Thread: Which video option is more user frendly?

Hello,

I am putting together a page with multiple videos for our Institution's students to watch and I am wondering which type of video should I be using? I was told to use either M4V or a AVI, but I am not too sure which one is best or if there is another type that will be quicker to view for all users.

Thank you so very much.

Since Windows is in use on more than 90% of the computers in the world, and the fact Windows Media Player does not display MP4 files, it makes more sense to provide videos in a format that will be more likely to be displayable by the default player pre-installed on the most User systems universally, thus making AVI files the wiser choice for a default view via Windows Media Player, correct?

Yes, I think that this is very wise advise. Thank you so much for your time and help.

Hello,

I am wondering if someone can help tell me which type of video is used in these movie clips on this page http://www.movietickets.com/movie_de...877&vxr=426967

I think they are flash but, I'm unsure. If they are flash, is that a good type of video to use on a website?

They are Flash10. Flash was originally a smater move to prevent videos from being ripped off sites, but as more video became used on web pages in general, the fact Flash video and effects has not only thwarts downloading but loads and displays faster due to higher file compression became a boon for video-rich site design. That and the likelihood of no YouTube-like watermarks (which was primarily why Vimeo gained popularity alongside YouTube), if you purchase a video-to-flash converter outright.

The trade-off is that there will always be a significant percentage of viewers that do not have Flash loaded, have an outdated version, or do not have the wherewithal to follow a prompt offred by siteowners to download/upgrade using a provided link. And, Visitor connection (integrity, speed) issues balance out any advantage of Flash faster page rendering.

Darned if you do, darned if you don't.