Dan Robinson
Which is more important to you - video that downloads/plays faster or video that *looks* better yet has some buffering time?
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After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.
I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.
For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.
From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.
Sincerely, Jeff D.
Skip Talbot
EF5
I prefer being able to watch clips immediately, so I'd pick one that downloads faster. I think the majority of the web viewing audience would feel the same. Few are willing to sit through a lot of buffering to watch something. The best option is to have multiple qualities of the same clip so people can pick based on their connection.
Dan Robinson
I'd love to be able to offer multiple sizes. The only problem is that would mean encoding the video multiple times. Some of these take 5 to 15 minutes to encode even on my quad-core machine, and longer on my dual-core laptop when I'm on the road. Then there's the upload time of an additional 10 to 20 minutes per clip depending on my connection. Most days I'm struggling to have the time to get one clip online. Flash doesn't yet support encoding multiple bitrates in a single file (like RealVideo did) - otherwise that would be an ideal solution.
Billy Griffin
Dan, have you tried using Adobe Media Encoder CS4?
This would allow you to encode as a F4V or FLV, and use the H.264 codec.
This would allow you to encode as a F4V or FLV, and use the H.264 codec.
Dan Robinson
I'm currently using CS3 to encode H.264 FLVs. They seem to give the best quality/file size of anything available. However you have to select one size/bitrate - there is no option to ecode multiple resolutions/bitrates in a single FLV.
Jason Foster
Dan...I think it's important to consider what it is you're showing too. While action sequences and editorial style video really should be set such that it takes a limited amount of time to get it rolling for the viewer, and the context isn't dependent on high quality, the lower res versions should work. However, I think it is vital to provide high quality HD to viewers who demand it, especially for context that requires it. Also remember that by showing HD format high quality imagery, you also allow prospective clients know you do shot in HD and that even the lower res video is likely available in higher resolution versions.
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