AuthorTopic: Imgur now converting GIF to MP4 automatically  (Read 4960 times)

Offline tim

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Imgur now converting GIF to MP4 automatically

on: October 09, 2014, 01:42:52 pm
I guess we have to find another host…
http://imgur.com/blog/2014/10/09/introducing-gifv/
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Offline Probo

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Re: Imgur now converting GIF to MP4 automatically

Reply #1 on: October 09, 2014, 03:01:28 pm
i think it says something about still being able to download the original gif file, with gifs up to 20mb in size. so hopefully itll be fine

Offline Ellian

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Re: Imgur now converting GIF to MP4 automatically

Reply #2 on: October 09, 2014, 05:25:32 pm
Just use deviantart's stash, it's free?  :)

Offline Ai

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Re: Imgur now converting GIF to MP4 automatically

Reply #3 on: October 10, 2014, 07:34:40 am
Why speculate?

Source image: Fool's dragon: http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/17792.htm

Here's a gifv (pixelation doesn't understand this, so don't expect to see anything here except by viewing the page source:

(proper way to do the above is of course with a html5 <video> element. Going to http://i.imgur.com/w8w4Hdz.gifv will view the gifv in your browser if it supports html5 <video>.

Here's a gif (link is just the gifv url with the final v removed.)


Note that imgur's implementation does not modify the stored data (it claims to "automatically convert uploaded GIF files on the fly into the MP4 video format".) This means that they *must* keep the original gif around. In the future they may decide to just support mp4?? But for now, the gifs are staying.
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Offline Ellian

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Re: Imgur now converting GIF to MP4 automatically

Reply #4 on: October 10, 2014, 08:05:34 am
I think the problem has more to do with the fact that mp4s are a video compression of the original format.
Which means a loss in quality....

I mean, as long as you can still use regular gif it's fine, but as soon as they decide to remove the original formats and go full mp4 (or whatever compressed format), we're fucked.

Offline Ai

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Re: Imgur now converting GIF to MP4 automatically

Reply #5 on: October 10, 2014, 09:42:41 am
I think the problem has more to do with the fact that mp4s are a video compression of the original format.
Which means a loss in quality....

I mean, as long as you can still use regular gif it's fine, but as soon as they decide to remove the original formats and go full mp4 (or whatever compressed format), we're fucked.
True -- you can easily see the color degradation in the gifv I linked. But for now there are no actual mp4 files involved at all.
If you insist on being pessimistic about your own abilities, consider also being pessimistic about the accuracy of that pessimistic judgement.