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Video Formats for non-Windows Users?
ccdotnet asks: "I look after a small web site for a rising sports star. We have a small number of short videos in .WMV (9) format available for download. These .WMV files are typically 3-5 MB in size (we do a "low res" and a "hi res" version). Each video is typically 1-2 minutes and 320x240. The site gets maybe 100 visitors per day. Our outbound hosting bandwidth is _very_ limited, so although we are keen to cater for non-Windows users (around 7% of our visitors), I've struggled to find a suitable video format which doesn't blow the size of the file right out. Ideally I would like to keep these files at a similar size but at the same time want to maintain a reasonable video quality. Are users of other platforms just out of luck? What non-Windows/Mac video formats can people recommend so that I can deliver this content to people who can't play .WMV for one reason or another?"
A few years ago, playing .WMV files might have been problematic for users who didn't use either a Macintosh or a Windows-based operating system. Now, with MPlayer and its derivatives making strides, it's not as much of an issue. Of course, there are still .WMV files that don't play well in Mplayer, but what suggestions would you have for creating Mplayer-safe .WMVs as well as other, more cross-platform friendly formats?
Q: You know who likes Flash?
A: People who make Flash presentations.
Period.
The rest of us think Flash stinks or at least wish it would quietly go away.
"You haven't looked around much have you?"
Why are Xvid proponents so fucking condescending? One pseudoswot even told me to Google xvid to find the installer when I indicated that because an xvid file wouldn't open on my Mac, PC or Linux box I doubted it would have much of a chance in the "real world" when joe normal clicks on it and nothing happens.
Is Xvid the Ogg Vorbis of video codecs now? Millions and millions of posts about Xvid every time someone asks for an alternative to wmv?
If Xvid is so cool stick it up your ass and see if it plays up there!