Video encoding tools, codec comparison

Which Web video format is the best? Which encoding tool is the best one?  Which tools handle high-action video best?  If part of your job involves encoding digital video for Web delivery, you must read streamingmedia.com's research reports on codecs and encoders.  Some of the key points are summarized in  Jan Ozer's article, Choosing a Codec. Some highlights for me:

• RealVideo is the best overall codec of all the tested choices, and became the benchmark against the others were compared.
• Differerent codecs were best at handling each combination of encoding bitrate and content type (e.g. talking head vs. sports video) 
• Some tools encode some formats and content types exceptionally well, while doing a poor job on others.  
• VBR (variable bitrate) won't always offer an improvement over CBR (constant bitrate), even for high-motion content. 

The two reports, Proprietary Codecs, 2006: Choosing and Using the Optimal Video Codec and  Flash Codecs, 2006: Choosing and Using the Optimal Flash Codec are, unfortunately, not free,  but they are treasure-troves of information about codecs and encoding software.  I recently bought a copy of each, and plan to site-license them for all the folks involved in encoding digital media at Harvard University, where I'm the University's Multimedia Technology Architect.  

Although I've been a contributing editor to streamingmedia.com and have friends there, I have no financial interest in these reports. I just think there's awfully helpful!