Video Shrinks With MP4

molda writes: "The The BBC is reporting that the New MP4 format is now appearing on websites. The compression routine utilised by MP4 is cable of converting an hours worth of video to a 350mb file. " Until there are cross platform players and encoders I don't see it making each inroads, and there still are some compression issues (but then again, a 128kb/s MP3 wacks out music's treble and bass pretty badly too and that hasn't slowed down its acceptance).

Comments

Re:MP4? Some Definitions

[xWakawaka]

please correct/update this where I am wrong.

Mp3 = file extension and popular name given to audio encoded with MPEG1 layer 3.
MPEG1=Standard for compressing Video and Audio
MPEG2=Standard for compressing Video and Audio
MPEG4 version1=Standard for compressing Video and Audio
MPEG4 version2=Enhanced version of MPEG4, backwards compatible with MPEG4 version1
Microsoft MPEG4=Typical Microsoft (incompatible) implementation of open standard. Hacked together from unfinished draft of MPEG4 (version 1?)
DivX(consumer product)=Defunct comsumer Digital Video format (like DVD, except no one bought it)
Div-X(codec)=Hacked version of Microsoft's hacked version of MPEG4
"MP4" (as used in this article)=Div-X codec (see above)

Hope this is usefull (and accurate)

And here's tons of information you should read..

[toast-]

One of the Mpeg-4 hacks is called Div-X.

It's widely used in the pirate scene, and apparently works very VERY well for compressing 2 hours of video/audio into about 650 MB worth (1 cd). The only issue is in order to play these types of files you need a fast CPU, about P2/300.

Although this use is not legal, it shows that Mpeg-4 is here and should quickly replace the current defacto standard.

http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/support/mpeg4. html

Above is one site , explaining lots about MPEG-4 including the various formats MPEG-4 can be applied to (avi, divx, etc), as well as platform-related information.

Another Div-x related site at:
http://www.mydivx.com/

It seems this page is requesting help to make a Linux div-x port, but there seems to be little and/or no substance.

http://linux.divx.st

Here's a link to an Open-source Div-x contest, albeit for the Mac, but it's here:
http://www.flashingyellow.com/contest.html

Re:MPEG-4, not MP4

[generic-man]

While MP3 probably shouldn't have been named such, let's not exacerbate the mistake by making another one.

I'm guessing that MP3 probably gained its name not so much because the standard was MPEG-I, layer 3 (or something like that) but because that's just the file extension. Even with FAT32 and NTFS supporting long filenames (knock on wood) Microsoft still pushes for 8.3 filenames, or 3-character extensions to say the least. To top it off, people like having easy-to-pronounce and -remember three-character abbreviations. (Why was the PlayStation abbreviated to PSX, instead of just PS?)

So you can keep calling it MPEG-4, but to most people it'll be MP4. And for some reason it'll show up in the Windows property sheet as "Windows Media File."

Haiku

[575]

MP4 at hand!
Salvation! ev'ry South Park
On one shiny disc