VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 12 of 12
Thread
  1. Hello all,
    I need to distribute/play videos in computers that either have

    1)XP installed - a quick search in the forums revealed the best options is WMV videos.. is there other suggestions? This will play on XP machines right out of the box?

    2)Machines with flash player installed (the earliest the better). In this case I need a tool that will output an AVI file that is encoded with a codec/configuration that is compatible with flash plugin 8 or something. I tried ffmpeg, h264 etc but it didn't work.

    Any help is much appreciated.

    Thanks
    Quote Quote  
  2. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    USA
    Search Comp PM
    MPEG-1 still has the highest compatibility for playback, especially cross platform. WMV of lately has quite a few 'flavors', not all of which will play on all Windows PCs without the correct codecs installed. Flash will only play if the right players/plugins are installed.

    But others here may have better suggestions.

    And welcome to our forums.
    Quote Quote  
  3. Originally Posted by BMemo View Post
    Hello all,
    I need to distribute/play videos in computers that either have

    1)XP installed - a quick search in the forums revealed the best options is WMV videos.. is there other suggestions? This will play on XP machines right out of the box?

    2)Machines with flash player installed (the earliest the better). In this case I need a tool that will output an AVI file that is encoded with a codec/configuration that is compatible with flash plugin 8 or something. I tried ffmpeg, h264 etc but it didn't work.


    1) fourcc "WMV3 "

    WVC1 was a newer version in the the WMV that requires installation of WMP11 or newer

    2) AVI is not compatible, you are looking for h.263 (not h.264) in flv . FFMPEG can do this conversion . If you specify no codec and output format flv, it will automatically use it. Quality is very poor.
    Quote Quote  
  4. Thank you both for the welcome and responses

    So, last time I tried MPEG1 I experienced terrible compression and quality (that was about 8 years ago maybe). Perhaps I did something wrong back then? Can I get DivX quality with MPEG1? If yes which program?

    I'll try WMV3.. thanks!
    Quote Quote  
  5. Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    The free version of Tmpgenc 2.5 is about the best mpeg-1 encoder.
    Quote Quote  
  6. Always Watching guns1inger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Miskatonic U
    Search Comp PM
    mpeg-1 is OK at lower resolutions, but at higher resolutions it needs high bitrates, will give mediocre results, and will produce stupidly large filesizes compared to other formats. Another alternative is to use a modern codec such as H264, and use a player like MPC-HC portable version that requires no installation for playback. If you keep the bitrate and resolution reasonable (i.e. standard definition) then you should have no problem, even on slower machines. If you want to limit yourself to vanilla XP then an appropriate version of WMV is your best bet for quality.
    Read my blog here.
    Quote Quote  
  7. Medium-lo res MPG1. That is the choice for hassle-free playback, by a non-technical target audience.

    De-interlace first.

    Target audience, repeat-play percentage, rough estimate of quantity, tolerance for rejection in distribution, need for hi-res and/or small file size, all these would be factors.

    But if you want a one-click, no-install, play on everything video file, MPG1 is it.
    Quote Quote  
  8. Thanks guys, It seems finding WMV 1 to 3 is a pain these days. Microsoft has retired all official sources. Any suggestions for free application + codec to convert it? I have WME 9 but I can't find any option for WMV1,2 or 3 just presets. Any ideas?
    Quote Quote  
  9. You can use WME9 ; all the default WME profiles should work; just don't select anything that says "advanced profile" or "vc-1" - those aren't compatible "out of the box" on XP installs

    I think Expression encoder has a free version, it's a nicer GUI and more organized and updated
    https://www.videohelp.com/tools/Microsoft_Expression_Encoder

    To properly identify the fourcc code, do some test encodes. You can use mediainfo(view=>text) ,and see if it's WMV3 or WVC1 or some other variant

    "WMV9" is name used for the broad category that encompasses all those profiles
    Quote Quote  
  10. Its strange,. the default are giving me (looking on Gspot) Codec: WMV3, Name:WMP v9 (VC-1 Simple/Main)
    is this the VC-1 you're talking about?
    Quote Quote  
  11. That video should be ok

    VC-1 is name for the broad category as well (I know, confusing). You need to identify the FOURCC code , "WVC1" for the fourcc code (or advanced profile) is what you want to avoid

    Use mediainfo (view=>text), under "codec ID" will say WMV3

    This is ok, because it is "WMV3"
    Video
    ID : 2
    Format : VC-1
    Format profile : MP@HL
    Codec ID : WMV3
    Codec ID/Info : Windows Media Video 9
    Codec ID/Hint : WMV3
    This is NOT ok, because it is "WVC1"
    Video
    ID : 2
    Format : VC-1
    Format profile : AP@L3
    Codec ID : WVC1
    Codec ID/Hint : Microsoft
    Description of the codec : Windows Media Video 9 Advanced Profile
    Notice both are Format VC-1

    Here is more info on the types of WMV
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VC-1
    Quote Quote  
  12. Thanks very much! Very clarifying!

    Best regards,
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!