more on video

Tuesday, June 06, 2000, at 12:21PM

By Eric Richardson

Just for the fun of it (more in my "research" kick), I was playing around with MS Windows Media Player.

Interestingly, they happened to have the same Christina Aguilera video as Real was featuring in their Real 8.0 showcase. Obviously I had to put the two head to head...

The outcome? Real 8.0 (at 400Kb/sec) kicks WMP's (300Kb/sec) butt. Granted, the bit rates are different, and yes, 100Kb/sec is a big deal, but the difference is impressive.

In low motion situations, both have about the same amazingly clear video quality. In high motion, however, WMP looks crappy, while Real doesn't skip a beat.

Interestingly, WMP seems to do better than Real in dark shots. For example, in the video (its 'I Turn to You', if anyone cares) there are a couple shots where she's walking through the rain at night. In Real, those are the quality low-points... The video isn't bad, but you notice pixelation. WMP seems to handle those scenes better.

In light, however, there's no comparison. Real just walks up and down on WMP.

Ahhh... Life as a media guru...