Best File Format

I have Photoshop Elements 2 and Photoshop Album.
1. If I take a picture in RAW, is it better to "fix" it using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX or change the file to a TIFF file and "fix" it in PSE or PSA? Is there any quality lose converting from RAW to TIFF?
2. In PSE, is it better to convert TIFF files to PDF files before "fixing" them?
Is it best to change a JPEG file to a TIFF or PDF file before "fixing" it?

Colin,
Thanks for your reply. You are correct; I did mean PSD.
Part of the reason for question 1 is that I think when I correct for red eye in the Canon program one gets black pupils regardless of the true color. I think in PSE one uses the true eye color. I have no idea what one does in PSA. My Canon software will convert the RAW image to TIFF. If I am going to "fix" the image in PSE, should I just leave it in TIFF or convert to PSD first? (AS you can tell, I am new at this.)

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Best File Format For Online Line Art?

I thought the conventional wisdom was that all line art for the screen should be saved as GIFs, all photographic line art should be saved as JPEGs.
Then PNGs came along and offered an alternative to GIFs.
I've been exploring this because I've been having a problem when exporting line art from Illustrator 8 as a PNG and opening it in Fireworks MX, where it appears washed out.
I did a bit of research among comic strip artists -- the art I'm exporting from Illustrator is a comic strip -- and came up with conflicting results.
Dilbert seems to save black and white line art as GIFs, e.g. http://dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert2008611230313.gif
... But its Sunday colored strips seem to be saved as JPEGs, e.g. http://dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert2008040261966.jpg
Meanwhile Donnesbury seems to save colored comic strips as GIFs, e.g. http://images.ucomics.com/comics/db/2008/db080406.gif
Any thoughts, suggestions?
Thanks.

I assume your line art is drawn as vector art in Illustrator, correct?
As far as I'm concened, the "best file format for online line art" would be .swf, because it would retain its scaleable vector nature, and the Flash Player is most likely embedded in any reasonably recent computer's browser.
But a little simple experimentation would be in order regarding file size. SWF (as exported from Flash, not necessarily AI) is very efficient. But the complexity of the line art could still make a given image require more bandwidth as .swf than as a rasterized version.
The former conventional-wisdom regarding PNG is the old "not supported in older browsers" saw. I see even Firworks's online help still says:
> However, not all web browsers can view PNG graphics.
Personally, I think its way past time to stop cow-towing to outdated browsers and use PNGs anyway. So if it were me, and the nature of my line art required rasterization for online use, I would use PNG for its obvious advantages. But then, my livlihood is not affected by some minority of outdated web viewers not being able to view my PNGs.
I would think that whatever color problems you are having in getting your AI files exported to PNG can be worked out with a little investigation/experimentation. (PNG supports color management profiles, so that alone may be your problem, and may be easily fixed in your workflow.) GIF is by definition limited to a subset of colors. JPEG is by definition a lossy compression format. So there are certainly precise color-accuracy issues with those overused formats, too.
But again, that's just me. What little I do in web graphics that would involve this issue doesn't really affect my livelihood. Lowest-common-denominator compatibility may be more important to you.
> Gilbert seems to...
> Doonsbury seems to...
The two images are very close to the same size (132K & 125K). They both include contone grads. Between JPEG and GIF, I would expect JPEG to more consistently yield acceptable results. Since GIF is limited to an 8-bit lookup table, I would expect aberations such as unwanted banding to be more likely in GIF if the artwork contains many colors and alot of highly-rendered shading.
Since you specify
line art, though, that would rule out contone fills, and you could use GIF with a very small color table.
On the other hand, you do not specify whether you want to use transparency in your line art images. If you do, PNG would be far superior, because it supports true alpha transparency. In a GIF, if you can only make one particular color transparent. So even with line art, if the line art is antialiased at all, you'll have the ugly halos so commonly seen in GIFs when displayed on a wrong-colored background.
The only functional "advantage" that I see in GIF over PNG is its multi-image capability, for quick & dirty frame-by-frame animation. My personal animation efforts focus entirely on Flash/SWF, and use scripted animation whenever possible to avoid frame-by-frame. But I recognize the simplicity convenience of animated GIFs for web banners and those (often-annoying) moving icons and such.
JET

