h264 vs h265

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 11, 2020

I shoot exclusively in 1080p, understand that it is easier to edit the video in H264. Will there be any quality difference between h264 vs h265 in full HD?

Deleted member 126802 · Jul 11, 2020

itsneedtokno · Jul 11, 2020

mavicpro@2018 said:
I shoot exclusively in 1080p, understand that it is easier to edit the video in H264. Will there be any quality difference between h264 vs h265 in full HD?

You could shoot in 2.7k I think it's still h264

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 12, 2020

itsneedtokno said:
You could shoot in 2.7k I think it's still h264

Why would I do that, I see no difference on my 27 "2.7K screen?

itsneedtokno · Jul 12, 2020

mavicpro@2018 said:
Why would I do that, I see no difference on my 27 "2.7K screen?

You may not see a difference, but they came out with 4k for a reason (and now 8k)...

It's better quality

In 4K I can easily zoom to 200% with minimal distortion. Try that in 1080p and it'll be a pixelated mess.

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 12, 2020

itsneedtokno said:
You may not see a difference, but they came out with 4k for a reason (and now 8k)...

It's better quality

In 4K I can easily zoom to 200% with minimal distortion. Try that in 1080p and it'll be a pixelated mess.

Ok, but why would I zoom in on a video?

itsneedtokno · Jul 12, 2020

0:28 was zoomed to 232% at first

0:41 starts a vertigo effect

Dave Maine · Jul 12, 2020

H.264 and H.265 should be equivalent in image quality. H.265 files are roughly half as big, but require more PC computing horsepower to play back without stuttering.

Also H.265 files are not as standardized and compatible with various software post packages. Unless file size is a real issue, use H.264 if available.

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 12, 2020

itsneedtokno said:
0:28 was zoomed to 232% at first

0:41 starts a vertigo effect

Ok very nice video, did you use active tracking there?
But now my question from the beginning was if there was any difference between h264 vs h265 in Full HD?

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 12, 2020

Dave Maine said:
H.264 and H.265 should be equivalent in image quality. H.265 files are roughly half as big, but require more PC computing horsepower to play back without stuttering.

Also H.265 files are not as standardized and compatible with various software post packages. Unless file size is a real issue, use H.264 if available.

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 12, 2020

Exactly the answer I was looking for, thank you

?

sar104 · Jul 12, 2020

mavicpro@2018 said:
I shoot exclusively in 1080p, understand that it is easier to edit the video in H264. Will there be any quality difference between h264 vs h265 in full HD?

The comments above are accurate, but the answer to your specific question depends somewhat on the encoding strategy. Encoding with more compression for similar quality (i.e. H.265) permits a range of results. You can halve the bit rate and generate a file of equivalent quality to H.264 that is just half the size, or you can keep the bit rate the same and generate a file of the same size but with twice (non-technically speaking) the quality. Or anything in between. You really need to compare file sizes to know exactly what is happening at HD resolution.

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 13, 2020

sar104 said:
The comments above are accurate, but the answer to your specific question depends somewhat on the encoding strategy. Encoding with more compression for similar quality (i.e. H.265) permits a range of results. You can halve the bit rate and generate a file of equivalent quality to H.264 that is just half the size, or you can keep the bit rate the same and generate a file of the same size but with twice (non-technically speaking) the quality. Or anything in between. You really need to compare file sizes to know exactly what is happening at HD resolution.
[/Q
ok, i will do a test

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 13, 2020

I tested in 1080p for fifteen sec.
I was surprised that it was exactly the same file size between h264 vs h265

sar104 · Jul 13, 2020

mavicpro@2018 said:
I tested in 1080p for fifteen sec.
I was surprised that it was exactly the same file size between h264 vs h265

So they are using the same bitrate, in which case the H.265 should be higher quality - i.e. less apparent compression.

DaveS · Jul 14, 2020

H.265 is used more often if you are color grading your video in post production. If all you want to do is shoot good looking video, do a simple edit and share it with friends and family (and us, your Mavic extended family), then stay with H.264 and 1080p. In the long run the files will take up much less space on your hard drive. In fact, except for white balance, you could shoot everything in auto too if you're just shooting for fun, not commercially. Experiment and good luck.

Peter B · Jul 14, 2020

I have found that 265 does not cache video in my IPad (v5). This drove me nuts for a while until some one in a forum advised me to switch to 264.

mavicpro@2018 · Jul 15, 2020

Peter B said:
I have found that 265 does not cache video in my IPad (v5). This drove me nuts for a while until some one in a forum advised me to switch to 264.

Ok interesting, do you notice any quality difference?

kmac76 · Jul 18, 2020

mavicpro@2018 said:
I shoot exclusively in 1080p, understand that it is easier to edit the video in H264. Will there be any quality difference between h264 vs h265 in full HD?

Here is a good explanation about what the difference is. https://link.medium.com/RTp1pMxie8

This article was written in 2016 though, and so the one negative - the computing power needed to decide h.265 vs h.264, has been reduced quite a bit.

I see a lot of bias for h.264 here and in the drone community, which I’m new to. Professionally, I’ve worked in voice and video technology for roughly 20 years. In the broader context, h.265 is mostly seen as an overdue update for h.264, which was ratified as a protocol standard in 2003, quite a ways back given how quickly technology changes. My best guess is that if you are doing a lot of video editing, the Popular software choices are still mixed in terms of support. That, and good old human nature and our collective resistance to any change, of any kind!

kmac76 · Jul 18, 2020

Peter B said:
I have found that 265 does not cache video in my IPad (v5). This drove me nuts for a while until some one in a forum advised me to switch to 264.

I have an iPhone 11 and an iPad mini 4. Both work with caching and both are on current iOS releases. What iPad and iOS version combo are you using?

I typically have had video caching on up until a month ago, when I watched a YouTube video pointing out that by turning it on, you’re asking your Android it iOS device to do a lot more work while flying your drone. That, plus the fact that you drop a lot of storage on your device even if you don’t fly all that much. And that you get much better quality from the SD card files themselves. All if that led me to change my default setup and I no longer video cache. But prior, I had no issues for months.