Real World Video Compression (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: compression settings, export video, sample rate, Final Cut Pro, Studio Pro, Windows Media (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Video is the Internet these days and as the growing trend toward viewing video on mobile devices increases too, the attention is turning toward creating a good user experience for downloading and viewing that video. One of the keys to this is delivering video in the correct format with the proper compression for that delivery. Real World Video Compression is one of the first books on this topic to demystify the various approaches to compression. It begins by describing the basic concepts of video compression, explains why you might choose a particular compression tool over another, and covers important workflow practices. After the groundwork is laid, readers will learn how to compress their video according to the specific requirements of their projects and will learn some best practices by following the author's own tips and recipes. Experts in the field lend their own solutions in several sidebars throughout the book, making this a valuable learning tool for anyone learning to encode video, whether they are bloggers, DVD authors, video editors, or students.

Contents at a Glance
Chapter One: Understanding Video and Audio.
Chapter Two: The Language of Compression
Chapter Three: Best Practices
Chapter Four: Preprocessing
Interview with a Compressionist: John Howell
Chapter Five: Compression Tools
Interview with a Compressionist: Nico Puertollano
Chapter Six: Compressing for DVDs
Interview with a Compressionist: Ben Waggoner
Chapter Seven: Compressing for the Web
Interview with a Compressionist: Jim Rohner
Chapter Eight: Compressing for Mobile
Interview with a Compressionist: Ryanne Hodson
Chapter Nine: Compressing for Set-Top Boxes
Interview with a Compressionist: Andy Beach

"In the highly accessible REAL WORLD VIDEO COMPRESSION, Andy Beach 
illuminates the dark-art of encoding and provides candid insight from 
working professionals. Andy's fluid style and easy prose decode this 
often misunderstood and often misinformed world...he is the Carl Sagan 
of compression."

Brian Gary
Filmmaker, Compressionist
Author of the COMPRESSOR 3 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

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About the Author

Andy Beach is the Director of Product Management at Inlet Technologies. Prior to joining Inlet, he served as the Director of Product Development at Magnet Media where he oversaw the creation of Zoom In Online. His expertise in video postproduction, compression, and interactive design has attracted clients worldwide, including: Apple Inc., Adobe Systems, British Design Council, V2 Records, Universal Music and Paramount Pictures, to name a few. Andy has spoken at industry conferences including NAB, Web Video Summit, and WWDC, has been featured in industry magazines, and has taught digital filmmaking and encoding at the School of Visual Arts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (April 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321514696
• ISBN-13: 978-0321514691
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #261,913 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #65 in	Books > Entertainment > Movies > Video > Technical
  #66 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Telecommunications > Television & Video

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer in video compression, April 25, 2008

By	Avid reader (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

Excellent resource for getting up to speed on compression. Not a detailed step by step guide for every situation but rather an overview of the current standards, codecs, players, encoding software, as well as the general principles of compression. I think it gives a good level of detail for a complicated subject. It provides mostly general principles and then a few points of guidance pertaining to individual software titles. I think I personally would have preferred more detail on certain areas, say compressing for DVD and mobile, and cut out the interviews with compressionists.

I would also quibble with the $44.99 retail price. Publishers are making it so you must buy your books online.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for fundamentals of video compression, March 20, 2009

By	K. ELMENSHAWY (EGYPT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very good book, it gives an excellent explaination in video compression fundamentals.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Totally satisfied purchaser, March 14, 2009

By	charleywho "Chuck" (Salmon, Idaho) - See all my reviews

I found this book very helpful in providing the answers to the questions I've had about compressing video for maximum quality. I would like to see more generalization on the actual application. I use Sony Vegas and DVD Architect so the tutorials in the publication we not very helpful. All in all, I found the book to be excellent and would recommend it to anyone interested in the technical aspects of video production.