Video Format for Embeding on Webpage

[sanguina]

Hi

I am new to this Video stuff .. and I am preparing hard to shoot some video lessons that would go into a membership site.

What is the best format for self hosted videos ?

I tried SWF - it plays in all browsers but with no player controls -
seems like i will have to buy adobe flash product to embed player controls.

Quicktime - i did not like the quality of controls plus the fact you will need quicktime installed on the PC to see it.

what about rm, avi, mpg, ogm, mp4

The more i read about things- the more confusing it gets.

And then every one seems to have different suggestions -
isn't there a one best answer to this question ?

My shooting begins in 2-3 days and i really dont have time left to read all technicalities on the best format to use.

By best I mean -

one that can play on all browsers with minimum third party resource dependence
one with a reasonable streaming speed, quality and control mechanism

Any suggestions would be really appreciated ?
what would you choose if you had been in my place ?

thnks a lot

[Baldrick]

I would convert to mp4 with for example handbrake. Then use a flashplayer on your site. Go to www.flowplayer.org or http://www.longtailvideo.com/jw-player/ for flash players and information how to use them.

Or just upload to vimeo or youtube and include them on your site.

[sonicdeth]

I upload to youtube and embed them onto my site... saves your space as far as your hosting plan and it's fairly simple to embed this way.

[sanguina]

@Baldrick - thanks a lot

However Longtail is free only for non commerical use and Flowplayer will put its logo - which i would ideally want to avoid.
Browsing some other thread on the forum I came across NonverBlaster:hover and
MEjs which apparently would be good for my purpose.

@ sonicdeth - thanks for your reply .i am avoiding commercial plans and Vimeo is a costly affair.
Youtube would allow private videos but the links of private videos can be shared by the viewer - so they are not private in true sense. I have unlimited hosting space - so space should not be an issue for me.

I need to next decide the

• Width, Height of the video
• Aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3)
• Frame rate,
• Standard( NTSC/Pal etc)

for the video.

What should be the ideal value for these parameters ?
(considering that the videos will streamed on browsers)

I really dont know the implications of choosing one over the other and the subject is too vast to cover before actual video productions goes live.

thanks again for replying. please help me with this decision.

[smrpix]

If your production is constrained to where you can't afford $149 for JW plus or $6-10/month for vimeo plus, use YouTube.

[_Al_]

• Width, Height of the video
• Aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3)
• Frame rate,
• Standard( NTSC/Pal etc)

-you shoot16:9 you encode that way, you shoot 4:3 you encode it as well, aspect ratio 1.0, so anamorph videos or DVvideo or some widescreen you have to always resize to have aspect ratio 1.0

-what group of people it is intended ? older folks or whomever ?, you need to consider there is somebody with Pentium4 out there or using 2 years older iOS devices or smartphones so you need to encode maximum 640x360 baseline@3.0 low bitrates, tablets should manage main profiles now, even latest iPhones
-or you offer two streams, so user can swith version with higher resolution and bitrate and this basic easy SD stream as I described

-you keep the same rate as original, but always progressive, no 50p or 60p or you experiment with those 50p/60p and higher bitrates only

-make sure video is ready for progressive download, x264 encoder is alright (default), MainConcept in Vegas is alright ( there is one check box for that) but you use same Vegas software and Sony encoder and it is not ok. In this case you need mp4faststart utility that fixes that.

as for YouTube upload, of course it is different approach, you upload the best progressive video possible at your convenience to get the best result

[_Al_]

-the other subject on its own is browser compatibility, it is going to take you some time, it is weird, let it sink:
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_video.asp

to have across browser compatibility you have to use either right player using superior mp4 (with H.264 video in it)that renders video (html5 or flash) depending on browser or device, or you need to go only html5 way and upload always both mp4 and webm format, so browser loads format that is capable of reading

[smrpix]

-the other subject on its own is browser compatibility

This again is why using vimeo or youtube is invaluable. I'll get off my horse now.

Good luck.

[TreeTops]

smrpix's response's is spot on. Listen to him. You will waste too much time trying to do it any other way.

[_Al_]

Yes, quite complex to stream video content. Who's fault is it? That it is wild west even around 2013 to stream video like that?

You do not want to distract people, they see youtube, click it, read stupid comments, and disappear from your page .... , I guess everything has its price.

[_Al_]

Another thing to consider is to be independent, commodity highly valuable now and in the future. You have your stuff put together, some server fails, Google wiil fail, you are put it back on in a heartbeat if you have web with video backed up on your own, you upload it somewhere else, or even from your own house. As I said, everything has its price. You just have to sail through it first time and then it is just fine ride. For somebody it is easy for somebody not possible to go through.

Another thing that comes on my mind is music on your video, you capture some dancing party with music in the background or just some nice background music and YouTube might not allow it.

[poisondeathray]

OP is doing a membership site (I assume with fees). Youtube or vimeo hosting might not be a good idea, as it might be considered "less professional"

For a membership site - copyright/ content protection is another area you might want to think about

As mentioned above, youtube can be great for hosting, and for some people - it's also another source of revenue, proportional to number of views and accessory advertisements. But it doesn't sound like this fits within a typical membership site design

[sanguina]

@_AI_ thanks a lot .. really great help. really appreciate your time to put up that detailed and insightful reply.

@simprix thnks - vimeo is my second best option - i am a small home based production and would like to avoid these little costs which can stack up to huge sums. and __AI__ has put have enough valid reasons why youtube is not that great an option for branding, privacy, control over content etc.

_Al_ Re: Video Format for Embeding on Webpage
Yes, quite complex to stream video content. Who's fault is it? That it is wild west even around 2013 to stream video like that?

so very true ...