Which is the best video format?

[mw2005]

Hi;
I am taking this poll to find out which is the best multimedia format for streaming video in an external player from the internet.

[_Aerospace_Eng_]

I chose Windows Media format only because there are a lot of people on windows, WMP comes installed by default. Firefox will play wmv files but it requires quicktime to play .avi files. Maybe offering a choice to the user would be better. Possibly WMP and Quicktime. Quicktime for those Mac users.

[Rocket Boy]

Windows Media, as with the post above, just because of compatibility

[mw2005]

Thanks for the votes so far but with 90+ views I only have 5+ votes. I need more votes to deicide which format to use?

Thanks in Advance,

MW2005

[gsnedders]

If you choose WMP, don't use the WMP v10 codec, as it isn't supported by WMP v9 on Mac.

Personally I'd avoid WMP as it's a proprietary codec, which is vastly inefficient, whereas MPEG and QT both use standard codecs (the MPEG codecs, strangely enough :), most of which are more efficient).

As far as WMP goes, it's usage is 18% higher than QTs.

Personally I'd use MPEG4 Part 10 (H.264) saved as .mp4

[JamieR]

For compatibility reasons, I say WMV...

[SteelValor]

mpg for the win!

mpg is playable in WMP and QT (user preference)

[liorean]

For streaming high quality video, Quicktime beats everything for quality.
For compatibility, MPEG beats everything.
While real on the other hand is superior for low bandwidth with passable quality, but worst compatibility wise.

Don't believe Windows Media is that good for compatibility - it isn't. There are compatibility problems in both ways, as well as several platform problems.

[mw2005]

Thanks for the votes so far but with 210+ views I only have 11 votes. Please can i have some more votes to deicide which format to use?

Thanks in Advance,

MW2005

[jimjj]

I thought Flash Video files were the most compatible because the Flash Player is everywhere, on Mac and PC.

[mw2005]

I thought Flash Video files were the most compatible because the Flash Player is everywhere, on Mac and PC.

Yes it is but it needs to be played in an external player.

[gsnedders]

The compression of Flash is terrible anyway.

As I said, I'd stick with H.264, whether you have it as a QT .mov or a general .mp4 that's up to you.

[August2011]

MPEG is for better quality through the internet.

[mahesh2010]

I also like to use the MP$ format.Its compatible for most of the media players.You don't need to install separate player for this.The clarity of the video is also good.

[JAG]

AVI container with the Xvid codec.

[SpectateSwamp]

The FREE player that I use does timeline playback. Start anywhere in a video and play up to a given point then switch to slow motion. Then back to normal motion once the trick is complete. No clutter of video snippets everywere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K7bRuNyrr0

Sorry about reactivating this thread