Video Quality

[jmtorres.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to collect data on the relative quality of various codecs in use for digital video, both from vidders (who probably have more technical knowledge) and from viewers (we do want to reach everyone we can with these vids!). I was originally going to go with a Livejournal Poll but it got unwieldy fast, so I decided on a questionnaire format instead. I'll put my answers behind a cut; please leave your answers in the comments.

What is your platform, operating system (the one you view vids in, if you use more than one), and RAM?
What media players do you have?
What codecs can you play?

For each codec with which you feel familiar, please give the following details:
Strengths--high compression, sharp image clarity, true color, smooth motion (key frames how far apart?), can be played clearly at double or triple image size, rarely if ever unplayable to you or to your viewers?
Weaknesses--produces large files, image fuzzy or pixelated, color too dark or too light (washed out), motion jerky (again, key frames?), does not play reliably for you/you have received complaints that files do not work from viewers, you yourself cannot encode in this format

What is your favorite compression codec? Why?

What is your least favorite compression codec? Why?

Do you use different codecs based on qualities of the vid you are compressing (speed of motion or cuts, color, for web versus master file, etc)? If so, which codecs do you use for which types of video material?

Please prioritize the following qualities of video:
High compression
Smooth motion
True color
Sharp image clarity
Playback reliability
Universality of codec
Any other quality which may be important to you

( My answers )

I considered doing a similar questionnare for audio compression, but I'll settle for a single question: Has anyone found an audio format with higher compression at comparable quality to mp3?