Elgato Turbo.264 HD Encoder for Apple iPhone, iPod, iPad 1, iPad 2 and Mac Computers (10020196)

by Elgato

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.2 x 7.3 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0021AEPTY
• Item model number: 10020196
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,681 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 27, 2009

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Turbo.264 HD Video Encoder & Accelerator Convert HD video to the universal H.264 format The Turbo.264 HD is a USB hardware device and accompanying Mac software that works together to dramatically accelerate the conversion of video to H.264 format. H.264 video is a universal format that can be played on iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, gaming consoles, YouTube, and much more. The Turbo.264 HD accepts nearly any video file and outputs high quality H.264 video, in formats up to full 1080P HD. "iPod/iPhone Video Accessory of the Year."  - www.iLounge.com
Highlights Convert videos at amazing speed Intuitive and easy to use Instant access to your AVCHD camcorder Preview, trim and combine video files Accelerates encoding from QuickTime-enabled applications Upload video directly to YouTube
	Incredibly fast and easy to use Comes with intuitive software and converts videos at amazing speeds. Crop, scale, trim, batch process, and easily merge multiple clips into one movie.
Easily transfer HD camcorder video to a Mac Preview and move HD camcorder movies to your Mac or iPod in one fast and easy step. Turbo.264 HD automatically detects AVCHD camcorders and lets you add all your video clips to the batch with one click.
	Suitable for pros as well as novices Dramatically accelerates video encoding when used with Mac applications such as iMovie, QuickTime Pro, Final Cut Pro, and EyeTV. Select from a range of presets or add your own video output profiles with complete control over bitrates, frame rates, resolution, and more.
Works with the new EyeTV iPhone App* If you're an EyeTV user and have the new EyeTV app on your iPhone, the Turbo.264 HD has special benefits. By adding the Turbo to your setup, the main processor will have less work to do, plus you get the advantages of 'adaptive streaming' which can deliver higher quality live streaming under varying network conditions. *Optional - Available at the iTunes App Store.
System Requirements Macintosh computer with Intel Core processor 512 MB of RAM a built-in USB 2.0 port Mac OS X 10.5.6 Leopard (or later) QuickTime 7.6 (or later) Input Formats AVCHD Video QuickTime AVI DV WMV MPEG-1 MPEG-2 MPEG-4 MP4 M4V H.263 H.264 AVC Xvid VIDEO_TS and many more. Output Formats Apple TV Video iPod High Video iPod Standard Video iPhone Video Sony PSP Video YouTube Video YouTube HD Video HD 720p HD 1080p Custom profiles - H.264 High Profile, 1080p, 30fps, 20MBit/s max.

Product Description

Turbo.264 HD is the fast and easy way to convert HD camcorder clips and other videos to a format that can be played on an iPod , iPhone , and Apple TV , and shared on the web. Turbo.264 HD is an encoder and accelerator that converts all popular video formats, including HD camcorder video, to a high-quality H.264 file in standard or HD resolutions. It is incredibly fast and comes with an easy-to-use software application.H.264 is the universal video compression standard that can be played on an iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, gaming consoles, selected smartphones, and on the web. It offers extremely high quality video in small file sizes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Elgato missed an opportunity, June 10, 2009

By 

pdX (West Hollywood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elgato Turbo.264 HD Encoder for Apple iPhone, iPod, iPad 1, iPad 2 and Mac Computers (10020196) (Personal Computers)

I've been using Elgato's digital-analog TV tuner for a year and was happy with it. So I'm surprised how poor the quality of this product. I think they missed an opportunity to really understand their user base and what we might use this device for. I use it to convert video from one format to another - mostly avi to m4v so that I can play and archive my videos - TV Shows, Music Videos and Films - within iTunes. For this purpose, the Turbo 264 HD not only doesn't shine, but almost destroys good video.

I submitted two photos of my results as customer pictures - they show two conversions for comparison. On top is a QT conversion at a lower bitrate. On the bottom is Elgato's default AppleTV setting. The results for the Turbo device are surprisingly poor. Much darker and with a serious loss of detail. Also, it doesn't allow you to customize the settings "like a pro" (their words from advertising) - no 2-pass (an obvious requirement), no adding a poster frame, no control over multiple audio tracks, no control over subtitle files, and until the HD software was introduced no modifying the kbps - many the things we expect from QuickTime or ViddyUp or the plethora of dedicated video converters.

Again, it seems Elgato missed an opportunity to make a great, flexible product. It's a good idea, but not well executed.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great consumer device, don't expect miracles, April 11, 2009

By 

320Flyer (Minnetonka, MN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Elgato Turbo.264 HD Encoder for Apple iPhone, iPod, iPad 1, iPad 2 and Mac Computers (10020196) (Personal Computers)

This is a great device for accelerating h.264 encoding on the Mac.

I'm giving it 4-stars instead of 5-stars for one reason only: the quality of the encoded quality is not nearly as good as that provided by Quicktime Pro when transcoding 1080p video. The upside: it's fast. Perhaps this is something Elgato can address in a future software update as the issues involve artifacting during high motion segments and slight softness in general. Perhaps not enough to bother most consumers, but it is readily apparent to anybody that compares the results.

But, when converting standard definition video (such as DVD video_ts) to AppleTV or iPhone/iPod it really impresses with fast and high quality transcodes.

In summary this unit will please consumers wanting to transcode SD video and most HD. Pros or picky consumers will still want to use software methods to transcode 1080p video at the very highest quality.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ahh! Much better now with software/firmware update., August 6, 2010

By 

davey b. "davey" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Elgato Turbo.264 HD Encoder for Apple iPhone, iPod, iPad 1, iPad 2 and Mac Computers (10020196) (Personal Computers)

El Gato just released new software/firmware for this product. My previous review gave it only one star because of HD video quality. I've revised here to 4 stars. The new transcoder is greatly improved. I use the product with EyeTV software to transcode 1080i to 720p. The output video is now much cleaner. Great for my purposes. Would give an extra star if Elgato gave me more info about customizing/limitations of the Turbo H264 coder settings in EyeTV.