Guys guys guys,

Are you really content with imposing such a bloated file format on
your viewers?

Does 120MB for a 10-minute episode seem reasonable, for example?

Not to me it doesn't, when it's about six times the size of what I've
been putting out so far - and when my source videos aren't hi-def or
anything, just garden variety Mini-DV at 4:3.

I have managed to produce a 640x480 video that is 10 minutes long and
takes up about 50 megs but because of this "baseline low-complexity"
issue it won't iPod.

There are such simple ways of chopping down the size - such as
changing sound from stereo to mono - if you can control the
parameters, which you can't with Export to iPod in QT Pro.

Waz





--- In [email protected], "Bill Cammack" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> Good call, Bill.  That's right along the lines of what I was thinking.
> 
> --
> Bill C.
> BillCammack.com
> 
> --- In [email protected], "Bill Shackelford"
> <bshackelford@> wrote:
> >
> > My video feed enclosures support ipod,iphone,itv and quicktime.. I
> just use iPod .m4v 
> > format. So in quicktime export to ipod and get a 640x480 video that
> anyone can watch. 
> > The only thing that *might be worth while to instead of .m4v would
> be .mp4 video that 
> > you can play in all of apples stuff in addtion to  PSP... but .mp4
> videos kinda suck to 
> > playback over the web in my opinion. 
> > 
> > My feed:
> > 
> > http://feeds.feedburner.com/billshackelfordcompod
> > 
> > All my links in my podcast rss file point to flash video on my site
> and the enclosures are 
> > the .m4v files.
> > 
> > I have also been provideing .3gp video.. but no no one has been
> looking at those.
> > 
> > my mobile site: http://m.billshackelford.com
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > --- In [email protected], "Bill Cammack" <BillCammack@>
> wrote:
> > >
> > > Steve: That's precisely what I was thinking. Subscribe to the feed
> > > that works for you.  http://JetSetShow.com , for instance has
about 6
> > > feeds.
> > > 
> > > Waz: Personally, if I were concerned about a video being playable on
> > > iPods as well as AppleTV and having only one feed for the
reasons you
> > > mentioned, I'd aim for the lowest common denominator.  I haven't
> > > looked into AppleTV, so I'm not sure this is possible, but the data
> > > rate for iPods is lower than the data rate for AppleTV, so I'd
make a
> > > video to iPod spec and test it through iTunes to make sure it also
> > > runs on AppleTV.  You might lose some resolution that way, but
if you
> > > insist on having only one feed, that's the only way I can see it
> > > working.  Again, assuming there IS a LCD that you can encode to.
> > > 
> > > --
> > > Bill C.
> > > BillCammack.com
> > > 
> > > --- In [email protected], "Steve Watkins" <steve@>
wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I guess the assumption would be that your viewers would
subscribe to
> > > > one feed or the other, depending on which hardware they owned. 
> > > > 
> > > > Its not ideal but it may be ideal for some viewers, depending
on how
> > > > fussy they are about getting the best possible qualiy on their
> device.
> > > > 
> > > > Unfortunately these issues are unlikely to vanish. Because for
> all my
> > > > evangelising about mpeg4 and h24 standards, this is unlikely
to boil
> > > > down to one common subset of h264 just so long as theres so much
> > > > variation in decoding power between devices. Battery life is a big
> > > > issue for mobile devices and high-def TV's arent very forgiving of
> > > > low-quality/low res footage, so it may get worse. If high-def web
> > > > video wasnt so absurdly huge in comparison to what we're
mostly used
> > > > to, there would probably be even more confusion and conflicting
> > > > pressures already.
> > > > 
> > > > The jump from 320x240 t 640x480 is quite significant, I know Apple
> > > > mailed people advising everyone to change, but theres certainly
> merit
> > > > in considering still offering a 320x240 version at this time. You
> > > > could for example keep the ipod feed at 320x240 and offer the
> 640x480
> > > > version specifically for apple TV. Because Im not sure how
many ipod
> > > > people use the TV out, and they might hate the increased filesizze
> > > > more than they appreciate the higher res they may never get to
see. 
> > > > 
> > > > Cheers
> > > > 
> > > > Steve Elbows
> > > >  
> > > > --- In [email protected], "wazman_au" <elefantman@>
> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Bill,
> > > > > 
> > > > > Can't see how that would work, because Apple TV syncs with
> iTunes on
> > > > > your computer, which means your iPoddable feed.
> > > > > 
> > > > > You could have a separate feed but this would effectively be a
> > > > > separate podcast - and would you expect your viewers to
> subscribe to
> > > > both?
> > > > > 
> > > > > Waz
> > > > > 
> > > > > 
> > > > > 
> > > > > 
> > > > > --- In [email protected], "Bill Cammack"
