Most Web surfers couldn't be persuaded to download a video clip of anything less tantalizing than Princess Di mooning the Queen. Thirty seconds of compressed video translates into a 20-minute wait.
But Iterated Systems is testing a new kind of video compression that makes video files so small that even modem users may be tempted to click clips.
ClearVideo, as the compression system is called, can shrink video clips to less than one-third the size of the best compression available today, according to beta testers. A standard-sized 900K QuickTime file can be reduced to a little over 230K, but with startlingly clear results.
ClearVideo works with both Macintosh and Windows QuickTime, as well as Microsoft's Video for Windows. Iterated is giving away the ClearVideo player, but will charge a little under $1,000 for the compression software when it becomes available in late September.
