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== Compression ==H.264 is quickly becoming the most popular compression method for CCTV, DVR, and streaming because it provides high resolution video quality from the smallest amount of video data required. Less bandwidth and less storage is required for maximum resolution video. H.264 delivers the same quality as MPEG-2 at a third to half the data rate and up to four times the frame size of MPEG-4 Part 2 at the same data rate.[[File:h264compressionandbandwidth.jpg]]* x264: the first publically available High Profile encoder, opensource (GPL) (Source), available for VFW: x264vfw, ffdshow (output .avi), as commandline: x264cli (outputs .mp4, .mkv, raw), mencoder (outputs raw, .avi) (Doom9's MeGUI) or ffmpeg* x264: the first publically available High Profile encoder, opensource (GPL) (Source), available for VFW: x264vfw, ffdshow (output .avi), as commandline: x264cli (outputs .mp4, .mkv, raw), mencoder (outputs raw, .avi) (Doom9's [[MeGUI]]) or ffmpeg* ffmpeg: opensource (LGPL), used e.g. in ffdshow (VFW and DShow decoder), mplayer and VideoLAN* ffmpeg: opensource (LGPL), used e.g. in ffdshow (VFW and DShow decoder), [[MPlayer]] and VideoLAN* Pegasus: not really compliant DShow AVC decoder * Pegasus: not really compliant DShow AVC decoderDepends on your needs actually. However, one can say that right now x264 is the right choice. Compared to the commercial solutions, not only it doesn't lack features, speed or quality, but in most areas it even surpasses encoders that cost hundreds of dollars. It's a perfect example of open source software's power! If you just need to do a simple conversion, I suggest SUPER, a GUI for ffmpeg and mencoder that can use x264 to create an H.264 encoded file. If you want to convert DVD to H.264 the best choice would be Fair use Wizard. Other free solutions to convert DVD to H.264 are MeGUI and Gordian Knot.There is surprisingly little straight forward quality software available.From the commercial solutions, Nero Recode is a very good choice. However it is not worth it to buy Nero just to get the H.264 encoder. If you already have Nero 7, give it a try and compare it against x264 yourself. Quicktime Pro is very, very slow at the moment, therefore we don't suggest using it. Identify your need. Some software is oriented towards streaming and flash presentation, while other is towards offline video file creation. If you want to convert DVD to H.264: [[FairUse Wizard]], [[MeGUI]], Gordian Knot From the commercial solutions: Nero Recode, Quicktime Pro Nero Recode is a very good choice. However it is not worth it to buy Nero just to get the H.264 encoder. If you already have Nero 7, give it a try and compare it against x264 yourself. Quicktime Pro is very, very slow at the moment, therefore we don't suggest using it. <big>ALERT: [[Super Encoder]] is Malware/Spyware/Virus DO NOT INSTALL SUPER. As of 2012 the developers have added payloads to Super that force install malware to your PC. </big>The latest version of ffdshow supports H264 playback. Remember, ffdshow is a DirectShow filter so after you install it you'll be able to play H264 in most video players you already have installed, including Windows Media Player. Alternatively you can download VideoLAN player. It can play H264 without need of any codec or DirectShow filter. Nero Showtime and Apple Quicktime players support H264 too, but their support is not so great for all formats (they play better H264 content that was created using Nero Recode or Quicktime Pro) so I don't suggest using them for general H264 playback. Generally most players or codec packs nowadays include H264 support so you shouldn't have any problems. For Linux Mplayer offers excellent playback as well as Xine and VLC. Totem (using Gstreamer as a backend) seems to have many troubles however, especially low speeds.The latest version of ffdshow supports H264 playback. Remember, ffdshow is a DirectShow filter so after you install it you'll be able to play H264 in most video players you already have installed, including Windows Media Player. Alternatively you can download VideoLAN player. It can play H264 without need of any codec or DirectShow filter. Nero Showtime and Apple Quicktime players support H264 too, but their support is not so great for all formats (they play better H264 content that was created using Nero Recode or Quicktime Pro) so I don't suggest using them for general H264 playback. Generally most players or codec packs nowadays include H264 support so you shouldn't have any problems. For Linux [[Mplayer]] offers excellent playback as well as Xine and VLC. Totem (using Gstreamer as a backend) seems to have many troubles however, especially low speeds.* [[MPlayer]] will render both video and sound for H.264 without the need for external codecs* VLAN ( [[VideoLAN Player]] ) will render video and sound for H.264 without the need for external codecs