I need some clarification on MPEG4. The situation is this: I am going
to have video/movie files (AVIs and MPEGs) created for me by a variety
of product manufacturers. These videos will be up to 3 minutes long.
I'll be downloading them via DSL from a server to various PCs all
running Windows XP Pro. Each will be run by a player and use the full
screen mode (running 1024x768). These files are downloaded and stored
on the PCs. They are not streamed and played in real-time. I want the
best quality possible while having to deal with a size limitation due
to download time tolerances. Size is therefore an issue, so I have to
decide what formats I'll accept. I believe that I can live with 30MB
for a 3 minute clip.
	From a previous 'google answers' question (#91690) and subsequent
research, I have an understanding of the DivX Codec and MPEG1 and 2
formats. That the MPEG1(352x240 resolution) can provide VCR quality
for a full screen display in about 10MB per minute is what led me to
believe that 30MB should suffice as a max in light of expected DSL
speeds (<15min download). So my manufacturers can always default to
MPEG1.
	I've learned some about MPEG4 from MPEG websites (www.mpeg4.net and
www.mpeg.org). But I'm not entirely clear on some of it. Here're my
questions:

1. What quality can I expect with MPEG4? If MPEG1 is VCR, and MPEG2 is
near DVD, what's MPEG4?

2. What type of sizing can I expect with the compression while
maintaining the quality? For example, will an MPEG4 file be as small
as a comparative MPEG1? (too big and my download times will be too
large and make MPEG4 not viable for me)

3. Since Microsoft apparently created one of the official video codecs
for MPEG4 does that mean that the codec is part of the standard
Windows XP Pro configuration, so players can handle MPEG4 files
without my having to worry about licensing issues for the codec?

4. Who are the primary manufacturers that make the coder apps that can
create MPEG4 files and what general price range are they in? (If
they're too expensive, my product manufacturers wont be willing to
purchase them and basically make MPEG4 not viable for me)

5. In general, do you think MPEG4 fits my needs or do you have any
alternatives I should consider?

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Request for Question Clarification by vinods-ga on 02 Jan 2003 12:12 PST

Hi, 

Basically, MPEG4 is pipeline-dependant. As long as you are going to
view the file from your computer's hard drive, this does not figure.
It is more for streaming, and dealing with variable pipeline-widths.


warm regards
vinods-ga

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Clarification of Question by al_crystonixsw-ga on 04 Jan 2003 15:52 PST

Although it may be pipeline dependent, I may still be able to make use
of it. What I need is to create files compressed enough that I can get
them downloaded within a reasonable amount of time. And since I need
to be able to handle 3 minutes of video, and I want to maximize the
quality, I'm looking for the best combination. MPEG1 appears to be a
good standard. But is there a better way? So even if MPEG4 is not
specifically suited for it, does it provide better quality than MPEG1
for the size and so would be a good choice? Or some other? That's what
I was trying to say in my questions.

I appreciate your quick answer. I'd see most of the info on the MPEG
websites I mentioned. But not this part: "The visual parts of MPEG-4
version 1 and version 2 have been approved as International Standards.
However there is still much work required for version 3 (studio
profile) and version 4 (streaming profile)"
What is the implication for my application?

Some points about MPEG4: 
From [ http://mpeg.telecomitalialab.com/faq/mp4-vid/mp4-vid.htm ]
----
Moreover, MPEG-4 will allow ‘universal access’ to multimedia
information, by taking into account specificities of a wide variety of
networks.
----
MPEG-4 Video is optimized for : 
low (<64 kbps), 
intermediate (64-384kbps), and 
high (384-4Mbps) bitrates. 
---
There exist two official MPEG implementations of the Video codec : one
in C provided by the European project ACTS-MOMUSYS, and one in C++
provided by Microsoft. These both programs implement what is described
in the VM description document (see FAQ 9), and are evolving from
meeting to meeting by integrating the changes of the description.
Any MPEG member can download freely the source code of these
implementation, which are available on MPEG ftp site. MPEG copyright
then applies.
---
The visual parts of MPEG-4 version 1 and version 2 have been approved
as International Standards. However there is still much work required
for version 3 (studio profile) and version 4 (streaming profile).
---

Preliminarily, I dont think MPEG4 applies to your kind of usage. 

vinods-ga