Got FCP, Prem Pro, Avid? Please check this for me!

NickHope wrote on 4/23/2008, 1:25 PM

I'm encoding H.264 mp4 videos with the x264 codec for delivering stock footage previews in Flash.

I would like my customers to be able to download the preview and, if they wish, use it in rough cuts in their NLE.

The files I am creating are crashing my Vegas Pro 8.0b (I think because it doesn't support b-frames) but they open in WMP, VLC, Quicktime, TMPGenc Xpress etc..

If anyone has access to FCP, Premiere Pro, Avid or any other NLE that stock footage customers might use, could they possibly download this 454KB file and let me know if it opens and plays (right click > Save Target As... to stop it opening the Quicktime browser plugin).

If it turns out only Vegas has a problem with it then I will probably just go with this format.

I would also be interested to know what this file does in other users' Vegas installations.

Comments

Steven Myers wrote on 4/23/2008, 1:48 PM

Works in FCP 5

NickHope wrote on 4/23/2008, 2:11 PM

thanks tididit

blink3times wrote on 4/23/2008, 2:43 PM

I get error 404 with your link.... no download.

mark-woollard wrote on 4/23/2008, 7:23 PM

PP CS3 (latest v. 3.2.0) on my PC won't open it. It says, "unsupported format or damaged file".

mark-woollard wrote on 4/23/2008, 7:35 PM

You didn't ask, but I thought I'd share that NewTek's SpeedEDIT 1.5 opens and plays the clip.

Premier Elements 4.0 imports it but it's just a black clip.

blink3times wrote on 4/23/2008, 8:53 PM

Interesting.

It won't download with my Firefox... I had to use IE

It plays though fine on my Vegas8b, Avid Liquid 7, Pinnacle Studio11 but fails on Vegas 7d

video777 wrote on 4/23/2008, 10:15 PM

I was able to open it with QuickTime (latest version), WMP Classic and Studio 11.

I could not open it with the current WMP. I was unable to import into Liquid 7.2x. It crashed Vegas 8.0b.

Bottom Line: I don't think the problem is with Vegas.

NickHope wrote on 4/23/2008, 10:48 PM

Thanks all very much for trying this.

blink I think the 404 errors are something to do with a browser plugin trying to handle mp4. Probably Quicktime or Quicktime Alternative. On one of my computers I can't download it with a left click in IE7 which has Quicktime installed. I've changed the link to a different server now which might be more reliable. Downloading from a right click should help.

Pathlight, thanks for the Premiere feedback.

blink I'm very surprised it will open in your Vegas 8b. It crashes 8b on all 3 of my computers (2 of them XP 32-bit, 1 x XP x64). I wonder what the difference is. Vegas 8b is weird. Maybe you have a different codec handling mp4 than we do???

video777, WMP doesn't open mp4 out of the box at all I don't think. Interesting how your Liquid won't open it but blink's will.

I think I might have to either disable downloads and just show it in Flash, or else dumb down the features of the x264 file until it plays in just about everything. But then compression efficiency won't be as efficient so the bitrate will have to be higher.

thanks again

Jeff_Smith wrote on 4/23/2008, 11:11 PM

Adobe PP CS3 3.1.0 and AE 8.0.1.8 will not open it, unsupported file format. Crashes my Vegas 8a, an error occurred in this opertation. Plays in QT

NickHope wrote on 4/23/2008, 11:14 PM

Thanks Jeff!

By the way if anyone is interested the file was encoded in x264 using MeGUI with the DXVA-SD-HQ profile but without b-pyramid (which Quicktime doesn't like), with the VBV settings for the PD-PS3-Xbox360 profile and with the lowest common number of b and ref frames from those 2 profiles. This gave the following x264 command line options:

1st pass

--pass 1 --bitrate 400 --level 3.1 --bframes 3 --direct auto --filter -2,-1 --subme 1 --partitions none --vbv-bufsize 9000 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --qcomp 0.5 --me dia --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output NUL

2nd pass

--pass 2 --bitrate 400 --level 3.1 --ref 3 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-rdo --bime --weightb --direct auto --filter -2,-1 --subme 6 --trellis 1 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --vbv-bufsize 9000 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --qcomp 0.5 --me umh --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output

NickHope wrote on 4/25/2008, 11:51 PM

I'm really wondering how blink3times is playing this file fine in Vegas Pro 8.0b. It crashes my 3 computers and I've had one other report of it crashing 8.0a. What decoder does it report in Explorer properties? mcmp4plug.dll or qt7plug.dll or something else?

Would greatly appreciate anyone else trying this file in Vegas 8 to see if it crashes or plays.

Darth A Booey wrote on 4/26/2008, 12:48 AM

Just tried it in 8.0b. The moment I clicked on the file in the Explorer window, a box popped up with "An error occurred during the current operation. An Exception has occurred." Once I clicked "OK," Vegas closed.