I'm very jealous of your MacBook Pro
now just add 8GB's of RAM and you'll smile every time you open it! Haha. But I agree as well about the mirroring work flow.
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Video Codecs Demystified - An Infographic
- Thread starter northernmunky
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I'm very jealous of your MacBook Pro
now just add 8GB's of RAM and you'll smile every time you open it! Haha. But I agree as well about the mirroring work flow.
I've looked at it multiple times and I found it confusing and/or lacking in some spots. It's somewhere between too much info for the inexperienced and not info for the more knowledgeable and the layout feels like a jumbled cross between an infographic and a flow chart. The first page seems like it could be made into an infographic but page 2 and page 3 I think would work better as flow charts. Infographics are great for displaying a basic amount of specific info but if you want an instructional document (if you get X then do Y) I don't think that's the best use of an info graphic.
Obviously I come into this w/o any knowledge of your workflows but here are some specific notes:
Under "Codec -> Compress / Decompressor" I think "Codec = Compress + Decompressor" would be a more clear representation of the term codec being a combination of compressor and decompressor. To me when I see an arrow I think of it as a transitional device like it is taking me from point A to point B.
"Uncompressed, or Long-GOP frame compressed formats suitable for editing."
None of the codecs listed are uncompressed and MXF is a container, not a codec.
"DV codecs are Intraframe, whereas HD codecs are MPEG-2, and are Long- GOP compressed."
DV is a specific codec and should not be used as general term. HD codecs are not always MPEG-2/LGOP and SD codecs are not always intraframe.
"This means a well powered computer can edit well without slowing down."
What does "means a well powered computer can edit well" mean? Intraframe codecs are inherently easier to edit with than interframe codecs. Are you trying to say that MPEG-2 based codecs are less CPU intensive than H.264 based ones?
Under "editing formats" you only show XDCAM, which is SD, and don't include XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX or XDCAM HD422. Later in the PDF you show XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX but not XDCAM. This inconsistency is confusing. I think you should either represent the whole XDCAM 'family' of codecs by just saying XDCAM Family or you need to always list them out. There is also no mention of AVC-Intra (intraframe H.264 based codec).
Under "Cross Continent Television Formats"
I don't understand why you listed SD and HD frame sizes but only SD frame rates.
On page 2 Avid DNxHD isn't listed (although it is on page one) and you seem to have omitted 50p and 60p as frame rate possibilities. Since this section is titled "Editing Format Conversion Guide" it might be a good place to bring up full raster vs thin raster codecs since mishandling of the pixel aspect ratio can lead to distorted footage.
About AIC "Designed for HDV timelines. Requires timeline rendering in XDCAM."
AIC was designed to be a codec you could transcode HDV into but you would then work with it in an AIC timeline, not an HDV timeline. Does your workflow revolve around XDCAM? Is that why you mention that AIC requires rendering in an XDCAM timeline?
About ProRes "Advantage: Does not require rendering." ProRes will require rendering if you put it in an XDCAM timeline.
"Ensure editing timebase is still XDCAM HD422."
You mean timeline not timebase?
"Compressed Format Conversion Guide"
The conversion workflow just looks like a mess to me. For example, you are can end up with one of 4 different codecs (XDCAM, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD422 or ProRes LT) and three of those four codecs are render nightmares if you mix them. Also, you are giving people the thumbs up to possibly take heavily compressed 720p Windows Media and cross convert it into 1080p? Yet for the "other frame size" category you tell them to never change the frame size. I think the default should be never change the frame size of the source media unless you have a good reason to.
Having DVD and Blu-ray at the bottom was confusing to me since the page reads top down and the rest of the compressed source codecs are at the top. I initially read the page as "Take compressed footage, transcode it following these rules, then burn it to DVD or Blu-ray". I think DVD and Blu-ray should be at the top of the page w/the rest of the source media.
Lethal
Obviously I come into this w/o any knowledge of your workflows but here are some specific notes:
Under "Codec -> Compress / Decompressor" I think "Codec = Compress + Decompressor" would be a more clear representation of the term codec being a combination of compressor and decompressor. To me when I see an arrow I think of it as a transitional device like it is taking me from point A to point B.
"Uncompressed, or Long-GOP frame compressed formats suitable for editing."
None of the codecs listed are uncompressed and MXF is a container, not a codec.
"DV codecs are Intraframe, whereas HD codecs are MPEG-2, and are Long- GOP compressed."
DV is a specific codec and should not be used as general term. HD codecs are not always MPEG-2/LGOP and SD codecs are not always intraframe.
"This means a well powered computer can edit well without slowing down."
What does "means a well powered computer can edit well" mean? Intraframe codecs are inherently easier to edit with than interframe codecs. Are you trying to say that MPEG-2 based codecs are less CPU intensive than H.264 based ones?
Under "editing formats" you only show XDCAM, which is SD, and don't include XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX or XDCAM HD422. Later in the PDF you show XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX but not XDCAM. This inconsistency is confusing. I think you should either represent the whole XDCAM 'family' of codecs by just saying XDCAM Family or you need to always list them out. There is also no mention of AVC-Intra (intraframe H.264 based codec).
Under "Cross Continent Television Formats"
I don't understand why you listed SD and HD frame sizes but only SD frame rates.
On page 2 Avid DNxHD isn't listed (although it is on page one) and you seem to have omitted 50p and 60p as frame rate possibilities. Since this section is titled "Editing Format Conversion Guide" it might be a good place to bring up full raster vs thin raster codecs since mishandling of the pixel aspect ratio can lead to distorted footage.
About AIC "Designed for HDV timelines. Requires timeline rendering in XDCAM."
AIC was designed to be a codec you could transcode HDV into but you would then work with it in an AIC timeline, not an HDV timeline. Does your workflow revolve around XDCAM? Is that why you mention that AIC requires rendering in an XDCAM timeline?
About ProRes "Advantage: Does not require rendering." ProRes will require rendering if you put it in an XDCAM timeline.
"Ensure editing timebase is still XDCAM HD422."
You mean timeline not timebase?
"Compressed Format Conversion Guide"
The conversion workflow just looks like a mess to me. For example, you are can end up with one of 4 different codecs (XDCAM, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD422 or ProRes LT) and three of those four codecs are render nightmares if you mix them. Also, you are giving people the thumbs up to possibly take heavily compressed 720p Windows Media and cross convert it into 1080p? Yet for the "other frame size" category you tell them to never change the frame size. I think the default should be never change the frame size of the source media unless you have a good reason to.
Having DVD and Blu-ray at the bottom was confusing to me since the page reads top down and the rest of the compressed source codecs are at the top. I initially read the page as "Take compressed footage, transcode it following these rules, then burn it to DVD or Blu-ray". I think DVD and Blu-ray should be at the top of the page w/the rest of the source media.
Lethal
Not to people who don't know. Thats the point of the poster.
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True, but I deliberately left that out. Plus I've always had trouble doing conversions on VC-1