internet files and size

dvideo wrote on 8/8/2006, 12:20 PM
QUESTION 1: Can anyone recomend a Render type in vegas (ex. quicktime, wmV,.....)that is most suitable for an internet file. I have some video clips about 3-15 min. in length that I would like to compress for the internet in a 360*240 ratio, but need them to be small in file size while maintaining good quality. I would also, of course, like these files to load quickly. Any general advice with this somewhat vaigue description?------------------QUESTION 2 Also, I've heard people talking about a 320*240 ration, instead of 360*240---what is the differencd? Half of 720*480 = 360*240, so why would 320 be used instead?
thank you.

Comments

Former user wrote on 8/8/2006, 12:26 PM
To get the correct aspect on a computer, you normally use 1 to 1 pixels. So 640 x 480 is a normal 4 x 3 aspect. 720 x 480 is the normal resolution for a DV file because it uses non-square pixels.

So 320 x 240 would be the normal computer viewing resolution.

Dave T2
Jessariah67 wrote on 8/8/2006, 12:51 PM
I used to use wmv 256k with dual pass activated. Now, honestly, I just do 512K and haven't had any complaints. Perhaps there is still a large enough demand out there to warrant "dialup" versions, but I haven't come across it.

I'm still not much of a fan of Quicktime, as it takes over your browser and wants to completely load before playing (or maybe I'm just mising something). WMV automatically buffers, which gives as fast a "load" time as the connection allows.
dvideo wrote on 8/8/2006, 1:07 PM
Are you suggesting that for the pixel aspect ratio I use should be 1.000 instead of .909?
Former user wrote on 8/8/2006, 1:20 PM
For computer viewing, yes you should use pixel ratio 1. This allows higher quality video at a lower bitrate because there are less pixels to manipulate.

Dave T2
Stuart Robinson wrote on 8/8/2006, 1:48 PM
I do a lot of this too...

Aspect ratios: remember that pixels on a TV are rectangular whereas pixels on a computer monitor are square. A video file that is 720×576 (PAL) should be 768×576 on a computer to maintain the correct ratio.

With an image height of 240, the width should be 320 to maintain a true 1.33:1 ratio.

I'm not a fan of QuickTime either, Windows Media has more native O/S support, but remember that development on a Windows Media player for the Mac ceased some years ago.

MPEG-1 has universal support, but the video quality is poor compared to solutions such as DivX, but remember that the end user will need the CODEC.

Having said all that... generally... your safest bet is Windows Media. The encoder is fast and free, there's even a 64-bit version that can use multiple threads if you are running x64. You just need to play around with the settings until you get a good file size vs. image quality compromise. Remember to deinterlace first and compress the audio as well as the video.
dvideo wrote on 8/8/2006, 2:57 PM
WHEN in the WMV render window, what are the different Mode options-for instance CBR?
thanks
Stuart Robinson wrote on 8/8/2006, 3:31 PM
CBR is Constant Bit Rate, VBR is Variable Bit Rate, the latter changes the amount of data in the file according to how much is needed.

It sounds like you need to start with a fairly basic guide (no offense) so try the Video Help site - http://www.videohelp.com/