MPG to WMV?

[jlee48]

Ok, I need to send a video to someone through email, and the original MPG file is huge, so I was going to just convert to WMV. Quality isn't important here as it's just a preview, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

My question is.. what do I use to do this? I know how to convert from WMV to MPG, but not the other way around. Can someone help? Please? =o)

[Krell]

I had JUSt sent you a PM deary!

WMV is not a specific compression, it is a generic term. So WMP 7 has a different WMV codec than 8, or 9.

I can also tell you that when you open an Mpeg i VirtualDub, you can then compress it to Microsoft Video 1, however I am not sure how much more compression that you will get, if any.

Why dont you try it and see.


Sorry I cant help more,

cheers

[Rickio]

Originally posted by jlee48
Ok, I need to send a video to someone through email, and the original MPG file is huge, so I was going to just convert to WMV. Quality isn't important here as it's just a preview, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

My question is.. what do I use to do this? I know how to convert from WMV to MPG, but not the other way around. Can someone help? Please? =o)

hmm I am not sure what email service you might use. But a huge file will generally not be accepted.

I mean the biggest email attachment size I have noted was 10MB and that means it will only accept about a 7mb attachment because it automaticly mime encodes it.

most email services only allow 1 or 2 mb attachments. Better check this out before you do a lot of work. Though anything you learn in regards to your question is always helpful to know ;-)

So if your file is larger than 7MB I would wonder what email service would even allow you to send and your friend to recieve.

I think it would be best to hook up via one of the messenger services, yahoo, aim or msn and transfer your file that way.

there are other ways ( I could mention a few more ways if you need) also and I am just assuming you are using a common email service. I do realize you may have a private server that allows more.

edit: Ok assume you have a service that allows you to send video. Honestly why pay? Do it for free over aim or yahoo messenger or even AIM.



peace

[Theinfamousone]

Yeah, above post is definately worth noting. I'd encode to divx with virtualdub if you think you're going to get anywhere by reencoding it. But if you want, go to download.com and get WS_FTP server, and it's very easy, just about anyone that can find their IP address can set up an FTP in 10 seconds and then you can transfer that way (I'd use AIM or something first though if you have that).

[jlee48]

I had a video as WMV that was about 568 kb or so, and the original was over 6 mb. So I figured if I could reduce something that dramatically, it would help. I know I could mess with the picture size and all that, but I'm an idiot when it comes to advanced features of VirtualDub. I was just thinking in terms of creating as small of a file as possible.

I do actually have some webspace that can hold about 10mb if needed, and we would do AIM etc,. but I'm not sure how fast her connection is and I wouldn't want us to both be sitting for too long if she's on dialup.

I'll open up the vid and see what I can do with it. Krell, should I try the Microsoft Video 1 you mentioned? My biggest problem is I never know what compression to go with.

[Krell]

I honestly cant answer that.

Most people these days have Divx, or can play it with nominal effort. I would open the Mpeg, then chose Full Processing, and for compression, chose Divx for the video, and for audio some Mp3 crappy audio rate, not too high.

Then Save As, "new name" and let her rip.

Then, compare the new file size, to the orginal file size. THEN watch the video to see if its worth it.

Its a lot of trial and error, you may just want to do a standard file transfer thru ICQ. K.I.S.S.

[-glitch-]

If done right WM9 will out perform mpeg1/2/4 in quailty, and compression.

[CCSDUDE]

Depending on your OS...

Windows ME and XP both have "Windows Movie Maker" in the accessories menu.

An easy way to bring it up is by typing "moviemk" in the run box.

Once open....

hit "Ctrl+I"

find the video...select it..

uncheck "create video clips for file"

Then drag the video thumbnail to the timeline at the bottom...

Once thats done...hit Ctrl+M

In the next window select your quality level and save it.

And thats it...

I prefer DivX or WMV development kit, but that should do ya just fine.

[PiRaNeTuS]

The best file compression that I have found would have to be divx. MPEG is good too, if you use like TMPGenc. I've taken 2 Gigabytes video clip and reduced it to about 8 megs with divx. If you have Premiere or After Effects, you can import your video and reencode to any format you choose. I would try divx or xvid from Premiere or mpeg-1 with tmpgenc.

[Psilaxs]

Originally posted by jlee48


I do actually have some webspace that can hold about 10mb if needed, and we would do AIM etc,. but I'm not sure how fast her connection is and I wouldn't want us to both be sitting for too long if she's on dialup.



You say you want to e-mail it to her correct? she will still have to wait the same amount of time, whether you e-mail it, upload it to ftp, or send it over a instant messenger.

Best thing to do if you're not comfortable with compressing to another format, is use ICQ (it can resume files) when your both getting ready to go to bed, or before you go somewhere etc.

[jlee48]

Ok, thanks everyone! I will test out a few different compressions and programs and see what the best results are. I seem to be in a trial-and-error mood tonight, so I'll see what happens. I'll post back later about how it all goes. =o)

[jlee48]

CCSDUDE, that worked perfectly! Thank you! On low quality I was able to get a 90MB file down to about 3MB. It plays pretty well, and it's just fine for a preview to send to her.

As for the rest, I did also try using Divx and that worked nicely as well. I was able to get the file smaller yet keep good quality. I'm keeping both copies, just sending her the smaller one for now until we work something out to exchange the good one.

You guys are awesome. Thanks again. =o)