Video file formats

TV2003's video cache system is tailored to AVI files recorded or converted with a fast MJPEG codec like PicVideo V2, Avid or Morgan. It also reads DV type 2, Windows media and MPEG files, but if you want the very best scene change detection and a fast image update, MJPEG files are your best choice, especially on slow systems. For faster systems and better compression, MPEG-4 V2 may be used.

Codec	Size	Comment	Source	Creation time
MPEG-1	352x288/ 1785 mb	Slow. Up to 2 frames' difference between superimposed and running time codes. Cannot be used for scene change detection.	Created with Dazzle DVC	1 hour (recording)
PICVIDEO V2 MJPEG at 95%	352x288/ 3517 mb	Very fast. No time code problems. Excellent scene change detection. Almost instant thumbnails update.	Dazzle recording converted with Virtual Dub. Audio=pcm, mono	8 minutes (conversion)
MPEG-4 V2 (file version 4.1.00.3917)	352x288/ 898 mb	A tad slower than Picvideo V2, but excellent compression. Picture quality reduced, but acceptable. If too slow, use FFDShow for decompression. Excellent scene change detection.	Dazzle recording converted with Virtual Dub. Audio=pcm, mono	16 minutes (conversion)
MPEG-4 V2 (file version 4.1.00.3920)	352x288/ 1570 mb	(As above)	Dazzle recording converted with Virtual Dub. Audio=pcm, mono	21 minutes (conversion)
MPEG-4 V2 (file version 4.1.00.3927)	352x288/ 1575 mb	(As above)	Dazzle recording converted with Virtual Dub. Audio=pcm, mono	21 minutes (conversion)

Same video clip (1 hour) with different codecs (on an AMD Athlon XP 2000+, 1.67 Ghz, 512 mb RAM)

In the table above, note the remarkable difference in size between MPEG-4 file version 4.1.00.3917 and the newer versions. File version 4.1.00.3917 may be downloaded from the address given when you order an evaluation version of TV2003 or buy the full version.