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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

X264 vs. H264...

Problem with the transparency and straight alpha fix, is that it's spotty at best.

I read about this a long time ago and got excited, but after seeing no change on several clips I tried (some worked though), I wrote the technique off as a luck based solution.

I guess this technique fixes a certain type of encode 100% of the time, but misses at others.
 
AndreeMarkefors said:
Problem with the transparency and straight alpha fix, is that it's spotty at best.

I read about this a long time ago and got excited, but after seeing no change on several clips I tried (some worked though), I wrote the technique off as a luck based solution.

I guess this technique fixes a certain type of encode 100% of the time, but misses at others.
Click to expand...

This technique mean to be used as a cross platform tool. I have been using it for a few years now. Great workaround.
 
Jannard said:
If some one doesn't figure this stuff out.. we will.

Jim
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I've read all the posts up to here and it seems encoding is so splintered that it will be pure luck if the viewer sees anything close to what the author of content intended. We need a Unifying Law of Everything (codec speaking). Please do figure this stuff out.
 
Looks fantastic. But just for the record. . .

x264 IS NOT a format/compression method. It is another tool to encode H.264. This should play back on any modern mac without installing anything. . .

What is there to figure out? Use a different tool to encode h.264, you have figured it out. Hopefully this is resolved in other tools. Bottom line is, you ARE removing data, lots of it, if you want to have control over output for the end user as well you will have to create your own playback codec, and have it be widely supported on many different devices. Which is no easy task.

This isn't magic folks, it absolutely is not pure luck. It is math. Input, processing, and output. Something worth mentioning is I tend to have better results on output when using a constant bit rate instead of an average one. No using the "Quality" slider. But. This is a heavy duty compression method folks, x264 has addressed this type of issue where QuickTime has not.

Anyway. 5 years from now when we can get pixel for pixel hyper compressed versions of 4k video people will go back and add H.264 gamma shift to their list along side all the fake lens artifacts :P

 
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Jarred Land said:
Ok.. i have a question for you guys. For a 2K downloadable version of this at badass quality..... be it X264 or PRORES or DNXhd... what is the maximum file size you guys would put up with to download? 1GB? 2GB? 4GB?

p.s... just looked at handbrake. Looks good but incredibly restrictive as already mentioned... any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Well, I just downloaded the ~281MB in about 40 seconds... so even a 4GB file would be somewhere in the neighborhood of real time.

Go for it :)

-sc

PS - I love FIOS
 
Jannard said:
If some one doesn't figure this stuff out.. we will.

Jim
Click to expand...

I say do it, and give it to Apple (and maybe competitors) for free on the condition that they make the fully featured encoder and players free for end users too (to ensure wide adoption)!
 
andrewhake said:
Looks fantastic. But just for the record. . .

This should play back on any modern mac without installing anything. . .
Click to expand...

Yes. You are right.
 
Christian Munoz D said:
This technique mean to be used as a cross platform tool. I have been using it for a few years now. Great workaround.
Click to expand...

Agreed; for H264, PHOTO Jpeg and other QT codecs some application adds an "atom" in the header called "GAMA" that tells the player in what gamma space the Quicktime was encoded in and instructs it to compensate accordingly. The full solution in my experince is to remove this atom along with the mentioned trick with transparency and straight alpha.
This can fixed as a post process when your render has been exported, I've done this as a Python script. When exporting DNxHD 36 QTs with Quicktime Player Pro in Windows there are similar tricks that needs to be done related to the timing.


BTW, the film looks great! :)
 
Jannard said:
The problem is that you all will need to download and install an X264 codec to play the file.
Click to expand...

Is this true for everybody? I installed the x264 encoder on one Mac, and encoded a few files. They played fine. I then sent them over to another Mac, and it played them happily in QT 7.0, QT X and VLC. No x264 encoder was ever installed on the other machine, but it coped.

Am I missing something? Because if people can watch files compressed with the x264 encoder, without having to download anything extra, that would be a huge help.
 
I saw this twice in the red theater and was blown away.. Anything outside of that wont be as good :( Still a well done film.
 
Stacey Spears said:
You only need the encoder if you plan to encode.
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So Jim was absolutely wrong about needing to install the codec to play the file? That's good. He should be happy about that.

I like X264, and if it shares as easily as this, I'll be using it. Not for everything; but for clients who are used to H264 previews, this might give them a pleasant surprise.
 
The amazing thing for me is how quickly this was shot, edited, finished and then presented. Everything here - from workflow to acting, cinematography, sound, music - it was all great! And yes, please give us a 2K version! :yesnod:
 
Jannard said:
If some one doesn't figure this stuff out.. we will.

Jim
Click to expand...

I sincerely hope you do.With the quality and quantity of video content playing from the web and the integration of Internet and TV, a new codec is definitely in order, one that can do justice to the final product and a reasonable file size. And is also easily accessible in most players PC and Mac.
 
Jarred Land said:
Ok.. i have a question for you guys. For a 2K downloadable version of this at badass quality..... be it X264 or PRORES or DNXhd... what is the maximum file size you guys would put up with to download? 1GB? 2GB? 4GB?

p.s... just looked at handbrake. Looks good but incredibly restrictive as already mentioned... any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Size? Whatever it takes. I expect that most of us have pretty robust internet connections.

Have you tried Episode? Here's a link. It can encode 4K—at least in h.264 to am mp4 package. (I haven't tested anything else.) Not cheap, but it's an excellent encoder.
 
I like X264, and if it shares as easily as this, I'll be using it. Not for everything; but for clients who are used to H264 previews, this might give them a pleasant surprise.
Click to expand...

x264 is an open source encoder that is available on many platforms. It can output H264 as an elementary stream or wrapped inside of an MP4 container. Anything that can playback H264, in an MP4 container, can play it, which includes current versions of Windows and OS X. Jim also provided a link to VLC, which is a cross-platform media player.
 
Jarred Land said:
Ok.. i have a question for you guys. For a 2K downloadable version of this at badass quality..... be it X264 or PRORES or DNXhd... what is the maximum file size you guys would put up with to download? 1GB? 2GB? 4GB?

p.s... just looked at handbrake. Looks good but incredibly restrictive as already mentioned... any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

http://www.webmproject.org
 
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