You’ve got an H.264-based MOV file that you want to use for Flash production, but it won’t load into Flash or Flash Catalyst. Can you simply change the extension from MOV to F4V? If you’re encoding the file, should you choose None, Fast Start or Fast Start – Compressed Header when producing for progressive download. Read on for the answers …

This article compares H.264 to WebM, Google’s implementation of the VP8 codec, using three variables (encoding time, compressed quality, and CPU requirements) for playback on three personal computers. Here’s the CliffsNotes version of the results: Using Sorenson Squeeze to produce both H.264 and WebM, the latter definitely took longer, but there are techniques that you can use to reduce the …

H.264 is the most widely used codec today, whether for streaming via Flash or Silverlight or for the Apple iPod, iPhone, and iPad product lines. If you’ve worked with H.264 before, the format is old hat for you. But if you’re cutting over from VP6 or Windows Media or expanding distribution to H.264-compatible devices, you’re faced with a learning curve. …

This is a story I’ve been following for awhile. By way of background, MPEG-LA represents the H.264 patent holders and is charged with administering all licenses and collecting all royalties, which are paid by companies who build H.264 encoders, players and, in some instances, content. In the past, MPEG-LA hasn’t charged royalties for content delivered free over the internet, though …

I haven’t followed the video white paper market at all, but according to a newsletter from Accela Communications, usage is booming. Here’s a blurb. “The rate of adoption for video white papers is definitely increasing, as evidenced in this collection of articles and research. The growth may be largely driven by the ability to engage viewers more effectively than with textual papers, but …

WebM/VP8 is Google’s recent entry into the codec market. Here’s a roughly chronological list of resources about the codec/technology. If you see any prominent articles that I’m missing, please let me know. Webm – an open web media project – Google site for WebM. The Moving Picture: Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Success – (8/2/2010) – EventDV, by …

Google recently open-sourced the VP8 codec for video on the web (for the key facts on this development, see Tim Siglin’s latest Streamline column). Should you care? Not so much, I’d say; Google’s recent launch of VP8 reminded me of a couple of theories that I hold dear, one current, one from long ago. The current one is that past performance …

StreamingMedia just published my H.264 vs. VP8 comparison – the first to consider both encoding speed (VP8 is slow, but not that slow) and CPU playback (VP8 takes lots more than H.264 on some platforms, but there’s a big glimmer of hope). Check it out at http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Article…

There’s an old Hollywood joke with the punch line, “but I really want to direct.” I’m not sure what the actual joke is, or if it’s funny, but the reason I bring it up is that if you talk to writers, most would say, “but I really want to be on TV.” Certainly the web and websites such as Livestream …

Camtasia has been my go-to screen recording application on Windows since forever, and I have at least 200 Camtasia recorded projects under my belt. But seldom, if ever, have I edited and produced my project in Camtasia, preferring the more familiar environs of Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro. To be brutally honest, in previous versions, Camtasia’s editing application, Camtasia Studio, felt clunky, inefficient, and frequently dysfunctional, …