Encoding Videos to Theora Ogg
A client of mine asked me this morning if I could encode to OGG format. I know this is possible, but I’ve never actually done this before. Most of my clients are still asking if I can encode to WMV which makes me shiver each time I think about it. WMV is a horrible codec and the encodes always seem to result in the audio slipping out of sync each time. Sure this is fixable, but it’s just so time consuming, and time is very valuable and limited when working in this business.
So, I did a bit of research and I discovered that Theora OGG is not that widely supported yet on the Mac platform. I did find the Xiph Quicktime component which allows me to export via Quicktime 7 (sorry, Quicktime X removed all the useful export options of Quicktime 7). If you’re running Snow Leopard, you will need to use your original OSX system disc to reinstall Quicktime 7.
On first test, it seems to export fine enough with options for video and audio quality. As the format matures, we’ll start seeing some more full featured encoders. If you are a web developer concerned about having your website content play across the widest number of platforms, then you might want to consider Theora Ogg video formats along side H.264 and (god forbid) Flash, with a script that chooses the best option based on the user’s web browser.
