Is using Apple AIC these days too old school?

[nateo200]

I have clips of some DSLR video I shot. I opened them in MPEG stream and exported them as Apple AIC in a MOV container. The clips were 1280x720 and 1920x1080 and ultimately the quality I could care less about...AIC 1080p seams to be 1440x1080p @ 16:9 (using non square pixels)...I stated I did NOT care about quality but will this hamper the quality? MPEG stream clip transcoded FAST and when I imported the clumped together clips in the giant MOV container in AIC format FCP X seams to accept it MUCH faster than if I transcoded in FCP X using ProRes, Uncompressed 8bit, etc. When I went to click transcode media it only gave me the option of using proxy media not optimized...does this mean I really don't have to transcode, and that FCP X only needs to make the thumbnails for the timeline? Thanks in advance.

tldr; Is Apple Intermediate Codec a decent choice over ProRes when editing with FCP X if AIC is faster to transcode than others?

 

[Kevin Monahan]

I have clips of some DSLR video I shot. I opened them in MPEG stream and exported them as Apple AIC in a MOV container. The clips were 1280x720 and 1920x1080 and ultimately the quality I could care less about...AIC 1080p seams to be 1440x1080p @ 16:9 (using non square pixels)...I stated I did NOT care about quality but will this hamper the quality? MPEG stream clip transcoded FAST and when I imported the clumped together clips in the giant MOV container in AIC format FCP X seams to accept it MUCH faster than if I transcoded in FCP X using ProRes, Uncompressed 8bit, etc. When I went to click transcode media it only gave me the option of using proxy media not optimized...does this mean I really don't have to transcode, and that FCP X only needs to make the thumbnails for the timeline? Thanks in advance.

tldr; Is Apple Intermediate Codec a decent choice over ProRes when editing with FCP X if AIC is faster to transcode than others?

The Apple Intermediate Codec (Apple Engineers don't call it "AIC" by the way) was developed for iMovie HD, which came out prior to ProRes. ProRes 422 is a higher bandwidth/higher quality codec. If it's higher quality you want, go for ProRes. However, if quality does not matter and the workflow is faster with the Apple Intermediate Codec, go for that.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

(Apple Engineers don't call it "AIC" by the way)

What do they call it then? Don't they abbreviate it?

 

[nateo200]

The Apple Intermediate Codec (Apple Engineers don't call it "AIC" by the way) was developed for iMovie HD, which came out prior to ProRes. ProRes 422 is a higher bandwidth/higher quality codec. If it's higher quality you want, go for ProRes. However, if quality does not matter and the workflow is faster with the Apple Intermediate Codec, go for that.

Yeah I don't call it "AIC" I just have a tendency to spell it out once and the abbreviate after for the sake of time. It seams its similar to HDV codec with the 1440x1080 at 16:9. Do you have any suggestions on how to transcode media to ProRes either in FCP X or with another program faster if I need to work on a project where the intermediate codec needs to preserve quality?

 

[nateo200]

So I've been using AIC and I like it! I don't notice any serious quality deficits...I will no doubt being using ProRes 422 HQ (or 4444 for overkill!) when I compile all my short film stuff but for little videos AIC seams good. If my DSLR H.264 files are at 45mbps and MPEG stream clip encodes them lossless to 56mbps is there still any chance of quality loss that is significant over ProRes? Also MPEG stream clip does not give me the option for ProRes like I've seen in some tutorials.

tldr; If Apple Intermediate Codec is encoding at a higher bit rate than my raw H.264 files will I loose any significant quality over ProRess 422? Also why won't ProRes show up as an option in MPEG stream clips?

 

[cgbier]

If you have ProRes installed on your Mac, it show up in MPEG Streamclip. AFAIK is AIC not 56 mbps, but around 100.

I have yet to really see any difference between AIC and ProRes (shooting HDV though).

 

[Kevin Monahan]

What do they call it then? Don't they abbreviate it?

They called it the Apple Intermediate Codec and didn't abbreviate it when I worked there. I think you can call it whatever you wish; as long as you are understood. ;-)