H264 codec and Profile
The H.264 standard defines a set of capabilities, which are referred to as profiles.If you choose "H264 (NVIDIA® NVENC)", the "Profile selection menu" appears like below.
* H264 codec and Profile - Size, Quality and Speed
The table below shows the file sizes, video quality and speed of Bandicam codecs and H264 profiles.| Codec | Size | Quality | Speed | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEVC | 33.5 MB  |
Better |
Fast |
Better than H.264 at compression (NVIDIA NVENC, Intel Quick Sync video) |
| H264 |
34.2 MB |
Better |
Fast |
Best codec for most users |
| H264 (High 4:4:4) |
40.7 MB |
Better |
Fast |
High quality, Windows Media Player doesn't support |
| H264 (High 4:4:4 lossless) |
217 MB |
Best |
Fast |
Lossless video codec Much smaller than YV12 or RGB24 |
| Xvid | 52.9 MB |
Good |
Normal |
Best codec for most users |
| MPEG-1 | 38.8 MB |
Good |
Normal |
Better compression ratio than Xvid |
| Motion JPEG | 420 MB |
Normal |
Fast |
Best codec for video editing software |
| YV12 | 5,210 MB |
Best |
Faster |
Lossless video codec |
| RGB24 | 10,400 MB |
Best |
Fastest |
Lossless video codec |
(Recording time: one minute, Video resolution: 1920x1080, FPS: 30, Quality: 80)
* Geforce GTX 900 series and higher graphics cards support the "High 4:4:4" or "High 4:4:4 lossless" profile.* For more information about the H.264 profiles, refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Profiles.
How to play H264 (High 4:4:4 profile)
At the moment, Windows Media Player doesn't support the "High 4:4:4" or "High 4:4:4 lossless" profile. To play the H264 (High 4:4:4 profile) video file, please use VLC media player, Media Player Classic, or POT media player.* VLC media player settings for H264 (High 4:4:4 profile)
The default settings of VLC doesn't allow you to play the original video quality of the H264 (High 4:4:4 profile) video file. If you use VLC media player, please go to Tools -> Preferences (Ctrl+P) -> Video, and then select "Direct2D video output", "OpenGL video output", or "Windows GDI video output".
* POT media player settings for H264 (High 4:4:4 profile)
The default settings of VLC doesn't allow you to play the original video quality of the H264 (High 4:4:4 profile) video file. If you use POT media player, please go to Preferences (F5) -> Video -> Colorspaces, and then select "RGB 32", "Enable (if possible") and "TV / LCD (RGB: 16 - 235)".
* Media Player Classic settings for H264 (High 4:4:4 profile)
The default settings of Media Player Classic allow you to play the original video quality of the H264 (High 4:4:4 profile) video file.* Tip) The H.264 profiles are only available with the "H264 (NVIDIA NVENC)" encoder.
- Intel Quick Sync Video and AMD VCE profiles may be available in the future.* Related FAQs
- Hardware Acceleration: NVIDIA NVENC HEVC/H.264 Encoder
- Hardware Acceleration: Intel Quick Sync Video HEVC/H.264 Encoder
- Hardware Acceleration: AMD APP H.264 Encoder
- Video editing (Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere and Pinnacle)
- VFR (Variable Frame Rate) vs. CFR (Contant Frame Rate)
- FourCC Code: H264 and X264, VBR vs. CBR, Keyframe
- H264 codec and Profile (Main, High 4:4:4)
- Comparison of video codecs - Size, Quality and Speed