Which video format to output for TV

[Dave Davison]

............on a similar theme; I find iWisoft Video converter dead easy to use especially for clipping unwanted data from the beginning or end of a video plus merging numerous clips into one whole. Whilst doing the latter I would like to also convert the format from mp4 so it ends up as if using ConvertXtoDVD. i.e. enabling the finished DVD to be watched on a tv set. From the numerous format options available in iWisoft I would appreciate it if someone can point me to the right one. Dave.

[Rudi]

    
My contribution...
I've scanned through a number of web pages to determine the advice given based on this question.
The most common response that is returned is this format: MPEG-4 Part 10 (aka. AVC or h.264)

Image 10.png

See:

What's the best video format?
While there isn't one "best video format," there are best video formats for particular jobs. Things to be aware of when choosing a video format, apart from the intended audience — Will they be watching video streaming over the Internet? Do they have a fast connection? Do they have a DVD player? Do they have a Blu-ray player? — are the longevity of the format and how widespread its adoption.

For a number of years now, a good bet for a forward-looking, high-quality, versatile video format is h.264, aka, MPEG-4/AVC (Advanced Video Coding), though it really needs a better name. h.264 is supported by a number of important players including Microsoft, Apple and Adobe, though in early 2011 Google dropped support for h.264 from its Chrome browser citing the desire to use only open-source (i.e. non-patented, royalty-free) standards, Microsoft swiftly made a Chrome extension which restored support. Google's answer was .vp9 (soon to be vp10) to be used as part of HTML5. Performance of the two codecs is very similar. Adoptions and usage will determine if there's an eventual winner.

Which codec? DVD ripping software exists abundantly. Converting to MPEG-4 gives you two options:

MPEG-4 Part 2, this is what's best known through the "XviD" or "DivX" codecs. It's not the latest and greatest, but it gets the job done and offers greater compatibility with legacy devices. Plus, you can burn them as raw files onto a DVD and watch them on any recent DVD player.
MPEG-4 Part 10 (also AVC or h.264), this currently offers the best file size vs. quality ratio. It takes a while to encode, but it definitely pays off. You can save quite a lot of space in comparison to, for example XviD.

[Rudi]

Split from this thread to the Graphics and Video Software forum.

[Dave Davison]

Many thanks Rudi, will give that option a go and see if does the trick as does ConvertX. Cjheers Dave.

[Dave Davison]

Still experimenting with the various options shown in my initial post [using a re-writable dvd to avoid waste] but have not found one that plays in my dvd player. In contrast selecting the "to DVD" option in Freemake Video converter does the job but -unlike iWisoft - it does not have an edit feature that allows one to remove sections of the video. Cheers Dave