Suggestions on Codecs for Web Delivery

[Jeremy Wiles]

This is a dangerous question to ask considering all the options and variables, but what combination of process (AE, Premiere, Cineform, etc) and codec (h.264, x264, flv, etc) do you recommend for web delivery?

For the past year, I've been exporting full-res Quicktime files, then converting them in Quicktime PRO to H264. Then I have to put up with the gamma issue. I've heard the x264 is better, but what do you recommend?

Thanks,

Jeremy

 

[Subhadip Sen]

X264VFW AVI from Premiere Pro, remux to MP4 or MKV if required.

If you are on Mac OS X, I am not sure. Maybe a very high bitrate MainConcept H264 from Premiere Pro and then to compressed X264 using Handbrake?

 

[Kim Frank]

I'm getting the very best results I ever had out of Adobe Media Encoder using a H264 Compression in a Mp4 Container. Nearly no artifacts and just a bit softer than the uncompressed render, why I sometimes use a subtle unsharp Mask to go against that. Since I'm avoiding QuickTime in my whole workflow I never had any Problems again (clients complaining about washed out look because of the Gamma Issue) and my move to windows and the Adobe Suite, for me was the hardest but best decision I could have made.

 

[Jeremy Wiles]

X264VFW AVI from Premiere Pro, remux to MP4 or MKV if required.

Thanks for the advice. What is "remux to MP4?" I tried searching for Remux and can't find a program for windows 64bit.

 

[Subhadip Sen]

Thanks for the advice. What is "remux to MP4?" I tried searching for Remux and can't find a program for windows 64bit.

Remux is basically taking the X264 and audio streams out of the AVI container and putting them in an MP4 or MKV container. The two most popular muxers are MP4Box and MKVMerge, which are built in to almost all conversion/transcoding apps. They also have dedicated GUIs - MP4Box GUI / YAMB and MKVMerge GUI. I use MKVMerge GUI and mostly use MKV as my final container - it is by far the most robust container out there. Remuxing is very fast - it is basically like copy-pasting, only takes a few seconds.

 

[Zeb B]

I use the YouTube setting out of Apple Compressor - works great for Vimeo and YouTube

 

[Alexander Mejia]

I think it's easy to get confused on CODEC and CONTAINER. The easiest way to think about these things is to think of a container as a box, which can hold multiple streams.

A stream gets encoded with a CODEC.

Certain containers have rules and restrictions for what kind of streams, and how they can be encoded.

For example, Quicktime is a container, while H.264 is a codec.

h.264 can go into many different kinds of containers, but Quicktime can only hold streams.

Which is why saying "I want a quicktime" isn't enough when someone asks the format. Its like saying "I want a tape" and leaving it at that.

Mux is short for multiplexing. Multiplexing is the action of mixing multiple streams into a single container. Most containers have 1 audio stream, and 1 video stream, but more things can be shoved into containers if they support it.

The problem you're describing with video looking better when going through certain pieces of software has to do with the quality of debayer, scaling quality, and color space conversions. If you're looking for the highest possible quality for delivery You need to know more than just the choice of codec and container. Try getting a professional compressionist to help you out if its for a paying client.