andrewducker: (headshot)
andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2006-06-10 12:01 pm

Video conversion question

My phone produces .3gp files when it takes videos. They're about 90k.

I can then convert them to quicktime files, also under 100k.

I can then convert them to .mp4 files which are around 170k.

But if I then convert them to AVI files they swell to 2MB.

What the hell is going on in there that takes up that kind of space? And is there any way I can stop it?

If anyone out there fancies taking a look, the files are up in 3gp format and quicktime format.

(It's Meredith with new baby, who is stretching cutely)

[identity profile] themongkey.livejournal.com 2006-06-10 11:37 am (UTC)(link)
The AVIs are probably uncompressed. Try encoding them with DivX or XviD?

videohelp.com has loads of info, or just google "avi to divx" (or xvid).

Of course, then people trying to play them will need the right codecs installed or they'll just get a blank movie.

[identity profile] jccw.livejournal.com 2006-06-10 12:13 pm (UTC)(link)
1. AVI is a pretty old format. Thus, its overall compression performance is unlikely to be as good as more recent formats such as mp4, or "formats" like quicktime or wmv that (I think) really consist of a lot of individual codecs. This is part of why people keep inventing all these new formats.

2. Highly compressed video is going to have artifacts which may make it difficult for other formats (even more advanced ones) to do better. This is especially true if you chain several steps together as you have done. One thing you could try is uncompress the original to some raw format, smooth it (using e.g. Gaussian filtering), and re-compress directly to the target format. (I could be talking through my hat here, my computer vision class was ages ago).

[identity profile] figg.livejournal.com 2006-06-10 12:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Avi is a container format, not a codec though. (Like Mov, mkv, and ogg (yes ogg is a container (it's ogg vorbis that is the sound codec))).

I don't know what codec you are using with AVI - it could be anything from mpeg to divx to xvid.

[identity profile] kashandara.livejournal.com 2006-06-10 12:54 pm (UTC)(link)
I care not for the tech of your post but just wanted to say 'Aw! Cute baby!'

Aw! Cute baby!

Send my congratulations to the new Mom and Pop won't you.
moniqueleigh: (Happy Madi)

[personal profile] moniqueleigh 2006-06-10 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
*squee* Darling little one!

[identity profile] octopoid-horror.livejournal.com 2006-06-11 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
How do you convert them from 3pg format?