[JIML] H.264 Settings for Just In Mac Lite v.2025.x
H.264 Settings
When creating an H.264 Capture Preset, you have to select “H.264” specific settings.
Note that “Custom” has to be selected as the “TV-Norm”, when working with “H.264” presets.
There are different values and settings that can be customised within an “H.264 Capture” preset. Initially, the container type must be selected. There are two options available:
AVFoundation QuickTime (with Timecode Track)
MP4 (no Timecode Track)
H.264 is a complex codec standard and is a bit more tedious to set up. Therefore, just:in mac lite 2025 provides various options, that can be modified within an “H.264 preset”. After choosing the container type, you have to define two general settings:
Resolution
Frame rate (has to match the Video Mode of the Channel)
Next, select the aimed “H.264 profile” and choose between multiple Advanced Video Coding options. Then you can set the Bitrate in bit/s, B-Frames, the GOP-Size, and the Entropy Mode.
“Baseline” - Baseline encodes are the most basic form of encoding. While decoding is much easier, it may also require much higher bit rates to maintain the same level of quality.
“Main” - The middle ground. Most modern/current devices will support this profile.
“High Profile” - For best quality and file size at the expense of CPU time in both decoding and encoding.
“Iconik Proxy” - Please use this for iconik workflows. This profile sets all h.264 related settings required for an iconik Proxy.
Then you can set the Bitrate in bit/s.
B-Frame - Short for bidirectional frame, or bidirectional predictive frame. As the name suggests, B-frames rely on the frames preceding and following them. B-frames contain only the data that has changed from the preceding frame or is different from the data in the very next frame. B-frames increase compression efficiency, particularly at lower bitrates. We recommend having this option enabled.
The GOP-Size determines the maximum distance between I-frames. Very high GOP lengths will result in a slightly more efficient compression but will make seeking/scratching in the video somewhat more difficult. The recommended default is 0, which sets the encoder to Auto-GOP.
Lastly, you can define the Entropy Mode. When you select the “Main “or “High Profile” (“Baseline” is “CAVLC” only), you have two options:
“CAVLC”: Context-based adaptive variable-length coding
“CABAC”: Context-based adaptive binary arithmetic coding
“CAVLC” is the lower-quality, easier-to-decode option, “CABAC” is the higher-quality, harder-to-decode option.
Recommended settings for HD presets:
Resolution: custom
Frame rate: custom
Profile: “Main” or “High”
Bitrate: custom
Allow B-Frames: Activated
GOP-Size: “0”
Entropy Mode: “CABAC”
Recommended settings for SD presets:
Resolution: custom
Frame rate: custom
Profile: “Baseline” or “Main”
Bitrate: custom
Allow B-Frames: Activated
GOP-Size: “0”
Entropy Mode: “CAVLC”
Please note that some Mac models have a built-in H.264 hardware encoder, which just:in mac lite 2025 can use for the H.264 encoding process. This happens automatically when working with an H.264 Capture Preset. If you are using a Mac without such an H.264 encoder, you will see a warning message in the Errors and Warnings Section within the Inspector.
Be aware that not all custom resolutions are supported by the macOS built-in hardware encoder!
Important Update: Starting with version 2025.2, the Just In Mac Lite application will be optimized exclusively for Apple silicon hardware (M1-M4) to provide you with the best performance and experience!
If you are planning to deploy the Just In Mac Lite application on INTEL-based Macs (MacPro7,1 or Macmini8,1) please use version 6.5 or version 2025.1!