#1 2005-07-10 16:10:00

Rosey

Member

Registered: 2005-07-10

Posts: 2

Zip File

Out of curiosity, why do you post the mpeg video files as Zip files? Mpeg files are already compressed, so when you put them in a Zip file, it actually makes the file bigger. The only reason I can think to post them as Zip files, is that it forces people to download the entire file to their hard drive before viewing it, but that really shouldn't make a difference to you. Anyways, I was just curious.

Thanks

Bishop Of Bath & Wells

Member

From: United Kingdom

Registered: 2004-12-29

Posts: 530

Re: Zip File

I've wondered about that as well. Also, the filesizes listed on the frontpage hardly ever seem to be accurate.

Bish

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"Today is the beginning of whatever comes next. Stop running, confront, and conquer!"

Rosey

Member

Registered: 2005-07-10

Posts: 2

Re: Zip File

Actually, it looks like I was wrong. The zip files on this site are slightly smaller than the mpeg files. Still, they don't compress very well and I have seen cases where a zipped mpeg is bigger than the mpeg itself. I would agree that the file sizes posted on the page are inaccurate, at least for the downloaded file, maybe they are correct for the streaming file.

richard

Administrator

Registered: 2005-01-04

Posts: 692

Re: Zip File

The reaason they're Zipped is so they force a popup window when you click them, prompting you to either save or open.  If they were links to MPG's, many systems/players start downloading or buffering without any notifications, so you're staring at a blank screen and it looks like the site has frozen.  If you have dialup, it could be an hour before suddenly your media player opens and plays the clip, but most people would be long gone by then.  We found this out the hard way, early on, dealing with complaints from people saying nothing happened when they click the file.  With the zip, you get a progress indicator.