# H.264 vs. MP4



## rminten (Mar 21, 2005)

Is there any difference between H.264 and .mp4 files in regards to playing them back on an iPod? I've converted to both and they both seem to playback the same, so I'm just curious in case there really is a difference and I just can't see it. 

Thanks in advance!

Randy
(Loving the upgraded Tivo Desktop 2.3 and the auto-transfer/conversion feature)!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I think H.264 creates a slightly smaller file.

Dan


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## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

Straight 'MPEG-4' is MPEG-4 Part 2 and H.264 is MPEG-4 Part 10 aka Advanced Video Coding. H.264 is designed to use half, or less, of the bandwidth of Part 2 or earlier codecs like MPEG-2 for comparable image quality.


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## 2farrell (Jul 12, 2002)

rminten said:


> Is there any difference between H.264 and .mp4 files in regards to playing them back on an iPod? I've converted to both and they both seem to playback the same, so I'm just curious in case there really is a difference and I just can't see it.
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> ...


You shouldn't see much difference playing back on an iPod.
H264 will give a smaller file but a longer encoding time.
Mpeg4 is better should you want to watch the video on TV if you bear in mind the file is bigger. The encoding time is much shorter if you're in a hurry.


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