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Video codecs/tips/tools for easier Internet downloading
January 11, 2006 2:39 AM   RSS feed for this thread Subscribe

Video codecs/tips/tools for easier Internet downloading

I'd like to put more of my own videos (mostly made using my Sony DSC-T1 camera) on my site/blog for my friends to download, but apart from resizing it to 50% using VirtualDub, I'm having a hard time getting to a reasonable quality/Mb ratio.

I've looked at the DivX codec, but it looks like I have to pay to compress using it. Any other free (beer/speech) codec that is widespread enough for anyone to view the video on his computer ?

Also, apart from VirtualDub, what tools are out there ? Or what tips do you have on VDub ?
I also have access to Flash MX 2004 at work, if that might help, but I'd rather stay in the avi/mpeg/mov filetypes...

Thank you all.
posted by XiBe to computers & internet (12 comments total)
Making movies smaller:
Reduce the scale 50% (or less. Sizes that are good: 320x240, 192x144. Many codecs need to be divisible by 16).
MPEG-4 is a fantastic alternative.
Cut the frame rate in 1/2 permits lowering the bitrate (often in half), halving the size of your files (or improving the picture quality).

Check out videohelp.com for the free/shareware level.

Likely you'll end up with ffmpeg
posted by filmgeek at 4:01 AM on January 11, 2006


ffmpeg is the answer. but it's command line and can be hard to code. The videora conversion tool will do a decent job for you.
posted by ascullion at 4:43 AM on January 11, 2006


Easy:

1. Use the XViD codec instead of DivX.
2. Don't drop the resolution. You'll thank me in ten years.
3. Encode with at least 2-passes. Yes, it will take hours. Suck it up.

What programs to use for encoding? VirtualDub is nice, if you don't mind tweaking settings. If you just want a one-click solution, get Auto Gordion Knot.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:43 AM on January 11, 2006


2. Don't drop the resolution. You'll thank me in ten years.

that's good advice.. but only if you're deleting the originals. You should never get rid of the originals.
posted by ascullion at 5:03 AM on January 11, 2006


www.doom9.org has great GREAT tutorials

I use xvid as well its free.

You can also check out the new h.264 codec which is free as well, but so far has been a pain in my butt
posted by xospecialk at 6:06 AM on January 11, 2006


I use Xvid for archiving high quality videos, but for internet downloads I use Windows Media Encoder from MS and compress to WMV at a rate of 300kbps

Reasons: Downsides are that it is WMV so it may not work on non-windows platforms...
posted by nielm at 6:47 AM on January 11, 2006


An alternative to having them download the entire file is to stream it to them. The DivX browser plug-in might be something that interests you.
posted by whatisish at 7:00 AM on January 11, 2006


10 years? Try 2 years.
posted by dobie at 7:05 AM on January 11, 2006


Yeah, I remember noticing the Xvid codec seemed free, but I couldn't make head or tail on what I should download nor how I should use it (please bear in mind that, while a Ubuntu newbie, I'm still a WinXP user at day...).
posted by XiBe at 7:22 AM on January 11, 2006


XiBe, check out www.doom9.org

it tell you exactly what to dl
posted by xospecialk at 9:18 AM on January 11, 2006


XiBe, the confusion over Xvid probably lies in the fact that there's no noticeable link to the binary versions, from xvid.org. They live on a different place altogether, koepi.org
posted by nomisxid at 10:18 AM on January 11, 2006


Probably not an issue for you, but one of the issues with Xvid is that it implements MPEG4, including the parts that are encumbered by licence fees. Chances are they aren't going to come after some little blog for using an unlicensed MPEG4 encoder, but it's something people should be aware of.
posted by Good Brain at 6:59 PM on January 12, 2006


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