movie material (e.g. directors cut mixed with
theatrical release, 
mixed up movies in different languages, jumbled recording sessions, etc). 
Cinematize, however, can 
handle even the most complex DVDs available release, mixed up movies in
different languages, 
jumbled recording sessions, etc).  Cinematize, however, can handle even the most
complex DVDs 
available without any problems.

6. Clip Selection
Handbrake only allows you to select entire chapter and title divisions to rip
from a DVD.  This can be a 
real problem, for example, if you have a lengthy DVD consisting of only a single
chapter.  Cinematize 
will allow you to select clips of essentially arbitrary length, from a fraction
of a second out to an entire 
movie.  You can start your clip anywhere and end it anywhere with a precise
timecode display to aid 
you.

7. Speed
Cinematize should extract at a much faster speed than Handbrake.  Cinematize Pro
is also about 20% 
faster than Cinematize."
-------------------------------------------------------

Bob Majors
Language Learning Center
University of Washington



***********************************************
 LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for
Language Learning (http://iallt.org/), and The Consortium for Language Teaching
and Learning (http://www.languageconsortium.org/).
Join IALLT at http://iallt.org.
Otmar Foelsche, LLTI-Editor ([log in to unmask])
***********************************************

ATOM RSS1 RSS2