how to use compressor mpeg4 to create web streaming audio/video clips ?

Hi,

I have 3 short videos 4-5 minutes... I need to use compressor/mpeg4 to get them ready for "web streaming". This is for a client, so I assume I can just burn the files on a CD?

Anyway, can someone recommend a quick 1,2,3 to do this. It would need to be able to be played on other media players besides quicktime.

I keep fiddling with compressor2 but can get it to do anything.

The footage is 24p, and the it's a music band, so I need good audio.

Can someone point me to an answer? thanks so much.... Ahey

MPEG-4 part 10, better known as H.264 is your best bet because you already have the tools in hand.

Output H.264 in Compressor and take a look. As with any encoding scheme, there are things to be learned, but bit for bit, H.264 looks fabulous. Compressor encodes f H.264 are easy. Drop the .mov file into the Batch window and click to choose H.264 and encode it. Then watch it in the Quicktime player to see if it stands up after the encode.

Web streaming is about the server that is handling the content to be played. You need a "streaming server" that handles H.264. If you want people with Windows to watch this, then you need content that will play in Windows Media Player. That takes something like Flip4Mac to output to and a server that can handle WMVcontent streams too.

The audio part is just about what you already have. If the audio is not good before this operation, it won't be any better after.

<<<Web streaming is about the server that is handling the content to be played. You need a "streaming server" that handles H.264.>>

And, as I'm finding out, you also need to know that "Streaming" and "Fast Start" are different. Streaming requires a very high speed, stable connection for the viewer and doesn't ever really download the video. Fast Start downloads the video and starts playing it as the download is progressing. Fast Start works with much slower download connections.

Straight Download requires the viewer to pull down the whole video before it starts playing, but literally anybody with any connection (and enough time on their hands) can play.

If your content is available in HiDef, you usually produce six versions in Fast Start rather than Streaming: Small, Medium, and Large, in QuickTime and Windows Media.

Isn't this fun?

If you want your content to look like the Apple Movie Trailers (and everybody does) you force the viewer to have QuickTime 7 (even the Windows people) and you are forced to host the movies with JavaScript so the Apple QuickTime Player launches rather than the Browser Player. If you don't do that, the ColorSync profiles and brightness changes will will drive the viewers crazy.

Koz

Sort of hijacking thread here, but I have a website for a film with trailer at www.nastythemovie.net which is somehow magically done by my Apple iWeb program and lives at my Apple iMac account.

Does this mean that, even if I make an mp4 file and run out and buy Flip4Mac that Windows people still won't be able to run it because it is coming from an Apple server (I suppose???)

Also, I compressed it using Sorenson Squeeze and am wondering if I can turn it into a Windows viewable file via Sorenson.

Mumble mumble. Groan groan. Too early for Martini.

Best

Harry

Harry Bromley-Davenport.

Freaky subject.
How was that shot?

On a Canon XL-H1 at 24f. Then plonked into DVCProHD. If that's what you want to know by "how".

Thanks for your interest.

Best

Harry

Harry Bromley-Davenport.

<<<make an mp4 file and run out and buy Flip4Mac that Windows people still won't be able to run it because it is coming from an Apple server>>>


Too many conflicting ideas.

Windows Media is based on MPEG4 as most of the Windows Video Services have been for a while. So posting an H.264 QuickTime and a Windows Media file is like posting two very similar files for two very different platforms. Nobody is gasping in horror at this. Many web sites do this very thing.

Only the QuickTime 7 people will be able to see the H.264 file.

Any machine conforming to the internet protocols can host a web site. I believe my personal web hosting company is running a Linux server. I have hosted a universally accessible tiny web site based on nothing more exciting than my fixed IP number at home and a Mac 8500/OS8.6. I half-way wasn't expecting that to work, but it did.

I believe all the modern Macs from Panther on have professional grade web hosting software built-in, so no, I would have a hard time believing that a posting that's visible to many Mac people would be invisible to the PC folks. You do have to post a video type they can play, however.

Koz

Koz, I didn't know that. So one needs to always use JavaScript when hosting the videos. You're right, I too wish that my trailers would look like Apple trailers. I couldn't figure out why my h.264s looked great on my Mac screen and fell apart on the web.

And, Harry, the trailer looked great. I liked the way you cut it. A few places the sound effects were too plain, otherwise the cuts you picked were intriguing and promised a compelling, edgy movie experience.

BTW, the page looked great too.

Wishing you success,

Vic

<<<So one needs to always use JavaScript when hosting the videos.>>>

Steps must be taken to force QuickTime Player 7 to perform the work and *not* the Browser Player. The downside, of course, is that they force you to have QuickTime 7.

Little known Apple tricks.

I always thought that there was a trick to make the trailer always turn out the same brightness on all monitors. Not true. They do change. What the programmers did was hit the average between the Mac and PC gammas. It's slightly too dark on PC and it's slightly too light on Macs. Overall, they always seem to look perfect.

I haven't mastered all those tricks yet. I do know how to make videos look hideous on all monitors and across all platforms, though, if anybody needs that.

Koz