Cross Platform codecs/splitting/uploading

[mixer]

For some reason, I can't figure out a simple solution:


Hows does a person with a MAC take a DVD and rip it, split it and upload to say RapidShare and make it so a person with Windows can use/view it.

Am I thinking too hard on this one????

[redwudz]

The DVD format is universal and about any OS should have no problem displaying it with the proper player installed. Macs have programs similar to those used on a Intel PC that can create a compliant DVD. Most video formats are compatible with a Mac, even WMV with the proper programs and players.

If you want to find out more about Mac video, look in our Mac Forum.

[mixer]

Correct, but what I'm talking about is when you rip a DVD and split it into segments. Each seqment could be a "avi" or "mpg" .....etc. Then you upload these to a public file server like Rapid Share and then someone downloads them, re-joins them and then plays back an avi, wmv or mpg

That's all pretty simple if it's Windows OS to Windows OS. But what do you use for MAC to Windows?

So, what's confusing to me is the cross platform software that you would use to:

1. Split (and eventually re-join) the files
2. Compress them so that anyone can use them for playback.


Any other ideas?

[redwudz]

If you just need a format to split up a file and post it on a website, you could use a .rar or .zip format. Mac's should be able to read or write either with no problems.

Or most all video formats are cross platform compatible, though WMV can be problematic with Mac's. VLC media player on a Mac will play most any format, just as it does on a Intel PC.

In general just about any common video or archiving format is available on a Mac.

I'll move this to the Mac forum and you may get some better answers.

[rumplestiltskin]

There are "zip" and "rar" utilities for the Mac (search at macupdate.com) that will produce compressed, split files that you may then UL to RapidShare. The PC DL'er would then simply run whatever utility he has to join and "unrar" or "unzip".

I will suggest you try this with a small file first and have the intended recipient test and verify that it works as you expect.

Good luck!