Advantages to .mov vs .avi

[maleek]

Was reading on the divix doctor II website that .mov has better advantages to .avi, but didn't explain what or why. Does anyone know why?

[BJ_M]

there are about 100 types of QT (mov) files types and about 50 types of avi's // so saying one is better than another is rather pointless without clarifing which codecs are in use ... DiVX is a mpeg4 file type and you can use the new MPEG4 QT codec from apple also -- file size and quality are comparable .. MOV files are generally more compatable and in pro use -- QT is still king (queen) along with a few other types (MAC OR PC) and divx would never be used at all ...

but - divx is now being accepted and played back on some stand alone dvd players -- so far (and so far doubtfull ever) are qt files files (more an lic issues than anything else, its not a technology issue) ...

[Thargok]

He isn't talking about the codecs he is talking about the container. AVI's are old, they can't support multichannel audio (or rather they are not supposed to), they waste space (a few more megs); among other things.

[BJ_M]

He isn't talking about the codecs he is talking about the container. AVI's are old, they can't support multichannel audio (or rather they are not supposed to), they waste space (a few more megs); among other things.

Thargok - you are incorrect on so many levels -- but read it hear your self - both avi wrapper (used by many high end systems such as Toaster , avid and others) and QT (used by also many high end systems) - (many systems can use both quite well in fact) are just wrappers - they can even use the same basic codecs in many cases :

"Digital Voodoo
to suspend devolopment on the Mac and Quicktime"

At a recent international broadcast exhibition held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Digital Voodoo formally announced that the last version of Final Cut Pro that the company would officially support is Final Cut Pro version 4.0.
We also announced that we will not guarantee that future versions of our video cards will be compatible with current or future generations of G5 based systems manufactured by Apple Computer.

These were difficult decisions for us to make. But they are based on our belief that the future of postproduction is going to be 10 bit RGB. This belief has come from our customers asking for these features, and the development of RGB camera/tape systems by Sony, Thompson and others.

By remaining reliant on QuickTime to achieve this would impose limitation in our support for RGB. For example, currently QuickTime cannot capture sequential files nor can it capture more than 2 channels of audio and we could not see a road map for QuickTime, which gave us all the features we needed. Therefore, as we did not wish to rely on a 3rd party making a decision that suited us at a later date, we decided to adopt different file formats which has taken us away from QuickTime and the Mac

This does not mean we are being critical of Apple at all. We simply see the market in a different way to how Apple currently does. After all, was it not Apple the coined the phase “Think different”? http://www.apple.com/thinkdifferent/. FCP is a fine product for what it is designed to do and Digital Voodoo 64 RT cards can still be used with FCP 4.

Neither are we criticising QuickTime either. It is a fantastic format which is why we still support QTV210 HD and SD YUV video and if there was enough demand to do a QT RGB 4:4:4 codec we could easily provide this also. However, by switching future developments to the PC and adopting different formats we are able to give our customers greater choice. We still support QuickTime but in addition also RGB Cineon/DPX with separate .wav files.

The PC QT files are seen by all apps that support QT also on both platforms, as it is a standard QTV210 header file. If QuickTime introduce support for RGB sequential files then there is always the option for us to re-initiate development on the Mac platform. As the front page of the site says, "Digital Voodoo Suspends Further Development On The Mac Platform"

Digital Voodoo was the first major hardware vendor to support Final Cut Pro with uncompressed video. It was the first to support 10 bit I/O from within Final Cut and we introduced a 16-bit RGB codec back in 2001. Numerous changes have been undertaken in the application, the operating system and in QuickTime itself. Each change has required significant and substantial rewrites and testing of the Digital Voodoo codec and drivers. However, Digital Voodoo is committed to support these changes for Final Cut 4.0. Users who own Digital Voodoo 64RTs will be able to use them until Apple again comes out with a major upgrade to Final Cut Pro. As soon as the driver is complete it will be posted on the Bluefish444 website (www.bluefish444.com).

Users who purchased a 64AV, and this applies to people who purchased their cards as far back as April 2000, will be entitled to upgrade their 64 AV to a 64 RT for $995. They can keep their 64AV for use with other Mac applications. But the 64RT (Wildblue|AV) cards which support 10 bit RGB can also be used on the PC platform by downloading the drivers from Bluefish444.com.

Apple Computer has made Final Cut Pro and non-linear editing its primary application for its video group. No one knows for sure at this moment in time what Apple Computer plans for the future. Its current version of Final Cut 4.0 for which we promised support, will no doubt undergo dramatic changes in the future as it has already done in the last four years.
There is nothing wrong with this approach but here’s where the two companies' philosophies diverge. Digital Voodoo's main interest has been in pushing new technologies on the desktop. This initially lead to YUV 4:2:2 NLE products but also included in this push is dual link 4:4:4 HD and 10 bit RGB processing for compositing, motion graphics and film work. There is also significant attention to on air broadcast applications. To continue to follow the direction that Apple is taking would only be appropriate for us if we wanted to remain exclusively as a YUV 4:2:2 video only NLE market player and did not want to expand our customer and solutions base. Our concentration of development will continue to be in areas where we see market growth for us and the opportunity for innovation.

But Digital Voodoo has not "abandoned" its users. It did not just cut out of the Macintosh market and run away. We have said that we will support FCP 4.0 but not version 5.0, 6.0 ad infinitem. Our current support for new versions of After Effects and PhotoShop is in place.

Bluefish444 will continue to drive the Windows and Linux markets and work with third party developers to take advantage of the Bluefish444 hardware. In particular, Bluefish444 will focus on 10-bit RGB sequential files on both SD and HD platforms. Symmetry (http://www.bluefish444.com/products/symmetry/) is a perfect example of the open file format strategies we are adopting, which in addition to support QT V210 file formats also supports Cineon.

All 64 RT users will be able to use their cards in the Macs for which they purchased them. They will also be able to transfer their 64RTs to the Windows environment and use them in certified systems under Windows 2000 or Windows XP. For developers Linux drivers are also available. If you have any questions regarding our support for Final Cut Pro 4.0 or for other applications on the Mac, please email us at support@digitalvoodoo.net.

http://www.digitalvoodoo.net/

[Moon Potato]

true, both are only containers... but, if my understanding is correct, .mov has better support for interleaving extra audio/video/subtitle tracks. I'd still like to see quicktime support .ogm files, though...