A look at the Turbo.264 HD

Elgato has released an update to the popular Turbo.264 - the Turbo.264 HD. The Turbo.264 HD is a fairly simple gadget that does one thing: it converts your videos to H.264, an encoding format which offers extremely high quality video in small file sizes and can be played on a number of devices, including iPhone/iPod, AppleTV, and many other video playback devices.

While there are many software utilities out there that can do this, none of them are as simple to use or as fast as the Turbo.264 HD.

When we looked at the original Turbo.264, it was in the context of its integration with Elgato’s EyeTV offerings. This feature is still tightly integrated with the EyeTV software and the Turbo.264 HD will work similarly to its predecessor. You can record video using your Mac and convert it for use in your other digital media devices.

Simple, 3-step installation

Setup is fairly straightforward. First, drag the Turbo.264 HD software from the included CD to your Applications folder. Then, plug your Turbo.264HD into an available USB 2.0 port on your Intel-based Mac. Launch the application you just installed, and you’re ready to go.

Easy to use

While EyeTV compatibility is a plus, the Turbo.264 HD is not dependent on that platform. The included software allows you to convert most QuickTime-compatible files to H.264. You can also use it to convert directly from iMovie, Final Cut, and just about any program that supports QuickTime export.

The actual conversion process is another simple, 3-step process. You drag the movie you want to convert into the Turbo.264 HD software, select format or device you want to to convert the movie for, and click the "Start" button. The movie starts converting, along with graphics showing how fast the video is converting and when you can expect it to be done.

That’s it.

Pretty simple, huh?

Versatility abounds

For as simple as the Turbo.264 HD’s installation and use was, I was surprised how many different file types it could convert. QuickTime movies, AVIs, MPEGs, and even a DVD I made several years ago in iDVD all converted easily. Though I didn’t have one at the time I tested it, the Turbo.264 HD also supports AVHCD camcorders, even allowing you to trim down clips without having to import into iMovie or another editor. I have even seen a coworker using it to convert those pesky Matroska Video files (.mkv) that are almost always a pain to work with on the Mac. The Turbo.264 HD made converting them simple.

That covers what it can take in; what about what the output?

With a name like "Turbo.264," it’s pretty reasonable to guess that the device is going to output movies encoded in the popular H.264 format, and that’s exactly what it does. Fortunately, many popular devices use these files, including the iPod, iPhone, AppleTV, and the PSP. There are also options for exporting directly to YouTube and for making HD video files at both 720p and 1080p, in case you have a playback device that supports those resolutions.

Output isn't limited to just the presets, either. More advanced users can select the "Edit…" option from the dropdown menu and tweak the encoding settings to their heart’s content.

Quick conversions

The basic purpose of the Turbo.264 HD is, of course, to speed up the conversion of your movies to the H.264 video format by offloading it to an external processor. This leaves your computer's processors free to work on other tasks.

The Turbo.264 HD accomplishes this purpose incredibly well. Not only does the Turbo.264 HD offer more encoding presets than its predecessor (inlcuding several HD ones), it does so at considerably faster speeds.

In order to give a true "apples to apples" test, rather than using presets (which vary slightly between the Turbo.264 and the Turbo.264 HD), we used custom settings that approximated the same size/quality settings for each unit. As a "control," we converted the same movie using QuickTime Pro, with similar settings. The results are listed to the right.

The Turbo.264 HD was nearly twice as fast as the next fastest conversion method tested. On this computer, QuickTime encoded faster than the original Turbo.264, which is consistent with previous tests we've performed. Not only was the Turbo.264 HD considerably faster than its predecessor, but the video quality of the file produced by default was much better than what the original Turbo.264 delivered as well.

The Turbo.264 HD's only drawback was that its file size was the largest of the three conversion methods tested. This is mainly due to the higher quality image the Turbo.264HD provides. Lower-quality files are always smaller, as there's less information to store.

Feature Comparisons

The Turbo.264 HD does everything the original Turbo.264 did, plus it adds a couple extra tweaks to the package. The main question is whether it's worthwhile to get the new version, or go with the original. Ultimately, it comes down to your needs.

The original Turbo.264 was a great product, and still is a solid choice for video conversion, especially if you're using a PPC-based Mac or are using a version of OSX older than 10.5.6, both of which are not compatible with the new version. If you're only converting things for smaller screens (such as iPods and the PSP) the original Turbo.264 is a great tool, especially considering its lower price point.

On the other hand, if you're working with larger displays (such as with an AppleTV or YouTube), or you are working with HD video, the Turbo.264HD is your best choice. The conversion is quicker and provides better video quality without the need to tweak the presets.

This utility from Elgato is a great addition to your video toolbox, and OWC carries both models, whatever your choice is.