Avoid AtomicParsley bug with HandBrake AppleTV Files

March 17, 2009

After documenting problems that I had with AtomicParsley and HandBrake files was a frustrating experience.

It happened to me every time but did not happen to others all of the time.

What finally appears to be be the problem is easily avoided, if you don’t use the AppleTV preset.

Large File Size

All of my files were created with the AppleTV preset in HandBrake. Most of the shows that I will be watching will be either on my iMac (which can play AppleTV files) or my AppleTV, so it made sense.

However, the AppleTV preset in HandBrake 0.9.3 adds a new feature called “Large File Size”. What is “Large File Size”? This is what the command-line version of HandBrake (HandBrakeCLI) says:

-4, --large-file        Use 64-bit mp4 files that can hold more than
                        4 GB. Note: Breaks iPod, PS3 compatibility.

There isn’t a whole lot of information about this option in the HandBrake documentation, but if you hover over the option in HandBrake you will see a tooltip:

HandBrake Large File Size Tooltip.png

The take-away point here is whenever you see “Large File Size” think “64-bit” not necessarily “4GB”.

The nomenclature here is confusing. If you use this option, you will not necessarily get a 4GB or large file (an average episode of the West Wing (about 42-44 minutes without commercials) is 400-650MB. However, these are still “64-bit” files, and that seems to cause the problem with AtomicParsley.

This option “may be going away” according to some discussion on the HandBrake support forums.

My recommendation is that you do not use this option unless you know that you need it (i.e. you are ripping a very long movie). I do not know what happens if you try to make an AppleTV compatible file of a movie and it needs to grow larger than 4GB, but it seems unlikely to be something that we run into often.

Make Your Own Preset

One of the nice things about the GUI version of HandBrake is how easy it is to customize a preset.

Step 1: Choose the AppleTV preset in HandBrake (click “Toggle Presets” if it isn’t visible already)

HandBrake AppleTV preset.png

This will get you most of the way there.

Step 2: UNcheck the “Large File Size” box

  1. All three ought to be unchecked:
HandBrake Unchecked.png
  1. Then go back to the Sidebar and click the +
HandBrake Add Preset.png
  1. Give it a name, something clear and obvious:
HandBrake Add Preset Name.png
  1. After saving, make it the default (if you wish)
HandBrake Make Default.png

Using those settings should help you avoid the AtomicParsley bug I have been struggling with.

  • Josh

    This is almost the exact type of problem I have been running into. I have about 30% of the files that I used Metax on become unplayable in itunes when they played fine previous to this. So does this solve mean I have to re-encode all my movies in this format? From the original files? From the M4V’s that I already have? Or is there an easier way to change the M4V that already exists? If you have any input on these questions thanks in advance and if I find anything out I will post it here.

  • Josh

    As a add on to my previous post re-encoding the file in Handbrake does not work. The file is unreadable.

  • http://twitter.com/luomat @luomat

    Josh

    If you use HandBrake/AtomicParsley and the file is OK even though you used “Large File Size” you can then add/change metadata using iTunes.

    At least that has worked in my experience.

    If the files will not play at all (i.e. sound no video), then yes, you need to re-encode them from the originals.

  • http://www.verbrauchsplan.de/ verbrauchsplan

    I'm not sure why but second menu is not working to me. Any ideas?

  • Navatar

    If my encode goes over 4GB, it's not playable.

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