Understanding video formats/codecs

what is a good reference for a beginner to understand video formats, compatibility, codecs, and the programs associated with converting these?
I'm using Final Cut Express. I friend with a macbook has a video on it that was in a '.mpg' format. He also had the same video in two folders that were ripped from a DVD, they had to folders for Video_RM and Video_TS, I think.
Anyways, I was hoping to pinch hit a quick video for him last night, rather simple 2-3 minute deal, where I use FCE to edit the video down. FCE didn't see the file as a movie. Neither did Quicktime 7 Pro.
I rummaged around these forums enough late last night to find that handbrake and VLC might help. I finally was able to convert the file using handbrake to a readable format, mPv. iTunes enjoyed playing that version and QT7 Pro would play it also. FCE didn't play nice though. Still stuck.
So I thought I'd be smart and let QT 7 pro convert the file to a .mov format while I slept. Right. 5 hours laters, my computer is still happily crunching away on the file and isn't quite 30% done if the progress bar is accurate.
Any suggestions and reference materials is appreciated.

Do not use Handbrake for this task. It is designed to convert DVD-Video into formats that play on other devices like iPods, iPhones, etc (converting one delivery format to other delivery formats).
Use MPEG Streamclip or DVDxDV to convert the DVD's VOB file into an editable format that matches your FCE Sequence settings. Typically that would be QuickTime DV/DVCPro NTSC with audio being AIFF, 48 khz, 16 bit.
what is a good reference for a beginner to understand video formats, compatibility, codecs, and the programs associated with converting these?
The FCE manual or help file is a good place to start. Also check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_codec
For absolute basic information, understand that some codecs are for final delivery and some are meant for editing.
-DH

Similar Messages

Video Formats & Codecs

What's the difference between a video format & codec, for example in PP you could export something using .mov format with h.264 codec, you could also export something using a H.264 format? Just trying to get some clarification so I could understand these things better.

thank you very much for your help.tips from Bill Hunt helped.some files in premiere imported good.with the help program MediaInfo I learned what codec have these files:
video codec - dv. audio codec -PCM.
With help program Nero i recoded necessary file into video codec -dv and audio codec - PCM.
import the file completed successfully

I get a message "QuickTime Player doesn't understand video format. What can I do?

I get a message "QuickTime Player doesn't understand video format. What can I do?

VLC media player - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ - general media player that plays just about anything.
Perian codecs for Quicktime - http://www.perian.org - plugins to add functionality to Quicktime for playing additional audio and video formats
Quicktime audio problems, Perian, VLC - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9013669 - read note about uninstalling prior DIVX support before installing Perian.
Media Info - http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net - to get details of codecs used in multimedia

What is the best video format/codec?

Greeting Video Producers
Please tell me what is the best video format/codec overall? And please list them from best to worse.
MPEG 4
MPEG 2
AVI
DVI
QUICKTIME MOV
WMV
THANK YOU

DVI isn't a format or codec; it is a digital signal protocol used for video display. DVI = Digital Video Interface.
Please define what "best" means in your context ... "best" for what?
WMV is one of the best in terms of viewer compatibility for web video, but it is not any good for DVD delivery.
MPEG-2 is one of the best for broadcast server-based playback and is required for DVD-Video delivery, but it is one of the worst for editing.
MPEG-4 is a more efficient codec than MPEG-2, but isn't as compatible for web delivery as WMV or Flash.
AVI is a container.
MOV is a container.
-DH

Preferred video formats/Codecs other than QT/MOV?

We’ve got a project coming up that will involve a lot
of short (2 min) videos so I’m thinking it’s time to
review our video standards. The source is typically a mastered DVD
video disk (I know, not a good source but most corporate clients
don’t know any better) or in rare cases hi-rez MOV’s
straight off something like an Avid system. Either way we’ve
got to crunch these files into something that plays well with
Director 11/XP-SP2 and Vista (I love Mac’s but it has been a
long time since any of our clients cared if a project was Mac OS
compatible).
In the past we’ve used MPEG-1, MPEG-2 in limited
circumstances, and our current standard is 720 x 480, WMV-9 (main,
not the advanced profile), 1000-5000kbps depending on storage
constraints. Delivery is almost always disk based so bandwidth is
not an issue however some of our clients like the 3” mini-CDs
(180Mb) and even on a full sized CD storage is often a concern
(distribution of our projects on DVD-ROM is still uncommon). Lately
we’ve been getting requests to convert the source files to
FLV/On2 or Sorenson for web/Flash applications and I’ve been
wondering if it’s time to start using these in Director as
well. Has anyone been using this format or have opinions on getting
the best possible video into Director while still being compatible
with an average corporate user’s PC?

