Streaming video is a mainstay in today's fast moving world
Streaming video is compressed in size for transmitting through a network and onto a computer or mobile device. But because the video file has been made smaller and must be transmitted at high speeds, the quality of the image can suffer. There are a number of steps that you must take if the streaming video is to look good and maintain the quality of the original video.
Control the Compression Ratio
A video file can be compressed using variable compression ratios to make a file that is suitable for streaming. Some compression ratios are more suitable for high-speed networks, while other compression ratios are designed to work better on slower networks and for devices other than computers that have slower processors, such as cell phones.
The higher the compression of the video file, the smaller the resulting file will become and the more easily it will stream. However, there must be a balancing act because higher compression also impacts on the quality of the video image. Trial and error will determine the best compression ratio to use that will balance the size of the video file against the quality of the video image.
Minimize the Size of the Video Image
The size of the video image should be kept as small as possible. A video with the same window "size" as that of a typical computer screen (640 by 480 pixels) will not stream as well as when the video size is smaller. Compressing the video file so that the size of the "window" is 320 by 240 pixels will enable the video to stream with less difficulty and with less odds of there being any video frame dropouts or black spots.
A video with an even smaller "window" than 320 by 240 pixels will also be handled better by mobile devices and result in a better playback on them specifically.
Make the Streaming Video With Quicktime Pro
The QuickTime Pro program will compress video into an MPEG-4 filet. This uses the next-generation H.264 format to enable a small, optimized file that can stream through a network easily and efficiently while maintaining a quality image. This works on both Mac and Windows-based computers.
Download the QuickTime program from the Apple website and then purchase and download the serial key from the website to turn QuickTime into QuickTime Pro (see link in Resources). You then load your video file into QuickTime Pro and export it as an MPEG-4 video file using the setting that for streaming video. This optimized H.264 video file is the one that will be used for streaming.
Tags: video file, file that, compression ratios, pixels will, higher compression