Video Formats

[CleverCat]

I have a whole slew of videos - they come in different 'flavours'  i.e.

Wmv
Flv
Mpeg
Swf

I want to make them all one format, but can't decide which would be the best quality!

Any input?

Thanks...

[4wd]

If size is no object then HuffYUV^w encoded video + MP3 if stereo or AC3 if 5.1 AVI.

If size is a factor then x264 in Quality mode encoded video + AAC audio in Matroska container or MP4 muxed file.

If playback on a standalone player with DivX/XviD capability, then MPEG4 ASP profile AVI, (average bitrate around 1500-2000), + MP3 stereo or AC3 5.1 - note, some players don't recognise AC3 audio in an AVI and will either not play the audio or down mix to stereo.

If playback on a standalone DVD only player, then MPEG2, (average bitrate 6000), + AC3 5.1 or MPEG1 Layer2 stereo.

Have a look at WinFF, it has presets for all the above except HuffyYUV, (which would be easy to add).

[CleverCat]

I have the space and we are getting a DVD Player with USB DivX capability (probably the Phillips), so a one off conversion that can play on PC + Standalone would be best!

I'll give the WinFF a go - thanks 4wd...

[CleverCat]

Do I just set for MPEG4? What is ASP profile AVI?

[4wd]

Click the Options button up the top right.

Under 'Convert To...' choose AVI.

Under 'Device Preset' choose:
a) XviD Fullscreen for 4:3 ratio (640x480), or
b) XviD Widescreen for 16:9 ratio (704x384), or
c) XviD Widescreen Anamorphic for 2.35:1 ratio (640x272).

Select '2 pass' down bottom left.

The above presets are for stereo audio which is fine unless you know the standalone can handle AC3 5.1 in an AVI without down mixing to stereo, in which case it would be better to have any 5.1 audio.

WinFF is the program I use for strange formats like WMV or FLV, (because ffmpeg can handle almost anything), but for almost everything else, (AVI, MKV, MPG2, VOB), I use StaxRip for more control over the output, (but it's still reasonably easy to understand/use).

Give WinFF a try anyhow and see if you like the results on your TV, (the rescaling up of small resolution videos might result in blocky output), otherwise there are plenty of other video conversion software around.

VideoHelp is arguably the best place for guides on how to convert from 'this' to 'that'.  Just click on 'Convert' under the 'How To' heading on the left side menu and then enter some search terms.

[CleverCat]

Thanks for info - much appreciated!