Best format for HD streaming?

Ros wrote on 2/7/2008, 1:45 PM

What would be best formats and codecs for streaming HD video from within Vegas 8 or using additional plugins?

I rendered some files to .wmv HD but they render lighter than the original shoot and preview window from Vegas. Not impressed so far, unless I am doing something wrong???

Thanks again,

Rob

Comments

bigrock wrote on 2/7/2008, 2:21 PM

The best format for HD Streaming today is Flash encoded with the ON2 VP6 codec. This time next year it will be Flash with the h.264 codec. WMV is that last format I would be using.

Flash On2 VP6 Sample
Flash h.264 Sample (requires latest Flash 9 update to view).

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goshep wrote on 2/7/2008, 3:07 PM

What is the work flow for that process and what additional software does one need?

Ros wrote on 2/7/2008, 3:13 PM

I just did a search for H.264 for Vegas 8, and to my surprise, mp4 is H.264, so at this point I can choose the Sony or MainConcept H.264 codecs. I just did a quick test and I am amazed, finally!

Thanks a lot, I will look into your links!

BTW, other than quicktime, any other players to read mp4?

Rob

Kennymusicman wrote on 2/7/2008, 5:24 PM

mp4 is just a container and has been around for ages. Likewise with H264..

Players galore can read mp4, from software and hardware (even my old pda supports it :) )

But you get variants of mp4. Afterall, Son'ys HD Handycams use mp4 for their AVCHD.
As long as you have the codecs,
Quicktime likes mp4
Media player likes mp4
Media Player Classic
VLC
Nero
+many more.

bigrock wrote on 2/7/2008, 5:28 PM

Q: What is the work flow for that process and what additional software does one need?

A: I export at 1080P resolution uncompressed and feed that into Abode Flash Video Encoder. The resultant FLV file is embedded into a webpage. Pretty darn simple.

Additional Software:
Adobe Flash Pro CS3
Adobe Dreamweaver CS3
Flix Standard can be used as an alternative to the real Flash if you don't have it.

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Terje wrote on 2/7/2008, 6:57 PM

The best format for HD Streaming today is Flash encoded with the ON2 VP6 codec. This time next year it will be Flash with the h.264

Hmmm. Just curious. Why would the best codec now be the ON2, and why would that change by next year? Is there any reason not to use H.264 now? It isn't hard to create a player that will check the version of Flash and recommend the user upgrade.

Ros wrote on 2/8/2008, 1:08 PM

Don't know why, but Windows Media Player (Vista) will only play the audio from mp4 files, even if it says that it is aquiring the codec???

Quicktime plays well but it takes about 30 seconds to load on a new freshly installed Vista.

jrazz wrote on 2/8/2008, 1:40 PM

DivX is my choice due to them hosting it, streaming it and allowing me to embed it on my site, which saves me bandwith as well as storage space. Did I mention that the quality is excellent?

j razz

Terje wrote on 2/8/2008, 11:30 PM

Don't know why, but Windows Media Player (Vista) will only play the audio from mp4 files

Microsoft will probably "never" support H.264 given that they are backers of the primary competitor. Install ffdshow and you'll be fine with Windows Media Player too.

Ros wrote on 2/9/2008, 9:00 AM

Thanks Terje, I just downloaded from Free-Codecs.com ffdshow-rev1840_20080202. It plays well and loads fast with Windows Media Player compared to Quicktime.

Somehow, why is that the video playing in Quicktime appears slightly more contrasty and warmer than when it plays in Windows Media Player? Is the codec from Quicktime superior to the one I downloaded from Free-Codecs.com?

Rob