HandBrake 0.9.0 released

Now ready for download is v0.9.0 of HandBrake, an open-source utility that converts DVDs into the MPEG-4 format. Included in the update are nearly 300 changes, most notably new import and export options: it has limited VOB and TS compatibility, and presets have been implemented for iPhones and PSPs. Likewise, users can at last export videos to MKV files. The program's interface has been overhauled, and it should be faster due to new versions of x264 and ffmpeg. Glitches have been remedied relating to MP2 files and audio drops.

MP4 files, meanwhile, can now be larger than 4GB. Important to other users may be the inclusion of DTS sound, and improved picture quality -- image scaling and deinterlacing are said to be enhanced, and there are new filters for deblocking, denoising and inverse telecine. Here, presets have been implemented for high-quality settings. HandBrake's graphical interface requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher; the software can still be run otherwise, however, through the Command Line.

by MacNN Staff