View Full Version : Best compression for laptop?
Gustaphzon
12-07-2004, 09:42 AM
I have done a informationfilm for a company. And they want to show it on there laptop, not on the web. So the file size can be big.
I did a dv-pal in best quality in fcp 3. It looks good on a tv, but not on a computer.
How do I do it? What is the best compression?
I want it to work on both pc and mac.
krestofre
12-07-2004, 09:50 AM
If it's computer only playback then you should deinterlace the footage. 90% of the time interlacing is why it looks bad on a PC. As far as compression goes you've got a lot of choices. I'd probably stick to Quicktime as that will work reliably on both platforms (Windows Media will also work, but has less Mac support than QT has Windows support). You could also go completely universal and use MPEG-1 at higher bitrates to keep quality.
Hope that helps.
Chris
travis
12-07-2004, 10:32 AM
I would go for mpeg2. Itīs better quality. The only disadvantege is that not all the computers will play it. But if you can add the mpeg2 codec and install it whenever is going to be watched then everythinh will be fine.
If you donīt have access to the computer that will play the file maybe you donīt have other choice than mpeg1.
Tmpeg will do a great job but it will take a lot of time. His deinterlace options works really good. And also has a noise reduction which is fine (that really take a lot of time) if you want to mantain the quality of the footage.
Of course if its if the file size is not and issue choose the higher bitrate posible
(and make a two passs bitrate...)
Ok. Done.
krestofre
12-07-2004, 11:39 AM
The problem with MPEG-2 is providing playback on PCs. You basically have to buy DVD software and install it on all of the machines or use Open Source (which most companies that I've worked for are very reluctant to do because of what they view as "questionable licenses").
Whereas with Quicktime or Windows media all you have to do is download a free player. With MPEG-1 you don't even have to do that. Now I agree that the quality of MPEG-1 leaves much to be desired, its compatability it pretty much unmatched.
My two cents.
Chris