Anybody using Flip 4 Mac?

[Baltimore Shooter]

Anyone here using Flip 4 Mac? I need a better way to compress to an MPG file than the Quicktime conversion and MPEG Streamclip won't get it down to a small enough file size without it looking crappy. Can I encode for MPG files as well as WMV files?

Warren

 

[nautilusvideo]

Flip4mac is specifically for converting QT files to wmv files. QT, MPEG Streamclip, etc. are great for compression. Both applications are really pretty much the same since the underlying engine (QT) is the same. I get great looking results from both apps.

If your compressed files look like crap it's probably a settings issue, you are simply just compressing them too much or both.

 

[Baltimore Shooter]

nautilus,
What setting are you using in Streamclip to make them look great while still ending up w/ a smaller file size? I'm working with 30 second clips that end up being 19MB and anything more compressed than that looks like crap.

I've seen other stuff that other people have compressed that looks awesome at 4MB.

Warren

 

[Alaska cameradude]

nautilus,
What setting are you using in Streamclip to make them look great while still ending up w/ a smaller file size? I'm working with 30 second clips that end up being 19MB and anything more compressed than that looks like crap.

I've seen other stuff that other people have compressed that looks awesome at 4MB.

Warren

Well, it's not quite that simple, it also depends on what kind of codecs are installed on your system.
H.264 will give you great results at very small file sizes....but if you have an older computer/version of Quicktime, you won't be able to use that compression method in Streamclip or any other program. When you are choosing which codec to use in Streamclip....H.264 is a great one. Sorenson 3 pro is good as well, but I think that one comes with the purchase of Sorenson Squeeze.....what settings are you currently using? Sometimes you can drop the frame rate to 15 and have it look alright on the web....are these videos just for 'client approval'?
I generally use H.264 at 1500 or so and get good file sizes, if needed I drop the frame rate to 15 and sometimes resize to 320x240 if it's just for client approval.....you can also save a little size
by compressing the audio using the AAC encoder.....

 

[Baltimore Shooter]

Well, I'm trying to go full screen and not the postage stamp size, as it's for demo purposes, not for client approval. And I'm using an older Mac (G4 w/ dual 1GB processor) and FCP 4.1 (not sure which version of QT or Streamclip), won't be able to check for a couple of days.

Warren

 

[Alaska cameradude]

Well, I'm trying to go full screen and not the postage stamp size, as it's for demo purposes, not for client approval. And I'm using an older Mac (G4 w/ dual 1GB processor) and FCP 4.1 (not sure which version of QT or Streamclip), won't be able to check for a couple of days.

Warren

OK.....so with your version of FCP, I do NOT think you can use H.264.....I think that was introduced
with Quicktime 7 and FCP 4 through 4.5 uses Quicktime 6 if I remember right. My best results for
older macs with Quicktime 6 has always been with Sorenson 3 Pro codec.....but that was
a codec that was installed on my system when I got Sorenson Squeeze which is similar
to Compressor but with a lot of other options and codecs, so you probably don't have access to
that one. I think the basic Sorenson codec isn't bad either. How long/big is the initial file?
If you can put it up on dropload or yousendit or sendspace, I'd be happy to download it and compress it for you in a fullscreen version using one of my compression applications....then post it back up for you to download...

 

[nautilusvideo]

nautilus,
What setting are you using in Streamclip to make them look great while still ending up w/ a smaller file size?

Common question and the answer always is - "It Depends." Good compressions are a compromise between original codec, compressor used, final output, quality selection, bit rate, frame rate and more. The best way to figure out what works is testing and experience. So go test.

Also FCP 4 is a dinosaur and a G4 is barely up to the processing needs of modern codecs. You need to make sure that you are running QT 7.6 Pro and if you can upgrade to FCP 6 and an Intel mac that will make a difference in your quality.

 

[BlueWing]

"I've seen other stuff that other people have compressed that looks awesome at 4MB."

Not at full screen size for demo purposes.

I've sent great looking files in both SD and HD from streamclip using H264 codec for client approval, but the screen size has to be compromised to get the file that small.

I have shown great looking full screen HD files to clients from my macbook pro laptop. Not sure what you are trying to do, but there usually is a way if you provide the problem.