Line Drawing best file format for import in InDesign

i was wondering what is the accepted and recommended file format for files to be imported in InDesign. I was under the impression that AI files should be saved as EPS but I just read an article that says that Adobe's Dov Isaacs said that eps will be shortly obsolete.What should I do. I work on curriculum that contains both photographs and line drawing and we use tiff for the former and eps for the latter. Most of our line drawing is done in AI. Howeverwe have a cartoonist that sends us files in jpg format. What would be the best file format for him and for us as we draw in AI?
Article link: http://www.prepressure.com/library/file-formats/eps
The future of the EPS file format
EPS is rapidly becoming an outdated file format which is being replaced by PDF just like PostScript itself is also being phased out and replaced by PDF. Don’t just take my word on this. Here is what Dov Isaacs from Adobe said in a discussion on a PrintPlanet forum about the future of PostScript: “ …Adobe will continue to support EPS as a legacy graphics format for import of non-color managed, opaque graphical data into Adobe applications (such as InDesign and Illustrator). Although we certain do not recommend that new graphical content be stored in EPS format (except to satisfy the need to import data into page layout programs that aren’t quite PDF-centric — no need to mention names here!), our user base should feel comfortable that there is no need to worry about a need to convert their very sizable libraries of EPS-based graphic assets.”

Yes, I drag the AI file in.
If after it's in place I need to change I can just right click and chose edit original make the changes and save and the illustration in inDesign will reflect the changes.
On the other hand I can make changes to the original and all iterations of the file will automatically update, say if I used the illustration in several documents.
As an example I had completed a set of documents for a new company, i.e., biz cards, brochures, product labeling, stationery, etc. and in their wisdom they decided to make changes in their logo, which, of course, is on everything. I opened the AI file with the logo made the changes saved and all the documents then reflected the changes. The only caveat to do this seamlessly is to make sure that your file logo size is the same as the original or you might have to tweak placement in the other documents
It is this interoperability that to me makes the Creative Suite so much more than the sum of their parts.
Craig

What is the best format to import images into iBA? How should I compress my images before importing? What is the best file format? PNG? Jpeg?

What is the best format to import images into iBA? How should I compress my images before importing? What is the best file format? PNG? Jpeg? I'm trying to figure out the best file format / compression for importing images into iBA. Also, does anyone know how iBA will compress the file? Are the assets attached (like a website) or flattened out? Does anyone know how iBA handles this? Many many thanks to anyone with insight into this.

This question is largely answered by the following thread...
https://discussions.apple.com/message/17805700#17805700

Best file format to send from LR5 to PSE10

What is the best file format to send from LR5 to PSE10 - PSD, TIFF or JPEG? I want to be able to post the picture on Flickr after editing.

I always find PSD to be the most versatile for preserving layers but others choose the much larger tiff files. PSD produces a good master file from which any number of jpegs can be ex[ported in future.
You need to start the round trip from LR as follows and use the save command (Ctrl+S) not save as:
1) Ctrl+E in the Library to export selected image with develop settings (I choose PSD)
2) Edit in Photoshop; then Ctrl+S to replace (overwrite) Lightroom export copy
3) Ctrl+W to close in Photoshop and update Lightroom thumbnail.

Best file format for linked images in AI

Goal: To keep Illustrator "running" as smoothly as possible with a few hundred linked images?
Question: What file format to use for the linked images ???
I have a few hundred grayscale and CMYK scans that are placed in AI. for a very large museum mural. The scans only have a single layer. They are currently jpegs but Illustrator in coming to a crawl and randomly crashing.
In my everyday work flow I usually link to PSDs
Just wondering what the absolutle best file format is to squeeze every bit of performace out of illustrator with so many linked images.
Thanks in advance,
Dan

Jpegs are compessed in such a way thata a jpeg of a smaller takes a little longer size to open.
You are probably experiencing this on alrge scale so it is more noticeable and making it take longer to link up.
I would use tiffs anyway.

Best file format to use when moving....

Hi all. What would be the best file format for moving a track from *Adobe Soundbooth CS5* to *Apple Soundtrack*, for editing? I've currently got it in Soundbooth native format (.asnd), and can take it out as almost anything.
The audio will eventually be laid into a DVD project, currently in the works. Your thoughts are appreciated.
Message was edited by: matthewmac

Thanks, all. I was looking for an uncompressed format and went with .aif/.aiff, which is working out great.
Merry Christmas.....

Which/Best File Format to Save under....

So I am wicked new with lightroom and stuff. I am not too tech-smart with some of this stuff. I have my finished edited photos that I want to export into their own "finished" folder. I want to send these photos to a printing site, since I do not have my own printer. My questions is: what is the best file format to export(save) these photos to send out for prints? Along with this question, how do I determine the right image sizing under chosen format? Like:I decide to use TIFF. I have Image sizing option. Do I click "Resize to fit" and if so what do I make my dimensions? And final, do I choose output sharpening? Hopefully I expressed my issue well enough that someone can help. Thanks for your time!

