Filed under: Multimedia, Freeware, Open Source
Handbrake 0.9.4 released, includes 64-bit support
It's been a year in coming, but Handbrake, the multiplatform, open-source video transcoder, has been updated to version 0.9.4. It's one of the tools I included in my list of 10 must-have apps for a new Mac.The Handbrake team has been busy indeed over the past year -- their change log shows over 1000 changes since the build they released last year. The biggest new feature with this update is support for 64-bit, which allows Handbrake to encode approximately 10% faster than previous 32-bit builds. The 64-bit build is not exclusive to Snow Leopard, so if you're still running 10.5 on a 64-bit capable machine, you'll still be able to reap the benefits of reduced encoding time.
That 10% performance improvement estimate appears to be very close to the mark, at least on my MacBook Pro. Using 0.9.3, Handbrake encodes would average around 27 - 29 frames per second when transcoding a VIDEO_TS folder to H.264. In 0.9.4, using the same settings, I'm seeing encoding rates of closer to 30 - 34 frames per second. This means that on my Mac, Handbrake is now transcoding DVDs in real time or faster thanks to the improvements in the new version.
The Handbrake team has trimmed some of the fat from this release. There are no more presets for the PSP, PS3, or Xbox 360; all three have been replaced with a "Normal" preset that should work on any device that supports Main Profile H.264. Handbrake has also removed support for transcoding to AVI, OGG, and XviD. Personally I won't miss any of these, as I always transcoded to H.264, but for people who are still clinging to AVI (for whatever reason), this update will force them to abandon the format.
Another new feature that looks like it'll be incredibly useful is Live Preview, which allows you to encode a small portion of the video source using current settings and then see what it looks like. This will keep you from having to encode the entire video only to find out two hours later that one of your settings was off, forcing you to start all over again.
Handbrake 0.9.4 is a free download, available here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
stefan said 9:28PM on 11-24-2009
says i need a 64 bit version of vlc but i cant find that? help
Reply
Chris Rawson said 9:43PM on 11-24-2009
You can find VLC here:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
DarkLeaper said 9:43PM on 11-24-2009
If you're using OS X... safest bet is to download the Universal Binary version. It contains the 32/64-bit Intel version and the PPC version.
Michael Rose said 11:02PM on 11-24-2009
As noted below, it doesn't look like there is a 64-bit build of VLC 1.0.3 (current version) yet, but you can get the 64-bit build of 1.0.2 here:
http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/1.0.2/macosx/
robogobo said 5:15AM on 11-25-2009
thanks for that, Michael.
DarkLeaper said 9:46PM on 11-24-2009
If you are using OS X... safe bet is to download the Universal Binary version. It contains the 32/64-bit Intel version and the PPC version. You can also check VLC.app with "More Info" to see if it has the option to "Run in 32-bit mode". This let's you know it's a 64-bit app.
They also have separate x64, x32, and PPC builds for those worried about a bit of harddrive space.
Reply
G Money said 9:55PM on 11-24-2009
Wow, encoding on Mac pro early 2008 iPhone quality at 300fps I love this update.
Reply
The Jethro said 1:11AM on 11-25-2009
iMac (early 2008) encoding for iPhone at about 100fps, much better than MBP not updated yet at 38 fps.
Max Howell said 9:54PM on 11-24-2009
I love handbrake and they do great work, but it needs a much nicer icon :P
Reply
Dr. Who said 11:09PM on 11-24-2009
I think it's a great icon. People (Mac and PC users) often ask me what program it's for when they see it in my dock. Since I always say what its for and what the program does and how it's such an amazing application I say they should keep it. My $0.02 worth.
artifex said 1:18AM on 11-25-2009
You're talking about an app that got its start on an OS with bright yellow tabs.
Aerospeed said 1:42PM on 11-25-2009
Ta da!
http://dl.qj.net/index.php?pg=12&fid=8616&catid=36
m said 7:57PM on 11-25-2009
i have to agree: i've never understood the entire cocktail theme. the logo itself is hideous, and more than a little girly.
Gibby said 9:56PM on 11-24-2009
There is no version of VLC 1.03 in 64 bit yet, only 32 bit. So if you are on a Mac, you have to use VLC 1.02, or drop back to the 32 bit version of Handbrake and VLC until they get the 64 bit version of VLC released
Reply
BoxOfSnoo said 11:48PM on 11-24-2009
I just use FairMount. That way you can use the 32-bit version of VLC with the 64-bit version of Handbrake
Konrad said 10:01PM on 11-24-2009
I still have Handbrake 0.9.2 cause I heard you couldn't rip from Dvds in 0.9.3. And for the record, I still like AVIs.
Reply
Chris Rawson said 10:31PM on 11-24-2009
Konrad-
You definitely can rip DVDs in Handbrake in both 0.9.3 and 0.9.4. You just need to also download VLC in order to be able to do it.
Konrad said 11:11PM on 11-24-2009
I can't rip it to AVI to watch on my 360? I'll stick with my old version.
TedJ said 11:22PM on 11-24-2009
The 360 can't play H264 encoded MP4's?
Hey feel free to keep rocking the old releases, keeping in mind that they're no longer available from the handbrake.fr website and are completely unsupported.
Konrad said 12:04AM on 11-25-2009
As long as it still works, it can be unsupported all it wants.