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Heres a good read for all you video editing junkies out there
dickkwikkwek (of ckyforums.com) said:Intro:
I see all the time discussions here about what codec is better. Well, here is a list of the most common codecs and when to use them. Here is the un-official codec comparation by me. Before you go read this, first download Nimo's codec pack, which contains all the codecs you need for playing the discussed filetypes in this thread.
DIV-X
This is a populair one. It's a cracked version of MPEG 4 acually. It gives a nice picture compared to filesize. The audio is in the populair MP3 format, which we all know.
Pros
* Nice quality compared to filesize
Cons
* Not compatible with most (like all) DVD players
Compression movement in still images
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* 450 bps or above
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 800 bps
Audio: 128 bps
Use it for:
* On-line publishing
Archieving at high bitrates (like 3000+ bps
compare it to
Looking at something while you have tears in your eyes
WMV A.K.A. Windows Media Video
The codec by Microsoft. Uses it's own WMA audio format for sound. A nice attempt to overrule DivX.
Pros
* Small files
Nice audio
Can be "streamed" on websites
Cons
* Loads and loads of color loss
compression looks ugly even at high bitrates
Horrible compression noise in fast movement
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* 200 bps VBR or above
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 1500 bps
Audio: 96 bps
Use it for:
* Your website
compare it to
Looking at something with tears in your eyes
Xvid
A modified version of DivX, and a very good one too. It drops the stupid keyframe idea of DivX, which gives a calmer picture. This is one of the smartest codecs around.
Pros
* Very nice quality compared to filesize
little compression noise as long at an average bitrate
Cons
* Loads of compatibility problems
No DVD player is invented yet to play this
Not a very populair one, so codecs are hard to find
Colors mess up due to compression
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* 1400 bps or above
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 1600 bps
Audio: 128 bps
Use it for:
* Backing up your DVD's to watch them on your PC
compare it to
Reguar TV
REALone video
Like the Windows Media codec, only from Apple. Smart one this. If you don't want others to copy or edit your video, use this one. It's way better than the Windows Video codec.
Pros
* Great quality and small files
very calm picture
Almost no visible quality loss
Unduplicatable
Can be "streamed" on websites
Cons
* Only plays in Apple's Realplayer
Not compatible with any DVD player
Audio codec isn't very good
Each secound in this format, takes 20 minutes to encode
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* 400 bps or above
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 800 bps
Audio: 192 bps
Use it for:
* Your website
Uninportant video's that have to look nice and be small like previews
compare it to
Watching a DVD on a shitty TV
Quicktime video
An outdated codec, but still used because it's inpossible to copy and edit these. For the rest, it's shit.
Pros
*
Can be "streamed" on websites
Unduplicatable
Cons
* Looks like shit
Sounds like shit
You need a special shit player to play this shit
Is big shit even at insane bitrates
Takes ages to encode
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* doesn't matter; it looks like shit at any bitrate
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 600 bps
Audio: 128 bps
Use it for:
* Stuff you don't want anybody to copy or edit
compare it to
Looking at a grey wall
MPEG 1 A.K.A. VCD
The standard created by the Motion Picture Expert Group. This one has a fixed encoding bitrate for both video and audio.
Pros
* Compatible with most DVD players
Quality is ok
no movement in still images if coded correctly
Cons
* bad compression noise with fast movement
lots of color loss
can't tweak encode speeds much
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* 1440 bps or above
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 1440 bps
Audio: 160 bps
Use it for:
* Video CD
Back up your DVD's
compare it to
A rented videotape
MPEG 2 A.K.A. SVCD
Another standard created by the Motion Picture Expert Group. This one has a fixed encoding bitrate for both video and audio, same as the VCD. Better quality with almost no color loss. Uses the same audio codec as MPEG 1.
Pros
* Compatible with most DVD players
Quality is great
no movement in still images if coded correctly
very calm, sharp picture
you can barely seen any compression noise
Cons
* Big files. Only 35 minutes on one CD
can't tweak encode speeds much
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* 2200 bps or above
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 2300 bps
Audio: 160 bps
Use it for:
* Video CD
Back up your DVD's
Archiving
compare it to
Looking a DVD on a small TV
MPEG 2 HD A.K.A. DVD
Same as the SVCD, only with very low compression in a very high resolution and Dolby Digital or DTS multichannel sound. It uses varial bitrate technology. Which means that with lots of movement more bits are given than parts with no movement.
Pros
* Compatible with all DVD players
Quality is awesome
no movement in images if coded correctly
extreme calm, and very sharp picture
you cant see any compression noise at all
sound is very sharp
no color loss
Cons
* Encoding takes very long
You need a DVD burner
DVD+R's are expensive
A full length DVD movie takes about 4 days to encode
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* 5000 bps VBR or above
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 10.000 bps VBR
Audio: 2000 bps VBR 24-bit 96.000 sps
Use it for:
* Video-cd
Archiving
Backing up your DVD's
compare it to
A moving photoraph
Uncompressed AVI
This is the pure file that comes out of your digital camera. No compression is used, so no quality loss. However, a DVD compressed in the right way looks almost the same.
note: Most camera's use (camera-specific) compression automaticly, unless you have a really expensive one.
Pros
* No compression, no loss at all
Cons
* Insane filesizes
Minimum bitrate to look acceptable:
* Standard is 20 megabytes per second
Best size/quality factor:
* Video: 20 Mbps
Audio: 1440 bps
Use it for:
* Archiving
compare it to
A moving photograph
Extensions:
DivX= *.avi
Windows media Video= *.wmv
Xvid= *.avi
RealOne video= *.rm
Quicktime video= *.mov
Mpeg1= *.Mpg
Mpeg2= *.Mpg
Dvd= *.Mpg or *.Vob
Uncompessed video= *.avi
Phew! That's all of 'em. It was a lot of work, but here it is.