Video Specifications Question

[ryan.small]

>Posted this question on another forum but was directed to post on this site instead<

For a video tutorial which will teach various software applications, I would like some help in determining what the specifications of the video should be.

Therefore, any assistance you could provide as to the video specifications based upon the following factors would be greatly appreciated:

-The video must playback on a Microsoft Windows PC, no need for cross-platform support
-Video will be between 3-5 hours in length and must fit on a single CD
-Playable on a typical Microsoft Windows PC without the need for special hardware or software, other than perhaps the installation of a video codec
-Able to be played on a DVD player if possible

There are a number of companies that sell computer training videos for products such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop to name but a few, so perhaps someone is familiar with what the video specifications are for these training products.

Thanks,

Ryan Small

P.S. To make it worth your while, and to offer something back, I have 5 gmail invites to give for the best responses

[yoda313]

Hello,

The video must playback on a Microsoft Windows PC, no need for cross-platform support
-Video will be between 3-5 hours in length and must fit on a single CD
-Playable on a typical Microsoft Windows PC without the need for special hardware or software, other than perhaps the installation of a video codec
-Able to be played on a DVD player if possible

DIVX my friend, divx... OR xvid....

Check out the guides in the "HOW TO" section on the left of the screen. <----

Though if you leave it as avi on the cd you need a divx compatible dvd player to read it. Otherwise it must be converted to mpeg2 for it to be authored for a normal dvd player.

Do some more reading then ask more questions

Kevin

[tekkieman]

WMV may be the better answer here.

[bugster]

-Video will be between 3-5 hours in length and must fit on a single CD
-Playable on a typical Microsoft Windows PC without the need for special hardware or software, other than perhaps the installation of a video codec

wmv or maybe divx/xvid. Low bitrate (5 hours, 258kbit/s with 64kbit/s audio, 3hours 474Kbit/s). Will look pretty poor, hopefully not too much motion. If it is something like screen caps, you can lower the framerate which will help to keep the video sharp (more bits per frame).

-Able to be played on a DVD player if possible

Needs to be VCD compliant for that. Mpeg-1 at that kind of bitrate will look pretty crappy, but could be done and still be compliant. Can't change the framerate (23.97fps for NTSC 25fps for PAL) and pretty low res (325*240 NTSC 352*240 PAL) so hope you don't want too much detail such as small readable text. VCD should play on a windows PC without any extra SW too, question is will the quality be sufficient. That depends on the contents of the video.

WIth such a low bitrate, wmv or divx/xvid will look the best, but will not play on a DVD player (with a few exceptions). Mpeg-1 to VCD spec will be the most flexible.

[tekkieman]

-Able to be played on a DVD player if possible

Yeah, missed that one.

Although there are DivX/XviD capable players, and at least one WMV player ($385.00!), there's no way of knowing if the capability exists in advance. Even VCD is iffy. My old RCA said it was VCD compatible, and never would play a burned VCD.


BTW - Save the invites. We can't get rid of the ones we already have!

[Epicurus8a]

There will always be compatibilty issues, so there is no perfect answer:

A standard DVD+/-R can typically store around 6 hours of video (@ low res.), but can't be read in a CD-ROM. So this is a bad idea.

Since you want a CD, you might consider using Divx - but that will only give you around 3 hours. Also, you'll need a DVD Player with Divx firmware - and there aren't many of those. So this is so-so idea.

Maybe you should consider making a series of VCDs. These will store around one hour each. VCDs have very good compatibilty with PCs & Computers. VCDEasy is the program for this. This is a so-so idea too, but IMO the most workable.

Good Luck!

P.S. Is that gmail or female invites?

[wonderuss]

I'm not sure how long you can get onto a DVD encoding with Tmpeg but i know i've had quite a bit of good quality DVD content using this program and a DVD authoring program to build the finished dvd.

[BJ_M]

wmv would be a good choice (yes xvid would be better quality - but not as universally known or accepted) ..

15fps is ussually fine for training videos also ..

the dvd player thing going to be an issue - but you can have both on a dvd of course ... (mpeg1 and wmv)

[ZippyP.]

3-5 hours is just too much for CD, so if you're going to put it on a DVD then it might as well be DVD compliant in order to play in a DVD player. My suggestion:

Make a low res DVD (352x240 NTSC) which will allow 5 hours on a disk, it will play in almost every DVD player (as long as it plays a burned DVD) and in any PC that has a DVD drive and DVD software (most newer ones do). You can make menus and make it look pretty good.

- but you can have both on a dvd of course ... (mpeg1 and wmv)

Best of both worlds, a good suggestion!

[BJ_M]

Zippy is right -- you can even include player autoloading software/codec on a dvd thqt works very well and removes it self when finished