In this chapter, we'll take a look at the following topics:
- Why we need to convert media
- A breakdown of the most popular codec types
- Converting media files on your computer with freely available software so they can be played in Raspbmc
- Ripping content from DVDs and Blu-ray Discs and converting them to a suitable media format for Raspbmc
Media may need to be converted for a variety of reasons. It may be that the current codec in use is inefficient. For example, the MPEG2 codec is at the same bitrate as H264, and approximately half as efficient. That is, an H264 video can be half the size of an MPEG2 video (saving storage) and still look visually equivalent.
Another reason for conversion is if the device does not support the codec that the content is currently encoded in. By converting the video to a format that the device does support, we can get playback support.
At present, there are several popular codecs that are in use. A comparison is outlined as follows:
|
Codec Name |
Commonly found on |
Efficiency (space requirements) |
Supported by Raspbmc |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Blu-ray discs, HD-DVD discs, and licensed TV downloads |
Best (joint with VC1) |
Yes; supported out of the box till Profile L4.1 High | |
|
Blu-ray discs, HD-DVD discs, and licensed TV downloads |
Best (joint with H264) |
Yes; with an additional codec pack explained in Chapter 2, Using Raspbmc | |
|
DVDs and SD TV broadcasts |
Average |
Yes; with an additional codec pack explained in Chapter 2, Using Raspbmc |