Codec for Apple?

[Ernest Burden III]

I want to put together a CD with work samples that will play on just about anyone's computer. This should include Macs. I have observed that Apples do not play all PC-originating .avi files, even when stock MS Mediaplayer does. But Quicktime plays some .avi's. And I'm not counting on PC users having QT--I don't have it on my main computer.

 

My collegue called AppleCare but they were useless.

 

What would be the closest I could come to a 'bulletproof' codec to write cross-platform .avi samples in? (I will be authoring out of Premiere).

 

Thanks in advance

[Christopher Nichols]

Quicktime is a good option, but, as you said, you will need to supply quicktime with the the CD. The other option is Mpeg. It is a universal ISO movie format, which is why it is used for DVD authoring. Problem is you will need to find an mpeg encoder and those cost some money. If you have the latest Premiere (version 6.5) it has an encoder built in, so you are set. Just make sure you use Mpeg1 (not mpeg2. Not everyone has mpeg2 decoder. Without Premiere 6.5, a good option is LSX, from Ligos:

 

http://www.ligos.com/lsx_mpeg.htm

 

You can get the full Premiere Plugin for 6.0 for about $130, or just the encoder for $80. The cool thing is, if you write it out to a VCD ISO standard, your CD burning software may have the option to burn a VCD... that should play well for you.

[Ernest Burden III]

Christopher, thank you for the ideas.

 

My Premiere is 6.0 (I wasn't aware there was a new one, so much for 'registering to recieve news of upgrades'), I will look into the upgrade.

 

Is the point that an Apple armed with just QT (no DVD player) play an mpeg1 file?

 

Also, if I still wanted to author to .avi, do you know which codec for full cross-platform, or is that not likely to ever work?

[AHaidar]

As Christopher has stated your best bet for ease of use and maximum compatibility is MPEG-1. MPEG-1 will play back smoothly on older (even ancient) machines. The downside to MPEG-1 is the file sizes can be quite large when compared to newer compression schemes. All of the media players, including Quicktime, will be able to play MPEG-1. On a side note, you will need a DVD drive only if you encode your animation as MPEG-2 and burn it on DVD media. You will need a DVD software player (like PowerDVD) if you write MPEG-2 video to CD.

 

If you want to encode the video as an avi check http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/qt/specifications.html for the codecs that are supported natively within QT. Be aware that some of the older codecs are 16- or 8-bit only. If you use a proprietary avi codec like Divx or Indeo your audience will have to download or install the proper codecs. Windows Media Player won't always auto-download the codecs. Availability might be a problem for Mac users.

 

It would probably be best to stick with MPEG-1 since it usually won't require the viewer to do anything other than press the play button. You could also encode a Quicktime file for the Mac users and a .wmv for Windows users. The Windows Media encoder is free. You can encode wmv directly from Premiere 6.

 

MPEG-1 Maximum compatibility and ease of use but larger file size than newer codecs

MPEG-4 Smaller file sizes but needs newer hardware/software

MPEG-2 Needs a player other than Windows MediaPlayer or Quicktime

AVI Smaller file size but Mac playback might not be possible. User might have to install codecs.

WMA Windows only. Closed file format.