CODEC info for Vegas 4

eddydde wrote on 6/10/2003, 11:15 PM

I am currently using the Main Concept Motion JPEG codec (#500759) to allow me to edit in Vegas 4, AVI files created by Pinnacle Ver 7.

Is this the only or best codec to use - before I purchase it? (USD$19).

(Without this codec, which was suggested to me, Vegas 4 will not read AVI files created in Pinnacle)

Comments

RBartlett wrote on 6/11/2003, 1:45 AM

You may find that the Matrox DigiSuite codec bundle (from Matrox directly/ftp, or through some dealers support sites) will work. DigiSuite codec tools, version 7 - I think. You get MJPEG support upto lossless (albeit that realtime scrubbing might need faster IO than your drive/drive-array can muster).

Faster and possibly cheaper than MainConcept, is the PICvideo (www.jpg.com) codec. You can buy this for personal use very cheaply. An older version is supplied with ShowShifter.com's product which is usable system wide, incidentally.

Morgan multimedia have a well regarded codec too, faster again than MainConcepts MJPEG offering in all the tests I've seen. Don't use it myself, but I have installed the demo and found it to be fine. I prefer the codec settings interface of PICvideo, without all the taskbar clutter of Morgan's.

MainConcept isn't a bad buy. PICvideo and Morgan are designed to be realtime for acquisition devices (and thereby output too). Matrox DigiSuite tools (you don't need the DigiSuite card/s as I am referring to the codec pack for standalone support of MJPEG AVI) is good and free [not sure if you can use this for realtime acq from a WDM/VfW capture card].

RBartlett wrote on 6/11/2003, 4:56 AM

http://www.matrox.com/video/support/ds/software/codec/home.cfm is the free codec for MJPEG from Matrox. You have to supply your current details, but you don't need a DigiSuite - indeed it is to support the DigiSuite format elsewhere and allow the format to return from out-of-house work without calling on third party _cost_ tools.

I understand that Matrox codecs have a tendency to change the priority of other codecs in the system. Sometimes this results in NLEs changing in the way they operate or breaking. I think this is in regard to the filter graph, and more so for RT2000/2500 and RTX series of cards and support/standalone software, not the DigiSuite particularly. Caveat emptor, but DigiSuite codec hasn't been a problem for me and is free (I own a Pegasus Imaging PICvideo license through my purchase of ShowShifter2).

mikkie wrote on 6/11/2003, 7:26 AM

BACKUP before trying the Matrox codecs! Please!

The Matrox codecs work, but it's a complete all or nothing proposition that as Rob wrote can change things around on your system. If they don't work, use the uninstall from the new folder on your root drive - not through control panel. And you may (probably will) have to restore your registry.

The Matrox codecs are a bit older, & do provide some VFW support which can be cool. Some older Matrox code has been more modified then re-engineered for the latest windows technologies, so otherwise your mileage will vary depending on what else you've got installed.

FWIW, with xp pro anyway, there really isn't the priority for video codecs that windows provides for audio... It more like a bunch of DX filters that are always there, and can be a matter of luck which one grabs hold of whatever video file. The Matrox codecs (as well as some Ligos stuff) insert themselves in the registry for xp pro in ways that are near impossible to root out or restore without a registry backup. They may work fine, they may break your editing software, they may break the way winXP Pro handles most video files, and they can effect capture. On earlier versions of windows I haven't seen the same potential for prob., have played around with them [Matrox codecs] at length in the past and they can work extremely well.