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Gear / Technical Help => Photo / Video Recording => Topic started by: yltfan on October 05, 2010, 08:42:43 PM
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Obviously, I don't know dookie about video, hoping someone can help.
I captured some of the Matador 21 webstream show using aTube catcher, ended up with pretty small FLV files (236mb for 1:15 hour, for example). I want to convert them to something more playable than FLV, but have no idea what makes sense. Can anyone suggest another format that is not going to bloat the crap out of it (Like the AVI DivX MPEG4 did)?
The Guided By Voices set is still live here:
http://www.myspace.com/music/blog/2010/10/4/watch-the-rebroadcast-of-matador-at-21-day-three
I can't find any info on the FLV file, but the AVI is 512x288, 200kbps, 29 frames/second
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The video specs you listed are very low quality.They are not worth bothering with in my opinion.You can't make the quality better than what you started with and thats not much to work with.
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Yeah, it's low quality, but I'm just looking to convert them into something that will play better than FLV's. Options include: MPG,AVI,MP4,3GP,3G2,WMV,PSP,MOV,FLV
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Well I think video encoding would be like audio encoding, upsampling won't necessarily produce a better video just because it has more bits of data.
probably the only file format I would consider would be mp4 and that's because the file size wouldn't be too much larger than what you have now.
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I'm not wanting to upsample, just turn it into something more playable than FLV.
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I captured some of the Matador 21 webstream show using aTube catcher, ended up with pretty small FLV files (236mb for 1:15 hour, for example). I want to convert them to something more playable than FLV, but have no idea what makes sense. Can anyone suggest another format that is not going to bloat the crap out of it (Like the AVI DivX MPEG4 did)?
The bitrate you encode the video to will determine the eventual filesize. If you want the converted file to be the same size as the FLV then you'll need to figure out the bitrate of the original FLV file.
Let's do some mathematics :)
75 minutes = 236 megabytes
1 minute = 3.14 megabytes (approx)
1 second = 52 kilbobytes (approx)
1 second = 416 kilobits (approx)
So, the bitrate (audio + video) of your FLV file is about 416 kilobits/sec.
Whatever codec (xvid, h.264, divx, mpeg-2, wmv) you decide to use, you will need to ensure that the total average audio + video bitrate is 416 kbps.
What program are you using to convert the FLV file into the 'other' format?
I would recommend using the XviD video codec, mp3 audio codec in an AVI container.
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I think the video is 200kbps and the audio is 128k
I was using the converter in aTube, but it does not seem to have the ability to set the bitrate. Can you recommend something else (that's free)?
Thanks!
Even though it's pretty small, it looks and sounds ok, and there is some great stuff: Sonic Youth, Pavement, GBV, Cat Power, Spoon, New Pornographers, Superchunk, Come, plus more.
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I've had decent luck with trying to track down the person who posted the video and getting an original copy. You'll get better quality ;)
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I've had decent luck with trying to track down the person who posted the video and getting an original copy. You'll get better quality ;)
I would, but I can't find Myspace's email.
j/k
This was official webcast stuff, not taper stuff on the youtubes..
I would love to get hi-quality versions of some of this stuff--and I expect I will when Matador releases some kind of DVD compilation of the festivities.
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I was using the converter in aTube, but it does not seem to have the ability to set the bitrate. Can you recommend something else (that's free)?
You could give "Super" a try. The official site is: http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html but good luck trying to find a download link. A download mirror can be found here: http://majorgeeks.com/Super_d5117.html
Super is a very powerful encoding system with a lot of customisable settings. It's a little daunting using it for the first time though.
Edit: here is a post I made a while ago on how to use Super. Hopefully it will help.
1. Drag the file you want to convert into the box at the bottom of the screen.
2. Select the desired "Output Container" (AVI should be fine for most cases)
3. Select the desired"Video Codec" (MPEG-4)
4. Select the desired "Audio Codec" (MP3)
5. Select the desired Resolution of the file (No change will keep the resolution the same as your original file)
6. Select the desired Frame Rate (25 for PAL stuff, 29.97 for NTSC)
7. Select the desired video bitrate (experiment until you find a figure that looks alright)
8. Select the desired audio bitrate
9. Press the "Encode (active files)" button at the bottom of the screen.
The video will now start to convert and a new file will be stored in the following folder:
C:\Program Files\eRightSoft\SUPER\OutPut
Super has an infinite number of settings, so experiment to find the ones that work the best for your footage. :)
Any questions, feel free to ask.
