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saved video format/compression

Question asked by Tom Arthur on Aug 25, 2011
Latest reply on Sep 26, 2011 by Dylan Christopherson

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Hi,

I've been creating animations using motion study for a while, and rendering them out (PV360) as avi files. So far, they have all been used in-house and work fine. My question is how best to deal with these files when distributing them to clients on a CD. I realise that this is a bit of an ambiguous question, but my knowledge of video formats and compression types is limited. The reason i ask is that i've found that a 28MB (800x600 24fps 10 sec) AVI video won't play smoothly directly from a CD... obviously fine if copied locally, but i don't want to have to rely on clients to do this.

So... is AVI the best format to use, and what compression level should i try?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Tom

Rob Rodríguez Aug 25, 2011 9:02 AM

Correct Answer

AVI is probably the worst format based on size vs quality. H.264, mp4 compression is the best. You're 28mb avi will probably be about a 1meg file in mp4 format and the quality will be the same.

Download a free program named handbrake to make the conversion for you.

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Rob Rodríguez Aug 25, 2011 9:02 AM

AVI is probably the worst format based on size vs quality. H.264, mp4 compression is the best. You're 28mb avi will probably be about a 1meg file in mp4 format and the quality will be the same.

Download a free program named handbrake to make the conversion for you.

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Tom Arthur @ Rob Rodríguez on Aug 25, 2011 9:37 AM

Thanks Rob,

I've been using VirtualDub, i'll try with that.

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Tom Arthur @ Rob Rodríguez on Aug 25, 2011 9:49 AM

You're right... handbrake is the way to go. Thanks again

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Dan Neseth @ Rob Rodríguez on Aug 29, 2011 10:45 AM

AVI is not as much of a format as it is a file extension. There are at least dozens of compression codecs that use the .avi format. Some software (VirtualDub) will even compress video using the H.264 codec and save the file with an .avi extension. Handbrake is great if you want a simple interface with your choice of 2 compression codecs, but VirtualDub is much more useful for doing framerate conversions, copy/paste/merge/cut editing and other functions. I use both.

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Tom Arthur @ Dan Neseth on Aug 30, 2011 5:17 AM

Understood... we use virtualdub for stitcking frames together and like you say, adjusting framerate. My main concern, along with file size, was to end up with a file extension that is useable by any and everybody.

Any comments on AVI over MP4 from this point of view, regardless of filesize?

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Dylan Christopherson @ Tom Arthur on Sep 26, 2011 3:29 PM

I just finished a project where the end result was to place the videos into a powerpoint presentation. Had alot of trouble with H.264 compression and pre-2010 versions of office. The files would play in media player, but powerpoint required the installation of QuickTime and even then playback was choppy. The problem persisted with AVI's compressed with H.263, XviD, etc. My solution was to use windows movie maker with WMV compression. Not my first choice, certainly, but it worked great with powerpoint and the filesize was fine. For viewing in a media player, I would certainly choose H.264 compression. For editing and production I think uncompressed is the most universally useable.

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Rob Rodríguez Aug 25, 2011 9:02 AM
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Correct Answer
AVI is probably the worst format based on size vs quality. H.264, mp4 compression is the best. You're 28mb avi will probably be about a 1meg file in mp4 format and the quality will be the same.

Download a free program named handbrake to make the conversion for you.
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- Tom Arthur @ Rob Rodríguez on Aug 25, 2011 9:37 AM
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  Thanks Rob,
  I've been using VirtualDub, i'll try with that.
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- Tom Arthur @ Rob Rodríguez on Aug 25, 2011 9:49 AM
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  You're right... handbrake is the way to go. Thanks again
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- Dan Neseth @ Rob Rodríguez on Aug 29, 2011 10:45 AM
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  Correct Answer
  AVI is not as much of a format as it is a file extension. There are at least dozens of compression codecs that use the .avi format. Some software (VirtualDub) will even compress video using the H.264 codec and save the file with an .avi extension. Handbrake is great if you want a simple interface with your choice of 2 compression codecs, but VirtualDub is much more useful for doing framerate conversions, copy/paste/merge/cut editing and other functions. I use both.
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  - Tom Arthur @ Dan Neseth on Aug 30, 2011 5:17 AM
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    Understood... we use virtualdub for stitcking frames together and like you say, adjusting framerate. My main concern, along with file size, was to end up with a file extension that is useable by any and everybody.
    Any comments on AVI over MP4 from this point of view, regardless of filesize?
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    - Dylan Christopherson @ Tom Arthur on Sep 26, 2011 3:29 PM
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      I just finished a project where the end result was to place the videos into a powerpoint presentation. Had alot of trouble with H.264 compression and pre-2010 versions of office. The files would play in media player, but powerpoint required the installation of QuickTime and even then playback was choppy. The problem persisted with AVI's compressed with H.263, XviD, etc. My solution was to use windows movie maker with WMV compression. Not my first choice, certainly, but it worked great with powerpoint and the filesize was fine. For viewing in a media player, I would certainly choose H.264 compression. For editing and production I think uncompressed is the most universally useable.
      Like • Show 0 Likes0
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saved video format/compression

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