Hi George

So which one would you use then?

Michael

Hi Michael,

I answered your original question based on my personal experience with AVI videos that I have downloaded from clip sites.  The whole topic of editing formats versus delivery formats is huge and complex.  I have had the most success using .mov and MPEG-4 files from the sites that I use.  However, if your site offers uncompressed AVI it is more editor friendly but the file sizes are huge and require much disc space, ram, and cpu horse power.

When you output your project to DVD, YouTube, a Web site, etc, you are going to be using some form of compression that suits your output requirements.

But there is no simple answer, it all has to do with what your final use of the material will be and what level of compression (and the loss of quality that comes with it) you can accept with the finished project as well as your system specs and capabilities.  It is always a balance unless you have unlimited system resources.

For me and my system of the 3 choices you mention in your message, I would choose .MOV over the other two.

I hope others like John Baker, and Terry Pin chime in on this one as I do not recall any good discussion on editing formats since I have been a part of this forum.

George

ps. I apologize for not being more clear in my original post.

Hi Michael

After Georges comment I think I will put in a requestion for a small bell like smiley .

Seriously though - I always use the MOV format because I feel it is the better container format for HD files.

AVI has often led to peculiar problems because of 'odd or unusual' codecs inside which as far as I can see does not occur with MOV - no definitive analysis - just a gut feeling.

John