Video

Understanding and Working with Video Files

FILE FORMATS

For an overview of file formats/ codecs for video. Read or view the following:

http://www.webvideobytes.com/video-file-formats-explained/

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/21-mpeg-avi-formats.html

Digital Video File Formats Part 1 from Video Production Tips

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Some of the more common file formats and codecs:

.avi - the video file originally used with Windows

.wma - format from Microsoft which followed .avi (not great for older computers)

.flv - originally Adobe's format - now widely used and shared on the web (flash video)

Quicktime files (.mov or .qt) - format introduced by Apple computers - also compatible with Windows

mpeg-4 - preferred format for YouTube

.divx - high quality with small file sizes if you have the correct codec (compression/decompression instructions used to view video)

If you have a device for recording video, do you know the format of your files?

If you are asked to provide one format and you have another, you may need to convert the file. Zamzar is an online conversion tool but you are limited to file sizes of 100mb.

http://www.zamzar.com/

But most of your video tools will allow you to select the type of file format you want to export your video project with.

For a bit more advanced discussion of video formats: Robin Good talks about the best video format for publishing video online

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Uploading video to YouTube (help information)

YouTube can handle file sizes up to 2 GB and 15 minutes in length. Some devices will allow you to directly upload your video clip to YouTube.

How to Upload your Video.

From their Help section

**Here's a list of some well-known formats that YouTube supports:**

 * ** WebM files ** - Vp8 video codec and Vorbis Audio codecs
 * ** .MPEG4 **, ** 3GPP ** and ** MOV files ** - Typically supporting h264, mpeg4 video codecs, and AAC audio codec
 * ** .AVI ** - Many cameras output this format - typically the video codec is MJPEG and audio is PCM
 * ** .MPEGPS ** - Typically supporting MPEG2 video codec and MP2 audio
 * ** .WMV **
 * ** .FLV ** - Adobe-FLV1 video codec, MP3 audio

YouTube also allows limited video editing once you have uploaded your file, including editing for content, adding annotations, captions, and selecting licensed music for your video.