Posting Dance Video Clips on Web - Technical/Viewing Preference Issues

Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 15:44:57 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.dance
Size: 1,689 bytes

[Note: Traffic and Storage are not restrictions for me. I have access to
20G of storage and a monthly allowance of over 2000G, so in any
recommendations don't account for either my storage or bandwith.]
I would like to share some small clips from movies/videos that feature
dancing. I want to create a page about dancing in the movies and it
makes sense to add some clips to illustrate the scene. I have the
equipment and software to produce just about any format video from any
source.
I thought of QuickTime but it and it requires the installation of
additional software on the most common platform, Windows/PC, and doesn't
give you anything you don't already have (except playability of QT
files). Real software is out. I don't support spyware and don't
encourage others to do so either, and their format leaves a lot to be
desired in terms of cross-platform usage.
MPG-1 seems like a good universal choice because it's playable on all
platforms without the need to install exotic drivers but the resulting
clip is quite a bit larger than the equivalent quality in something like
DiVX. However, DiVX relies on the viewer having a half-decent processor
and MPG-1 doesn't.
Then there is the issue of size. I think 320x240 is ideal, but too much
for a web-based viewer. Though the popularity of broadband makes it a
possibility. I think I'd probably go with 160x120 and maybe offer
another larger size for broadband viewers. Even 160x120 is probably out
of reach for modem users. Is it practical to go smaller or is there no
point?
I suppose I could just ask people to 'vote' for their favourite format
and size. Yes, maybe I'll do that.
Vote for your favourite format and size below: