Digital Trends

Elgato Turbo.264 July 9th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

H.264 to H.264 Output Quality 

I converted a 1.3GB Final Cut video to Apple TV format using the Turbo.264. The 1.3GB file was in .mov format, 640 x 480, and encoded as Integer (Little Endian), H.264. The original file had flawless quality. The Turbo.264 converted it to Apple TV 640 x 480 at about 20fps, which is two-thirds "real-time" encoding speed. The output file was only 170MB, and the quality was exceptional. I was prepared to see obvious pixellation but was pleasantly deprived of that letdown.

Converting video for the Apple TV

HandBrake 

Because HandBrake is a stand-alone application that does not directly integrate with OS X's video encoding and decoding software (QuickTime API) like QuickTime, Final Cut Pro, and iMovie do, the Turbo.264 will not show up as an export option in HandBrake. If you're ripping your home DVD collection to H.264, it's best to stick with HandBrake until Elgato adds a full-featured DVD conversion feature. If you really must convert DVD using the Turbo.264, know that it's limited to converting unencrypted VIDEO-TS folders and will render H.264 files from each VOB file. The Turbo.264 will not stitch them together to produce a full-length video. Again, with the encryption issue, the likelihood is that almost no commercial DVDs will allow direct decoding via Turbo.264. A program like MacTheRipper could strip the encryption in most cases, but a) it brings up obvious ethical questions and b) HandBrake cuts out the middle man by converting directly from a DVD disc to an H.264 video file.

Decoding

Alas, the Turbo.264 is not a decoder. If your system is so slow that it cannot easily handle playing H.264 video files, the Turbo.264 will not help improve playback. It'll certainly help encode those videos in short order, but assistive playback is not on the menu.

Custom Settings? 

Sorry. No custom settings for the Turbo.264 like in HandBrake. The Turbo.264 is optimized for very specific (and popular) conversions, and it does so quite well. Most users will likely not need personalized options if they're using the Turbo.264. The default options render really nice video, perfect for the target devices. But for those users who like to tweak settings to get very specific results (custom video resolutions, etc.), the default-only options could sour the deal.

Subtitles 

Quelle dommage! No subtitles from DVDs unless the subtitles were previously included on-screen in an avi/mp4 ripped DVD.

HD Conversions? 

The Turbo.264 is limited to maximum output resolutions of 800 x 600 at 30fps. That's not HD quality, so anyone needing true HD content will need to wait until Elgato comes out with a second-generation Turbo.264 that can handle HD, or they can use existing software conversion tools. The 800 x 600 resolution is sufficient for standard-def DVD videos.

Laptop Battery Life 

Given the fact that the Turbo.264 acts as a sort of slave processor dedicated to video conversions, your main processor is freed from that grueling activity. With CPU activity dramatically reduced, battery life on laptops will benefit. You won't get extra hours of uptime, but what you do gain will certainly be appreciated.

Low Processor Hit 

While running a handful of avi conversions to Apple TV and iPod formats, total CPU usage stayed right around 25 percent, 3–6 percent of which was already taken by OS X and other apps. Real memory used was 55MB, and virtual memory was 497MB. Page ins/outs stayed n/0 the entire time — more than 10 conversions. Why? As mentioned above, the Turbo.264 acts as a co-processor for video conversions. Of course, your main CPU is still used a bit, but not nearly as much as it would be if video conversions were done directly and unassisted from QT, FCP, etc., which can push upwards of 80 percent CPU usage.