HTML5: Up and Running

Batch Encoding H.264 Video with HandBrake

(As in the previous section, in this section I’m going to use “H.264 video” as a shorthand for “H.264 Baseline profile video and AAC low-complexity profile audio in an MPEG-4 container.” This is the combination of codecs+container that works natively in Safari, in Adobe Flash, on the iPhone, and on Google Android devices.)

As I mentioned in the preceding section, HandBrake also comes in a command-line edition. As with the graphical edition, you should download a recent snapshot from http://handbrake.fr/downloads2.php.

Like ffmpeg2theora (see Batch Encoding Ogg Video with ffmpeg2theora), the command-line edition of HandBrake offers a dizzying array of options. (Type HandBrakeCLI --help in a Terminal window or at a command prompt to read about them.) I’ll focus on just a few:

• --preset "X", where "X" is the name of a HandBrake preset (it’s important to put the name in quotes). The preset you want for H.264 web video is called “iPhone & iPod Touch”.

• --width W, where W is the width of your encoded video. HandBrake will automatically adjust the height to maintain the original video’s proportions.

• --vb Q, where Q is the average bitrate (measured in kilobits per second).

• --two-pass, which enables two-pass encoding.

• --turbo, which enables a turbo first pass during two-pass encoding.

• --input F, where F is the filename of your source video.

• --output E, where E is the destination filename for your encoded video.

Here is an example of calling ...