At EngageMedia we try to encourage the use of free software wherever possible. As far as video codecs like Quicktime, Windows Media and Flash are concerned, these are proprietary codecs that can cost huge amounts of money for online distributors to use, depending on the license and how these videos are delivered to the web audience. We encourage the use of FOSS codecs where possible and are hoping to increase their usability and uptake.
Ogg Theora is a high-quality FOSS video codec developed by Xiph.org. Until now it has been less easy to encode Ogg Theora than other video codecs – users have had to use command-line interfaces such as ffmpeg2theora. While easy to use once you become familiar with the command line, this has reduced the ease of uptake of Theora by video makers.
v2v, the developers of ffmpeg2theora have recently built a graphical user interface for ffmpeg2theora that means users no longer have to use the command line. This application is still under development but is able to be used now by people using the Mac OS X operating system. It has been built by the developer of ffmpeg2theora, Jan Gerber, and is called the Simple Theora Encoder.
We have produced a tutorial in our help section with screenshots to take people through how to download, install and use the Simple Theora Encoder, which is very easy to use.
You can find this tutorial here.
If you have any problems using the Simple Theora Encoder you can post a ticket to Xiph.org issue tracker here.
Further info:
- FREE OPEN SOURCE VIDEO CODECS
- V2V
- FFMPEG2THEORA
- SIMPLE THEORA ENCODER (download)
