Ok, well....... again, I'll reiterate my point of view, that I have minimal knowledge of formats/players/whatever. I don't care what format is chosen, but if it changes from WMV then we NEED at least a forum topic about how to play them. What codecs need to be downloaded, what players, etc, etc. I'm not even saying that Ross needs to do it, just SOMEONE.

Otherwise, yeah, do whatever. Just don't alienate people by making it too complicated, with no explanation from anyone about how to make it work.

In regards to the poll wouldn't mp4 probably be the best choice ?.

It's supported by QuickTime so it would be easy to play, and it would probably be very easy to mux into a mkv.

To play any file type you'll ever find anywhere: K-Lite Codec Pack

It's quick and easy to download and install. Comes with or without Media Player Classic. (one of the best video players in existence, beats VLC by a landslide) Works on XP, Vista, 7, and all x64 versions. Integrates perfectly with Windows Media Player, and even allows windows to generate thumbnails for additional video file types.

Basic is 5.1MB and will let you play all of the file types being discussed in this thread in Windows Media Player.

.WMV and .AVI are both great formats. WMV has never failed me, but .AVI is more universal. Not too keen on MKV, though.

I don't want to vote and skew the results. If I could vote twice, I would.

Any reason?

MKV beats AVI/WMV formats any day... http://matroska.org/

Just saying I won't download an AVI file unless it specifically states it's XviD.
Hate the DivX video codec, along with the company who made it.

I don't like .MKV (it's probably a stupid reason, I know) simply because on the .MKV's I found, the audio lags a bit (at least on VLC). This could be attributed to many things, but the WMVs and the .AVIs have always worked no problem.

Don't not make it .MKV just for my sake. I'm sure it's a good format; it's just that I like to stick to what I know.

^ VLC isn't really great for MKV files.

I'd recommend a codec pack like CCCP, It plays even more then VLC.

I guess this should have been stated outright, but if I release AVI it will be in Xvid.



Well here's what I'm thinking so far:

AVI

Pros: Higher quality than WMV, highly compatible with modern computers without needing additional software, current leader in polls

Cons: Not as high quality as formats supporting H.264 for the same size


MKV

Pros: Supports H.264, probably the highest quality option on here, supporters seem semi-fanatical

Cons: Not only requires additional software, but too many people are using VLC player, which means many users will have playback problems or sub-optimal quality


MP4

Pros: Supports H.264 as well, apparently is the most compatible for mobile devices and Macs

Cons: Same as MKV, more restricted audio options


WMV

Eliminating, AVI more or less fulfills the role this used to have nowadays of being the most compatible.


MOV

Eliminating, I think only Machinima.com wants this format.

I prefer .WMV Because it's smaller in size.

I don't care how bad the quality is.

MOV and MP4 are basically the same thing

No they're not. MOV is QuickTime File Format (QTFF), a proprietary Apple format. MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) is an open standard from the MPEG LA. Technically, they have nothing in common.

What do you mean same cons as MKV ?, doesn't QuickTime and Windows Media Player support playback ?.

The audio may be abit more restrictive then MKV, but it's not like AVI doesn't suffer this aswell.

Could just point everyone that want's to play the MKV version to the K-Lite Codec site. Definitely point all the people using VLC to the K-Lite site.

Yes, WMP does come with the ability to play some LQ MP4 files, but it doesn't support the good quality MP4s.

"..The MP4 file format was later developed as an industry standard, the developments was greatly based on the MOV file format to the point that they were exactly identical at first. The changes that were introduced were very minor and mostly involved data tagging information."

And MP4 isn't that open btw, it's an industry standard and has patents.

Don't just make statements without checking them first please, it only makes things more confusing.

MKV is a nice format but I don't think it's suitable for mass distribution. Maybe as an option though if you can afford the server space.