The best codec

[Velk]

For web I run either Sorensen or H264.

[fwtep]

Flash is all the rage right now for web stuff and it can look really great. But the only converters I've seen that can make it look good while keeping the file size at its smallest are the ones that cost money.

As for non-Flash, the best I've found is WMV (Windows Media Video). I've tried everything out there, including Sorensen and h.264, and it's simply the best in video/audio quality in relation to file size. And it's FREE. (I should clarify: I mean the best out of codecs that virtually everyone can play back. There might be some obscure codec that's better, but unless you want everyone to have to install a codec before they can watch your video, it's not worth considering.) And Macs can play WMV, by the way.

Of course, with any codec your settings will play a huge part in the final result.

Fred

[Prim]

Yeah, settings are very important...
BTW, what is the optimal brate for internet? 350?

[McKertis]

WMV9 was all the rage about 2 years ago. Now all the skilled encoders use H.264, or rather, its derivative, X.264. There just isnt anything better (without relying on hardware helper cards.)

[marchermann]

Here's a great resource regarding codecs. Information about tons of them, although mostly aimed at the video professional:

http://www.onerivermedia.com/codecs/

Hope this helps.

Marc

[ssebastienn]

Wow, nice Website ! Thanks for sharing Marc Boy!

Sebastien LABAN
www.sebastienlaban.fr.st (http://www.sebastienlaban.fr.st)

[FR33K]

Forget about flash .swf or flv for www output its crap concerning video/audio quality! I can also not understand why adobe captivate 2 only outputs flash movies and in camtasia version 4 flash output is also recommended thats crap!

Best thing is if you record screen using tscc codec for video and for audio pcm for example whic is lossless. For compressing the whole video after recording you should use x264 and AAC thats a winner team which cant be beaten by anything and best is both are free!

[LucentDreams]

Camtasia 4's flash is a little iffy at the moment compared to 3, artifacts seem to be more common (not jpeg artifacts, but slight gaps int heir slices for the trued flash output.)


Why flash is so highly recommended and utilized?

1)supported on all platforms (Windows, MAC OS, and Linux) with without additional install
2)Plays in browser with any player interface design you could want, automate and integrate table of content systems too.
3)security, while flash seriously doesn't limit one form downloading it without a little tact (looking in your cache of using a special downloader for example) he general public aren't aware of such things.

For general app purposes, Flash is fine interms of file size. With higher frame reates and major motion/detail onscreen, it does hit its limitations. for 3D training videos it hits its limitations far sooner than usual most purposes that camtasia is used for.


If Flash isn't suitable the only others I ever recommend are animation,Sorenson or H.264, all quicktime. Mac users are often stubborn and while much of the codecs out there can now run on macs, getting a mac user to actually install is another issue altogether, so honestly quicktime is your second most compatible format as its very rare a PC user doesn't install it. One does have to consider that many don't have the latest and greatest though, so h.264 is still problematic in terms of people not having it still. Animation suffers from getting too big so like flash only ideal for low frame rate high quality image video. Sorenson suffers form color distortion and softening which can be bad for training videos where being able to read text in an interface is important.

Best codec can't just be about which codec is truly superior for quality to size ratios, you have to consider what your audience has and what is fair to expect them to do to view your content. Techsmith's codec would be a better alternative to the animation codec, but expecting users to download and install (both on PC and mac) is expecting too much of your audience.

So flash is top not because of any superiority, but because of its simplicity for the user.

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