best conversion choice for web downloads!

[devdev]

hi all

i have a series of 30 sec to 2 min avi dv files which i'd like to render viewable on my website

what formats would people suggest I convert them to and which software would do the job.

im looking to appeal to the biggest audience possible!

thanks!

[Baldrick]

Flash! convert with riva flv encoder or super or use the flash encoder included in flash.


Google video, youtube and several others use flash video.

[devdev]

thank you!

isn't something like windows media a safer bet in respect of coverage?

[Ai Haibara]

If everyone who visits your site uses the latest version of Windows, perhaps.

It's been said on these forums that the absolute most compatible format across all systems is perhaps MPEG-1. Windows Media isn't supported as well on other operating systems, such as Macs and Linux, especially if the WM video/audio/stream contains DRM. Older versions of Windows may need to have Windows Media support installed before they can use or view it - and even then, support for the newest forms of Windows Media may be limited or nonexistent on those systems.

Support for other formats, such as Real and FLV may exist on other OSs, but still be problematic. (The Mac has support for both RealVideo and FLV (the latter, to some extent), but I don't know about Linux.)

[zoobie]

i like wmv meself via windows moviemaker (comes with xp) or windows free encoder
320x240 is a good size for the web...but not the only of course
your biggest audience will probably be with a smaller file size
I use around 450kbps including audio but it will depend on your source quality

[devdev]

thank you all

most handy