What are the big guys using?

[Stan Hirson]

Interesting, although testy, thread. I have some questions.

On a Mac, I use FlixPro to make .swf files at 512 kbs. Most of my site visitors are on DSL and that bitrate seems optimum. I make my own .swf files with a player skin and use vPIP to embed the videos because, for one reason, it is easy to use when there are multiple videos on one page.

You can see an example on:
https://www.pineplainsviews.com/video-stories/54-dairyfarm

I’ve wondered about H.264 and fooled around with some files but I have not been able to get the bitrate down to 512 kbs at the same quality as the VP6 files. I don’t understand the work-flow at all in terms of embedding multiple videos on one page as in the example. The vPIP embed has been working very well.

Am I missing something? I am really curious to try H.264.

Thanks,

Stan Hirson
https://PinePlainsViews.com
https://LifeWithHorses.com

[David Komer]

I’m not familiar with vPIP, but at a glance it seems like it has a bundled FLV player. If that bundled FLV player was published from Flash greater than 9.0.115, then the following should work:

1) Encode a h.264 video.
2) Rename the extension from .mov (or mp4, depending on the tool you’re using) to .flv (seems funny, but it’s the truth)
3) Upload that flv and point it at vPIP

If the bundled flv player doesn’t work with that, then it seems vPIP will also work with a swf. If you don’t want to deal with making a custom player in Flash, then you can also check out the JW media player- https://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player/

[David Komer]

Ah, whups- didn’t realize that with Flash it’s the player that makes a difference, not the publishing. Ignore the bit about “If that bundled FLV player was published from Flash greater than 9.0.115”, but the rest holds true 🙂

[Cade Muhlig]

Daniel,
Get a life. Don’t be a jerk.

[Ed Dooley]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN TESTY??!!?? 🙂
It may be time for you to relook at the optimal bitrate for DSL viewers.
It’s come a long way in data-rate over the last few years. Even in my rural area, the local DSL service is in the 6MBit range these days. I’ve been looking at the lowest data rate to be around 700kbs to accommodate everyone and have had no issues with viewers. I use both VP6 and H.264, and they both look very good (I’m still using VP6 for Flash video, although I’ll be going exclusively to H.264 in the near future), adding another 200kbs to your 512kbs can really enhance the quality.
Ed

[Stan Hirson] “Interesting, although testy, thread. I have some questions.

On a Mac, I use FlixPro to make .swf files at 512 kbs. Most of my site visitors are on DSL and that bitrate seems optimum. I make my own .swf files with a player skin and use vPIP to embed the videos because, for one reason, it is easy to use when there are multiple videos on one page.

You can see an example on:
https://www.pineplainsviews.com/video-stories/54-dairyfarm

I’ve wondered about H.264 and fooled around with some files but I have not been able to get the bitrate down to 512 kbs at the same quality as the VP6 files. I don’t understand the work-flow at all in terms of embedding multiple videos on one page as in the example. The vPIP embed has been working very well.

Am I missing something? I am really curious to try H.264.”

[Stan Hirson]

“I use both VP6 and H.264, and they both look very good (I’m still using VP6 for Flash video, although I’ll be going exclusively to H.264 in the near future), adding another 200kbs to your 512kbs can really enhance the quality.”

For whatever reason, perhaps living in a rural area, I do not get much above 600kbs on bandwidth tests. I checked again a few times recently and it has not improved. As a large segment of my viewers are also rural, I decided to stay with 512kbs. But it is good advice. I just wish I could take it!

(The website I am working on at present is targeted towards a rural audience at https://PinePlainsViews.com)

Thanks

Stan Hirson
https://lifewithhorses.com

[Daniel Low]

If your footage is compelling enough your viewers will be prepared for it to buffer enough to play though without pausing. It’s not like we are talking about live streaming here.

I prefer to follow the Apple movie trailers example than be dictated to by bandwidth limits.

__________________________________________________________________
Please post back saying what solved your problem. It could help others, and saying ‘thanks’ is free!

[Andy Mees]

[Josh Anderson] “Do you know of any applications using VP7…”

Quicklink use VP7 in their PC based Laptop Newsgathering applications

[Josh Anderson] “…that have a license that is not restricted by the non commercial license which is the only one that on2 has released to the public on their own site?”

Well I wouldn’t be privy to the terms of their licensing agreement.

[Josh Anderson] “What solutions currently offer encoding with vp8 to the public? “

As far as I know, Quicklink have adopted H.264 for their Mac based Laptop Newsgathering applications, and whilst they (Quicklink) were looking towards VP8 a few years back it certainly seems possible that On2’s platform centric approach might not be doing them (On2) any long term favours