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Video Codec Comparison

Posted by timothy on from the comprehensitivity dept.

FonkiE writes "Doom9 wrote a good article: After more than 3 weeks of work and no free time during that period it has been done: The latest codec comparison is online. 7 codecs have been put through one of the hardest tests in the history of codec testing. The results: find out on your own ;) I had planned to change the presentation somewhat but certain events (forum problems and such) prevented me from completing this for the release. I plan to eventually supply an updated version of the comparison."

7 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. nice article, but.. by Squarewav · · Score: 5, Interesting

    there is lots of things left out like bitrate/quality comparisons, some codecs, like realvideo do a much better job at low bitrates (200k/s) then say xvid at the same bitrate.

  2. Bink? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I keep hearing good things about Bink. Anyone have any experience with it, one way or the other? Seems to be used in a lot of games.

  3. quite the wrong way to go about it by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A signals-processing attempt to measure audio quality isn't useful in general, and especially when dealing with lossy codecs. The various measured distortion values aren't really interesting -- the only relevant result is audio quality. As such, the only interesting tests are blind listening tests.

    --
    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
  4. 3ivx and encoding by shepmaster · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well, if you have read the article, you can see that 3ivx (not 3ivX as the article states :) ) does not fare well. However, 3ivx does have one thing that the others do not have whatsoever... it was built from scratch for QuickTime compatability. The reason that this is a good thing is the versatility you can achieve with a QuickTime movie. I have personally ripped and encoded an anime movie, and was able to put both English and Japanese, as well as English subtitles, all controlled by a flash menu. The few OGMs I have seen have similar capabilites, but nothing quite as nice as QuickTime.

    The video quality is actually pretty damn good, IMO. I suggest trying it out for yourself. Check my webpage for more relevant information.

  5. Which formats are the most durable? by astrashe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you wanted to make video files that will have the best chance of being viewable in 10 or 20 years, what are the best file formats and codecs?

    Are any file formats and codecs likely to be visible?

  6. MPEG1, still the best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    All these years and MPEG1 is still the only truly universal video format.

    1. MPEG1 is not encumbered by patent problems as MPEG2 and 4 are. http://www.mpegla.com Thus it is effectively free-as-in-beer by default.

    2. MPEG1 is playable everywhere from the old Solaris and SGI boxen to the newest PCs.

    3. No finding out after the fact that the .mov or .avi you downloaded requires a codec you don't have.

    4. It is not a tool to let Microsoft, Sorenson, or Real dominate all online video and divide the web into gated communities.

  7. Helix license forbis comparison? by Internet+Ninja · · Score: 5, Interesting

    IANAL but looking at the Helix binary EULA there seems to be a clause disallowing this sort of thing.

    https://reguseronly.helixcommunity.org/2002/clic kw rap/eula-clickwrap
    Entry 2(a)(vii)
    You may not make available to any third party the results of any evaluation or testing of the Software by You under this License. Any such forbidden use shall immediately terminate Your license to the Software.

    Just a thought