Handbrake and MeGUI rendering DNXHD question

SuperSet wrote on 1/8/2012, 8:06 PM
Hey guys, I've been rendering to DNxHD and Handbraking per the tutorial for months without problems. Howevver, after recently upgrading to Vegas 11, I noticed that my Handbrake won't open any of my MOV files anymore without hanging up and saying 'No Title Found'. I was able to load smaller MOV files into Handbrake and have them working fine but the larger ones seem to hang up and throw that error.
So, I've abandoned Handbrake and started using MeGUI. It works just fine with the same large MOV files that Handbrake has a problem with. What I'd like to know is am I missing out on something by not using Handbrake?

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 1/8/2012, 8:21 PM
Handbrake and MeGUI both use x264 so you are not missing out on anything except the convenience of its presets. MeGUI accesses certain x264 parameters that Handbrake does not, so if you need them that is the way to go.

The nightly builds of Handbrake have better support for DNxHD than the 0.9.5 stable, including 10-bit input support. You may want to give one of the nightlies a try, and a new stable release will be coming within days to weeks.

I haven't heard of anything specifically about Vegas 11 that would cause the MOV renders to stop working, but there have been spot issues reported with the latest Quicktime versions.
SuperSet wrote on 1/8/2012, 9:56 PM
Musicvid - appreciate your spot-on post as I found the nightly build link, installed the 64-bit version and it fixed the problem!
musicvid10 wrote on 1/8/2012, 10:08 PM
Cool!
SuperSet wrote on 1/8/2012, 11:29 PM
BTW - have any instructions changed since you guys first published the Better Method? I noticed that the YT video still says to use RF: 19. Do you still recommend this number for both 720P and 1080P?
musicvid10 wrote on 1/9/2012, 10:21 AM
There are some changes, none of them earth-shattering enough to re-issue the tutorial just yet.

RF19 is really overkill for YT upload -- it was suggested to satisfy the pixel freaks out there. Personally, I almost always use RF 20 to save a bit of space and time.
SuperSet wrote on 1/18/2012, 8:58 PM
Has anyone noticed the color differences once you render the MP4 from Handbrake? When I look at the DNXHD MOV file, it looks less contrasty (closer to what I saw in Vegas) vs the Handbrake MP4. Is there a way to fix this?
musicvid10 wrote on 1/18/2012, 9:35 PM
"When I look at the DNXHD MOV file, it looks less contrasty (closer to what I saw in Vegas) vs the Handbrake MP4. Is there a way to fix this? "

No.
Most players map the levels to RGB. That's why we apply the filter preemptively.
Are you sure to set "709" levels in the render to Handbrake?
We want the levels to look flat in the DNxHD intermediate (and the Vegas preview) so they look right on playback from the x264 encoding. Difficult to understand, I know.



SuperSet wrote on 1/18/2012, 9:58 PM
Ok, I looked at the DNXHD configure settings again and they are set to 709. When I added that Computer RGB -> Studio RGB Sony levels plugin and then Handbraked, the video didn't remove enough of the 'less contrast' added by the plugin to compensate.
I experimented some more and it looks like if I set the DNXHD intermediate to RGB and don't have the Sony levels plugin, the Handbrake version is closer to the MOV. I can live with this. Is there any downside to this?
musicvid10 wrote on 1/18/2012, 10:04 PM
I'm confused.
The Vegas preview and DNxHD intermediate should be the same (but too flat).
The playback of the Handbrake file (in anything but Vegas) should show more contrast, and still be full range.

Is this not what you are getting? There are occasional differences with some video drivers. My dual range grayscale tuned esp. for Vegas is here if you want to run your own precision tests.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20519276/dualgray1.png



SuperSet wrote on 1/18/2012, 10:20 PM
Maybe a picture will make sense:

DNXHD render to 709:

MOV File:
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/dudeimaginethis/709Mov.jpg

MP4 File:
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/dudeimaginethis/709MP4-1.jpg


DNXHD render to RGB:

MOV File:
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/dudeimaginethis/RGBMov.jpg

MP4 File:
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/dudeimaginethis/RGBMP4.jpg

Sorry, I don't know how to link pictures on this forum.
musicvid10 wrote on 1/18/2012, 10:46 PM
You are playing back in Quicktime? Sorry, that's something I never do, so can't help you there.

Your Vegas preview and DNxHD intermediate should look like this (too flat)



So that your playback (VLC, Youtube, etc.) looks like this



Setting RGB levels in the DNxHD render actually accomplishes the same thing, but has a couple of minor drawbacks.

Perhaps it's the Quicktime player, or you're not applying the levels filter in Vegas, or are not set up in an 8-bit project, or CUDA rendering in Vegas 11 is changing the levels back? All are possible reasons.

Laurence wrote on 1/19/2012, 8:37 AM
Use VLC instead of Quicktme. QuickTime is ok on a Mac but terrible on a Windows machine. VLC is way better.