Video converter with hardware accelerator
Turbo.264 HD adds an extra engine to your Mac and saves you time if you convert a lot of video. Whether you’re a camcorder enthusiast who puts home movies on an iPad or iPhone, or an EyeTV user who streams live TV, simply connect the Turbo.264.HD hardware accelerator and fasten your seat belt. Comes complete with Turbo.264 HD video converter software, which gives you an easy way to convert camcorder & video files for iPhone or iPad in an extremely high-quality format. The software can be used with or without the hardware accelerator.
Highlights
- Comes complete with video converter software for Mac, which can be used with or without the hardware accelerator
- Boosts the software’s speed of video conversion, especially on slower Macs
- Accelerates the delivery of EyeTV recordings to iPhone and iPad
- Maximizes the picture quality of the EyeTV app (available on the App Store for €3.99) by adapting the video stream to available bandwidth during live TV streaming
A software-only version of Turbo.264 HD is also available. Compare versions
Reviews
"The best we’ve seen is Turbo.264 HD, which for $150 blazes through Mac conversions of non-iPod/iPhone videos into H.264 format; we saw nearly a 5X boost even when used with a 2008 computer."
"Doesn’t take a genius to see the difference in time saved here. A 15 minute difference... the benefits of using the Elgato Turbo.264 HD are obvious."
Overall, the Turbo.264 HD is a fine device that professionals can use for mobile editing or to increase the number of videos that can be compressed simultaneously.
"One of my biggest expenses has always been buying new large hard drives for my ever increasing collecXon of footage (going on two years now!). The Turbo.264 HD actually makes it possible I can put 2 years worth of footage on one (small) bus-powered hard drive. "
- Shawn Ahmed, anti-poverty activist and independant filmmaker
Learn more about Shawn's work here: Save the Children
The bottom line. Pro editors already have specialized gear for encoding video, but for the average Mac user, Turbo.264 HD makes working with video—including 720p or 1080p HD—a much speedier process.
- Ray Aguilera, Mac | Life Magazine
If you are looking for quick and easy video encoding for home use, then this is it.
- Lance Olinger, Videomaker
"...the results of the Elgato Turbo.264 HD's compression are excellent. While you might not need the very best resolution for your iPhone, it is capable of producing high quality video with jack rabbit speed... My bottom line is that Elgato has simply made an excellent product that much better."
- Steve Douglas, certified Apple Pro for Final Cut Pro 6 and underwater videographer
"The Turbo.264 HD eats video for breakfast..."
- Jake Gaecke, Appletell
"For EyeTV owners especially it's a recommended buy, but for anyone who loves to share video by exporting it to one device or many will find this hardware encoder a godsend."
- Macworld Australia, May 2009
The Elgato Turbo.264 HD integrates perfectly with pour BoinxTV based workflow. Trimming a recorded show is extremely easy, and encoding is faster than with any software encoder we ever tried. All in all, Turbo.264 HD is a huge time saver for us.
- Bastian Wölfle, Bitnapping.tv
"I have used it to convert more than 2500 video files. I think its safe to say that I know the product well... Elgato Turbo.264HD is the best device for converting all types of video formats money can buy. With its ability to trim out commercials, import DVD’s, and the blazing speed make this product one of the best I’ve reviewed in years."
MacTruth.com
"I'm floored by the speed at which it processes HD files. Simply stunned. The only satisfactory way i'd found to successfully convert HD .mkv files to .mp4 was using compressor and it often took up to 48 hours.. that's right, two days... and even then the sound was stereo. Now I can do it in just over twice realtime and keep the AC3 sound... I'm very, very impressed."
- Colin Blakeston, cameraman/editor and satisfied customer
"The Verdict: Elgato's turbo.264HD is a great encoder for those who need to basically do a lot of video encoding and want it done quickly. It's extremely intuitive, making it quick and simple to use, and is also the fastest one we've tried to date."
- Andi Wang, Gizmodo.com
It’s hard to overstate just how easy Turbo.264 HD is to install and use... Average users will find the process extremely simple, and by comparison with using iMovie, incredibly fast at taking videos from a camcorder and rendering them viewable on a computer.... for high-resolution output, it’s a speed demon."
- Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
![]()
"I really can’t be more positive about this device. Computing has become more and more media centric and the ability to quickly edit and convert video is now almost essential. If you own a TV device with the EyeTV 3 software then this device is verging on essential. If you convert on a regular basis whether for video podcasts, family video or even professionally I would highly recommend the hardware acceleration this device offers."
- DigMo
Personally, we're happy to get the fastest possible H.264 encoding available on a Mac today. Rating: 90%
- Tony Smith, Register Hardware, UK
"Ideal if you want to load up your iPhone, iPod or PSP for watching movies on the go, but it's not only the ability to drag files into the application that we like. The fact that it improves encoding time in other consumer editing applications like iMovie or the company's own EyeTV is also a bonus."
"Verdict: Simple but incredibly effective the Elgato Turbo.264 HD works and works well"
- Stuart Miles, Pocket-Lint
"The new one is a great gadget to own. Especially if you have a camcorder that can use it. Or, for the non-techy tpyes that just want a simple and easy method to put video on their iPod or Apple TV. Also, anyone that uses EyeTV should have a Turbo.264. They work together very well. […] I'm not afraid to recommend the Turbo.264 HD to anyone looking for a simple solution to video converting."
- Tim Verpoorten, Surfbits presents The MacReviewCast
The Turbo.264 HD is a must-buy for any Mac user, amateur or pro, who dabbles heavily in video and does lots of footage converting. Ditto for heavy EyeTV users like me; it's already saved me tons of time.
We've come to rely on the (original Turbo.264) as a key component in our production workflow, with keys installed on most production machines. The speed and encoding quality is unmatched, especially for a "consumer" level product being used in a professional environment. The only thing we could not handle were HD encodes. The new Turbo.264 HD is exactly what we have been waiting for, and after seeing the speed it is more than we could have imagined. It is truly an amazing product.
- Matt Silverman, Creative Director, Bonfire www.bonfirelabs.com
Prepping home movies for viewing on the iPhone can be a tedious business - especially if you own an older Mac. The Turbo.264 HD speeds up the process considerably by acting as a dedicated H.264 co-processor - and even enables you to rip high definition AVCHD files. The accompanying software comes with a range of built-in presets for devices like the iPhone, Apple TV and even PS3 and is slick and easy to use.
- TechRadar.com




