Whats the best Bit Rate for Flash movies? at DVinfo.net

Silas Barker · March 10th, 2010, 10:32 PM

I am upgrading my flash player and flash demo samples.
See one of the new ones below and tell me if it loads fast enough for you?
I used to use a pretty low bit rate but now I am making it higher and increasing the quality.
What do you think?

Silas's Videography Sample Video

Ervin Farkas · March 23rd, 2010, 07:50 AM

Choppy playback (frequent stops for buffering) on my corporate LAN at work, OK at home. You are likely using a bitrate higher than 750Kbps... your warning to let it load comes in handy... At that bitrate you could make the window larger, or if you want to keep it so small, reduce teh bitrate.

When it does play, quality is very good.

I hope this helps,

Nate Haustein · March 23rd, 2010, 07:55 AM

Certainly looks good. Can you split the difference? Bring the quality down a tad to make it load just a little faster. The wait wasn't terrible, but I was conscious of it on a T1 connection.

Also, I would change the dimensions of the player so that the black bars on the sides of the video don't show.

Silas Barker · March 24th, 2010, 05:17 PM

Ok, try some of the other clips on here:
Everything should load good and you can see the player is larger
Silas's Videography | Video Demo Gallery

This one loads real good, see quality:
http://www.silasbarker.com/demo.html?deannabrian

Ervin Farkas · March 25th, 2010, 05:48 AM

Checked a few, they all load pretty fast. I think you jumped to the other extreme now, the size is a bit too large for the bitrate, so quality suffers a little.

In my own asessment, with today's technology, and in order to accomodate viewers with average (slower) internet connection, a 640x360 image size is the best, and a 500-700Kbps bitrate (depending on content) delivers good picture at that size. Again, this is my personal opinion, this is what works for me.

[Side note. It seems like my new Intel i7 64-bit computer running W7 Ultimate has an issue with Flash video, tends to have somewhat choppy playback if the video is an flv/f4v file, but plays smooth if it's h.264.mp4. Would you please tell me if your video is flash or h.264?]

Thanks,

Silas Barker · March 25th, 2010, 06:02 PM

Thanks for the input!
I think I got it now - I changed the size to what you suggested and it looks great!

Some of the files have a higher bit rates then others, but most of them are pretty streamable for DSL.

They are flash files.

Enrique Orozco Robles · June 20th, 2010, 12:34 PM

great site Silas... can I ask what video flash player do you use ?

kind regards

Silas Barker · June 21st, 2010, 04:56 PM

Hey there,

I am actually not sure which player it is (someone else set up that part pf the site) but it is one of those free ones.

Glad you liked the site!

Mark Sudfeldt · June 24th, 2010, 03:30 AM

A right click on the player says "Jambocast". . .presume that is the player or is it a player/host site?

Alan McInnes · February 15th, 2011, 03:19 PM

I've been encoding in both 640x360 and 960x540 with H.264 at 1.1Mbs with great results. I use SlideshowPro's hosting service which is really inexpensive and provides a one price 'all you can eat" deal. I shoot a lot of long form video as I cover our school's major events such as Grad ceremonies, basketball games, concerts, etc. At this rate, I get a ten to twelve minute video file that is less than 100 Mb which is the file size limit of the hosting service.

I post the 960x540 video in our community portals that are password protected. You can see the 640x360 video posted on the public side of our web site here:

Southridge School: Athletics » Photo and Video Gallery

Ervin Farkas · February 15th, 2011, 06:29 PM

That's 250-300Kbps tops video, with audio and all maybe 400Kbps total.

Or are you saying that you upload 1.1Mbps and then the provider re-encodes it to whatever they want?

Larry Reavis · May 9th, 2011, 01:32 PM

If you clean up the video noise (I use the free Smart Smoother by Mike Crash in Sony Vegas, or some similar plugin), and edit properly, you can get clean HD (1280 x 720), 30 fps, at only 500 kbps or less (with the free Handbrake). Here's a sample:

Physics: The quantum explanation"

Fred Tims · May 10th, 2011, 08:36 AM

Here's Adobe's Bit rate Calculator:
Flash video (FLV) bitrate calculator | Adobe Developer Connection

David Barnett · September 12th, 2011, 06:40 PM

I have a demo reel I'm trying to add to my site & it's an encoded flash file for 5 minutes at about 40MB. It plays very stuttered & I am on a good cable line. My thinking if it plays jerky here & takes a while to load (I have a new PC & fast cable connection) others are likely going to view it as worse speeds & it will become intolerable.

