[GH-ISSUE #199] Record/convert directly to WebM format

kerem commented

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @BoQsc on GitHub (Oct 26, 2017).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/issues/199

Introduction to WebM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IETReChj4Xk
More old news about WebM: http://blog.johnmuellerbooks.com/2014/07/11/webm-replacing-the-animated-gif/

I recorded Gif that weighted 4.5mb, converted it into 2.2mb WebM
Using this project: https://compressify.herokuapp.com/
I was able to compress 2.2mb WebM into 400kb WebM that works and looks the same as 4.5mb Gif.

Was unable to do so with any kind of Gif compression.

Originally created by @BoQsc on GitHub (Oct 26, 2017). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/issues/199 Introduction to WebM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IETReChj4Xk More old news about WebM: http://blog.johnmuellerbooks.com/2014/07/11/webm-replacing-the-animated-gif/ I recorded Gif that weighted 4.5mb, converted it into 2.2mb WebM Using this project: https://compressify.herokuapp.com/ I was able to compress 2.2mb WebM into 400kb WebM that works and looks the same as 4.5mb Gif. Was unable to do so with any kind of Gif compression.

kerem closed this issue

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

Author

Owner

@vatterspun commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2017):

@Related: #129

The reason GIF has been around for so long is it's (mostly) not a lossy format and can be easily modified and changed. One person can share an initial GIF that others can then add stuff to (such as any number of JCVD gifs: https://giphy.com/search/bloodsport).

Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that WEBM is a video format and should be compared to other video tools. Since ScreenToGif can already export to video, it's really just a question of which format does screen recording best. Certainly WEBM has some advantages in it's favor.

@vatterspun commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2017): @Related: #129 The reason GIF has been around for so long is it's (mostly) not a lossy format and can be easily modified and changed. One person can share an initial GIF that others can then add stuff to (such as any number of JCVD gifs: https://giphy.com/search/bloodsport). Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that WEBM is a video format and should be compared to other video tools. Since ScreenToGif can already export to video, it's really just a question of which format does screen recording best. Certainly WEBM has some advantages in it's favor.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

Author

Owner

@BoQsc commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017):

Animation is an art of drawing sketches of object and then showing them in a series of frames so that it looks like a moving and living thing to us while a video is a recording of either still or moving objects.

Source of definitions

Animated GIF and WebM Video format is very similar thing.
Animations are drawn by hand on a multiple sheets and put together and finally ends up recorded as a Video.

The only difference is that GIF are interpreted differently on the web browsers, than any kind of video format.
Video formats are given a player interface by default, while GIF's are only rendered without any additional control except for well known "stop repeating this GIF" function, that by the way were only introduced in older browsers. Modern browsers like chrome has no control left over the gif animation, as I checked that right now.

And by the way, all the GIPHY's gifs are nothing more than short self repeating videos.
WebM can be easily done to react the same on any Webpage. https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_video_loop.asp

@BoQsc commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017): > Animation is an art of drawing sketches of object and then showing them in a series of frames so that it looks like a moving and living thing to us while a video is a recording of either still or moving objects. [Source of definitions](http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-animation-and-vs-video/) **Animated** GIF and WebM **Video** format is very similar thing. Animations are drawn by hand on a multiple sheets and put together and finally ends up recorded as a Video. The only difference is that GIF are interpreted differently on the web browsers, than any kind of video format. Video formats are given a player interface by default, while GIF's are only rendered without any additional control except for well known "stop repeating this GIF" function, that by the way were only introduced in older browsers. Modern browsers like chrome has no control left over the gif animation, as I checked that right now. And by the way, all the GIPHY's gifs are nothing more than short self repeating videos. WebM can be easily done to react the same on any Webpage. https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_video_loop.asp

kerem commented

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

Author

Owner

@NickeManarin commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017):

Hmm, you can try using the FFmpeg option to export to WebM.

@NickeManarin commented on GitHub (Oct 27, 2017): Hmm, [you can try using the FFmpeg option to export to WebM.](https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/wiki/FAQ-%28Frequently-Asked-Questions%29#how-can-i-export-the-project-to-a-video-mp4webmaviwmv)

kerem commented

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

Author

Owner

@vatterspun commented on GitHub (Oct 29, 2017):

Animated GIF and WebM Video format is very similar thing. Animations are drawn by hand on a multiple sheets and put together and finally ends up recorded as a Video.

Modern video (including WebM) functions as a series of objects rather than a series of sequential images. There's an enormous amount of math that lets them use various intelligent patterns and visual tricks. Occasionally you can see this fail on videos where the camera moves horizontally across a visual obscured by bars.

GIF files are so substantially larger because (most of them) behave as 100 (or whatever) individual images and can be played without issue by the same computer your parents ran in 1997. The file size for the same quality video is enormous because there's no tricks to save space.

APNG tries to find something in the middle -- compress individual separate images as much as possible and look for commonality between different frames (some compression tools do this, some don't). APNG files that have substantially more colors will actually be larger than their GIF counterparts because, again, they're a series of images, and all that extra graphics data can only get compressed so far before it gives up.

Really you can test this by creating a WebM file, editing it, and then compressing it again. If it loses quality over time, it's not a replacement for GIF.

NOTE: I edited this description after my initial post so sorry if that confuses anyone.

@vatterspun commented on GitHub (Oct 29, 2017): > Animated GIF and WebM Video format is very similar thing. Animations are drawn by hand on a multiple sheets and put together and finally ends up recorded as a Video. Modern video (including WebM) functions as a series of objects rather than a series of sequential images. There's an enormous amount of math that lets them use various intelligent patterns and visual tricks. Occasionally you can see this fail on videos where the camera moves horizontally across a visual obscured by bars. GIF files are so substantially larger because (most of them) behave as 100 (or whatever) individual images and can be played without issue by the same computer your parents ran in 1997. The file size for the same quality video is enormous because there's no tricks to save space. APNG tries to find something in the middle -- compress individual separate images as much as possible and look for commonality between different frames (some compression tools do this, some don't). APNG files that have substantially more colors will actually be larger than their GIF counterparts because, again, they're a series of images, and all that extra graphics data can only get compressed so far before it gives up. Really you can test this by creating a WebM file, editing it, and then compressing it again. If it loses quality over time, it's not a replacement for GIF. --- NOTE: I edited this description after my initial post so sorry if that confuses anyone.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

Author

Owner

@vatterspun commented on GitHub (Feb 2, 2019):

Related thread: #252 : "Bug in ".webm" output? (workaround)"

@vatterspun commented on GitHub (Feb 2, 2019): Related thread: #252 : "Bug in ".webm" output? (workaround)"

kerem commented

2026-02-26 08:45:34 +03:00

Author

Owner

@NickeManarin commented on GitHub (Nov 13, 2019):

I'm closing this issue, since it's possible to export as WebM via FFmpeg.

@NickeManarin commented on GitHub (Nov 13, 2019): I'm closing this issue, since it's possible to export as WebM via FFmpeg.

kerem referenced this issue

2026-03-01 18:46:08 +03:00

[GH-ISSUE #165] [Exception] The calling thread cannot access this object because a different thread owns it. #1510

Rows
Columns

[GH-ISSUE #199] Record/convert directly to WebM format #165