Tutorial · Python · ~8 min

How to Convert Video to H.264 in Python

Convert a video to H.264 with a quality target instead of a blind bitrate — and see the size difference the perceptual engine makes.

PythonH.264Encoding

Encode with mlslabs

Step 1 — Sign up and get your API key

Sign up (free tier included)
Copy the API key from the dashboard
pip install mlslabs

Step 2 — Submit an encoding job

Cloud sample: sports-football.mp4. No footage of your own needed.

Python

import mlslabs

client = mlslabs.Client("YOUR_API_KEY")

job = client.h264_encoding.submit(
    input_url="s3://bucket/sports-football.mp4",
    output_url="s3://bucket/h264/",
    quality_target={"metric": "vmaf", "score": 93},
    preset="streaming",   # streaming | archive | gaming
)
print(job.job_id)

Step 3 — Poll for completion

Python

job.wait()
print(job.status)  # done | failed

Step 4 — Download and verify

Bash

curl -L -o out.mp4 <output_url>
ffprobe -show_streams out.mp4 | grep codec_name
# => codec_name=h264

# compare: same clip, standard x264 vs perceptual encode
ls -lh x264.mp4 out.mp4   # out.mp4 is typically 15-30% smaller at equal VMAF