Select Format
MPEG-4 AVI files (.AVI)
These are AVI files that use MPEG-4 technology for the video part and MP3 technology for the audio part. The files can be played on PCs if a compatible codec is installed (DivX, Xvid, ...).
This format offers the best compression of all the formats in Movie Shrink & Burn 2. It is usually the best choice if you simply want to watch the movies on your computer, except if the size of the resulting movies is not an issue. In such cases the MPEG-1 format should be preferred, since no special codecs must be installed to play such files
MPEG-2 files (.VOB)
MPEG-2 is the predecessor of MPEG-4. The compression is a bit worse than MPEG-4 and you must have an MPEG-2 codec installed to play the files. In contrast to MPEG-4 codecs, however, MPEG-2 codecs are not very common and can also not be downloaded for free. They often come with DVD player software, but if you don't have such a software you can usually not play MPEG-2 files. Because of this the MPEG-2 format should only be used if there are special circumstances that really require it for the files.
MPEG-1 files (.MPG)
MPEG-1 is the oldest format Ashampoo Movie Shrink & Burn 3 supports. However, that doesn't necessarily make it the worst choice. The big advantage of MPEG-1 is that the files can be played on any reasonably modern PC (including PCs running Linux or Apple Macintosh computers) without the need to install any special components or codecs.
The compression is a little worse than MPEG-2, though.
Windows Media Video 9 files (.WMV)
This is a relatively new format that was invented by Microsoft. The compression is similar to MPEG-2 files. Windows Media Video 9 files can be played on PCs that have Windows Media Player 9 or higher installed. If a lower version of Windows Media Player is installed, the player can usually download and install the components necessary to play this format. Apart from the player requirements the main disadvantage of this format is that creating the files is very slow, compared to the MPEG formats Ashampoo Movie Shrink & Burn 3 offers.
MPEG-4 Quick Time files (.MOV)
QuickTime files have their root on Apple Macintosh computers. On Windows PCs they can only be played if QuickTime for Windows is installed. More specifically, QuickTime 6 or higher is required, both for creating the files and for playing them. It is important to note that this format does not offer as good a compression as MPEG-4 AVI files. QuickTime MPEG-4 is similar to the MPEG-2 compression that is used in this program. Creating QuickTime files is also very slow in comparison.
The main advantage of this format is that it can easily be played on both Windows and Apple Macintosh computers. |
