Alternative to Photo - JPEG QuickTime Codec???

[bendermac]

is there any alternative to the photo-jpeg codec? on windows is the free huffy codec are really good alternative and according to a friend it's actually a lot better. now i'm looking for a similar good codec for mac os x but so far i couldn't find anything. maybe you guys can help me out

[Case]

Apple Pixlet Video (Mac OS X v10.3 +) is focused on workflow, designed for digital filmmakers, animators and effects artists. No frame-to-frame dependencies. Free from visual artifacts... according to the Panther press release.

[bendermac]

honestly: pixlet is a p.o.s. it takes forever to convert a videofile in pixlet and that on a dual g5 2.5ghz

[tgpo]

Well, we need more info. What kids of codec are you really looking fur? Are you wanting more compression, better quality, a free t-shirt with each conversion, what?

[pixeljammedia]

If you need lossless, then Blackmagic makes a codec as does (I believe) Sheer. There is also the Animation which is pixel for pixel but will take up space. What are your specific needs/limitations?

[bendermac]

well, i'm looking for lossy codec just like photo-jpeg which handles colors truefully, photo-jpeg has a problem with red. it also should have small filesize compared to lossless based codecs like animation, etc. i need it for editing but i want the best possible quality without having this huge files.
please don't tell me to get sorenson, divx, h.264 as those are for final distribution

i hope this gives you a better picture what i need.
btw, a free t-shirt is always welcome

[terryj]

3ivx D4.51, Single Pass-Constant Quality setting, 100% QP
for lossless encode, is what i would use.

*shrugs*
http://www.3ivx.com/support/mac/encoding/quicktime.html#single_pass_cq

[thoughton]

FWIW I tried out SheerVideo a while back, file sizes were half the size of Animation, but still double those of PhotoJPEG. Still pretty small for lossless though.

[paxman]

3ivx D4.51, Single Pass-Constant Quality setting, 100% QP
for lossless encode, is what i would use.

*shrugs*
http://www.3ivx.com/support/mac/encoding/quicktime.html#single_pass_cq

3ivx is very easy to edit in QT, DiVA works well to encode and the colors are spot on. I would encode at 90% QP though, at 100% the filesizes can really blow up and even surpass in the DVD sources I use. Use Streamclip to encode audio and video together in one step.

[bendermac]

why are you guys recommend 3ivx? this is not a codec you wanna use for editing and i really mean editing, not just copy and paste within quicktime
3ivx is a codec you use for distribution on cd or the net.

as for the sheervideo codec. i didn't test it and so far i wont do it because it's very expensive.

[terryj]

paxman,
true the file sizes get huge...I guess at 3/4 of a terrabyte storage
I really don't notice it that much....
but if you have limited HD space, yes, this could be a huge problem
for you. 90 to 95% percent is acceptable though.

bendermac:
yes, you can use it for editing, they even say so on their website.
The codec has many uses, and many phases/settings to it...
some low for Cd and Streaming Web, others for
Archival quality/near lossless like Pax and I have suggested.
You just have to follow the TUTORIALS on their site,
and read up on it.

http://www.3ivx.com/technology/quicktime/index.html
http://www.3ivx.com/support/mac/encoding/quicktime.html#single_pass_cq

plus its free, you cheapskate, .

[Cornucopia]

Many of the supposed "distribution" codecs can still do service as an intermediary, provided the bitrate is high enough to maintain full quality (usually possible, but not always) and you can shorten its GOP length--preferrably to 1 (not many have the correct controls UI to achieve this).

But for all the work looking to re-invent the wheel, why don't you just save as DV?

It's I-frame only.
It has similar color fidelity.
It's made to be edit friendly.
It doesn't have HUGE filesizes, only BIG--but within reason by today's standards.

You could also try MJPEG (or the Component 4:2:2 codec...

Scott

[tryptamin]

well, i'm looking for lossy codec just like photo-jpeg which handles colors truefully, photo-jpeg has a problem with red.

Photo-JPEG can use different colorspaces. When the quality is set to 100%, it will use RGB (4:4:4), when set to 75% and below, it will use YUV (4:2:2).
So your "red problem" might be an unnecessary colorspace conversion.

[bendermac]

... why don't you just save as DV?

because if do any kind of rendering for graphics or text then you see that this codec is not good.

[Cornucopia]

I do DV work every day. DV codec may not be optimal for graphics/text, but I'd never say it's no good. Maybe you're using a bad implementation of it...

Scott