Hello,
First post here on the ...Hello,
First post here on the board. Thought it would be the right thing to do before making my choice in which format to choose.
About my project:
It's an entertainment tube site. I'm looking for the correct format for starting a tube site, main intention is to reach the biggest audience possible, with that in mind i've been thinking maybe using mp4 isn't the best choice.
From what i've been testing so far, MP4 outweighs FLV in many aspects, but i'm not quite sure if it's the right choice on this matter.
So far it's been a nightmare, pseudo-streaming mods for mp4 seem to be underdeveloped compared to flv mods (either for lighttpd, nginx or apache). When hitting them with too much traffic my servers colapse.
MP4 pros in my opinion:
* Better quality
* Less file size
* Supported by cell phones
MP4 cons:
* preload of the metadata takes too much time -> could mean losing a visitor
* pseudo streaming mods underdeveloped and not officially supported
* possible user playback problems when targeting a big audience
Honestly don't wanna go the wowza or fms route, not for being out of my budget, but because i believe for this specific project it could be handled in a better way with either lighttpd, nginx or apache.
FLV pros:
* Loads faster
* No playback issues
* Pseudo-streaming mods supported and highly developed
* Mods had been tested and can handle huge traffic loads
FLV cons:ยจ
* Less quality
* Bigger file sizes to keep quality
So far for this kind of projects seems FLV to be still winning. This is just in my opinion, would like to hear some voices to go the right way, maybe MP4 is the way of the future and in just a few months everything would be different.
In this cases, when users are used to getting access to content without waiting at all, MP4 seems to be in disadvantage.
Thank you, i'd appreciate your input on this matter.
@GerardP,
I think you have the assessemtn of the current situation just about right.
MP4 has the advantages of smaller file size, higher quality, and less CPU usage on the client.
I've had good success with nginx and the streaming mods.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by the H.264 streaming mods not being officially supported. The JW FLV Media Player does send the time in seconds when the media file is an MP4 container and the streamer is lighttpd and it does have an extra "tweak" for nginx and MP4s.
Consider this: YouTube MP4s, from LightTPD servers, seek instantly and they don't have the MOOV atoms at the front of the file. Try downloading and serving one of their MP4s and you will see what I mean. So they have solved the MP4/MOOV atom position isssue.
At this time, until the H.264 streaming mods get better, the best you can do is to balance the H.264 size (WxH, bitrate, keyframe interval, and profile) with the seeking, transfer rate, and quality on the client.
See this post from Jeroen: http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/forum/Bug-Reports/14466/Incredibly-Inefficient-MP4-H-264-RTMP-S...
Also, experiment a bit with MP4Box and the interleaving settings.
H.264 in the MP4 container is definitely the way to go for the future, but may not be quite ready for "prime time" yet.