Video codecs
The following video codecs are available for encoding in HandBrake.
H.264:
- MPEG-4 Part 10, also known as H.264/AVC
- Provides excellent quality, performance, and file size
- Widely supported by media players, including mobile devices
- Several different encoders are supported:
- In software: x264
- In hardware: Intel QuickSync, AMD VCE, Nvidia NVENC and ARM devices though MediaFoundation.
H.265 (HEVC)
- MPEG-H Part 2, also known as H.265/HEVC
- Successor to H.264/AVC offering higher quality encodes and smaller file sizes
- Current strengths are improved quality and compression for low bit rate encodes, and for ultra high definition content
- Significantly slower than software H.264/AVC encoders
- Limited device compatibility compared to H.264/AVC, but this is improving rapidly
- Several different encoders are supported:
- In software: x265
- In hardware: Intel QuickSync, AMD VCE, Nvidia NVENC and ARM devices though MediaFoundation.
MPEG-4:
- MPEG-4 Part 2, also known as MPEG-4 Visual
- Predecessor to H.264/AVC offering fast encoding with lower overall quality than H.264/AVC
- Compatible with older devices, inexpensive DVD/flash/network players
MPEG-2:
- MPEG-2 Part 2, also known as MPEG-2 Visual and H.262
- Predecessor to MPEG-4 Visual offering very fast encoding with lower quality than modern codecs
- Creates larger files than modern encoders
AV1:
- Developed by Alliance for Open Media and the successor to VP9, is a free and open video codec.
- Several different encoders are supported:
- In software: SVT-AV1
- In hardware: Intel QuickSync
VP9 (libvpx):
- Developed by Google and the successor to VP8, VP9 is a free and open video codec
- Comparable to HEVC/H.265 in quality and file size
- Slower encoding compared to x265
VP8 (libvpx):
- Developed by On2 Technologies and acquired by Google, VP8 is a free and open video codec
- Successor to Theora offering significant improvements, comparable to H.264/AVC
Theora:
- Developed by Xiph.Org Foundation and based on On2 Technologies' VP3, Theora is a free and open video codec
- Comparable to MPEG-4 Visual in quality and file size
- This encoder is considered deprecated.