I used the default which shows uncompressed.
JJK

It depends on what you want to do with the Quicktime.

If you are transferring the file to another computer or NLE, then you want uncompressed. If not, choose one of the templates that match your needs, the files sizes will be MUCH smaller.

What is the file for?

kairosmatt

Couldn't he also use the PNG codec inside the MOV container to get a much smaller lossless transfer file?

I am transferring it to another computer and NLE.
JJK

I've never used the PNG codec. But I have used the Motion JPEG to get good results. In SD, 15 mintues is just under 4 gigs.

If you're just sending the file so they can upload it onto their server, or so the can get it ready to broadcast on their channel (and they use FCP) I've gotten good results with this. Uncompressed would be best of course, especially if they are going to do anything else to the content before broadcast or upload (like color, titles, etc).

kairosmatt

Vegas has always rendered .mov files poorly and Quicktime seems to be something few on this forum know much about as a result. No reflection on the forum members, but more a reflection of Vegas and the lack of interest in Quicktime renders.

Sorenson is expensive, but Super @ is free. You can load a file into it and create quality renders with lots of parameters to choose from. Try a .mov container using the Mpeg-4 codec and AAC audio from an AVI file out of Vegas for starters. Use Direct Show and ffmpeg.

John

I suggested the PNG codec because it's loss-less. It won't be as small as MJPEG, but at least the transfer will be 1:1.

Maybe my info is outdated, but DSE mentioned using the PNG codec (in a Quicktime MOV container) for transfer renders on p.437 of "Vegas 6 Editing Workshop".

QUOTE: "A few users of Vegas have found great success using the PNG codec as an output option that both Vegas and most third-party application can read."

Reasons listed for this success include loss-less compression + smaller file sizes & short render times compared to uncompressed.

Infinite5ths, how do you specify the PNG codec when rendering as MOV in Vegas?

Jerry

Hi Jerry!

1) Render As...
2) Choose Quicktime 6 (*.mov) from the "Save as type:" menu
3) Click the "Custom..." button
4) Click the "Video" tab
5) On the "Video format:" drop-down menu choose "PNG"

Be sure to adjust the following settings on the Video tab (in addition to setting the Video format to PNG):

Field Order = None (progressive)

Pixel Aspect Ratio = 1.000 if rendering for PC/Photoshop; or use correct PAR for your output type

Click "Configure..." button (next to "Video format:" drop-down), UN-check
"Interlaced" and set Filter to "Best"

Quality slider = 100% [This apparently sets the video quality BEFORE encoding. Because PNG is a loss-less format, there is not a "Quality" parameter in the same sense as there is with a JPEG compression codec. But this "Quality" slider should still be set to "100%" to provide the PNG codec with the best input image to compress.]

Make sure that your project settings for "Field order:" & "Deinterlace method:" are set appropriately. For PNG renders I always want a progressive frame output, so I either deinterlace using the project settings or by placing a copy of Mike Crash's "Smart Deinterlace" plugin on the relevant video events.

Next question: Does a typical MAC computer recognize all these different codecs in the MOV Quicktime 7 file?
JJK

I can't tell you for sure because I don't have a Mac. But PNG is an open format (no royalties) that has become pretty universal in the browser world. So I would hope that Macs can read them.

At least on my PC, Quicktime has PNG listed in the File Types options. So I assume that Quicktime has a way to install the needed codec -- for decompression anyway.

The animation codec is also good to use in QT.

I generally use QT Pro to encode rather than Vegas.

Dave T2

How does Quicktime Pro compare to eRightSoft Super? Are they comparable tools?

Does a typical MAC computer recognize all these different codecs in the MOV Quicktime 7 file?
--------

I think it depends on the MAC. The people I sent files to actually had to download the Motion JPEG codec (I thought that would be standard with FCP-but who knows whats going on down there). That didn't work for them and FCP kept re-rendering to DV so now I'm just sending them DV quicktimes.
Two questions:

1. Is the PNG codec freely and easily available even if they don't have it?

2. Is it better to render an AVI out of Vegas first and then use Quicktime Pro to encode?

kairosmatt

You are right about the Motion JPEG codec. I had to specifically install that codec on both of my PCs when I started importing videos from my Canon digital snapshot camera.

I've never actually installed a separate PNG codec. Perhaps it came with one of my PNG-capable software packages (FireFox, GIMP, Quicktime, Vegas, etc.); but I never had to 'add' it to my system like the MJPEG codec.

If there are some folks out there with Macs & other non-media-production PCs, it would be interesting to render some PNG-codec MOVs and see what happens on those machines.

I've not tried the AVI render > QT Pro encode because I don't have QT Pro. I do have Super (by eRightSoft), so I could try encoding from an AVI with that when I get a minute.

I've not tried the AVI render > QT Pro encode because I don't have QT Pro. I do have Super (by eRightSoft), so I could try encoding from an AVI with that when I get a minute.
====================
For the video try the AVC1 codec with a display resolution of 360 x 200, Frame rate 23.976 between 500-700 kbps bitrate.
For the audio try mp4a at a sample rate of 32000Hz, 16 bit, 1024 kbps

ffmpeg and Direct Show enabled

Container: mov

John

My question about QT Pro was not about what codec/container to use, but about quality & render times. I have Vegas 6 & Super, and I just wondered if QT Pro has any features/capabilities/quality advantages over rendering straight to MOV from Vegas, or using Super.

In general I want to avoid the mp4/mp4a/H.264/AVC/MPEG codecs because I don't want ever to have to deal with MPEG LA and patent royalties for video distribution.

Is the AVC codec lossless? That's my whole reason for suggesting the PNG codec for transfers.

You can do it with Super. I have never used QT Pro. I use Sorenson Squeeze, but it is expensive. Here is an example of a video eoncoded roughly with the settings I mentioned above.

John