Poll: What is the Preferred Format for Aviation Video Download

I share a number of flying videos on my web site in both Windows Media and
Real Video formats. Frankly, I'm tiring of spending the time to render both
high- and low-bandwidth versions of each video in two formats (making four
files for each video), so I'm considering using a single format for all
videos - which brings me to my question:

Given a choice to download the following formats, which would you choose and
why?

MPEG-4
WMV (v9)
Real (v10)

Some issues for consideration include:
Size. MPEG-1/2 files are simply too large compared to Real and WMV. While
storage isn't an issue, bandwidth is (and I run my own server that does not
sit on a backbone).

Quality. WMV and Real offer decent quality at a bitrate of ~250kbps. Of
course, lower bitrates of ~53kbps (to support modem users) drastically cut
down the quality in any format, but WMV and Real offer at least enough
information to pick out a runway while on final. MPEG-4 offers similar
quality for only a slightly larger file (for instance, a sample 1 minute
video is about 1.99MB in WMV and 2.02MB in MPEG-4 for similar bitrates).

Playback. Windows Media Player (WMP) is free and widespread on the most
popular PC operating system. Real Player is free and is bundled with many
name brand computers. There is a fairly wide range of players compatible
with MPEG-4, though, including proprietary players (like Real and QuickTime
[also free]) and "third-party" players.

Compatibility. WMV and Real are proprietary formats, but they are relatively
"open" and encoders are freely available for both formats. They also have
the backing of some of the largest players (business-wise) in the computer
industry. MPEG-4 is a standard published by international standards bodies,
but licensing issues have kept encoders out of the mainstream for several
years. However, that appears to be less of an issue now with a fairly wide
availability (not necessarily distribution) of encoders and players. While
most users are likely running some flavor of Windows, there is a large
number of non-Microsoft users (both in OS and software in general). MPEG-4
would appear to be the cross-platform format of choice, but not unless there
is a large enough market penetration of players.

Thanks for your input!

--
John T
http://sage1solutions.com/TknoFlyer
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