Video Compression Handbook 2nd Edition

This book is one of those "middle of the road" texts that has enough meat in it to be helpful to a technical reader, yet is not scary-technical. It's the first written work that I've found that describes deinterlacing well enough for me to know why to choose one method over another. It taught me some things about the Blu-ray standard that I didn't know. Lots of helpful tips that "Dummies" books don't cover, and isn't usually indexed in engineering texts. With the latter, the information is probably there in some form, but good luck finding it in less than a day!The book is written from a Mac-centric, interactive GUI viewpoint. Unlike some Mac-centric books, this one gives Windows apps a fair shake. Even better it covers free, open-source software that runs on multiple platforms, and are staples for the Linux user. It even covers the powerful MPlayer/MEncoder software.This is a good, no-nonsense book that's full of useful how and why information. My only criticism is that the space taken up by the step-by-step directions for using specific software could have been put to better use. I didn't find the interviews all that helpful either. It's not perfect, but it's very good.

I am not a video pro, have only done basic editing on YouTube stuff, but need some education on codecs and how to get them working properly. This book is a good intro for newbies, the author has organized it nicely into (1) history (takes the mystery out of the overwhelming confusion of codec names),(2) the actual commercial software used to manage the project (interesting at how hard it is to select an app that MIGHT work in any given task, even if you cannot possibly afford it!)and (3)the step-by-step procedures for processing the job in each software used. I am now much happier that I once tried to produce a 30 min film, not with video, but on 16mm (via "scissors and glue pot" for editing. NO codecs, and much easier! I now hope to find something on HOW to locate and download missing codecs and install them when needed. Our son-in-law, who actually DOES this stuff is also reading it, I will see if he will review it also, from a professional's view.

I found this book very helpful in providing the answers to the questions I've had about compressing video for maximum quality. I would like to see more generalization on the actual application. I use Sony Vegas and DVD Architect so the tutorials in the publication we not very helpful. All in all, I found the book to be excellent and would recommend it to anyone interested in the technical aspects of video production.

This is a great book for "jack of all trades, master of none." (doesn't quite makes sense, but hope you get the drift) You probably won't be able to write a master's thesis on video compression after reading this book, but you will know enough on the subject to sound like a subject matter expert. Provides great background info on the subject, concepts described and explained are easy to understand, and includes a great deal of info on commercial products available. I highly recommend this book for a novice who wants to be well versed in the subject of video compression.

Great book. What jumps out is that there is an art to video compression -- this is more than a how to book or compression for dummies book or a long tome that recites MPEG standards. What I really liked about it was the way the author describes things in language that is easy to understand. Another great feature of the book is the section on compressionists today. Great interview with Ben Waggoner, a national expert from Microsoft who really understands what it takes to bring digital video to the web... Highly recommend this book.

I purchased this book when it was published in 2008, and it has been continuous help over the years. As an Avid Editor, the book has provided excellent quality of information in an easy to read / retrieve form. Andy Beach is a gifted communicator. The only question for me is when can we expect an update of this top class book with all the latest codecs, seeing much has happened in a five years ? I'll be the first in line to re-purchase !

I was interested in learning how to compress videos to put on a stick drive or into my laptop so I could carry moviesalong with anytime. This volumne taught me the best compression methods and how to use them.

Great basic info about video compression