Way OT: video formats (was Re:Video capture card)

[Taavi Burns]

On Wed, May 05, 2004 at 08:00:21PM -0400, daniel wrote:
> please don't flame me for this, but i have to recommend using something like 
> windows media for what you're looking for.  in terms of codecs, the ms 
> standard codecs are widely used and even work in linux (with mplayer).  to 

But Macintosh users would need to install this CRAPPY Windows Media
Player (it blows huge chunks, I've tried it, and now refuse to install
it on my Mac).  I'm also not sure that most run-of-the-mill Linux users will
have mplayer; they're more likely to have xine or ogle installed.

> if you use something like this, a windows-based machine will automatically 
> download the required codec if it doesn't already exist.  i'm not sure how 

*cough*  Except that it can't download DivX codecs.  I can't remember the
last time that a media player managed to automatically download a codec
that it needed.

> it'll work on an apple (osX or otherwise) but in linux it's likely to be 
> about as successful as other examples of embedded video -- not successful at 
> all.

There's apparently a moz mplayer plugin, but I have yet to see it work.
Others seem to have been successful, though.

> for editing, i suggest virtualdub (yet another windows app)  it's AWESOME for 
> simple editing and very featureful for what it is.  it even supports 3rd 
> party plugins.  i also have a codec pack i downloaded a while back that 
> includes a lot of the best codecs available out there (divx 4/5, 
> windowsmedia, sorenson4 etc. etc.)  so all i had to do was install it, open 
> the file in virtualdub, choose my codec (audio & video) and select 'save as 
> avi".

Others have suggested various Linux packages, such as Cinelerra.  Exporting
really is that easy.  :)  Or you can use mencoder.  ;)

-- 
taa

   As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual
   certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life
   - so I became a scientist.  This is like becoming an archbishop
   so you can meet girls.
      -Matt Cartmill, anthropology professor and author (1943- )
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