Optimise video for internet

Nikhil Hemrajani TNN
You have recorded a video of your cousin’s marriage and now need to send it over to your relatives abroad via the internet. Unfortunately, the video is too large, making both email and a direct file transfer using an instant messenger not feasible. But don’t fret; there is a way out. And it isn’t as difficult as you think either. Go through the tips mentioned below and you won’t find it daunting at all the next time you try to share video on the internet. Get the correct codecs Before you go about doing anything to the video content on your computer, you need the necessary codecs. Codecs are basically files that are required by the operating system to play various video file formats such as AVI, MPEG and WMV. A good place to start looking for codecs is www.codecguide.com. Download the latest version of Klite’s mega codec pack. This will be about 30 MB in size and will take about 20 minutes to download on a 256 Kbps internet line. This codec pack will let you play and convert files using an assortment of codecs such as the popular DivX and Xvid, amongst others. Use Windows Movie Maker The next step is to acquire the video data from your camcorder. If you find it confusing to use the software that came along with the camcorder, have a look at Windows Movie Maker. Assuming you’re using Windows XP, this should be located under ‘All Programs’ (Click on the ‘Start’ button in the Windows taskbar). Movie Maker is a very simple program especially made keeping novices in mind. Using the program, you can cut, edit, add subtitles and place transitions in the video. To start importing video from the camcorder, connect the device to the computer using the cable provided and click on ‘File > Capture video’ from within the program. The next menu will allow you to choose the location where you want to offload the footage, and change the quality and bitrate. Note: since you intended to send the file over the internet, select a low bitrate, like 150-200 Kbps, from the list of options. Also, if possible, adjust the video resolution to something like 320x240 instead of 640x480. Larger resolutions convert into larger file sizes—which is not a good thing for those who don’t have broadband. For emailing, shoot with the phone If you own a mobile phone which has a built-in digital camera and expandable memory, then make the most of its video recording features. While video recorded using a mobile phone may not be of the best quality, the file size and resolution is small and perfect for emailing. Most digital cameras have a video recording mode as well. Use either of these two instead of a camcorder if you want to quickly send footage over email. Try online video sharing sites YouTube, a popular video viewing and sharing website, has an option where you can upload videos directly from your mobile. The service is free—all you need going for you is a GPRS connection on your mobile phone. If you haven’t already created an account for yourself, you can go to www.youtube. com and create one. Choose the right file format Finally, some file formats emphasise on lower sizes while others are tailored for watching movies on a large screen display. If your camcorder has an option to record footage in the MPEG4 or 3GP standard, then select that option over the regular AVI and MPEG format if you want to maintain low file sizes.