25 H.264 Resources You Might Have Missed
The H.264 video codec has gained in importance thanks to Apple's rejection of Flash video in its mobile devices, the rise of HTML5, and Safari and Internet Explorer both choosing to support H.264 video. If you'd like to understand what H.264 is or get a stronger working knowledge of it, check out this roundup of online resources.
H.264 Articles
The H.264 Basics
For those completely unsure about what H.264 or why it matters, this Q&A article from our sister website OnlineVideo.net is an excellent place to start.
What Is H.264 Format
This simple article from the makers of WinX DVD explains what H.264 is, what formats use it, and what software can create it.
Overview of H.264 / AVC
This white paper on H.264 includes several illustrations and diagrams, giving a more technical explanation of how H.264 encoding and decoding works.
H.264 Scalable Video Coding-What You Need to Know
This article from the Streaming Learning Center explains the benefits of the H.264 extension called Scalable Video Coding.
The Moving Picture: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About H.264 but Were Afraid to Ask
In this article from the Streaming Learning Center, Jan Ozer gathers together some of the lessons he taught at an H.264 class at Streaming Media East.
The H.264 Licensing Labyrinth
This Streaming Media magazine article cuts through the urban myths and helps you navigate the often confusing terrain of H.264 royalties.
H.264 Royalties: What You Need to Know
The H.264 codec isn't open source and using it may involve paying royalties. Here's what you should know ahead of time.
The Future's So Bright: H.264 Year in Review
In this end-of-year summary article, Jan Ozer chronicles the rapid rise of the H.264 codec.
Which Codec Is Hardest to Play Back; VC-1, H.264, or VP6?
It's a codec shoot-out. Jan Ozer looks at three popular codecs and measures the CPU horsepower required to play each one.
An Application Research on Video Coding H.264 Standard and Video Conference System
This downloadable white paper from Tech Republic looks at using the H.264 codec in videoconferencing applications. Registration required.
WebM vs. H.264: A First Look
The article from Streaming Media magazine compares the encoding time, compressed quality, and CPU requirements for H.264 and WebM using the VP8 codec.
First Look: H.264 and VP8 Compared
This StreamingMedia.com feature offers plenty of side-by-side comparisons that help you see the difference between the two codecs.
H.264 vs. VP8: a Video Codec Comparison
This article from QuavLive compares H.264 and VP8 quality, offering plenty of downloadable videos so that you can see the differences for yourself.
Google's Rejection of H.264 in Chrome Means a Unified HTML5 Video Tag is Now a Pipe Dream
If video content providers want to deliver HTML5 video to all browsers, they'll need to serve both H.264 and WebM/VP8 streams.
H.264 Production Resources
Producing H.264 Video
This introductory article from Streaming Media magazine aims to help those new to the H.264 codec get the best results.
Producing H.264 Video for Flash: An Overview
There's more to the H.264 codec than HTML5 video. This helpful article from Jan Ozer helps you create Flash H.264 video.
Producing H.264 on the Mac
In this two-part series from DigitalContentProducer.com, Jan Ozer looks at output created by Apple Compressor and compares it to free and paid alternatives.
How to Convert WMV to H264
This simple guide from eHow shows how to convert WMV files to H.264 using three different tools.
Aspect Ratios and H.264
Look here to find a table of aspect ratios you can you when creating 16:9 video, as well as news on converting video to H.264.
H.264 Websites
H.264Info.com
This H.264 resource center promotes H.264 use, offers downloadable software for creating it, and links to articles on creating and viewing H.264 video.
MPEG LA
This is the homepages of the standards licensing organization that controls the patent pool for AVC/H.264.
Videos and Webcasts About H.264
H.264 Encoding Tools: Five Popular Encoders Compared
This video guide from OnlineVideo.net shows you output created by five paid H.264 encoding tools: Adobe Media Encoder, Apple Compressor, Microsoft Expression Encoder, Sorenson Squeeze, Telestream Episode Pro.
Video Tutorial: Understanding the Critical H.264 Encoding Options
In this video guide, Jan Ozer shows you how to set your H.264 encoding software to get the highest quality output.
H.264 Presentations and Conferences
The HTML5 Video Track at Streaming Media East
Those who have questions about H.264 and HTML5 video will want to block out May 10th and 11th on their calendars. Those are the dates of the 2011 Streaming Media East conference in New York City. Conference organizer Dan Rayburn, executive vice president at StreamingMedia.com, just announced that for the first time the conference will offer a fourth track entirely devoted to HTML5 video.
H.264 Presentations from Streaming Media Europe
In two downloadable PDFs, Jan Ozer shares two presentations he gave at Streaming Media Europe: one on producing H.264 for Flash, Silverlight, QuickTime, and HTML5, and one on producing H.264.
Encoding H.264 Video for Streaming and Progressive Download
In this downloadable PDF, Jan Ozer shares a seminar he gave at Streaming Media West on producing H.264 video for streaming or progressive download.
Got a resource you think should be added to this list? Email us and let us know, and we'll list it below, unless it's content that specifically promotes one vendor's solutions.
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Presenting a list of 25 articles, how-tos, websites, videos, conferences, and email lists that will help you and your company get more out of your Flash video efforts.
27 May 2011