AVI Converter

[Jamie]

I'm trying to convert an AVI file to another video format for use on the Web. I'm not sure what format yet (I'd like to experiment with which format gives the best results at the lowest file size).

Does anybody have any suggestions for a converter (free, if possible) and/or what file type to convert the videos to? Right now I have two minute AVI video which is 12mb in size. :shock:

[chaos]

http://www.nchsoftware.com/prism/index.html
:lol: That was a fast result. You'll like this program, it has lots of features and is free. I would suggest flash, but you seemed to be indicating that you wanted something else. This program will make most major formats as far as I recall. You would probably prefer Quicktime or WMV.

Edit: I could do the flash as well, but I know Paul has it, so that would be fast as well.

[vito]

I'm not sure what is out there in the market, Jamie, but if this is a one-off, upload the file to your server so that I can download it. I will be happy to convert it to FLV. Will probably end up less than 1 MB.

Vito

[Jamie]

http://www.nchsoftware.com/prism/index.html
:lol: That was a fast result. You'll like this program, it has lots of features and is free. I would suggest flash, but you seemed to be indicating that you wanted something else. This program will make most major formats as far as I recall. You would probably prefer Quicktime or WMV.

Edit: I could do the flash as well, but I know Paul has it, so that would be fast as well.

Thanks Jacob. That program is pretty good, although the file was still up at 5mb in .wmv format. Considering most of my future videos will be much longer than 2 minutes, the fact a 2 minute video is 5mb worries me.

I'm not sure what is out there in the market, Jamie, but if this is a one-off, upload the file to your server so that I can download it. I will be happy to convert it to FLV. Will probably end up less than 1 MB.

Vito

Thanks Vito. I would have asked, but it's not going to be a one off (It's for my video blog. Yes, I've finally started working on it again. :D).

I have Flash, and I'm actually using Flash to output the video and display the player interface, but the way Flash works is by downloading the video direct from an avi/mpeg/wmv file, so you still have to get the source video file size down as much as possible.

Maybe I should try incorporating the video direct in flash, rather than having flash stream the content of an external file. The only reason I didn't do that previously is because Flash gave a warning during the video import that the audio may lose its sync with the picture if you don't stream an external file. I'll give it a try and see what results I get.

Thanks!

[chaos]

but the way Flash works is by downloading the video direct from an avi/mpeg/wmv file, so you still have to get the source video file size down as much as possible.

Huh? When you select "Stream File via Server" (paraphrased) the file is converted to FLV (flash video). That's why it takes so darn long to render. As far as I know flash can't stream a QT/WMV file. No you don't want to ever select "embed into timeline" due to timing (not to mention huge loading times) but the former option is quite efficient and works well. Very small files. Just upload the .flv, and 2 swf's and you're in business ;)

Thanks Jacob. That program is pretty good, although the file was still up at 5mb in .wmv format. Considering most of my future videos will be much longer than 2 minutes, the fact a 2 minute video is 5mb worries me.

Maybe you should try setting some of the encoder options to actually compress it?

[Jamie]

Sorry Jacob, that's what I meant.

FWIW, the flv is still 12mb. In fact, it's slightly larger than the AVI file. :? Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

[vito]

I don't use MM Flash to convert. I use a product called FlixPro. It's what I use on the netasis site to convert all my avi/wmv/etc to FLV.

Up to you. If you want me to do it for you, let me know after you have uploaded the file. It will only take a minute to do it. As well, I will place it into a 300x225 player complete with playbar controls. :)

Vito

[chaos]

Other than playing with the compression options in Flash, I can't help you a lot. Remember that this is streamed video, so the loading times for the user aren't as bad as it may seem. As I recall, this thread was helpful for a good flash compressor.

http://www.iwdn.net/archive/index.php/t-2558.html

http://www.download.com/Riva-FLV-Encoder/3000-2140-10320097.html?part=dl-RivaFLVEn&subj=dl&tag=button

[vito]

BTW, I just did a test. I converted an 85 MB AVI to FLV. Resulting file was 1.1 MB.
:)

Vito

[Christina]

Jamie, why not use a service like Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/)? It would save some of the hassle of trying to convert everything and what not.

[Jamie]

Jamie, why not use a service like Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/)? It would save some of the hassle of trying to convert everything and what not.

Ummm. That's scary. I was just looking at that Web site a few hours ago for the first time.

I have thought about it, but I'd like to keep the videos in my own environment, rather than pulling them in from a service like Vimeo or YouTube. I'm not sure why, other than it feels better that way.

I gave in to Vito. He insisted I upload the AVI for him, so I did. Still, I'm determined not to be beaten by a bunch of crappy software. :lol: I'll figure all this compression, extension and conversion stuff out soon, but in the mean time, Vito is being a champ. :thumbsup:

Thanks guys. Wow. This thread took off like a rocket, and to think I was going to post on WebHostingTalk in the hope of a faster response. :lol:

[vito]

WHT??

Ha!!

IWDN has them beat by a country mile!

IWDN first, WHT second... ;)

Vito

[Corey Bryant]

I use Flash Video Encoder (http://www.flash-video-mx.com/). Let me know if you want me to convert to see how it does. I only use it every so often, and the one time I needed help (I lost the serial), support was great in sending me a new one.

[Jamie]

Thanks Corey.

Vito has it covered for now, and I did figure it out myself too (Although I don't have all the funky interfaces that Vito has. :D).

I'll give you a shout if I need to though. Thanks! :)

[ssdt]

look, use avi because-
Windows Media Video (WMV) is a compressed video file format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original codec, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other codecs, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater for specialized content. Through standardization from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE),[1][2] WMV has gained adoption for physical-delivery formats such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc[3][4].

but for avi you need codec
what is that???

<mod edit>

Wikipedia Reference:
AVI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Video_Interleave)
Codec (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec)
DivX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divx)

</mod edit>

[zavulon]

Hi!!!:)
I use << a product I signed up here to shill >>. It's more professional and powerful prog!!! Try to use it =)

[ssdt]

if you want to change it to something else for website, then I would say FLV or flash video. If you convert a AVI with the size of 20 mb to a FLV file, then it will end up in the size of 80 kb. It makes everything really short. To convert a aVI to FLV, use the flash video encoder. It is with you package of flash. But if you don't have flash any version, i don't know what to do. Maybe there are some programs but I have never used them except for the Flash Video Encoder.

This site might help- http://www.sharewareguide.net/article/Tip/avi-to-flv-converter:-how-to-convert-avi-to-flv-file.html