So I am wicked new with lightroom and stuff. I am not too tech-smart with some of this stuff. I have my finished edited photos that I want to export into their own "finished" folder.
In general, there is no need to create a "Finished Folder", nor is there any need to export your photos when finished ... unless you have a specific need to use the photos outside of Lightroom.
I want to send these photos to a printing site, since I do not have my own printer.
Aha! So you have a specific need to use the photos outside of Lightroom. You can create a temporary folder, name it anything you would like, export the photos to this temporary folder, send the photos to the printer, and then delete the photos/folder, as you won't be needing them again.
My questions is: what is the best file format to export(save) these photos to send out for prints?
Most people choose JPG, with quality level set around 70 or 80, but that depends on how big you are planning on printing the photos and how they are going to be viewed. Some people choose TIF, but not every printer out there can work with TIF files, so it is best to ask your printer.
By the way, let's not confuse things by calling Lightroom's Export a "save". In Lightroom, your edits are saved automatically, you don't have to perform any task to make this happen, and you can't turn this off. Save is different than export.
Along with this question, how do I determine the right image sizing under chosen format? Like:I decide to use TIFF. I have Image sizing option. Do I click "Resize to fit" and if so what do I make my dimensions? And final, do I choose output sharpening? Hopefully I expressed my issue well enough that someone can help. Thanks for your time!
The answer is very simple: It depends!!!
You need to tell us what size you are going to print at, and what use the printed photos will have.

For iPhone and Android, what is the best file format for watching videos?

For iPhone and Android, what is the best file format for watching videos?

You can try these setting. They are from CS5.5 but should work in CS4.
Make sure you check Use Max. Render Quality.

Best file format for archiving high def feature film clips?

Hey, all. This is a second question.
I got a part time job at a university assembling a database of feature film clips that have to do with wearable technology in popular culture. Basically my job is to go through feature film clips and assemble a database of clips like Iron Man testing his gear, Batman using his sonar in the Dark Knight, that sort of thing.
I'm not sure what the best file format to export my clips would be. They should be downloadable (and not huge) but still high definition. I tried making a clip where Iron Man tries flying for the first time, but the entire movie I downloaded was around 700 megs, and my two minute extracted clip was 150 megs, so I'm not doing something right.
Can anyone suggest a file format? It needs to be lossless (I think I'm using that term correctly) so that if students want to reference the clip they can pull high definition screenshots and whatnot from it.
Cheers,
DT

You might want to export twice, or maybe even three times for each clip. Once for the HD clip that is as high quality and visually perfect as possible, another for the compressed and relatively easily downloadable clip, and a third for the live thumbnail.
One example of how this is done can be found at one of my favorite sites, http://www.videoblocks.com - no advertising intended. I am sure almost everyone here gets plenty of ads for the site already. I just happened to suscribe when it was cheap.
In any case, you hover your mouse over a clip and it plays back in a small version. Then you have a choice of downloading the MP4 version designed to watch, or the MOV designed forediting.
That solves the problem for the students if the University has the storage space for multiple copies.
If you haven't seen VideoBlocks yet, sign up for the free 7 day trial and download so music, or AE templates, or something else you can use like transitions or lower thirds, or whatever. Then you can see how it works and why I think it might solve your particular problem. If you have a problem with signing up, let me know and I will record a screen capture for you.

Best file format for 8mm home movie conversion

Hi there,
I'm about to get some old 'standard' 8mm home movies from the 60s & 70s converted to DVD as a Christmas gift for my mum.
The transfer company will also supply the footage as files to view/edit on my mac at a later date. I'm a complete iMovie novice so my question is, which file format should I choose?
They're offering AVI, MPEG 4, WMV, .MOV or Pro Res files.
Many thanks in advance for your help...
Jon Howard
PS I'm running iMovie '08 (7.1.4) & OS X 10.6.8 on an intel 13" macbook in the UK (PAL area).

Pro Res in potentially the best, but you would need Final Cut Pro, not iMovie, to edit it.
It is difficult to advise you without knowing the technology they are using. Are they capturing in High Definition progressive or Standard Definition interlaced?
I found a US company that would scan the 8MM at 1080P. They provided the files in Motion JPEG format. This proved to work great in iMovie.
If they are doing Standard Definition, I would say go for DV if they can. MOV is generally good, but MOV is a container, not a codec, so it depends on what is inside it.
Here is a post where I discussed the results.
Here is a link to the company that did it. http://www.mymovietransfer.com/
Here is a sample of the results. Watch in full screen if you can.

Best file format to convert AVCHD lite to?