(http://i41.tinypic.com/wrc9vt.jpg)
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I think the MPEG Streamclip will also work for you: http://www.squared5.com/
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Mpeg streamclip is a must have tool,and its free.I use it to read bitrates of mpeg so i can use the no recompression required in sony vegas.Also will read bitrate of mts files by telling it to open file anyway although file is not supported.Another use ive found is that when i import a dvd into sony vegas there will be a small bit of audio missing where there were chapter marks.Using mpeg streamclip to select all of the vob files and save as quickly creates a single file with the correct audio with no glitches.
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^ Thanks for all the advice! I'll give Mpeg streamclip a try this weekend.
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What exactly are you going after with "more playable"? Is your computer maxing out resources trying to play it? Do you want it to play on a PC, Bluray, iPhone, iPod, ??? FLV works fine for me on playback. Granted that sometimes the specs are off and I have to tweak fps or aspect ratios in the player. But what are you trying to FIX (or accomplish) by converting them? Every conversion will degrade the quality more. If it's a computing power thing, a newer box might be cheaper than the time investment to convert the footage. Or maybe you just need a new media player, or some tweaks to your existing one.
I tend the convert to MKV. For upload to youtube. I used to do MP4, but youtube hosed them pretty good. Otherwise all encoding parameters between the two were identical, baring the extension / container. It's still h264 video with mp3 or aac audio. h264 is CPU needy, so not for everyone, but it's hard to beat in terms of bits used over time. If I'm hurting for CPU cycles, I'll convert a video to MPEG2, but the growth factor in doing so is noticeable. As in 1080p60 camcorder footage is about the same size as my resulting 720p60 mpeg2 converted footage. The main difference being that my 4yo laptop can actually play the 720p60 footage (barely).
Super is a good option. ffmpeg and libx264 can do some great things. Lots of options, but you might have to become more video knowledgeable than you ever wanted to be to make them work in some cases. Commercial options like Vegas or Final Cut could lessen the learning curve. At least on the technical side, you'll still have to learn to use their software.
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^Thought I explained this. I want to convert them into something that is readily (and properly) playable in something like VLC. The original files act weird in VLC and FLV players, I can't skip ahead, some players don't show the video, etc. And friends want copies, I don't want to give them FLV files, they will have more trouble than I do. I'm not interested in learning all kinds of video stuff, or putting lots of time into this, and I'm not too concerned about the quality, which is already pretty low.
To summarize: I want to convert them into something playable on most machines (like mpeg), I want files that are about the same size, and I want them to not look substantially shittier than they already do.
Hopefully, mpeg streamclip will do the trick.
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For an hours worth of video to be < 300MB, that's pretty compressed. And DVD video of equal length would be near 2GB. And that's at DVD resolution 720x480 (NTSC - at it's best for DVD). I tend to render 720p at about 20MB per minute. I could get down to 10MB per minute if quality wasn't a concern. 100 minutes, 2GB, 60 minutes closer to 1GB. Basically you're not likely to beat the compression already present. I'm still not sure what problem you're having with said content as is? Flash 10 does the h264 stuff. Unless you're using a VERY old computer (< 1Ghz) and some OLD version of the player. You should be able to play it flawlessly (baring the usual compression quirks). And so should your friends. Maybe not grandma and grandpa on their 486, but still. Any recent < 5yo computer should handle the specs to date okay. It's not like 300MB per hour plus is particularly taxing to any modern hard drive. I can generally do 1GB per 20 minutes over WiFi. Baring dialup which is 10MB - 15MB per hour.
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I have a newer machine (quad-core win7), and the latest version of VLC, but these files act weird, as described above.
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ROTFLMAO at this thread. I've NEVER seen people NOT answer the original question with such diligence and skill... ;D ;D
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ROTFLMAO at this thread. I've NEVER seen people NOT answer the original question with such diligence and skill... ;D ;D
??????
I think pluto did a pretty good job with this post: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139758.msg1808049#msg1808049
I think most of us are baffled that a computer can't play flv.
yltfan, can you post the file online and maybe we can see what we can do with it.
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Rasta...you're right. He did answer the question. Didn't mean to offend...if I did. I just had a chuckle there about what I was reading, but maybe it was just me being in a good mood on a Saturday morning. ;)
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In the absence of details, one can only do so much.
What type of computer? 8088 from 1981?
What version of VLC? 0.0.000001
What file?
It's just odd that a computer can't play an FLV file. Or that and FLV file is longer than 15 minutes (youtubes newest limit). Just probing for additional details so one can answer the original question.
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OP: My car wont start?
Q: did you use the key?
OP: Why wont my car start?
Q: does it have gas?
OP: Everyone else car starts.
Q: what type of car?
OP: Car? did I say car. No, it's a bicycle.
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Rasta...you're right. He did answer the question. Didn't mean to offend...if I did. I just had a chuckle there about what I was reading, but maybe it was just me being in a good mood on a Saturday morning. ;)
no offense. this thread is a pretty funny read. :)
have a nice weekend.