Advice Requested

[Grepman]

I want to display some video clips on my website. The "audience" is not likely to have the latest/greatest decoders/browser plugins nor do they have fast internet access. Also, although I do have cable access, it is only one-way.. my upload speed is 28.8 (ugh)...Anyway, can someone recommend a video format for me to use with the following as the main requirements?
1.) Viewable by the widest 'net audience
2.) Good compression (for smaller files while still maintaining a bit of quality)

I have the marvel G400 TV card on a PIII 450 with 256M sdram... and several different video tools/encoders available... I have done some testing already and will continue to do so. I just thought someone here might be able to lend some advice to a video rookie (especially for number one above).

[CMB]

It depends on what you define as quality video....

in my experience people prefer higher quality over scrappy small file vid, but it all depends on the preference. for a small clip 1 to 2 mins i would say aim for under 5mg but let people know they are downloading a decent length clip and not a super high quality 10 seconds cos ive done that myself and its irritating :O)

I prefer the asf format which most win 98 people are cabale of running ok
i have only had one or two mails from people that couldnt run the files and i helped them download latest media player and then all was fine.
as an example of compression, please download this 4mg asf file
http://members.xoom.com/cmb6183/parody.zip

also for examples of other file formats you could do well to follow the links on MURC to the Desktop Video World avi showcase

and try out the many varied file sizes and compression scemes and see which best suits your work and preference

Cable modem lucky you.... i only have 56k dial up

let me know what you think, CMB

[Grepman]

Thanks for the tips! I was thinking of much "less" quality (less than a Meg) than your example so the person could see the clip in a hurry... but perhaps I should reconsider.. I played the parody ASF file.. pretty cool.. What tools do you use to save your files as ASF's? I have used vidtoasf (with just the in and out parameters) and it seems to work fine...

[CMB]

vidtoasf????
i am unfamiliar with this
i use the Windows On demand Producer
from 'EVIL' Microsoft.com :O)
have a look in the download products and get it
(unless this is another name for vidtoasf)

in the options you can select various bit rates and sound quality... for my clip i could have selected a smaller file size and got it down to around 1mg but i feel the nature of the peice is better presented more in a more 'IN YOUR FACE' style

[fluggo99]

I prefer the Windows Media Encoder myself. (Part of the WM Tools, along with the command-line utility vidtoasf.)

Windows Media Encoder will allow you to play around with a few more settings...particularly a setting called "Image Quality" under the "Advanced" settings for the MS MPEG-4 codec. Don't start with a template; say you want to specify Custom Settings, go thru, pick what you like (pick Layer3 audio for such a low bitrate), encode, and then if you don't like the results, just go to Encode->Properties and pick some different settings.

[Grepman]

Thanks much! I just got media encoder to work (had it set to the wrong cap device)and I will play with it. Also, I think I will try to make "low" and "high" bandwidth downloads available on my website... I am currently using tripod (11Meg limit).. anyone have any other suggested (free) webhosting site suggestions?

[This_Idiot]

ASF is good, but it's a bit "specialist" for normal folks - especially if they don't have W98.

It really depends how clued up your audience is going to be. If you want virtually anybody to be able to see video "out of the box", either Indeo or MPEG are the most common codecs. You won't get anywhere near the quality for compression that ASF gives (someone will hang me for that comment, they always do).

I'd also say that for NON-SPECIALIST sites, anything that will take more than 5-8 minutes to download is a waste of time, the general run-of-the-mill webwatcher just ain't interested. CMB has a head start because he's talking to other "fanatics", this site gets away with it because we all want to improve our own projects. I'd say keep filesizes under a meg.

Cheers

Chris

[Grepman]

I see that there is no "cut and dried" answer here... I appreciate all your comments and suggestions... I will keep testing ... I did try the indeo but I was not sure how "common" it was.. maybe I will revisit it...

[fluggo99]

Cinepak is also a widely-available codec.