Hello,
I have been browsing for a while with not much success. I have a new panasonic camera recording HD video in the brand new AVCHD lite format. I understand that FCP and pretty much everything does not accept AVCHD lite yet so converting the file format is inevitable. I want to do some editing in FCP and I am not sure what file I should convert the .MTS files to that would be best for editing.
I have already tried .MP4 and gathering from what I have read MP4 is a not a good file to edit with in FCP. What would you suggest be better?
When I tried editing with .MP4 the program ran so slow it was inoperable...
Maybe I need more than 2Gbs of ram...
I dunno.. Please Help
Thanks

mp4 is not an editing format and more ram probably won't help. If you've got the disk space, I'd recommend prores. I've been working with avchd from panny HMC150 using the log and transfer window in fcp and fcp automatically converts to prores.
Message was edited by: Michael Grenadier

What is the best file format to use with imovie?

I am relatively new to Mac and got it for music production, but more recently I have been messing around with video and a I have difficulty dealing with Mpeg and some other file types with imovie. My question is this, what file format will automatically import into imovie the way that iphoto imports from my camera? and if they aren’t recognised, what is the best file converter??

Andrew kitesurf wrote:
… what file format will automatically import into imovie the way that iphoto imports from my camera? and if they aren’t recognised, what is the best file converter??
'best' is, what iMovie is intended for - straight from tape-based or AVCHD camcorder.
'best' in terms of most versatile and offering the 'best' format (=iM's own AppleIntermediateCodec) is free Mpeg Streamclip
only for convertiing mp2, such as non-copyprotected videoDVDs, you need the 20$ mp2-playback-component ......

What is the BEST file format for editing HD in CS5?

We are building a remote production truck and it will be tapeless with all hard disk video recording. We have not decided on what brand of disk based recording system we are getting.
I am looking for opinions of what the most ideal file format to capture in HD for editing in CS5? What is the highest quality yet fastest and most efficient for editing basic 1080i30 or 1080p30 video for broadcast?
There are so many devices that capture quicktime but quicktime is crippled to 32bit in windows and we want to avoid it.
thanks!

I'm sorry i guess i didn't mean to confuse you with the word "capture" in that question. there are
tons of hard disk based recording systems out there that "capture" our video to a disk into a file we can import into premiere and edit.
This will be a live production truck, video will come out of our production switcher SDI into some companies recording device which will have a plethora of codec choices to record with. We want to choose a product that will give us files that will work best in premiere CS5 with gtx460 gfx cards and matrox axio le hardware. Just wanted to see if anyone who has edited various codecs has noticed if any seem to work faster and better then others.
there are many companies we are looking at that make such disk based recorders including nnovia,aja,panasonic/p2, fast forward, etc...
i want to avoid quicktime and am more interested in mpeg4, or mpeg4 part10 (h264), or p2, omf, mxf are possibilities, any opinions?

What is the best file format to start with?

I have not quite figured out what is the best way and best tool (Photo
shop, Fireworks, Illustrator?) to optimize images to put on a web page?
I know that there is a "save for web" feature that is very useful.
But what I want to know is what is the best file to start with, to resize larger or smaller, and save for web,
and still get a clean and crisp looking Jpeg, png, or whatever?
I have a client who sends me EPS images to use for their logos. It is too big and I have to resize it.
Is this a good format to start with and to resize, or should I tell the client to send it to me in a different format?
They also send me huge raw photoshop files (with layers and all) that I have to put in a much smaller
placeholder..Again, is this a good file format to start with and resize and save for web?
and if so, which tool is best to use in this case to its reduce size this file and get optimal quality - Ps, Fw, or Ai??
or should I tell the client to send it to me in a different format?
what is the best format to start with, so I can tell clients to send me their images in that format?
if anyone can point me to some links or other place where I can find this information that will be great?
thanks!!!

Photoshop and Fireworks can both create files (raster images) suitable for placing images on the web. Some people prefer one to the other. If your not doing editing then Fireworks is probably the tool geared most towards that goal. If you want to create vector graphics for use on the web, neither Photoshop nor Fireworks are suitable. Illustrator is the tool to use.

Best file formats?

Hi!
Which file format is best to import into AE? I use HD footage. I use Windows media but that is very slow. Mpeg2 is much bigger file size and seems to have less quality but is be easier/faster to view. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Thank you! My problem though is that because the camera I use is a Sony HD camera with the format AVCHD, I have to bring the footage into the editing program Studio first and export it into a file that I can then import to AE. And in Studio my options are formats like Windows media for HD and Mpeg2 for HD. There's AVI but not for HD and no Quick time option. That's why I'm using Windows media, because out of these it seems to have the best quality.

Best File Format

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