> <BillCammack@>
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Work-around #4
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > 1) Export for AppleTV
> > > > > > 2) Export for iPod
> > > > > > 3) Two different feeds
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Bill C.
> > > > > > http://BillCammack.com
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > --- In [email protected], "wazman_au"
<elefantman@>
> > > wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Stupid bloody Apple, why do they DO things like this????
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Folks, this is a tough one, and yes, I've read through the
> > > > > > Casey-initiated thread. Good start 
> > > > > > > but sadly optimistic.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > The question is, how do we pump out vids that are 640x480
> and have
> > > > > > the "baseline low-
> > > > > > > complexity" profile, thus being both iPod and (presumably)
> > > Apple TV
> > > > > > compatible?
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Baseline can be selected when exporting with your own
> > > settings, but
> > > > > > the "low-complexity" 
> > > > > > > sub-option cannot. According to Apple's developer spec,
> > > > > > low-complexity has been defined 
> > > > > > > by Apple for the iPod, and it seems to be restricted to
> the Export
> > > > > > for iPod option, which 
> > > > > > > cannot be configured.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > When exporting an iPod video, QuickTime chooses
automatically
> > > > > > whether to use "baseline" 
> > > > > > > or "baseline low-complexity" - in a nutshell, anything
> upwards of
> > > > > > 320x240 gets low-
> > > > > > > complexity. Gory details here:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn2007/tn2188.html
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Three possible workarounds. I am not in front of QTPro right
> > > now so
> > > > > > will try later:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > 1) Use the Export for iPod option with the source vid
sized at
> > > > > > 640x480 - this will goad 
> > > > > > > QTPro into using low-complexity - and then find some way
> of saving
> > > > > > the resulting video 
> > > > > > > _again_ with a chopped-down bitrate, perhaps by doing a
> "Save as
> > > > > > ..." but without re-
> > > > > > > encoding. 
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > 2) Do it the other way round - export at the bitrate etc.
> that you
> > > > > > want, then run it through 
> > > > > > > the iPod export. The developer spec suggests QT iPod
exporter
> > > using
> > > > > > a 640x480 source 
> > > > > > > file will pick its own bitrate according to a complex
formula
> > > ("DR =
> > > > > > { (nMC * 8 ) / 3 } - 100" 
> > > > > > > I kid you not, check out the developer link above) between
> 700 and
> > > > > > 1500kbps. But maybe 
> > > > > > > if the source file is already lower, it won't jump up the
> bitrate
> > > > > > too shockingly. The MC in 
> > > > > > > the equation stands for "macroblock" and if the number of
> > > these can
> > > > > > be reduced in the 
> > > > > > > source file (how? Dunno) then, doing the maths, you are
headed
> > > for a
> > > > > > smaller result.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > 3) Resize your source video to 640x480, whack it through
> > > Export for
> > > > > > iPod and hope the 
> > > > > > > filesize is not too bloated. As in the formula above, this
> should
> > > > > > produce something 
> > > > > > > between 700kbps and 1500kbps, although Apple doesn't say
> > > whether the
> > > > > > audio is 
> > > > > > > included in that bitrate (AAARGH!).   
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > I found to my horror this afternoon that my carefully
crafted
> > > > > > 640x480 recipe with 
> > > > > > > meticulously pared down video and sound bitrates that
> delivered a
> > > > > > file of 5MB/minute that 
> > > > > > > looks alright on the telly via laptop S-Video cable doesn't
> > > work on
> > > > > > the iPod.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > I am just about ready to tell Apple where to shove their TV
> > > box ...
> > > > > > and all of the above still 
> > > > > > > leaves the question unanswered: will the aforementioned
oblong
> > > > > > suppository PLAY H.264 
> > > > > > > BASELINE LOW-COMPLEXITY???
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Anyone got one of these boxes?
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > That's all for now. I know none of the above is tested but I
> > > thought
> > > > > > I'd post now while my 
> > > > > > > blood is up, and to give others the chance to look for a
> solution.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Waz from Crash Test Kitchen
> > > > > > > http://www.crashtestkitchen.com
> > > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>


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