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What video container should I use? (piefed.blahaj.zone)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/techsupport@lemmy.world
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Edit: I encode to/with(?) the codec h246. This question is about containers/filename extensions.

I am digitizing old video mediums, such as VHS, VHS-C and Mini DV. A few colleagues have asked me to do it for them, which is awesome and feels great. Now, for personal use, I encode save video with the .mkv container out of habit. I have no idea why that is bad or good. However, the question is, which container should I use to ensure maximum compatibility with my colleagues' phones, computers, possibly TVs? Is, for instance, .mpeg the way to go?

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[–] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This is the best answer. MKV is just a container. It’s the codec that will matter the most. As mentioned H264 is going to be the most ubiquitous. Even if you were to try to do MP4 it’s still dependent on the codec. You could do an MKV with MPEG Layer 2, but that’s starting to become too old as well. Also for H264, the RF plays a big part too. Go for something higher like 22-24. It’ll make for a slightly larger file, but you’ll great quality without being a raw file size. Too low and you’ll end up with a potato.

As for audio, also stick with a safe codec like MP3. Using WAV is too large, AAC is limited as are some others as well.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    Personally, I would value fidelity over ubiquity. After all, the recipient can transcode it themselves if they need to, but they're not necessarily going to be able to re-digitize it with higher quality in the future.

    As such, I'd use the most modern video codec I could find (and use generous quality settings with it) and use FLAC for audio.

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