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Web safe video compression?

I

igowerf

Diamond Member
I need to make a video available for users to watch on a website. What do you guys think is the most websafe format to use? Right now, I'm thinking mpeg is pretty good. It compresses well and any computer with WMP or QT should be able to play it back right?

Update 1: I've decided against mpeg because different players have different control bar heights. If you want to include a width and height into your embed code, you have to include the height of your control bar in the total height. mov and wmv are better with this because they're usually played with their respective players.

Update 2: gsellis had suggested Riva FLV Encoder which converts your video files into an FLV file that you can stream using a Flash animation (applet? module?) like FlowPlayer. FlowPlayer is an opensource FLV player that's just an SWF file that takes an FLV as a parameter. It's not too customizable, but if you have Flash, you can get the source code and customize to your heart's content.
 
Something like x264 or h.264 or something like that is supposed to be the best in terms of quality vs compression ratio. I personally like XviD. It's a pretty mature format. x264, the open source version of h.264, strikes me as a fairly new thing yet, though I may be wrong about that.
 
h.264 is relatively new. I'm hoping for codecs that will be on most peoples' computers like Cinepak or Indeo.
 
It is a dilemma. I use WMV as it available for about 85% of the population (and supports WMV-HD - which is more available than H.264 with accl.) QT is OK, but masses of folks have revolted because of the pop-up on the free player (QT6, QT7 does not pop-up - Apple does learn). Real it out as it is well hated (that pop-up thing again.)

Another option is SWF. Shockwave is well supported, but you need the tools. I can create the intermediary files with my editor (FSV?) and then generate a SWF inside the Flash Editor. It will play in the browser for most systems and browsers. You may want to add a link to Flash 8 player.
 
if you have the tools use gsellis flash player idea. it also makes it more difficult for people to steal the videos on your site.
 
In my experience, flash has always been the most consistent. I cringe when I see places offering wmp and ram options. However, flash generally tends to have lower quality, although that's just what I seem to notice, it could be a fluke. However, I still hesitate to recommend flash because the only people who can see it are those whom macromedia has bothered to produce a binary blob for (granted, that's a pretty high percentage of the web).
 
Flash is a good idea, but I don't have the software at home. Maybe I'll try putting it together when I have some free time at work

Also, just for the sake of contributing to this topic, I've concluded that mpeg isn't a great idea. When you embed a video, you'll want to include the width and height of the video plus the height of the video player controls. WMP and QT videos are pretty much always played back with WMP and QT plug-ins so the video player control dimensions are predictable. MPEG playback will vary from system to system so you'll have a hard time figuring out what dimensions to use. I don't know how Linux users play back embedded videos, but I always just assume that Linux users are used to these things and smart enough to figure out a workaround if they need it. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: gsellis
Just adding

Riva - FLV Encoder for free

That gets you half way. Student versions of Macromedia suites are usually inexpensive if you are a student.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link! I might try going with Flash. Do I need some sort of flash streaming server? Are there any premade swf files that will take an FLV as a parameter and play it?
 
Just an update if anyone cares. I found a free way to playback those FLV files made by the Riva Encoder that gsellis linked. FlowPlayer. It's just a SWF file that takes an FLV as a parameter. It's not too customizable, but if you have Flash, you can get the source code and customize to your heart's content.
 
I still have not found a converter other than Flash to convert FSV to SWF. I created one yesterday and about ready to do another. My editor has a converter to FSV built in, so it is just a 'send' button. I then have to import it into Flash and export as swf.

On mpg1, even worse compression than mpg2. wmv is a clear winner, with creation of swf or qt if your clients require it.
 
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