Since you brought it up...

Is there an easy utility for converting WMV to MP4? Preferably one that would keep the quality and size comparable? Last time I looked, I didn't find much of anything that seemed to work very well...

Thanks!
Levi

Rick Carlson wrote:
Chris Seberino wrote:

> It is very odd that *video* is not more widely used like text and sounds
> are over the Internet.

There is no ubiquitous easy format for video the same
way that text has ASCII/HTML and sound has MP3/Ogg.

I suspect that that is because video takes up a lot of bandwidth. Much the same reason why we do not have video telephones even with cable companies getting into telephony and telephone companies getting into delivering video content. HTML was a way to embed formatting into the content so that it wasn't just mono-spaced text and MP3 / Ogg had more to do with compression of the music into a data stream than it did in transmitting analog music. There are some formats for video with audio embedded in it such as DivX and AVI but it is in the infancy stage. MPEG4 is pretty much the universal video format for DVD 's but the standards for DVD are not yet firmed up. Between the RIAA and Hollywood trying to stop people from archiving their videos and music and the ability to create/burn 4 and 8 GB DVD's just becoming affordable I think you will see some standards showing up.

What is it that is frustrating you? Is it the ability to create your own videos, to stream live video, or to convert video in other formats like VHS to DVD, or something else?

> (I think Ogg has a video format but it is not widely used IIRC.)

> You would think that by 2006 there would be all kinds of cool open
> source video apps everyone would be playing with by the millions.

I got into it when I wanted to archive movies and programs off of my Tivo DVR. I use a lot of open source stuff to move files around my network and to change them from Windows Media Player format to MPEG4 format for burning onto DVD's.
Why hasn't there been a "killer video app" yet and more commercial sites supporting a sane format that is NOT something lame like Real Player, QuickTime, Windows Media Player?!? Sheesh!
Some people must wait until others write the "killer video app" for them.

I am a hardware geek not an accomplished programmer. I look around and find programs that I can use to make my hardware do what I want it to do.

I have used Windows Media Player (my least favorite), QuickTime for movie trailers, and Real Player for most streaming video. I use DivX for most video which I do not have to stream.

Recently I have gotten interested in being able to record streaming audio to my hard drive. I am a big fan of 'The Thistle & the Shamrock' on NPR radio but we don't have it in San Diego anymore. So, I use some utility programs which allow me to capture the streaming audio from radio stations on the 'Net and save it as MP3's on my hard drive.

Are you a programmer? Is developing a killer video app a challenge you want to take on?


Rick
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