Best web video format / codec?

[evanfotis]

What is currently the best web video format / codec [quality / size]? Any essential settings I should use to get the best export quality / size with that codec [using Premiere Pro 1.5+]? Thanks.
There is no one best codec format.
It all depends what you are encoding for and what systems do the other end use.

Is it for personal archival purposes? (divX-wmv, or digital anarchy Microcosm)
Crossplatform (quicktime)
Are you going to use those renders in post?(uncompressed)
Are you sending it to:
DV? dvd? podcast? etc...

For web, I'd use mpeg 4, wmv 512, or the qt 264.

[maX_Andrews]

for a video anyone can see, at the best quality-per-KB, that would be quicktime h.264 video,
but it takes longer to encode (not an issue unless you are encoding more than an hour's worth of content) and you'll have to get quicktime pro to encode it or use videora's software.

[TsunamiZ]

for a video anyone can see, at the best quality-per-KB, that would be quicktime h.264 video,
but it takes longer to encode (not an issue unless you are encoding more than an hour's worth of content) and you'll have to get quicktime pro to encode it or use videora's software.

So the Sorenson codec for Quicktime is no longer competitive?

[qwatkins]

So the Sorenson codec for Quicktime is no longer competitive?

I don't believe so, we use Sorenson codecs for everything and it is a great codec. For web playback I think the best is to use a program like Sorensen Squeeze and make an FLV (Flash Video file) that you drop into a flash file and publish a SWF. SWFs are VERY compatible and usually do not require the user to download anything because the flash player is built into the browser. Just a thought.

[ZippZopp]

did this the other day and i got my 3 minute clip down to 14 megs, at full 720x480 res. i rendered a quicktime out of after effects with no compression. open that in quicktime 7 pro. go to file -> export movie. Set the preset to broadband high. then go to options and you can specify size of the clip, and tell it to optimize for streaming. then just let it export. takes a little while, but the quality is great and the file size is even better. give it a go

[parallax]

for a video anyone can see, at the best quality-per-KB, that would be quicktime h.264 video,
but it takes longer to encode (not an issue unless you are encoding more than an hour's worth of content) and you'll have to get quicktime pro to encode it or use videora's software.

I can guarantee that the percentage of people being able to watch your h.264 movie without upgrading is very very small.

[maX_Andrews]

anyone who has installed or upgraded itunes to version 6 or higher, or anyone who keeps quicktime up to date without itunes (the majority of people in the cg universe), will be able to play h.264 video.

[Beamtracer]

H.264 is the most efficient codec out there, in terms of small file sizes. The drawback is that the more complex the codec, the greater the computer power needed to decode it. For small screen sizes it shouldn't pose too many problems.

Otherwise, MPEG-4 or Quicktime Sorenson 3 are still very good, and easier to play.

[farbod]

all h.264 codec nott give the same qualiy and speed , check this link:

http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/codecs-final-105-1.htm

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