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Choosing a Digital Video Format Maryland

How to choose a format for your digital video file.

Local Companies

Hawkins Home Electronics
410-543-9883
620 Naylor Mill Road Unit 2B
Salisbury, MD

Chesapeake Smart Homes
410-604-3600
337 Log Canoe Circle
Stevensville, MD

Cbm Systems Inc
(301) 790-1072
19607 Longmeadow Rd
Hagerstown, MD

Attronica Computers Inc
(301) 417-0070
15867 Gaither Dr
Gaithersburg, MD

Applied Data Systems
(301) 490-4007
9140 Guilford Rd Ste A
Columbia, MD

En-Net Services
(301) 846-9901
3 College Ave Ste 7
Frederick, MD

Genicom Corporation
(410) 452-5733
910 Mine Branch Rd
Street, MD

Bell Micro Products
(410) 381-1680
5231 W Running Brook Rd
Columbia, MD

Merging Technology Inc
(301) 533-0077
Oakland, MD

Equipment Exchange
(301) 362-9823
8836 Washington Blvd Ste 206
Jessup, MD

Adapted From: Digital Photos, Movies, & Music Gigabook?For Dummies

Many different video formats are available for the movies that you edit on your computer. Each format uses a different codec. (A codec, short for compressor/decompressor, is a software tool that is used to make multimedia files smaller.) Common video file formats include MPEG and AVI, but these two formats are usually not suitable for movies that you plan to share online because they have big file sizes. Three other popular formats, however, are perfectly suited to the online world. These formats are as follows:

QuickTime (.QT): Many Windows users and virtually all Macintosh users have the QuickTime Player program from Apple. QuickTime is the only export format that's available with iMovie. Pinnacle Studio cannot export QuickTime movies, but some more advanced Windows programs like Adobe Premiere can.

RealMedia (.RM): This is the format that is used by the popular RealPlayer, which is available for Windows and Macintosh systems, among others. Pinnacle Studio can export RealMedia-format video.

Windows Media Video (.WMV): This format requires Windows Media Player. Almost all Windows users and some Macintosh users already have it. Both Pinnacle Studio and Windows Movie Maker can export Windows Media Video.

Each of these three video formats has strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, the format that you choose depends mainly on the editing software that you're using. For example, if you're using iMovie on a Mac, QuickTime is probably your only option.

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Featured Local Company

Hawkins Home Electronics

410-543-9883
620 Naylor Mill Road Unit 2B
Salisbury, MD

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Business Services	Fashion	Industrial Goods & Services	Retail & Consumer Services
Career	Financial Services	Insurance	Software
Cars	Food & Beverage	Internet	Technology
Computer Hardware	Franchise	Legal	Telecommunications
Construction	Health	Miscellaneous	Trade Shows
Education	Holidays	Nightlife	Travel
Entertainment	Home Appliances	Online Database	Weddings
Environmental	Home Electronics	Pets	World History