Converting HD on FCP to a web viewable format

[Tom Brooks]

H.264 is one of the best codecs for web video and you can get the data rate you want with any number of encoders, including Compressor. The main setting you might be missing is the limit data rate setting.

At 150kbps, your 640×360 will not look great. It will be soft, blocky at times, and fine details will be lost. That data rate is about a quarter of what YouTube uses now. The video will look much cleaner at 320×180. That’s just the reality of current compression technology.

The reason your PC friends can’t play the H.264 is that they either don’t have Quicktime 7 or they don’t have Quicktime at all. If you need more universal PC compatibility, Windows Media is your best, cheapest solution. You need Flip4Mac plug-in to make WMV in Compressor. You will use 2-pass VBR for best results. Your version of Flip4Mac needs to support that.

Ben Waggoner has good compression advice. Look for his blog and book. Look at the Compression Techniques forum on the Cow.

Final Cut Pro 6.0.4, Mac OS-X 10.5.5, Quicktime 7.5, Adobe Prod Prem CS3, G5 Quad 2.5, Kona-LHe V6, 8.5GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 7800-GT 256MB, G-RAID 2x1TB FW800, 6TB RAID-5 (Enhance E8-ML, Highpoint 2322), Panasonic HVX-200P P2.