confused with compressing mov and flv etc.

[perik]

hi!

I have exported a movie from final cut as a mov file in size 2.46 GB and data rate 26.56 Mbit/s size 1920x1080

I now need to get it down to about 1 GB.

If I force final cut to set the datarate to 19 Mbit/s and changes the size to 1280 x 720 it will get down to a 1.9 Gb mov file.

I was thinking of if I might make it to a .flv instead and tried with sorenson squeeze at a friends place and exported as a flv instead but with 19 Mbit/s and 1280 x 720. Then it ended up at the same size as above 1.9 Gb.

That makes sense in some way cause its the same amount of data but my question is:

- Are there any point exporting to flv using sorenson or mov through quicktime conversion in FCP or are they just two different formats and havnt got anything to do with size and quality?
- if flv should be a better compressed format, what is a acceptable datarate to use?

any other tip would be very much appreciated!

Perik

[poisondeathray]

FLV and MOV are containers . That says nothing about the compression. Think of them as boxes that hold video and audio. It's the compression that is important, moreso than the container

You would use FLV for streaming platforms if you were embedding on webpage for example. Larger installed base for Adobe Flash than browsers that have quicktime installed . Also there are numerous issues with quicktime (gamma shifts, quality issues)

Filesize = bitrate x running time . So if you use the same bitrate, it will be the same filesize. Use a bitrate calculator if you need a specific filesize like 1GB

"Better compression" implies higher quality at a given filesize. h264 in general will give you better compression than other formats. You can use h.264 in MOV or FLV or MP4 container

You've said nothing about your goals: is this for web, or pc or blu-ray ? etc... because there may be format limitations

[perik]

ok, thanks. Im going to upload it to a filmfestival but they need to get a preview thats about 1 Gb. Then they will download it and watch it. so my goal is:

1 Gb file and 1280 x 7210 (original 2.46 Gb and 1920 x 1080)
with maximum quality

so with other words. It doesnt matter if Im exporting to flv using sorenson or mov through quicktime conversion in FCP?

the result will be the same as long my bitrate and size is the same?

[poisondeathray]

Result won't be the same: there are differences between encoders. Some offer higher quality (better compression)

when most people say "FLV" , they usually mean h.263 (the old style, low quality flash) , not AVC or h.264 - higher quality. So be careful. Remember FLV is just a container. If you use a low quality compression format - your video will be low quality.