Several months ago, Microsoft dropped support for their Mac Media player and handed over the responsibilities to Flip4Mac . We on the bleeding edge of technology have found that Flip4Mac, which lets Windows Media Files play inside Quicktime, didn’t run on the new Intel Macs.

Well, now it does. Check out the 2.1 update and start watching your CNN videos again!

So you have just captured all the spots for your new director off of a MiniDV tape, compressed them and are ready to get approval. Your director looks at them and asks, “Why can’t they look like this?” And by this, he means some link to a movie trailer on Apple’s Quicktime site which looks B E A U T I F U L !

So you go back and try to tweak ALL the settings on your software - using the latest codecs, approved variable bit rates, but the output just does not pop the way that “Pirates of the Caribbean” does. Why? Does Apple use some rig equivalent to a racing stock car while you are plugging away with a standard automobile?

First off, let’s talk about encoding. Apple’s encoding capture process is not crazy magic voodoo, it’s just using the best video source and tools available. Apple typically receives the trailer on the best source available - D5. D5 means 10 bit HD video at 1920 x 1080 at 235 MB/s uncompressed, which in English means 10 times more video information and 3 - 4 times larger display than your spot on MiniDV. BIG difference - there is vastly more information to start compressing from, which results in better compression. Arguably, an uncompressed SDI (serial digital interface) Digibeta capture will get you VERY close to D5 output for data rate capture, but your spot will still be 720 x 480 (480p).

If you’ve ever wondered about when to use the contrast balance and image cropping features in Cleaner, you’ve wondered about image pre-processing. Apple has people who can tweak settings to achieve beautiful compression.
Apple uses the same tools - Cleaner 6, CinemaTools, and Compressor. So if a spot is dark and looks great on TVs, maybe it needs a little boost to pop on your iPod. Apple created QuickTime, so they know how to “design” for it. The big question is do you have time to fret over every one of the 30 spots you need to get out for your sales rep by 4?

For compression, Apple uses the same Quicktime Pro or Compressor. No crazy hand tweaked compression program working behind the scenes. No custom hardware cards with DSP magic added to the mix. Just find good variable bit rate settings in the most modern H.264 encoding format. As a result, Apple’s video is only viewable with QuickTime 7, which is MUCH better than Sorenson compressed Quicktime 6 video. Over time, all your ad agency contacts WILL have QuickTime 7 installed on their machines. Our hope is with a little coordination, we can make this happen sooner, rather than later.

Finally, there is delivery. All Apple movie trailers come down to your computer in “progressive download” mode. The easiest way to tell if a video is “progressive” - if you cannot skip to the very end right away, it’s dowloading “progressively”. If you can skip around, it’s “streaming”. If the video is small enough, the trailer will download fast enough to play without stuttering. There’s something important to know here - your website, housed on a single computer farm at one ISP, will have nowhere near the performance of Apple’s download center, which is outsourced to Akamai. Once again, there is a big difference again between a $20 / mo basic hosting plan and a $2000/mo basic Akamai plan - Akamai sends your video files to hundreds (thousands?) of servers all over the world. A visitor in NY will pull down the video from Akamai in NY; London pulls from London, etc. If a visitor from London pulls down your file from Los Angeles, they will wait longer.

For further information on encoding and compression, take a look at our Encoding Guide in our Wiredrive Reference section.

Check back in a few weeks - we will have comparisons of video encoded with different sizes and settings. We are very interested in hearing from you about your experiences with making Quicktimes “good enough”.

Straight from the Microsoft Website:

End of support for Windows 98 and Windows Me
July 11, 2006 will bring a close to Extended Support for Windows 98,
Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me as part of the Microsoft
Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft will retire public and technical support,
including security updates, by this date.

End of support for Windows XP Service Pack 1
On October 10, 2006, Microsoft will end all public assisted support
for Windows XP Service Pack1 (SP1)

As IOWA’s newest team member, I thought that our blog readers would enjoy reading a firsthand account into the inner workings of IOWA Interactive, and the daily happenings of the Wiredrive world. As I approach the three month mark, I am still impressed with the creativity and insight of the individuals here, and can say to those on the outside that there are some really cool things brewing here, just wait.

First, a little bit about me. I graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a BA in Finance & Marketing in 2003. Rather than dabble in the post grad “find yourself” period, I immediately began working in TV production, doing everything from fetching lunch to filming, and learned a great deal about how the business works. The work was fun and interesting, and 14 hour days were a commonplace. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the “here today gone tomorrow” nature of this beast, and I didn’t look forward to searching for new gigs every few months. I did this for about a year, and when the pilot I was last working on wasn’t picked up, I decided to try and find something a little more stable (read corporate) to see if that was more to my fancy. I took a financial position with a large and well respected company, and entered the world of khakis and corporate art. I took this opportunity to learn all I could about the finance and working with numbers, but the environment really got to me, and I knew that I wasn’t ever going to be the cubicle and button down type. In an odd twist of fate, the company I worked for was sold and the department laid off, which led me to IOWA Interactive, where I write this from today.

From day one, I really liked the attitude of everyone here, and admired that they were so passionate about the company. Within the first two weeks, I was introducing myself to a lot of individuals within the advertising and production industries, and creative types whose work I really admire. I especially liked the fact that all of these people were so stoked on Wiredrive, and they were all very friendly towards me. To be representing a product that so many individuals in a fast paced creative industry swear by was a great feeling, and I was excited to be a part of it.

So far, the experience of working at IOWA has been great, and I enjoy the fact that we must all wear multiple hats in order for us to keep up with the fast pace of business. Working intensely in such a close environment really allows us to get to know one another, and IOWA strikes me as one of those rare places where you can really have a lot in common with the people that you work with, and consequently, make some great friends. The best part of IOWA though, is the ambition that permeates the office. Everyone here is very into what the company does, and believes in the product, and truly feels that Wiredrive can change the face of production. And having worked in production, I can see why, as I wish I had Wiredrive three years ago, when I was a lowly PA. It really would have saved a lot of wear and tear on my car, and given me something better to do, rather than drive around Burbank in hundred degree weather. If you haven’t done this yet, try it once, it builds character.