Do I need to compress it lower than 40MB?? Any suggestions as to how? I'm using FLV since I couldn't get H264 much less than 100. Also, my site is hosted thru GoDaddy, could it be a setting I have with them (need to pay $2.99/mo more;)

March 10th, 2010, 10:32 PM	#1
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Whats the best Bit Rate for Flash movies? I am upgrading my flash player and flash demo samples. See one of the new ones below and tell me if it loads fast enough for you? I used to use a pretty low bit rate but now I am making it higher and increasing the quality. What do you think? Silas's Videography Sample Video

March 23rd, 2010, 07:50 AM	#2
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Choppy playback (frequent stops for buffering) on my corporate LAN at work, OK at home. You are likely using a bitrate higher than 750Kbps... your warning to let it load comes in handy... At that bitrate you could make the window larger, or if you want to keep it so small, reduce teh bitrate. When it does play, quality is very good. I hope this helps, __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

March 23rd, 2010, 07:55 AM	#3
Nate Haustein Trustee Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,313	Certainly looks good. Can you split the difference? Bring the quality down a tad to make it load just a little faster. The wait wasn't terrible, but I was conscious of it on a T1 connection. Also, I would change the dimensions of the player so that the black bars on the sides of the video don't show. __________________ Nate Haustein PXW-FX9 / FCPX www.flightcreativemedia.com

March 24th, 2010, 05:17 PM	#4
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	made some adjustments... Ok, try some of the other clips on here: Everything should load good and you can see the player is larger Silas's Videography \| Video Demo Gallery This one loads real good, see quality: http://www.silasbarker.com/demo.html?deannabrian

March 25th, 2010, 05:48 AM	#5
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Checked a few, they all load pretty fast. I think you jumped to the other extreme now, the size is a bit too large for the bitrate, so quality suffers a little. In my own asessment, with today's technology, and in order to accomodate viewers with average (slower) internet connection, a 640x360 image size is the best, and a 500-700Kbps bitrate (depending on content) delivers good picture at that size. Again, this is my personal opinion, this is what works for me. [Side note. It seems like my new Intel i7 64-bit computer running W7 Ultimate has an issue with Flash video, tends to have somewhat choppy playback if the video is an flv/f4v file, but plays smooth if it's h.264.mp4. Would you please tell me if your video is flash or h.264?] Thanks, __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

March 25th, 2010, 06:02 PM	#6
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Thanks for the input! I think I got it now - I changed the size to what you suggested and it looks great! Some of the files have a higher bit rates then others, but most of them are pretty streamable for DSL. They are flash files.

June 20th, 2010, 12:34 PM	#7
Enrique Orozco Robles Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Chihuahua MEXICO Posts: 146	great site Silas... can I ask what video flash player do you use ? kind regards __________________ Enrique Orozco - Sony/JVC/Nikon/Panny cams, DJI/Yuneec drones, VegasPro www.aerofilm.com.mx

June 21st, 2010, 04:56 PM	#8
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Hey there, I am actually not sure which player it is (someone else set up that part pf the site) but it is one of those free ones. Glad you liked the site!

June 24th, 2010, 03:30 AM	#9
Mark Sudfeldt Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 63	A right click on the player says "Jambocast". . .presume that is the player or is it a player/host site?

February 15th, 2011, 03:19 PM	#10
Alan McInnes Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Surrey, B.C., Canada Posts: 42	I've been encoding in both 640x360 and 960x540 with H.264 at 1.1Mbs with great results. I use SlideshowPro's hosting service which is really inexpensive and provides a one price 'all you can eat" deal. I shoot a lot of long form video as I cover our school's major events such as Grad ceremonies, basketball games, concerts, etc. At this rate, I get a ten to twelve minute video file that is less than 100 Mb which is the file size limit of the hosting service. I post the 960x540 video in our community portals that are password protected. You can see the 640x360 video posted on the public side of our web site here: Southridge School: Athletics » Photo and Video Gallery __________________ Alan McInnes Web and AV Services - Southridge School - www.southridge.bc.ca

February 15th, 2011, 06:29 PM	#11
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	You've got to be kidding! That's 250-300Kbps tops video, with audio and all maybe 400Kbps total. Or are you saying that you upload 1.1Mbps and then the provider re-encodes it to whatever they want? __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

May 9th, 2011, 01:32 PM	#12
Larry Reavis Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Encinitas California Posts: 121	Re: Whats the best Bit Rate for Flash movies? If you clean up the video noise (I use the free Smart Smoother by Mike Crash in Sony Vegas, or some similar plugin), and edit properly, you can get clean HD (1280 x 720), 30 fps, at only 500 kbps or less (with the free Handbrake). Here's a sample: Physics: The quantum explanation"

May 10th, 2011, 08:36 AM	#13
Fred Tims Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 82	Re: Whats the best Bit Rate for Flash movies? Here's Adobe's Bit rate Calculator: Flash video (FLV) bitrate calculator \| Adobe Developer Connection

September 12th, 2011, 06:40 PM	#14
David Barnett Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Philly, PA Posts: 951	Re: Whats the best Bit Rate for Flash movies? I have a demo reel I'm trying to add to my site & it's an encoded flash file for 5 minutes at about 40MB. It plays very stuttered & I am on a good cable line. My thinking if it plays jerky here & takes a while to load (I have a new PC & fast cable connection) others are likely going to view it as worse speeds & it will become intolerable. Do I need to compress it lower than 40MB?? Any suggestions as to how? I'm using FLV since I couldn't get H264 much less than 100. Also, my site is hosted thru GoDaddy, could it be a setting I have with them (need to pay $2.99/mo more;)