I have done some testing on why MPEG-1 files no longer "stream" using XP and post the results because they are likely to be of interest to many on here.
I have tested Kevin Shaw's videos (a mix of wmv and mpg) on his website
http://www.videomem.com/wedding_gallery.htm
In Feb 04 he said that "if you need something which will play on most computers with minimal hassle and it needs to be a small file, I'd recommend using MPEG1. The quality may not be quite as good as some more current options, but it will play on anything ...".
Using Win98, indeed all his videos start playing before completion of downloading. However, on current XP, only the wmv files do. MPEG-1 files need to be downloaded before viewing, which will put most people off viewing altogether. Just clicking a link gives you random outcomes (proper viewing, page of funny letters, downloading that takes forever or even never ends) making it wholly unreliable IMHO. It no longer "streams" (not real streaming, of course).
The implication for us, i am afraid, is that mpeg-1 seems to have lost its status as the clear favourite amoungst encoding techniques for web. Now, it is probably best to use an old encoder version of WMP (e.g. 7). Things have turned for the worse IMHO.
I have tested Kevin Shaw's videos (a mix of wmv and mpg) on his website
http://www.videomem.com/wedding_gallery.htm
In Feb 04 he said that "if you need something which will play on most computers with minimal hassle and it needs to be a small file, I'd recommend using MPEG1. The quality may not be quite as good as some more current options, but it will play on anything ...".
Using Win98, indeed all his videos start playing before completion of downloading. However, on current XP, only the wmv files do. MPEG-1 files need to be downloaded before viewing, which will put most people off viewing altogether. Just clicking a link gives you random outcomes (proper viewing, page of funny letters, downloading that takes forever or even never ends) making it wholly unreliable IMHO. It no longer "streams" (not real streaming, of course).
The implication for us, i am afraid, is that mpeg-1 seems to have lost its status as the clear favourite amoungst encoding techniques for web. Now, it is probably best to use an old encoder version of WMP (e.g. 7). Things have turned for the worse IMHO.
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