FLV/VP6 is excellent quality with small file size and
possible to play
within Director with no extra codec/application installed -
just through
FlashAsset Xtra. Highly recommended !!!
ZS
Applied CD wrote:
> We?ve got a project coming up that will involve a lot of
short (2 min) videos
> so I?m thinking it?s time to review our video standards.
The source is
> typically a mastered DVD video disk (I know, not a good
source but most
> corporate clients don?t know any better) or in rare
cases hi-rez MOV?s straight
> off something like an Avid system. Either way we?ve got
to crunch these files
> into something that plays well with Director 11/XP-SP2
and Vista (I love Mac?s
> but it has been a long time since any of our clients
cared if a project was Mac
> OS compatible).
>
> In the past we?ve used MPEG-1, MPEG-2 in limited
circumstances, and our
> current standard is 720 x 480, WMV-9 (main, not the
advanced profile),
> 1000-5000kbps depending on storage constraints. Delivery
is almost always disk
> based so bandwidth is not an issue however some of our
clients like the 3?
> mini-CDs (180Mb) and even on a full sized CD storage is
often a concern
> (distribution of our projects on DVD-ROM is still
uncommon). Lately we?ve been
> getting requests to convert the source files to FLV/On2
or Sorenson for
> web/Flash applications and I?ve been wondering if it?s
time to start using
> these in Director as well. Has anyone been using this
format or have opinions
> on getting the best possible video into Director while
still being compatible
> with an average corporate user?s PC?
>

NI Vision: Accepted video format/codec/size

Hi,
I have basic LabView knowledge and I'm planning to process video files in NI Vision (object tracking). Recorded files are mov. Now I have some questions about video files in NI Vision:
1. I have only seen older manuals (2010 and older), saying that NI Vision accept avi-files. I wonder if there's a version suitable for mov files now.
2. What kind of files does NI Vision accept? (avi 1.0, avi 2.0,...)?
3. Are there limitations concerning the codec? Is only one specific codec suitable for NI Vision? Or will my VI accept every codec that is installed on my computer?
4. Is there a size limit for the files I read (and write)?
System: Windows XP, File system: NTFS
Thanks!
Jon

Hi Jon,
have a look into this white paper, which gives you the answers to your questions and refers to the release of the LabVIEW Vision Development Module 2012 SP1:
AVI Codec Support with AVI2 in NI Vision Products
http://www.ni.com/white-paper/14466/en/
I think the most interesting information for you is:
"Through AVI2, on Windows any codec that is compatible with Microsoft's Video Compression Manager is available to the user. This means that the codecs recognized by Windows are recognized by NI Vision products as well."
Best Regards,
JoLe
National Instruments
Applications Engineering
www.ni.com/support

What is the Blackberry Video Format?

As an avid photographer/videographer, I'd like to put some of my video clips onto my Blackberry 8900, but I don't know what video format (CODEC, video size, bit rate etc) is supported.
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi there!
Here's the public KB article that discusses what I think you need:
http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB05482&sliceId=1&docTy...
Cheers!
Occam's Razor nearly always applies when troubleshooting technology issues!
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Join our BBM Channels
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What format/codec to post web videos?

At work they want to post videos we produce on our web site. They will range from a minute to an hour or more. We have heard pitches from companies that do all the work for us, all we have to do is upload the files and provide an interface on our web site. Viewers will not have to install player software, it will just "work" like YouTube.
But of course, the suits decided that was a bad idea, and we will be compressing the files ourselves and hosting it on some server space that comes in at the lowest bid. Our potential viewers will probably not be web savvy, and may be reluctant to download new player software or plugins. Few of our employees even know what the word codec means, and have begun happily compressing files using random settings, and not concerned about quality. (They are also not concerned that they are shooting stuff on HD cameras in 16:9 and using it in 4:3 projects, and people look really skinny).
My question is, what file format/codec to use? We are mostly editing on Final Cut Express or Final Cut Studio (with Compressor). Perhaps we should do it "Wild West" style, and let everybody compress their programs their own way, maybe different every time they do something? That way, the home computer user is bound to find at least one video that will play on their computer.
Sigh!

