distributing digital video on a CD-ROM - Help!

[Kim]

I feel like I have tried every option under the sun to distribute a
digital video with my projector via a CD-ROM. Any advice would be
appreciated...I'm a student who has taken on a client for a senior
year long project - so although it's a professional project - I have
no budget.

First I went down the AVI route. I need to distribute the CDROM
without asking the viewers to install a codec. The common AVI codecs
for distribution are rubbish - cinepak, indeo, etc. I can't achieve a
small enough file size or good enough quality video (res 300 x 240).
Using an MPEG-4 codec looks great - but once the video is imported
into Director, it's unsupported without the Advance MPEG Xtra - a cool
couple hundred dollars - no thanks. The trial version of this Xtra
comes up with an alert message which I can't really distribute.

Then I went down the QuickTime route, where the majority of codecs
come packaged with the player - I can always package an installer on
the CD....So i'm using premier and trying to find a suitable quicktime
codec and having more trouble than i did with avi codecs! The files,
although some are good quality, are huge...

I don't actually know much about how to adjust data rates to get
decent compression and I'm also not sure about how large a video file
can be before it starts to take way to long to load up prior to the
end user viewing the video footage (which happens to be the
introduction to the marketing cd-roM) I'm also confused by my
quicktime audio compression options - I don't recognise the codecs and
dont' know whether they are what is affecting the huge size of my .mov
files after i export....32-bit integer, IMA 4:1, ALaw 2.1, QDesign
Music2, Mace 6:1.

If you have any advice - it'd be ever so appreciated...

k.

[JB]

Sorenson is the most modern and file size effeciant quicktime codec.
But most windows end users will have to install quicktime, you can
probably distribute a stand alone (web independant) quicktime installer
on the CD, firing it off from Director if quicktimeVersion() is bad.

==== Here's one reply from 1998 ====

Warren McCoy wrote:

> 1) MPEG-1 plays and works fine on 95/98/NT if you have QuickTime
> ver 2+ or less. If you only have QT3 installed it disables it!
> The windows app ActiveMovie (now directmovie) is responsible
> to allowing it to be views and play just like an AVI. >snip<

Yes, this issue is partially described in searchable TechNote #12113 at:
[url]http://www.macromedia.com/support/director/ts/documents/video_tt_system_r[/url]
eqs.htm

-----------
"... ActiveMovie and MPEG: If ActiveMovie is installed on a Windows
system, it allows Director to import MPEG as a linked cast member and
play it as if it were a Video for Windows (.AVI) sprite. There are,
however, some differences between playing MPEG via ActiveMovie and Video
for Windows. For example, unlike a standard .AVI member, you can't
disable direct to stage. This limited functionality is caused by
ActiveMovie, not Director. Therefore, using MPEG in your Director for
Windows movies can work well, but should be tested carefully.

Importing MPEG requires ActiveMovie andQuickTime for Windows: Because of
a quirk in the way Director imports digital video, QuickTime for Windows
must be installed to import MPEG files. This is an import issue only.
Playback of MPEG via ActiveMovie does not require QuickTime for Windows.

QuickTime 3 for Windows and MPEG: Quicktime 3 for Windows does not
support playing MPEG digital video (unlike QT3 for Mac, which does
support MPEG). ..."
-----------

The reason I say "partially" is because the TechNote says it's an import
issue only; however, this is not correct. QT2 is required to both import
and play MPEG via ActiveMovie. (And QT3 doesn't do it, it's gotta be
QT2). I'll correct the TechNote ASAP. Thanks for the heads-up.

Alternatively, as mentioned in the TechNote, many developers use 3rd
party Xtras like the DirectMedia, OnStage, and MPEG Xtras to play MPEG
media in Director. These yield more MPEG playback & control options than
using ActiveMovie alone.

Also, requests for Director features (e.g.: better MPEG support, etc.)
can be Emailed to the Director product management team at
[email]wish-director@macromedia.com[/email]
--

== Peter DeCrescenzo, Macromedia Technical Support, San Francisco, CA
= When posting, please include Director version # and platform info.
= D6.5 Win Service Pack, TechNotes search, Xtras, ShowMe movies... :
[url]http://www.macromedia.com/support/director/[/url]
= 3rd party Xtras: [url]http://www.updatestage.com/products.html[/url]
= Newsgroup FAQ: [url]http://www.macromedia.com/support/newsgroups.html[/url]


==== and another director video tips link talking about codecs ====

[url]http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/Learning/Director/resources/FAQ/video.htm#3[/url]

[Kim]

Thanks for your reply...

even the Sorenson codec leaves me with a file size of 219MB for a 3
minute long video clip at 300x240 res. I can't really distribute a CD
with a video intro of 219MB. Won't it take ages for the CD-ROM to
load? If that's the case, I'm better sticking with AVI and using
Cinepak or Indeo. Same quality ouput, for around 80MB and I don't have
to ask users to install quicktime before hand.

I was hoping for some sort of miracle solution that perhaps I hadn't
heard of. Like perhaps a freebie Xtra that would solve my problem or a
fabulous codec that would save the day!

Still, I appreciate your reply...

Kim

[Doug Golenski]

If you have a 300 X 240, 3 minute video coming out to 219MB using the
Sorenson Pro Codec then you are doing something horribly wrong. My 320X240
30 fps videos usually come out to about 15 - 20 MB for a 3 minute piece with
a quality that is excellent (as good if not better than any MPEG 1 video).
Almost all of the major motion picture studios use QT for their trailers
(and Sorenson for the Codec), so it would be worth your while to figure out
what's going wrong in your implementation.

hth,
Doug
"Kim" <kwray2002@postmaster.co.uk> wrote in message
news:d1ddc86e.0405021039.33762e6d@posting.google.c om...

> Thanks for your reply...
>
> even the Sorenson codec leaves me with a file size of 219MB for a 3
> minute long video clip at 300x240 res. I can't really distribute a CD
> with a video intro of 219MB. Won't it take ages for the CD-ROM to
> load? If that's the case, I'm better sticking with AVI and using
> Cinepak or Indeo. Same quality ouput, for around 80MB and I don't have
> to ask users to install quicktime before hand.
>
> I was hoping for some sort of miracle solution that perhaps I hadn't
> heard of. Like perhaps a freebie Xtra that would solve my problem or a
> fabulous codec that would save the day!
>
> Still, I appreciate your reply...
>
> Kim