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Re: [ARSCLIST] embeded audio
Marcos Sueiro Bal wrote:
From our multi-media gurus here at Columbia:
CU has never supported Windows Media, to my knowledge, and I don't know
the historical reasons. CUIT supports streaming servers for Real and
QuickTime only.
I think we prefer the quality standards of QuickTime audio and video,
and the fact that the QT player is typically bundled with iTunes makes
it a nice standard platform for both Mac and PC. It also allows us to
do enhanced podcasting (which is limited to the AAC format, which is
specific to iTunes).
On the user side, Microsoft no longer makes a Windows Media player for
Mac, but there's a free plugin called Flip4Mac that allows you to play
WMA/WMV clips in the QuickTime player.
On the PC, MOV has proved a problematic format. QuickTime is an invasive
program, seeking to take over formats despite the user's wishes. It is
also prone to inferior playback, typically providing erratic audio. For
both reasons, other players such as QT Alternative have proved popular,
though they have (lesser) audio problems on high-quality files.
I analyzed the options some years ago when establishing standards for my
own WWW site and settled on RealMedia for video and, initially, low-rate
WAV for audio. I maintained contact with developments and switched to
MP3 when the Fraunhofer codec became available. But I still find that
RealMedia is a good choice for video across all relevant platforms, not
only PC and Mac. Of course, I avoid RealPlayer on the PC since it is
both bloated and intrusive.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/