Another 'Vegas won't read my file" thread

3d87c4 wrote on 7/11/2021, 7:04 PM

Used my GoPro 3+ Black in timelapse mode to capture a bunch of 4000x3000 images.

Used the following FFMPEG input to combine them into an mp4 file:

ffmpeg -r 30 -f image2 -s 4000x3000 -start_number 5808 -i G003%04d.JPG -vcodec libx264 -crf 25 -pix_fmt yuv420p testD.mp4

(I couldn't get that to work in a batch file but it works as a command line input. Clues on that issue are welcome, but off topic.)

Vegas 18 527 can't read it. (I'll share mediainfo files below.)

Handbrake transcoded it fine, but not at 4000x3000.

I ran it through the Happy Otter import tool and got a warning that Vegas couldn't read it either!

Any suggestions on how to alter my FFMPEG script for Vegas compatibility, or how to get Vegas to read the files as is?

Final, off topic, question: was the forum offline today? I couldn't get to it for an hour or two...

Mediainfo report for the FFMPEG generated file:

General
Complete name : D:\Video\Garage timelapse\071121\testD.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 27.7 MiB
Duration : 16 s 867 ms
Overall bit rate : 13.8 Mb/s
Writing application : Lavf58.45.100

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L6
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 16 s 867 ms
Bit rate : 13.8 Mb/s
Width : 4 000 pixels
Height : 3 000 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.038
Stream size : 27.7 MiB (100%)
Writing library : x264 core 161
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=18 / lookahead_threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=25.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Codec configuration box : avcC

Mediainfo report for the Handbrake version:

General
Complete name : D:\Video\Garage timelapse\071121\Testd-4.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 4.63 MiB
Duration : 16 s 867 ms
Overall bit rate : 2 301 kb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2021-07-11 20:23:16
Tagged date : UTC 2021-07-11 20:23:16
Writing application : HandBrake 1.3.1 2020010400

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L4
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 16 s 867 ms
Bit rate : 2 297 kb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.037
Stream size : 4.62 MiB (100%)
Writing library : x264 core 157 r2935 545de2f
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=2 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=6 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=18 / lookahead_threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=1 / keyint=300 / keyint_min=30 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=30 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=22.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=20000 / vbv_bufsize=25000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date : UTC 2021-07-11 20:23:16
Tagged date : UTC 2021-07-11 20:23:16
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Codec configuration box : avcC

Mediainfo report for the file created by Happy Otter:

General
Complete name : D:\Video\Garage timelapse\071121\import experiment\testA-Rewrapped.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 57.0 MiB
Duration : 33 s 34 ms
Overall bit rate : 14.5 Mb/s
Writing application : Lavf58.45.100

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L6
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 33 s 34 ms
Bit rate : 14.5 Mb/s
Width : 4 000 pixels
Height : 3 000 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.040
Stream size : 57.0 MiB (100%)
Writing library : x264 core 161
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=18 / lookahead_threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=23.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Color range : Full
Codec configuration box : avcC

Comments

vkmast wrote on 7/11/2021, 7:28 PM

Re OT Q: The forum was unavailable for several hours.

3d87c4 wrote on 7/12/2021, 3:57 PM

Bump:

Any ideas?

Marco. wrote on 7/12/2021, 4:20 PM

Test it with a modified version of the FFmpeg script you mentioned in your initial post, change the frame size value from 4000x3000 to 1920x1080.

3d87c4 wrote on 7/12/2021, 10:19 PM

Good point...I was wondering about that too. I'll give it a try, thanks.

john_dennis wrote on 7/12/2021, 11:54 PM

@3d87c4

I was wondering why you feel the need to convert the jpgs to a video rather than open them as an image sequence in Vegas.

3d87c4 wrote on 7/13/2021, 1:34 AM

John,

There are about 4000 of them & right or wrong, it seemed easier to let FFMPEG deal with them than trying to drop them into Vegas directly.

I tinkered with the Happy Otter image import utility yesterday, but the result still couldn't be used in Vegas.

RogerS wrote on 7/13/2021, 1:55 AM

Clicking on the first one and then checking "open as image sequence" makes it look like a video in Vegas. Quite easy.

Steve_Rhoden wrote on 7/13/2021, 2:02 AM

You are not literally gonna drop them each in Vegas. John has recommended to you an excellent solution that you are probably not aware of.

When importing image sequences into Vegas, you simply let the cursor hover over the first image in the sequence, then at the bottom of the dialogue box you tick "Stills: Open Sequence", there you can even select which image you want the sequence to end on or let it do it automatically. Then just hit open, it will then import as a single solid video file within Vegas.

john_dennis wrote on 7/13/2021, 2:07 AM

4000 stills only amounts to 133 seconds of video at 30 FPS. I shot a still every seven seconds on two cameras for six months. I would render to video once a week because disk space used to be more precious. No big deal.

3d87c4 wrote on 7/13/2021, 12:55 PM

Thank you John, Roger, and Steve, I didn't know about the Stills:Open Sequence option.

I followed up on Marco's suggestion this morning. If the FFMPEG script scales the video to 1440x1080 or 2880x2160 then Vegas will allow me to load the video. I assume Vegas is simply rejecting clips it can't render anyway. I'm not sure this should be the case in this era of 8K videos---maybe there's a trap in the code that needs to be updated?

I had to move the scaling parameter in the FFMPEG input to after the input file, otherwise it was ignored.

ffmpeg -r 30 -f image2 -start_number 2816 -i G001%04d.JPG -s 2880x2160 -vcodec libx264 -crf 25 -pix_fmt yuv420p testF.mp4

3d87c4 wrote on 7/13/2021, 1:05 PM

Oh, my other motivation to using the FFMPEG script was that I could process the image files directly from the camera's SD card.

Done in Vegas the project file would be left with a bunch of missing files when the SD card was put back in the camera. Not really a problem if I delete the project file too, though...

Going forward, I think I'll set up my GoPro to take 2K images instead of 4K.

I'll try the Stills:Open Sequence approach, but may stick with FFMPEG because I can reuse the input files.

I wish I could get the FFMPEG commands to work in a batch file, though. If anyone can help me with that, please let me know.

JN- wrote on 7/13/2021, 1:41 PM

@3d87c4 Either replace the % char with a char that doesn’t cause issues or escape it by using two of them … https://www.robvanderwoude.com/escapechars.php

Typically start with …

@echo off

cls

REM Enter your batch file code after these 3 remarks but before the pause command.

REM The pause allows you see any error messages that might appear before the batch file exits.

:: Remove the pause command when everything is working ok. Anything after REM or :: is just a remark.

pause

Ok, “Either replace the % char with a char that doesn’t cause issues” That cannot be done as its part of the ffmpeg syntax, so just use %% instead of %. See here.

3d87c4 wrote on 7/13/2021, 2:26 PM

Thanks JN. I'd forgotten about the @echo off statement, but was aware of the need for two %'s.

The problem I've been having is that when I add a full file path, in quotes, for the input and output files the image sequencing appears to be miss-processed and I get a file not found error. That said, the following batch file seemed to work fine, so now I'm not sure why I couldn't get it to work two days ago.

@echo off

ffmpeg -r 30 -f image2 -start_number 2816 -i "E:\test files\G001%%04d.JPG" -s 2880x2160 -vcodec libx264 -crf 25 -pix_fmt yuv420p "D:\Video\Garage timelapse\test files\testH.mp4"

pause

I was a tech support engineer years ago and found most customers would solve their own problem if you let them talk long enough---maybe that's me today. ;)

JN- wrote on 7/13/2021, 4:25 PM

@3d87c4 Excellent.