Re: [Frameworks] mov files from avid (pc) for quicktime projection (mac)
As far as I can tell, if you are providing files to be shown at a festival or event, the only chance you have of getting an image on screen with the same basic grey scale you saw at home, without motion artifacts, and without random failures, is to provide a DCP file. I know it's ugly, but it's universal. --scott ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] mov files from avid (pc) for quicktime projection (mac)
thanks loads for the tips folks! the H264 playback issue makes sense i did some test exports to DV-DVCPRO-NTSC in the meantime (following another friend's advice), progressive with deinterlacing they played back aok on the mac, in quicktime, with no interlacing I'll give H264 a lash as well much appreciated! cheers moira moiratierney.net vimeo.com/moiratierney On Wednesday, July 16, 2014 2:50 AM, Douglas eastshorefi...@hotmail.com wrote: Try playing your files on VLC player, it's freeware and may work just fine. I wouldn't recommend h.264 since it's heavily compressed. dK On Jul 15, 2014, at 5:52 PM, Dave Tetzlaff djte...@gmail.com wrote: I'm not an Avid expert, but I know they typically use proprietary codecs. What container were they in? AVI? If QT can't play the files, that could either be an issue with the codec per se, or your Mac not being equipped with the extra widgets needed to handle the headers of PC-based containers. All H.264 encoding software is not created equal. Use x264, which is freeware available as a stand-alone plug-in that works with stuff like MPEG Streamclip, and also comes built-in with recent versions of Handbrake (also freeware). There are more tweaks available in the interface than Carter has pills. I've never had any odd color or contrast problems using the presets (since the individual setting parameters are mostly WAY over my head), but if you did get results you don't like, you could probably find a setting that would do the trick if you got under the hood far enough. Anyway, as Aaron said, the problem may be the playback software, not the files you've generated themselves. I agree with Aaron that H.264 is usually the best thing to send out, if only due to file size. For shorter pieces, I'd use ProRes if the venue accepts it. For the H.264, I recommend putting it in an .mp4 container, as that's more universal than .mov .avi .mkv etc. etc. tested some mov files today (exported 'same as source' from avid 3.0 on a pc) on a mac, quicktime wouldn't open them vlc played them back deinterlaced ( with a green line at the top, in one case) any ideas what's up? i've tried H264 exports but the colours/contrast get washed out, so i'm avoiding that option; thought that 'same as source' would be better than any form of compression ...? ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] mov files from avid (pc) for quicktime projection (mac)
Same as source means that your footage is encoded with the same codec as your original footage, or perhaps the intermediate editing codec you've chosen in your timeline/sequence. H.264 is actually your best option for festivals. The contrast issue is a bug in some versions of Quicktime and VLC for Windows. It happens because some clever broadcast engineers decided that the range of an 8-bit channel should be from 16 to 235, instead of the full range from 0 to 255. The encoder is supposed to restrict video levels to 16-235 (Studio IRE) at export time, and the decoder is supposed to expand those levels back to 0-255 at playback time. But sometimes the decoder does not expand the levels, and you get dark gray blacks and light gray whites. On Windows you can fix this playback issue through the NVIDIA control panel (if you've got it). But it's almost certain that the venue will be playing back on OS X. Provided that the OS and Quicktime are up to date on that system, then your levels will be displayed correctly. If you really don't trust H.264, then you can export to DNxHD, but there's an extremely low probability that your festival can actually play this back. The Animation codec is lossless if you crank the quality up to 100%, but then the file sizes are ginormous. Bottom line: encode to H.264 at the bitrate appropriate to your format, and take it on faith that it will play back with the correct levels. I've been through this a zillion times; video editing on Windows is still markedly inferior to OS X, even after decades. Aaron At 7/14/2014, you wrote: hey folks tested some mov files today (exported 'same as source' from avid 3.0 on a pc) on a mac, quicktime wouldn't open them vlc played them back deinterlaced ( with a green line at the top, in one case) any ideas what's up? (cue bad jokes about 'mov'ing targets or 'mov'ing goalposts ...) i've tried H264 exports but the colours/contrast get washed out, so i'm avoiding that option; thought that 'same as source' would be better than any form of compression ...? cheers all round moira moiratierney.net vimeo.com/moiratierney ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks -- Aaron F. Ross, artist and educator http://dr-yo.com http://digitalartsguild.com ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] mov files from avid (pc) for quicktime projection (mac)
I'm not an Avid expert, but I know they typically use proprietary codecs. What container were they in? AVI? If QT can't play the files, that could either be an issue with the codec per se, or your Mac not being equipped with the extra widgets needed to handle the headers of PC-based containers. All H.264 encoding software is not created equal. Use x264, which is freeware available as a stand-alone plug-in that works with stuff like MPEG Streamclip, and also comes built-in with recent versions of Handbrake (also freeware). There are more tweaks available in the interface than Carter has pills. I've never had any odd color or contrast problems using the presets (since the individual setting parameters are mostly WAY over my head), but if you did get results you don't like, you could probably find a setting that would do the trick if you got under the hood far enough. Anyway, as Aaron said, the problem may be the playback software, not the files you've generated themselves. I agree with Aaron that H.264 is usually the best thing to send out, if only due to file size. For shorter pieces, I'd use ProRes if the venue accepts it. For the H.264, I recommend putting it in an .mp4 container, as that's more universal than .mov .avi .mkv etc. etc. tested some mov files today (exported 'same as source' from avid 3.0 on a pc) on a mac, quicktime wouldn't open them vlc played them back deinterlaced ( with a green line at the top, in one case) any ideas what's up? i've tried H264 exports but the colours/contrast get washed out, so i'm avoiding that option; thought that 'same as source' would be better than any form of compression ...? ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
