Smallest file size but with good quality for web download?
 

Hi

I have a 7 minute video shot in miniDV and in the DV-AVI format I want to upload to a site for others to download. Of course the file size is 1.5 GB so I have to compress it to another format.

The problem is, I want to get it down to under 5 mb yet still have it look really good and the subtitles readable. I've tried several ways, but can't seem to do it.

Anyone have anything to suggest?

Telling us the 'several ways' you've already attempted so far, will assist us in advising you.

WMV with Windows Media 9 seems to be a good bet for decent size vs. quality right now. Most folks prefer QT with Sorenson 3 encoding. A bit larger but very clean. Lots of the movie trailers on Apples site are done with Sorenson 3 and a good deal of noodleing with settings.

MPG-1 was pretty good for a long time in VCD compliant presets.

You can download Microsofts Windows Media encoder from their website for free. You can put your AVI file in and play with the settings till you find a good one.

Sean McHenry

For widest compatibility, it's better to encode multiple formats. Anyways, the top formats would likely be (factoring in compatibility and price):

Windows Media 9 - Download WME for free, encode 2pass VBR.
If you want to sacrifice compatibility, I believe you can get better results by using the advanced profile settings.

Quicktime sorenson3 (pro codec, which you have to pay money for) 2 pass VBR
a little lower quality than WM9 in my opinion, but good for compatibility. Nice seeking, which can be useful (i.e. it's your demo reel, and people want to scrub through it).

Quicktime sorenson3 for video, mpeg4 audio (free)
not in the same ballpark as QT/sorenson3 with pro codecs.
As far as free audio codecs go, only mpeg4 compresses well. qdesign sounds like crap, IMA4:1 sounds good but only compresses 4:1.

Quicktime h.264
Much, much better compression than sorenson3 (and probably WMV9). Audience requires QT7 to play, and for windows it's a public preview.

divX is a notch down from Windows Media in my opinion. Not much point in going there.

2- I don't think 7 minutes - 5MB is that realistic of a target. You might want to make your movie a little bigger.

3- Try halving the frame rate.

I agree, especially since he wants people to be able to read his subtitles.

Glen and Chris are right. Seven minutes of video compressed to 5MB is not going to "look good, no matter how you compress it.

Jay