animation codecs and file formats

[cristoforo]

Anyone have suggestions for the best codec and file format to be used for an animation put together in Adobe Premiere? It will be viewed on a computer and I will try to put also on a dvd.

[joconnell]

Well, while you are editing the best compression is none, personally I'd recommend you render the final thing to an uncompressed tga sequence and then start playing with compression afterwards - if you render from premiere direct to a compressed format and the final quality isnt good enough then you get the overhead of both the premiere render and the compression so it's a bit sluggish.

For stuff viewed on a computer then it really depends on the computer - sorenson 3 or mpeg 4 on the mac is great. Their new h264 codec is fantastic too but a little buggy on the pc (tends to wash out a lot). Any of the windows media codecs or xvid on the pc will give you a good quality result.

A lot of the decision depends on your target audience. If it's a wide range of people then stay away from newer technologies and even go back to mpeg1 - at a high bitrate, mpeg 1 has decent quality and will work any computer back to windows 95, irix and old mac os. If you want to use a better format then you'll have to make sure the viewer has the software to be able to play it - eg quicktime 7 or any of the windows codecs.

Personally if I was putting out something like a showreel, I'd go for dvd or quicktime since most media savvy people can view it. for an educational cd rom or for a mass market thing I'd play safer and go for something like mpeg 1.

[visualride]

Any of the windows media codecs or xvid on the pc will give you a good quality result.

Umm, not true. Most pc codecs will look really ridiculously bad. One good result that I've found so far is with the divx codec. You can download it for free at divx.com. The down side is that you need to make sure that the client installs the codec to play your video.

'Bink' is a good one, but the play back controls are limited.

I've been wanting to try out Sorenson's compression, but apparently our e-mail blocks all attempts to get their trial version, and their tech people don't reply.

I've had pretty good luck with the Cleaner demo, but less success so far getting approval to buy the pricey video compressor.

Good luck!

[RErender]

Any of the windows media codecs or xvid on the pc will give you a good quality result.

Umm, not true. Most pc codecs will look really ridiculously bad. One good result that I've found so far is with the divx codec. You can download it for free at divx.com. The down side is that you need to make sure that the client installs the codec to play your video.

Ummm, he didn't say most pc codecs, he said most windows media codecs, ie. wmv or wm9 or earlier, and they do give good results. xvid works well also.

I am leaning towards the qt mpeg4 stuff these days

[visualride]

Ahh, your right. I didn't read close enough. As you can tell, I've got a sore spot after too much wrestling with codecs these days. I'll be giving qt mpeg4 some more tests myself.

[trick]

...You can download it for free at divx.com...

As long as it's for personal use (when the product or resulting products don't bring you any money).

http://www.divx.com/company/partner/licensing.php

[Da_elf]

ive always likes mpeg1 as its soooo compatible with any system. tmpgenc does a great job

[DaForce]

DIVX is shite compared to XVID
XVID is free and works damn well.
DIVX isnt free (except for private use) and has a fancy pants interface.

WMV is a good option as ALL windows pc will be able to play it.
QT is also a good option as ALL mac will be able to play them.

MPEG1 is decent option as well, as pretty much all OS's should be able to play it, although its a little outdate and the quality and file size isnt as good compared to the others.

[cristoforo]

IN the past I have used MPEG1....maybe I will try wma this time. I noticed that sometimes the MPEG1 has a bit of a jerky movement every once in a while. Is this due to settings......? Or is it just the nature of this format?

[cristoforo]

Daforce, how do I use the XVID codec in premiere? I downloaded and installed, but do not know how I can pick it as my codec.

[DaForce]

What version of premiere are you using?

You need to customize the render options i believe.. let me know what version and i will see if i can help you.

[cristoforo]

Adobe Premiere Pro v 7.0............Thanks!

[DaForce]

All i have handy is premiere pro 2.... ahhh when you go to export to movie... you need to choose microsoft AVI not microsoft DV AVI then in the video area you can choose XVID codec or what ever other codec is on your system.

Alternatively export it out at some low compression high quality codec or even un compressed and then convert to xvid using another program like virtualdub

[cristoforo]

Thanks...I'll give it a try!