Topic: RE: Free Gameplay Movies from E3 2003

[NewsBot]

Better late than never, right?  And of course, our movies are totally free.

We've had these movies for a while and had intended to post them right after E3, but there were all kinds of problems with our media server.  It seems that everything is working fine now though, so let the downloading begin!

Below are links to our E3 direct-feed gameplay movies.  We'll post more videos in the coming days.  Be sure to check back for those, and please use our huge Games list to check out all the coverage we have for each of these games.

The files are all provided in standard MPEG format.  While they're larger than other formats like DivX, QuickTime, or Windows Media, they'll play back on just about any computer, as well as other devices that can play MPEG video.  Please feel free to use the TalkBack link above to tell us how you feel about the change to MPEG.

• 1080: Avalanche
• Sword of Mana
• Viewtiful Joe
• Wario Ware

• Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (10MB MPEG)
• Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3: Rebel Strike (17.9MB MPEG)
• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (12.1MB MPEG)
• Star Fox 2 - Multiplayer (19MB MPEG)

[JB]

Thanks for the videos! As for the format, it might be better to use DivX. There are still many people who don't have a broadband connection and cannot download these movies due to their size.  The quality of DivX is also generally much higher than that of MPEG-1. Quicktime is bad because videos encoded with it seem to use loads of CPU-time(on my computer at least) and Windows Media is only playable on computers with Windows.

[Jigabug]

I am SO happy with the switch to MPG. My older computer doesn't work well with divx or quicktime or windows media. Thanks a ton!!! !!!

[Nintendo_Ownz]

Its fine with me, but I think it would be better if you used a zipping program such as Winzip(Win XP comes with its own zipping program) to make the files smaller to download.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

DivX all the way.  The motion artifacting on these MPEGs are horrible; a severe lack of detail.

[Jonnyboy117]

As a rule of thumb, it doesn't do much good to compress files that are already compressed.  MPEG is a compression format for raw AVI video, so zipping it up wouldn't help much.  I haven't checked exactly what it would do, but to give you an idea, zipping MP3s (which are compressed WAV files) only reduces the size by 1-2%.  It's just not worth the trouble.

We are very open to suggestions and feedback on video format, and we're trying to strike a good balance between format compatibility and file size.  One solution we may look at is encoding all the videos in both MPEG and DivX, so people who can use DivX will benefit from the smaller sizes, and everyone else can use the ubiquitous MPEG format.  The only downside there is asking more time to encode videos from Rick, who I've already got running around doing tons of other stuff.  ;-)

[HereticPB]

I like the MPG better though being big. Only problem is can't find the ip of the media server. LOL. Otherwords won't download. Hehehe

Divx smaller files more movies on the server
Mpg Files biggger less movies on the server

If done right the quality is about the same or better for both formats

You B the Judge.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Another suggestion, high-resolution videos encoded with very low bitrates aren't worth the trouble.  It's better to encode the same video at a lower resolution (512x384 or 480x360) using the same amount of data for the sake retaining detail--in other words, try to do justice to the beautiful screenshots everyone's previously seen.

[ssj4_android]

The server is extremely slow. Maybe you should use bit torrent.

[Robageejammin]

just makin sure...the starfox video is only like 10 secs right?

[SteveWozniak]

Guys, have you tried using Mpeg 4, if not I'd well advise you to, it has been designed from the ground up as a high quality format designed to me streamed (or downloaded) via the internet, all in a very small file. It's well worth it.

[aoi tsuki]

Personally, i want the highest-quality videos possible. DiVX is likely the best choice in providing lower file sizes while keeping higher quality than MPEG-1. i'm on cable now, but i was on dialup before and had no problem downloading large files, so i know what it's like to wait an hour for a video.

Obviously, there's many people here whose computers won't play DiVX files well, or don't have high-speed connecitons. If anything, i think you need to poll the PGC audience to see what they want, and to see what you will work best for you.

i think DiVX would work best, despite the fact that it requires CPU power. You can download the player/codec for free, and use free tools to encode in DiVX, although i'm not

Quote
The server is extremely slow. Maybe you should use bit torrent.

i was about to suggest this myself. The only snags i'd forsee is that it requires a separate, although free and ridiculously simple, program to install, and the fact that there'd need to be some education on how to use it. BT links would have to be released alongside regular HTTP links in order to ease people over to BT. Just a thought, but how about offering “regular” (MPEG-1, WMV, or whatever) downloads via HTTP, and high quality DiVX files via Bittorrent? I'd wager that the users familiar with BT have higher-end computers than others. That way you serve both audiences, while not killing your servers.

i'm still waiting for 1080 to download. Slow...