DNxHD quicktimes

[Tom.Wong]

I started in Avid years ago, went to FCP, now I'm dabbling in Premiere, and debating to go back to Avid now. So main concerns I have.

Obviously we are in a multi NLE world now, with a lot of solutions, and it's less important to actually sticking with one and hanging onto it like a stubborn monkey, but looking for integration and cross platform workflow.

so being out of the Avid game for so long, I was wondering if anybody has used DNxHD quicktimes in NLE's like FCP and Premiere, and even going as far as going back and forth with a pc and mac with no issues? I believe the last time I tried dnxhd qt in fcp, weird things would happen. gamma and color shifts. mostly gamma.

with pro res being questionable, i wanna see how viable and compatible DNxHD QT really is as a broader spectrum acquisition and editorial codec. I do intend to run my own tests of course, but would really wanna see experiences people have had, and attempting something similar.

 

[MichaelP]

Any codec wrapped in QuickTime is always left to the devices of QuickTime interpreting between video levels and graphic levels, etc. and tries to correct it for even when you don't want it to. For starters, I would make sure you have the same version of the DNxHD codecs installed on all the systems, then just be sure to manage the proper levels when exporting, rendering, and importing.

Michael

 

[Tom.Wong]

good to know that, that is a factor to consider. guess i won't get my answers unless i just go ahead and test myself!

 

[Bruce Allen]

Tom, bear in mind that maybe before the end of the year, Media Composer 6 just might have DNxHD with 4:4:4 as well as unlimited resolution support.

So, if you're going to do some comprehensive tests, um, you might want to wait a few months?

Otherwise, DNxHD works really well for me, yes. Sometimes Quicktime still screws things up when going between apps and platforms. But I've experienced a less Quicktime gamma madness than ProRes for sure.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Dustin Cross]

I have had lots of problems with rendering DNxHD Quicktimes. No background rendering, no batch rendering, little things that really slowed down my workflow a ton and made DHxHD Quicktimes not an option for me.


Dusty

 

[Tom.Wong]

Tom, bear in mind that maybe before the end of the year, Media Composer 6 just might have DNxHD with 4:4:4 as well as unlimited resolution support.

So, if you're going to do some comprehensive tests, um, you might want to wait a few months?

Otherwise, DNxHD works really well for me, yes. Sometimes Quicktime still screws things up when going between apps and platforms. But I've experienced a less Quicktime gamma madness than ProRes for sure.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

i'm actually pretty set on going to Avid at the end of the year, I'm just experimenting with how cross platform dnxhd can be, maintaining some relative sense of gamma and color management. Sometimes when I transcode on set, or provide acquisition with different workflows, the question of what codec to go to is increasingly important. I just get the feeling that FCP is gonna grow smaller as time goes on, but people will still be using it, and most likely in conjunction with Avid, and possibly premiere. I really foresee a multi NLE workflow in the future, until all the legacy stuff goes away.

I'll run some dnxhd tests in the next few weeks and see how it plays out. there's also the constant gamma bug going from PC to Mac and vice versa, anybody know if OS Lion solves that issue? freakin quicktime, i swear.

 

[Paul J Steinberg]

I render DNxHD QT's out of RedcineX all the time. I'll often do a baselight grade and cook up QT's for the client. I'm on PC's for home office so Prores isn't an option. I deliver these QT's to broadcasters who are editing on Media Composer and DS and they love them. I have worked with them in Premiere, no problem. Last week I dropped off a drive to a client working with Final Cut, they imported without an issue.

 

[Eric Santiago]

Over the years DNxHD has been solid on the host computer. Its when I had to move it around to other workstations where it fails. Years ago it was codec issues then QT gamma.
Lately its been stable.

 

[nigelsmith]

I have been told that Sky in the UK uses DNxHD185 codec in it's post workflows and mastering for broadcast.
I have also found that VLC will play back up to DNxHD120 no problem, but chokes on DNxHD185.
Avid codecs always work really reliably for me, and I wish more systems would use them.