Zune Transcoding with Handbrake

General Instructions for Zune Transcoding with HandBrake 0.9.2 or 0.9.3 (and probably later versions)


  1. Select source video

  2. Select a destination with an mp4 file extension.

  3. Picture Settings
    - Select autocrop
    - Select Loose Animorphic
    - Set width at 320 for viewing on the Zune or leave blank for TV output (Note: If the source video width is greater than 720, set the encoding width to 720)

  4. Video Settings
    - use FFmpeg codec
    - Use a 2-pass encoding
    - Set the Avg Bitrate to 300 for device playback, 700 for TV playback

  5. Audio & Subtitles
    - Use AAC for the Audio Codec
    - Set the Bitrate(kbps) to 128


Ideally, this process should yield a Zune compatible file that should not need to be re-encoded when synced to a Zune 4/8/16/80/120. When synced to a Zune 30, any file in an mp4 container will have to be transcoded, but the Zune software does a decent job of transcoding to WMV.

VIDEO SUPPORT
from the Zune Hardware Specs

4GB/8GB/16GB/80GB/120GB

Windows Media Video (WMV) (.wmv)

  • Main and Simple Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 3.0 Mbps peak video bit rate;

  • 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second).

  • Zune software will transcode HD WMV files at device sync


MPEG-4 (MP4/M4V) (.mp4) Part 2 video

  • Simple Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate;

  • 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second).

  • Zune software will transcode HD MPEG-4 files at device sync


H.264 video

  • Baseline Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate;

  • 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second).

  • Zune software will transcode HD H.264 files at device sync


30GB
Windows Media Video (WMV) (.wmv)


  • Main and Simple Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 800 kbps average video bit rate and 1,500 kbps peak video bit rate;

  • 320 pixels x 240 pixels (4:3 QVGA) or 320 pixels x 180 pixels (16:9 QVGA) up to 30 frames per second.

  • Zune software will transcode VGA HD WMV files at device sync.


MPEG-4 (MP4/M4V) (.mp4) Part 2 video


  • Zune software will transcode MPEG-4 files at device sync.


H.264 video


  • Zune software will transcode H.264 files at device sync.