FCE and FCpro are both editors, no converter tools.. allthough they allow to use the QT-engine to create a few codecs..
I would consider flv as a 'standard', by sheer market power of youtube.
but that is no codec in FCE's options .
my workflow, in 10.6. would be:
in FCE: Export QT movie (not QT compression!)
open that file with QT_X
choose upload to YT
use 'embbed'-code offered by YT on my site..
.. perhaps, that is too simple..
with FCE you have NO option, to generate a 'web video'; any export needs Quicktime on end-user's side.. FCE doesn't offer flash-video as option.. you need 3rd party apps for that, plus some skills to integrate into a webside, resp. set-up some 'video server' ..
Compressor allows flv as export. still, integration into 'web' unanswered ..
1h webvideo? phpheewww ... that asks for 'streaming video' ..

What kind of video format and/or codecs are used in Health & Fitness (app which come pre-installed in Windows 8.1)?

Hello.
I need any official information regarding what kind of video format and/or codec is used in Health & Fitness app.
Also might be helpful to get a link to resource with officially available (downloadable) drivers and/or codecs of video format which used in Health & Fitness app.
Thanks.

Hi,
Yes, the right place to ask this kind of question is following forum:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1_pr-winapps
Alex Zhao
TechNet Community Support

HT3775 what if I am trying to open an .avi video format file and, though, I am receiving the message that "QuickTime Player can't open this file because a required codec is not available"?

Somebody can help?

There are also other media players with the capabilty.
Check the Mac App Store. Some are free, some are not.
They all have various features you may or may not need.
Flip For Mac is a pretty basic (the free version) player
for avi and other Wndows based video formats.

FIOS Media Manager Video Macroblocking - What format/codec works best?

I watch a video on my PC, crystal clear. I watch the save video in Media Manager, and it is very choppy, grainy, and blocked. I have tried every video format. Does anyone have any advice for overcoming this? Thanks!

You're out of luck, video support is just plain broken in AA3. The beauty is, it was broken in AA2 as well, and they didn't bother to fix it between the releases. Amazing. If I was doing my job the way Adobe do theirs I'd be unemployed by now. So, you either accept AA3 the way it is or go back to AA1.5 where the video playback worked reliably. Or use some other software for audio-for-video purposes.

What is the best video format for 50+ year movie storage?

Objective: In what video format should I store my family movies on an external drive? I want these family movies to be viewable by future generations in 50 - 70 years, so what video format / type is recommended?
Background: I have an iMac, OS X 10.7.5. I use IMovie '11, version 9.0.8. My iMac has an internal DVD player and burner and iDVD is installed.
I have dozens of family movies (total 80+ hours) dating back nearly 70 years. All these films have been digitized and I have imported many of them into iMove as events, then I edit them with title pages, transitions, music, etc. When a "project" is completed (Between 1.5 - 2.0 hours or less) I share the project to iDVD where I burn it to a DVD. Within iMovie I save each of these projects (on the internal Mac HD, which consumes very little space) and on an external drive I save for each project:
- a disc image (DVD.img) whose size is about 4.5 GB
- a copy of the iMovie project, whose size is about 60 MB (the original project is in iMovie, in the Mac internal drive)
- the original digitized raw movies imported into iMovie as events and are formatted as .mov (these are large size at 8 GB - 20 GB each)
- the finalized and fully edited iDVD which is formatted as DVD.dvdproj (these are very large size at 20 - 24 GB each)
As you can see with all these disc images, projects, events and DVD projects stored on my external drive I am at nearly 1 TB of storage, on my way to 1.75 before I comple editing all movies.
While I manage pretty well the editing my movies within iMovie, and how to create an iDVD project and then burn a DVD, I have no understanding of the technical aspects of the multitude of different movie formats in the market nor of Quick Time and its format.
I am told that DVDs will only last 10 - 15 years and then begin to deteriorate. And iMovie '11 won't be arond 50 years from now. Nor will the current / recent versions of iDVD. Thus, for posterity:
1. In what format should I store my family movies on an external drive so they can be viewed by family members 50 - 70 years from now? (best chance for viewing, since we don't know what formats they will have then)
2. How do I convert from what I have (disc image, iMovie project, DVD project) to your recommended format?
Thank you,
HDP

