WMV or AVI format
 

I'll run a new full length movie members website.
70% of my competitor using the avi format for member download.
I plan to use 700kbps WMV, and the poll on my website show it is about 50/50 support for both AVI or WMV ?

Which format you think i should use ?
700 kbps WMV or AVI ?
i don't prefer 1000kbps wmv due to the file size is very close to avi file.

and what about your website movie format ?

70% of your competitors are using avi?
How did you arrive at that number?

I don't know of anyone doing avi's.

17 posts since 2002, impressive.. I wish I did those numbers instead lol

I think most are doing mpeg or going with Flash movies now.

Hardly anyone uses .avi
Most use .wmv and some use .mpg and a few Flash or a combo of all of the above but no .avi

nobody uses avi anymore. Avi is dead.

.flv is your best bet

We are in japanese porn, they play another weird rules, and make me confuse now, wmv is always my prefer format.

I mean the huge competitor only, the small little website with less than 800GB movies not count in. All movie is above 1GB

yes, most paysite owners strictly use avi files. it helps with the bandwidth bills, trust me.

I thought guys were doing multiple file types still?

they did offer some rmvb and 3gp, but not much on wmv
i think a full length of WMV movie market is still empty in the japanese porn industry, i might get some biz from the "Faster Download Wanted" customer.

mpeg1 is the way to go lol wmv is one to go with but i an seriously looking at divx.

AVI it's better

my partner turned me on to Sorenson Squeez for flash its the best way to go for flv. We got inside our sites and the quality if excellent

wmv without doubts.

we use WMV format you can check on our site http://webadultsolution.com/

Why FLV ?
Do you think the future format is FLV ?

the future is NOW

most computers have flash files installed - more so than have windows media player or quick time player (avi is really to be left out completely).

The reason stated above is why YouTube, myspace or most other big sites with video sharing capabilities serve the videos in .flv format. It will play on any computer that can process flash. Which is much larger a share than any other format.

divx/xvid .avi is the BEST, there's a reason why EVERY movie or TV show I ever download uses .avi. If you're talking about like 1080p content wmv is badass, but for really nice looking "DVD Quality" vids xvid/divx is by far the best. I've been noticing recent version of Divx are stepping things up quite a bit. 1-2 years ago Xvid was considerably better than divx but I think the nod goes back to divx these days especially for fast encoding on quad core CPU's.

Mpeg1? that's a joke unless you plan on burning like straight to DVD its an incredible bandwidth waste.

For the super small files flash is the best for embedding on your sites.

the real question isn't really the rate of your video but more the resolution and length.

Anything small that you plan on streaming avi isn't in the mix anymore and flv is really the best option. Larger things see above

AVI's are uncompressed, and are huge. WMV is a compressed video format that gives you lots of flexibility and is easily playable on the web and mobile devices. You can also apply DRM to it ant lots of other things. Flash is also a great alternative too. Don't offer to stream or download AVI's. Your server will choke and your bandwidth fees will be insane.

m

FLV or WMV, but in another year, everything will move to H.264 (mp4).

offer both.

Actually AVI is a container format and can use a number of different codecs of varying compression/size/quality.

So the original question "WMV or AVI" doesn't really make any sense... it's like asking whether you should drive a Ford, or a car. :)

I'd go for WMV, except for a DVD download site, the standard for them is divx/xvid due to the superior quality.

FLV ? I'm not very fond of the quality...

wmv is what most sites use

What he said... but in a world where Ford only produces trucks. :) "avi" is generic as hell.

Something that hasn't been mentioned - vista peeps might have issues with avi's... you'll also have to explain to every other user how they need to download/install the proper codecs - and who wants to spend your time connecting the dots for your customers - who are already frustrated because they can't get your videos to work. Best to stick to formats that have companies such as adobe or microsoft or apple behind them. :2 cents:

As mentioned before, the AVI container format can hold a lot of different types
of compressed video, including MPEG4 which had great quality for the file size
and is almost universally compatible. However, the AVI format is somewhat
inefficient for holding AVI and doesn't diretcly support B frames, so a plain
.mpg file is better - smaller for the same quaility with slightly better
compatibility if nonstandard hacks are used for B frames in the AVI.
A WMV with Microsoft's non-standard version of MPEG4 is OK, but not as
widely compatible as straight .mpg files. Flash video uses mpeg4, so
you can also set your Flash applet to stream an MPEG4 .mpg file from the
server and also provide a direct link to the same .mpg for the 15% or so
of users you can't install a good Flash player because they are running 64 bit
systems or whatever other reason.

It is all full length 2 hours movies for the members

My lastest poll show which format they prefer

AVI Format: (36%)
WMV Format: (64%)

Total Votes: 14

Agreed. Anyone with some sense uses AVi. I prefer DivX AVI the past couple of years. Never heard a complaint from members on ANY of my sites.

When I get my occasional e-mail from someone who bought a clip, or is a member to any site, and the video is sound only. Or upside down. I point them to the FAQ and divx link.

They download, install, reboot, and it works fine.

i plan to use the 700kbps WMV, which is about 44% smaller file size than AVI
The 1000kbps is too close to AVI file size

You must have all AOL users as members, or you are using some oddball codecs if you are getting that many complaints.

:2 cents:

WMV 1mbs are cool. AVIs are generaly too big.

the misinformation in this thread hurts my head

:1orglaugh

Holy shit. Some of the comments in this thread are straight out of 2003.

It's 2008. FLV & (XVID)AVI are standards.

You should be already using XVID and preparing for h.264 flv if nothing else.

.wmv is more common

90 percent of Americans use what type of OS? Figure it out from there.

.avi rocks...

Lastest Poll Result on my site

AVI Format: (44%)
WMV Format: (56%)

Total Votes: 25

If your members are asking for it 50/50, then give them what they want. BOTH formats.

Latest Poll Result

AVI Format: (47%)
WMV Format: (53%)

Total Votes: 30
I offer them the avi & wmv sample to try too and let them vote
It is about 50/50 support ratio
but i wonder ONE thing only :
Will the person that prefer AVI subcribe to my WMV website ?
since they want the real quality movie only, the possibility is low, right ?

The one who prefer WMV will more possible to join my AVI website in my opinion.

What do you think ?

What exactly do you mean by AVI? AVI isn't a format.

Latest Poll Result

AVI Format: (49%)
WMV Format: (51%)

Total Votes: 35

stick with WMV, you will be very glad you did, new information coming out about Wmv's going to improve and change everything you think about wmv.

Sai, why do you have to choose? The cost of storage is so minimal these days, that it's worth providing all the formats available to keep consumer happy.

If you check out www.ThePaysiteCMS.com system, it creates over 30 different file formats from a single source file, so you don't have to bother doing it manually or keeping track of it. It will also do your watermarks as well as a gazillion other features.

Does The Paysite CMS handle H.264 & XVID as well as WMV?

What about upgrade codecs?

good questions

H.264 will be THE standard in time.

what kind of new improvement ?
I decided to use the AVI , and the site will launch in about 2 months

if you're converting movies to flash. avi seems to keep the quality higher and file size lower.