Is On2 Pro a good flv encoder?

Jeff9329 wrote on 1/27/2010, 5:53 AM

I need to start producing flash video files and am looking for the best quality and easiest to learn and operate flash encoder. It seems On2 is a good choice and the screen shots look simple.

Any opinions or experience with On2?

I could also use a heads up on what render out of Vegas to feed it for best results.

Thanks.

Comments

Tom Pauncz wrote on 1/27/2010, 6:10 AM

Can highly recommend ON2 Pro. With DebugMode's Frame Server, you can directly encode from the Vegas timeline.

Should mention tho', that since a while now, Flash player has been able to play MP4 files. If that's an option for you, it may be a better (quality - h.264) choice.

Tom

MozartMan wrote on 1/27/2010, 6:10 AM

I never used On2 and can't comment on it. I use XviD4PSP:

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/XviD4PSP
It uses x.264 codec and XviD4PSP and x.264 is free.

You can see example here:
http://www.oaklandcc.edu/video/video60.htm

UlfLaursen wrote on 1/27/2010, 7:17 AM

Can highly recommend ON2 Pro

Me too - I use it all the time. I tried both that and the Sorenson and Adobe Encore CS3 1 year ago, and the On2 was by far the fastest, and the quality is really good. I use it at least once a week for a ½ hrs. piece.

/Ulf

BudWzr wrote on 1/27/2010, 7:18 AM

The question is not if the ON2 encoder is any good, and it IS a good encoder, the question is more political as far as web video goes.

Fer instance, using an .MP4 extension will cause the QT player to activate in the browser.

Cliff Etzel wrote on 1/27/2010, 7:43 AM

BudWzr said: The question is not if the ON2 encoder is any good, and it IS a good encoder, the question is more political as far as web video goes.

umm - right.......

the mp4 is called from an embedded flv player - so QT never sees the mp4 file itself.

Cliff Etzel
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BudWzr wrote on 1/27/2010, 8:03 AM

I meant outside an embedded object.

I got the impression that the OP is not a web designer, and may not be familiar with calling an external player.

Sorry, let me clarify what I meant.

Someone above suggested using H.264 instead of VP6. That's a great idea because VP6 isn't supported on iPhone, iPod, etc.

But since H.264 is distributed on the web as .mp4, if it's simply clicked on, like in a link, it will call up the QT player by default, not Adobe Player.

If I don't make sense, just ignore me. I don't want to cause a confusion over a minutia.

Maybe a better summary is to say that H.264 IS preferable to VP6, but you have to know how to embed it for web pages because there's some politics involved.

Jeff9329 wrote on 1/27/2010, 3:43 PM

Im not a web designer, thats for sure.

But the web site wants a file that ends in .flv. If I can just change the file extension from mp4 to flv, thats fine, but I dont think it will work.

This web site uses Adobe flash, as do most web sites it seems. The player is embeded.

Are you guys saying mp4 plays on a flash site? As far as I can tell, the site does not even see the mp4 files.

Tom Pauncz wrote on 1/27/2010, 4:19 PM

Here's one option...

Check out http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player/JW Player[/link].

Tom

BudWzr wrote on 1/27/2010, 5:54 PM

Adobe has a new extension for H.264, it's f4v. ".FLV" is normally VP6.

Flowplayer is good too.

Jeff9329 wrote on 1/28/2010, 11:08 AM

I ended up getting On2 Pro.

All the others mentioned that I looked at were not really on the same level as the On2 software, even though they may have worked well.

It's also nice to install a new piece of software that is not a mega space & resource hog. Bonus.

I also found I needed to prepare SWF files and On2 Pro does a great job on those too with a lot of options.

Im currently going with the VP6-E codec. There are quite a few others(S, M, etc.), but I am not sure what they do.

BudWzr wrote on 1/28/2010, 1:08 PM

ON2 is the maker of the VP6 codec, so you can't get anything better.

It tells you what the variations are in the dropdown menu on the first tab.

Coursedesign wrote on 1/28/2010, 5:18 PM

VP6 was the best web codec a few years ago.

It has since been surpassed by H.264 when it comes to quality at a given bit rate.

VP6 requires less CPU to play back than H.264 however, so also those with older computers can enjoy it.

musicvid10 wrote on 1/28/2010, 6:06 PM

If you want H264/MP4 rewrapped to H264/FLV, the newest versions of Super will do the job. Easily the best quality FLV I've tested.