Do you want to watch your videos on the go? The iPhone, iPod and iPad and black AppleTV offer hardware support for H.264 videos to improve battery life. VideoDrive offers 4 ways to convert your videos with QuickTime, HandBrake and Elgato Turbo.264 HD.

You know where the videos will play based on the checkboxes on top of the main window of VideoDrive as explained here. (Un)check the boxes to switch import method.

If your videos are already in H.264, they do not need to be converted again. VideoDrive is smart enough to realize this. Check the option “Import compatible videos directly” on the main window.

VideoDrive supports several tools to convert your videos. By default, the QuickTime framework is used. However, QuickTime is not the fastest kid on the block. Therefore, you can also choose to convert videos with HandBrake or Elgato Turbo.264 (HD). You can choose the tool on the import tab of the preferences panel. Click the ‘Install More’ button to install other tools and click the refresh button to update the list if installed tools are missing.

By default, VideoDrive will choose QuickTime 7 if it is present on your machine. Upon conversion, your videos will briefly open in QuickTime 7, after which you will see a progress bar. Conversions can take a long time. If you wish to edit the videos first, you can enable the option ‘Allow video editing or trimming by pausing during import’ on the import tab the preferences panel.

If you have Mac OS X 10.6 , QuickTime 7 might not be installed by default. If you cannot locate QuickTime 7 in the Applications or Applications/Utilities folder, it is not present. You can install it for free by following the installation instructions. If your videos do not play correctly in QuickTime X, you must first install additional codecs.

Notes for Pro users:

- QuickTime 7 Pro is supported as well. If you have registered the Pro version, you are able to edit and trim your videos using the Pro version. This option is available on the import tab of preferences panel.

Import method 5 will import your videos with the highest possible resolution (you can specify which resolution on the import tab of the preferences panel) while methods 6 until 8 reduce resolution and/or bitrate for optimal playback on AppleTV, iPad, iPhone and/or Video iPod.

1. ‣QuickTime 7 (Pro)

QuickTime X has been introduced in Mac OS X 10.6 and offers the same conversion results as QuickTime 7. However, it offers less robust support for some older and exotic video formats, and can be slower. We advice against using QuickTime X.

Upon conversion, your videos will briefly open in QuickTime X, after which you will see a progress bar. Conversions can take a long time or fail repeatedly if the format is not properly supported by QucikTime X. QuickTime X is only available on Mac OS X10.6 and is installed by default. If your videos do not play correctly in QuickTime X, you must first install additional codecs.

1. ‣QuickTime X

Elgato offers several hardware and sofware solutions for faster video conversions. If you have any of the supported solutions installed on your machine, you can use it instead of relying on QuickTime. For any support regarding the conversions itself, we redirect you to the Elgato Support site.  When converting, the Elgato software will launch and convert your videos. After conversions are finished, VideoDrive will continue with the import process.

Supported software versions:

- Elgato Turbo.264

- Elgato Turbo.264 HD

- Elgato Turbo.264 HD Demo

1. -Elgato Turbo.264 Video Converter
   

Make sure the Elgato software is present in the Applications or Applications/Utilities folder.

Power users: if you have specified your own conversion presets in Elgato Turbo.264 (HD), you can reuse them in VideoDrive by filling out their name in the ‘Conversion Parameters’ box on the Import tab of Preferences. If you use import method 5, your preset will be used instead.

Note on failed conversions:

- Some errors by the Elgato software might not be properly reported back to VideoDrive. In that case you will receive a 9000 error indicating no valid file was produced by the conversion tool.

1. ‣Elgato Turbo.264 (HD)

HandBrake is an open-source tool offering fast and reliable conversions. Not all video formats are supported though. VideoDrive offers support for the HandBrakeCLI (Command Line Interface) version.

You must download HandBrakeCLI version 0.9.5 (both 32bit and 64bit versions are supported) into the Applications, Utilities or Bin folder and click the refresh button on the import tab of the VideoDrive preferences panel.

Power users:

You can pass optional parameters to HandBrake in the import tab of VideoDrive Preferences. The guide of all HandBrake parameters can be used as reference. Note that if you wish to overwrite the default output parameter, you need to include the --e or --encode parameter. Also, you cannot alter the file extension at the moment.

Subtitles:

If you have an SRT subtitle files, it will be automatically included in the converted file. You are adviced to add a parameter (see above) to determine the language of the SRT-subtitle file to avoid that any subtitle track is labeled ‘undetermined’. This parameter --srt-lang must be followed by the three first characters of the language: fra, eng, spa, ...

Compatibility with older iDevices:

If you have older devices (including iPhone 3 or iPad 1), make sure to select those devices on the Devices tab of Preferences. This way, the most suitable presets for your devices will be automatically used.

Advanced logging:

You can consult the detailed activity log of the latest HandBrake conversion in the log file ‘VideoDrive.log’ in the Console of Mac OS X. The Console is located in the Applications/Utilities folder.

1. ‣HandBrake

Video conversions may take a long time. While HandBrake and Elgato Turbo.264 are faster than QuickTime, it can still take a couple of hours to convert a big video file. Some tips:

1. -Let VideoDrive do its job while your away from your Mac. Launch VideoDrive with a couple of videos and set it to go to sleep after it finishes to save power. This option is available on the general tab of the preferences panel.
   

1. -Don’t convert if you don’t have to. Maybe you watch some shows on your Mac and some while being on the road. If you import videos with import methods 1, 2 or 3 they are not converted, and you can always choose to convert them later on by using the ‘Copy Videos’ button on the main window (or with iTunes by going to the ‘Advanced’ menu).
   

1. -Don’t convert twice. If you obtain videos from a DVD or other sources using other tools, make sure they are directly in the H.264 format as additional reconversions will degrade video quality.

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