There is no such format for movies or even Photographs. Frankly we can't guarantee the persistence of any format past the next 10 years, not to mind 50 - 70.
Codecs are being improved and created all the time, and this process will continue. In 50 years time we may still have .mov and .avi files, but the codecs that create the movies within will have changed.
One thing is reasonably sure: DVD will be as deader than floppy disks are now. Ditto Blue Ray. They're on the way out now, and in 10 years they'll be curiosities.
So, what's the solution:
Best I can suggest is to keep your movies on volatile media like Hard Disks (with back ups on other disks, or course). Progress will be evolutionary - as new formats come along there will be the option to migrate older data to these newer formats, and that's the trick. As always, when it comes to migration, the more data available the better the likely result, so keeping your movies in the least compressed versions possible seems a good approach.
That and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee someplaces, but nowhere fashionable.
Regards
TD

Flash for Mac "Quicktime Video" format question

I used Mac to create a video in Flash 8.0. When I export the
clip, i used "Quicktime Video" format (not the "Quicktime" option).
But when I play the file in Windows, I couldn't get it to open or
convert to other formats such as .AVI. Is there a codec for
"Quicktime Video" to work under windows XP? Please help.
Thanks.

Hi s2foster2, well I am certainly willing to try to help you, just don't know if I can be much help because I am not very
familiar with Mac. I was able to help a couple of people but that was due to them being able to send me screenshots.
I understand Flash Player but where programs, add ons, ActiveX Controls, even where the Flash files are located I don't know. I do know Mac has a Library:-)
Some new information has come to light tonight however, by one of our most helpful people on the forum. This was about
the 3rd party content, etc.
I looked at your FF add ons and you have the SWF and it's correct. Do you know where the Flash files are and could you
post back all of the Flash files with version numbers? That will tell me if Flash Player is installed with the correct files.
We can have a go at this if you want. I can tell you what info I need as long as you know where to find it, because I don't.
Let me know,
thanks,
eidnolb

ZEN 4GB Video Format H

Hey, before i?buy the zen 4gb i'm wondering what video format the player plays without having to transcode. For example, if I put an avi divx movie on the memory card will it play on the device, just like that, without transode?You can tell me technical stuff i'll understand, for example: format:avi?video codec:divx audio codec:mp3?thank you jimi :-D

cos u used the included bundled software... the bundled software has already helped u to transcode the video files from other format to WMV... at the same time, with the resoultion set to ur player designated resolution.... thats reason allowing u to play all video u want to put it into ur ZEN V...For the ZEN, u can just put video files?(DivX, XviD, WMV, MJEGP,?simple MPEG4)?into ur player without the need of u to use the bundled software to convert them to WMV... but as other has said ur solution has to be 320x240 which in most of the case u might need to use teh bundled software since most video files are set to resolution higher than this....

I recored a video with my ipad, downloaded it to my mac but I cant upload it to Youtube because the format IMG is not a video format. How can I convert it?

How can I convert a video I took with my ipad on the format IMG to a supported format for Youtube?

To upload videos to YouTube we have to make sure videos are in a format that YouTube accepts. Here’s the list of some well-known video formats which YouTube supports:
WebM files (Vp8 video codec and Vorbis Audio codec)
MPEG4, 3GPP and MOV files – (typically supporting h264 and mpeg4 video codecs and AAC audio codec)
AVI (Many cameras output this format – typically the video codec is MJPEG and audio is PCM)
MPEGPS (Typically supporting MPEG2 video codec and MP2 audio)
WMV)
FLV (Adobe – FLV1 video codec, MP3 audio)
But I think you get the wrong video file. iPad recorded video files are in m4v, mp4, mov, avi format but not the img files. Anyway, if you need a video converter, Format factory or iFunia video converter are good choice.
Good luck!

Understanding video formats/codecs

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