TMPGEnc Xpress, MainConcept, H.264 and QuickTime Compatibility

[PuzZLeR]

Greetings,

I've been experimenting with the MainConcept H.264/AVC encoder within TMPGEnc Xpress. Great choice for non-DvD files. Great quality and speed.

Some questions if anybody else uses it:

1.How come I can't get the files to be QuickTime compatible? This benchmark compatibility is important to me. Is there a way to get the files so that QT plays them instead of just audio and a green screen?

2.Speaking of, I do assume the video streams are fully compliant with the H.264 standard. It is isn't it?

3.Is the TMPGEnc Xpress version of MC's encoder a very watered-down version compared to the (much more expensive) MainConcept stand-alone version?

4.Are there any TMPGEnc Xpress H.264/AVC guides online that anybody knows of? I can't seem to understand all its features, particularly inputing parameters for the "1-pass Constant quantization".

PS: I'm a bit beyond the n00b's knowledge with H.264 so you can pour on the hardcore details if you know of any.

Thanks so much!

[Soopafresh]

Required h264 settings to make your encodes Quicktime compatible:

http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/DOCS/HTML/en/menc-feat-quicktime-7.html

From Sharktooth at Doom9
ce-quicktime.xml

Just repeat the settings that you can in tmpgencxpress

[PuzZLeR]

Hey Soopafresh, thanks again for another of your answers.

Yes, the info is all there, clear as day, but I would only know how to implement this effectively with x264 - not so easy in their translation with MainConcept's way of inputting parameters, and even more so with TMPGEnc Xpress'es simplistic MC H.264 encoding interface.

Would you (or anybody else) know how I could ensure that there's no B-pyramids, or 8x8, etc, and/or anything else that breaks QT compatibility within MC's encoder, or even within TMPGEnc's Xpress's input list? Something sure is violating this when what TMPGEnc/MC encodes doesn't play in QT.

I still use x264 alot, but wish to use the TMPGEnc/MC combo for certain workflows of mine, which is why I'm interested in making this thing work.

I guess this thread is more of a "How do I do x264 stuff with MainConcept"?

[racer-x]

Here's something I've done a few times with great success:

Get MpegstreamClip and open the mp4 you created with MC.
Choose "Save As" in the "File" menu. Then save as MOV ext.

It won't re-encode, just change some parameters or something. It's worked fine for me in the past.

[PuzZLeR]

Hey Racer-X, thanks for your answer.

Unfortunately it didn't work, whatever it does (flags, atoms, etc.). Still the green screen. You even got me thinking of other things though such as mp4box, nicmp4box, etc.. I even muxed it and re-muxed it to exhaustion, from .mov to .mp4 and back and forth again and again. Still the green screen. But I do appreciate your input.

Something in the way MainConcept is encoding within TMPGEnc is not working and I can't tell what QuickTime is really rejecting.

Yeah, I know some people feel that QuickTime is a crappy player and not worth it. I agree it sucks - I hate it and never use it.

But QT compatible content is the common denominator in playback among all O/S's and I can't feel safe encoding and archiving any H.264 video otherwise.

Any other ideas?

Thanks to the readers and helpers thus far.

[nTekka]

Thats a bit odd, I've always been successful in playing back MP4 files created by TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress with Quicktime. It should since its in MP4 format, I know TXP4 has limited license for full MPEG4 support but this much should work.

Also, green screen usually means you dont have the right codec so something is missing. What setting are you using for MPEG4 template?

[PuzZLeR]

Hey nTekka,

Thats a bit odd

Odd indeed, especially when QT compatibility has widened of late to even include High Profile features as well. The files play fine in VLC and G-Spot recognizes them as "avc1", so I assume it's within the standard. But without QT compatibility I can't accept them.

I have had no luck with support (and it wasn't the first time). I don't know what it is about Pegasys, but they seem to answer a different question than the one I ask and after a while I give up. I haven't figured if it's a communication barrier or a clever evasiveness (or both). I don't think they even know what H.264 is...

What setting are you using for MPEG4 template?

Nothing special and nothing I can see which would annoy QT:

MPEG-4 output
MPEG-4 AVC format

Output container type: Normal
Main, 4.1, 640x480, 1:1, 29.97 Progressive (I'm in NTSC land)
1-pass Constant quantization.
The rest are default settings.

For AVC I select CABAC and Quarter Pixel. (None of the motion estimation settings worked in QT)

Audio 128kbps 48000Hz Stereo 128kbps MPEG-4 Low Raw, which SHOULD work in QT.

Heck, even the iPod profile didn't work in QT.

Strange indeed.

Anyhow, I was starting to believe the H.264 encoder within TMGEnc Xpress was just a token piece, and a diluted version of the MC real thing just so Pegasys can boast that they can do it. However, now that you say they play fine in QT, I'm wondering what is wrong with my setup.

Thanks again readers.