Image Comparisons of x264 to H.264

In my previous post about x264 I'd promised some side by side comparisons and hadn't delivered as yet (sorry, I've been busy).  Well, while i'm here at BAVC, encoded some content for one of the groups (Power Poetry) of their trailer.  We compared that to the H.264 version they had just done and the results were quite different.  The basic video settings were the same in each (data rate and key frames were set to automatic) but in the x264 side, I used the same advanced settings from the previous post.

click the image for full size

click image for full size

click image for full size

When I get some free time, i'll post a few more tests and some actual movies, but I thought i'd share these to show there is definitely some benefit to testing out the x264 plugin.

Using x264 Plugin in Compressor

I'll admit it, I've had a love hate relationship with Compressor pretty much since Day One. I love the convenience of having an app tied directly to the timeline for encoding, but have always felt a little disappointed by the options and quality of what was offered for encoding that it offered. Still, I've stuck with it for certain encoding events (such as for dvd content, rough cuts, and archives at high bit rates). It's not that I believe its a bad application, just one that has languished in the shadow of many other priorities. With some much going on in the broad range of tools Final Cut Studio that offers, its bound to happen that some applications don't get the priority we wish they did.

Click to read more ...