New Video Formats
Notice! – Important changes to our video formats.
Next week we will begin rolling out some new encoding formats and upgrading to HD for our shows.
You should notice improved video quality in both the new SD large files and the HD files. We’ve done this without increasing the file size of the SD large and actually lowering the size of the HD files to make them easier to download and store on your mobile devices.
Playing the files on your PC or Mac or streaming website viewers should not need to do anything. If you have issues with playback please make sure your browser, flash player and video drivers are up to date. You may also want to try an alternative media player such as VLC or Media Player Classic.
The new SD large and HD videos use H.264’s Main profile. If you device only supports the H.264 Baseline profile, you will not be able to play those files.
We know of a few devices that will have issues or fail to play the new standard large and HD formats, these are listed below:
iPod Classic (all)
iPod Touch 2G and older
iPhone 3G and older (3GS usually ok)
iPod Nano 4G and older
Most Android 2.0 or older devices
Some Android 2.1-2.2 devices
*Android users on borderline compatible devices may want to consider other media players or custom ROMs with newer OS components as a potential workaround
Windows Mobile 6.5 and older devices
If you have one of those devices and are subscribed to our SD (large) feeds or download them manually and transfer them to your device(s), please switch to the mobile version video. We have made this change to optimize video for newer devices and apologize that we are not maintaining the SD large feed in its current format. We wanted most people to see an upgrade without having to re-subscribe to a new feed and reduce processing time and storage on our end.
iTunes users:
Please watch the iTunes podcast directory for the new TWiT HD options that will start to appear in the coming weeks. We think you’ll find the increased quality worth the extra space. Of course the SD large file will look better than it ever has, so you may want to keep that subscribed if you have limited space on your device.
If you are subscribed to a format that your device cannot play, TWiT shows will download but they will no longer sync over to your iDevice. No error messages will be given, the new episodes simply won’t appear. If this applies to you, please subscribe to the mobile (low) show in iTunes instead.
All other users:
Please watch the twit.tv website for the show you want to subscribe to. The new HD options will start to appear on or after Monday the 18th.
If you are using an RSS/Feed downloader, your current feeds will be maintained. If you have a device that doesn’t support the SD large files, you may have issues playing them after they are synchronized or downloaded to your device.
You can simply edit your feed URL, replacing large with small (or hd) in the URL or you can remove the feed and then add it again using the links underneath the download section on a show’s page.
Thanks for your understanding and we hope you enjoy the new higher quality files!
Here are samples of the new video formats:
SD Low (mobile)
http://twit.cachefly.net/video/ztest/ztest7500/ztest7500_h264b_640x368_256.mp4
SD High
http://twit.cachefly.net/video/ztest/ztest7500/ztest7500_h264m_864x480_500.mp4
HD
http://twit.cachefly.net/video/ztest/ztest7500/ztest7500_h264m_1280x720_1872.mp4