Are you confused on what to convert your family videos onto? There are a lot or video formats out there and it can get confusing. However, if you know exactly what you want the final output to be, you can nail it down to one format.
Here is a simple breakdown of the most popular formats you can transfer to:
1) DVD Video – This format can be played on a DVD player, PC & MAC. You can extract the information and convert it to a file format for editing in the future as well, however it can be time consuming. A good software to extract this is MPEG Streamclip.
2) AVI – This format works well on a PC & for MAC’s, you’ll need the proper codec to read it. Transferring to this format does take a lot of space. Approximately 13GB for every hour (NTSC-DV). However, you are able to simply drag the file directly onto the timeline ready for editing. You don’t have to use any software to convert the file first saving you a lot of time. This format is mainly used if you need to do editing to your video. However, if you need to watch it on a DVD player, it is an extra step to convert.
3) MOV – To be used for mainly clients with a MAC. PC users will be also to view the file as well. The file size is the same as AVI using the NTSC-DV compression. Again, this file can be simply dropped onto the timeline ready for editing. If you need to convert to DVD to be playable on a DVD player, it will be an extra step.
4) MP4 files are popular for HD videos & uploading onto YouTube. The file size can be very small and the picture quality is relatively clear, which makes it a popular format to be uploaded online. You can also do editing on this format file if your computer has the proper codec installed (today, almost every computer will have the capabilities of viewing this file format, VLC is a good video player to have). The downfall is that, if you like to produce a DVD-Video disc, again, its an extra step.
So there you have it. Below is the list of summary of the pros and cons for each file type:
DVD-Video – Cons: Cannot use to edit without extracting footage first. Pros: Can be playable on PC, MAC & DVD player.
AVI – Cons: File size is large, cannot play on DVD player without conversion first. Pros: Can used to be edited on PC. Good quality.
MOV – Cons: File size is large, cannot play on DVD player without conversion first. Pros: Can used to be edited on MAC & PC. Good quality
MPG4 – Cons: Cannot play on DVD player without conversion first. Can be used to edit on MAC & PC. HD capabilities with decent quality and small file. Ideal to upload onto YouTube.
Quality of the video formats can vary above depending on the settings used. For example, you can reduce the bit rate of the AVI, MOV files so that the quality is lower then an MP4’s and vice versa. A DVD-video also contains options to change bit rates. So that the bit rate per second can vary from DVD-video discs to another. Any further information will be beyond the scope of this article and should be a separate topic on its own.
Still confused? Then answer this question. Do you need editing done on your footage? If so, then choose MOV, good format for SD videotapes and good quality. If you simply need archiving only, then choose DVD-Video.
Hope the information above helped you on deciding what to choose for your video transfer project. In the next article I will explain about down-converting and up-converting video files.