Encoding Raw MPEG?

[housekeeper]

Originally Posted by Ramster

What do you make from the Raw MPEG? a WMV or MPG?
What is the file size usually? Say for 10 minutes, 2 gigs? more/less?
What size video do you make? 1440x1080? 1280x720? Or larger at 1920x1440?
-1440x1080 is what I did but when I try to make a WMV I get black bars at the top and bottom. MPG there is no black bar, it's perfect (but the file size seems high so I think I need to lower the bitrate)

So what do you make for your members area when offering "Hi-Def"

WMV is by in large the commonly used format for members area, you'll likely find it 95% of the time, though some are now focusing more on mp4. Personally I wouldn't go as high as 1920x1440, 1280 x 720 is pretty standard across the board, as well as 960 x 540. You'll need to offer a high version and a med, in addition to mp4 for mobile (320 x 240).

1280 x 720 / fps 29.97 / bitrate 2,000 - 4000 depending on your preference, the higher the bitrate the large the file size, try not to exceed 500MB with your final edit, and with those settings for a 10min video you certainly shouldn't.

MPG is fine to use for members area, a good thought is to offer WMV in 1280 and MPEG in 720, I wouldn't suggest going lower than 640 x 360. You'd be wise to use custom settings for these dimensions, otherwise you'll want your ratio to be 16:9. Play with the bit rate as you see fit, and be mindful of what the info is on your original file before you get started, very important.

If you're getting black space horizontally, that is called letterbox, you may be overlooking a setting somewhere in your encoder, un-check letterbox as you want to employ the custom settings. It impress' me as this is what is occurring in your case...

Using a good encoder is essential as it is your final frontier, WMV & MPEG are the ways to go, MOV is blah, I wouldn't advise AVI, DivX, MSK, etc. but of course mp4 is becoming a bit of a standard as well. That is of course if you're also considering using a flash version as well, which you should, in which case I would recommend either F4V or mp4.

So basically your expectation should be that your 2gb raw file should encode down to WMV 10 min video to anywhere from 200mgs - 400mgs+ with those settings, again with varying bitrates (2000 - 4000) depending on the quality you desire....