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Codecs and video file formats

Video / Image editing, advanced techniques, computer settings, third party software, shortcuts, workarounds ... share your tips and tricks here.

My trick for .mov at 60mps

Postby Francesco Carzedda » Sun Jan 19, 2014 3:03 pm

Kent: as for something more space-conserving for archival purposes, how do you feel about h.264 in a .MP4 container?

Steve: Does anybody else have an any ideas?


I use FormatFactory to convert .mov files from Canon 600d at 60fps to .mp4 (60fps) with AVC(H264) codec (the lighter output).
Files are good enough for editing and further I compress the final output in .avi with AVC(H264) codec for the upload.
I save about 65% of space.
Normally I disable the audio too (no audio track in output).
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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby JmOMP » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:23 am

Hope this is not a duplicate post -- while editing it I hit some combination of keys that made it disappear;-) Thank goodness I had copied it to the clipboard earlier. So sorry if this is a duplicate.

Thank you Steve and Cheryl I don't have any of the files yet. They put them on their servers and you can let others access them, too. I will be downloading from there. They will, for extra cost, write the files to hard drive or flash drive or create DVD's. So far I have only sent in the 8mm and super8 films.

G Spot and Media Info sounds great and I will download it soon. I have been creating DVD's from the VHS's with a Panasonic DMR-EZ475V DVD recorder we have (about 6 or 7 years old?). It is one you can put in the VHS on one side and record it over to a DVD. I've been doing this because I won't let go of the original VHS's without some type of backup. The specs show 'Recording system (for DVD) as MPEG2 (Hybrid VBR)'. Would the programs you recommended be able to give us the information you mention from the created DVD's? Can these DVD's somehow be used to create a file to use in Preimere Elements 12?

I called the service that is transferring the film for details on what their output is. They produce MPEG4's. He did not know the Codec right off, does the Codec tell you the compression level? Anyway, from VHS tapes the details I got were 640x480 resolution, 2.61 mbit per second, 29.97 frame (rate?), 2.61 mbits data rate, 1.2 gig per hour. Does this information give enough info about the quality of the files? Is there ALWAYS some compression on a MPEG4 files? (As there is in a JPEG vs RAW photo file?) Probably the most I am hoping for on improving the output of the VHS would be a shift in color balance (to compensate for incandescent light yellow) and maybe increase tone, even though may make noise worse. At least I can be in control :-D

Apparently they would be willing to write AVI DV files to a hard drive I provide for only $15 for the ENTIRE ORDER, which sounds very good. Is AVI DV uncompressed by definition?

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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby Steve Grisetti » Mon Jan 20, 2014 12:33 pm

DV-AVIs are compressed with the DV codec --- a great, universal codec that maintains virtually all of your video's original quality. So, yes, that would be the ideal format for your video if you plan to edit it.

You wouldn't want to work with uncompressed AVI (except in a few situations). It's big and bulky (over 1 gig per minute) and doesn't give you that much better quality for the its size.
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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby JmOMP » Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:07 pm

Thanks for the info. I'm getting a better feel for what I'll be getting.
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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby JmOMP » Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:01 am

Does the DV Codec specify the specs I've seen referred to, i.e. resolution; frame rate; Mbit per second, how many Gig per hour, etc. Or can they vary when using DV? I will be using Prem Elements 12 (source VHS and some analog HI8).
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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:25 am

DV is a fairly consistent codec, Jm. Which is one of the reasons it is a useful standard for video editors. All DV-AVIs and DV-MOVs use pretty much the same bit rate, compression level and frame rate (29.97 NTSC and 25 PAL).
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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby JmOMP » Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:33 am

Thanks! A few more pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Do you have any recommended articles/sites that educate on this (and other) Codec's? i.e. what is '29.97 NTSC and 25 PAL'? Always wanting to learn ;)
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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:43 pm

The video at the beginning of this thread is one of the best I've seen.
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Re: Codecs and video file formats

Postby momoffduty » Wed Jan 22, 2014 5:54 pm

JmOMP wrote:Apparently they would be willing to write AVI DV files to a hard drive I provide for only $15 for the ENTIRE ORDER, which sounds very good. Is AVI DV uncompressed by definition?


I would go that route. A very good deal!

Check out the video at the beginning of the thread as Steve suggested. Standard definition at 640x480 pixels is all the pixels you are going to get. I had some old tapes transferred to DVD compressed the same info as yours and noticed noise. I ended up buying a Pyro to capture myself via a firewire. Having the service transfer to a hard drive would be your best option.

A raw file does have more information than a jpeg and sorta translates on what you are asking regarding video compression. The more the video is compressed the less the data. Bit rate factors in too.

Another way to look at standard def is that it has less pixels than high def. I guess a comparison would be a small jpeg to a large jpeg.

Your photography background will help in making minor color corrections to the files. But keep in mind the amount of pixels you have to work with. Personally I like the look of the old stuff. Gives the nostalgia feel.
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