Which one is good - Huffyuv Vs PicVideo MJPEG

[Maximum Risk]

Hi, I'm back again.

I went through this forum and find somebody recommended capturing using PICVideo MJPEG codec instead of Huffyuv 2.1.1 with setting he specified for making VCD.
But this is the scenario I faced:

With VirtualDub, no PicVideo MJPEG listed in compression, only 2 of 3 codec provided by PicVideo, namely PicVideo lossless JPEG and PicVideo Wavelet 2000 appear. I'm using ASUS GeForce3 V8200 Deluxe capture&display card on P3 1.5Ghz machine with Windows ME OS.

Can anybody tell me why and can it be possible to have PicVideo MJPEG as codec with my system????

[gll99]

Picvideo used to give their mjpeg license away for free. They don't seem to do that anymore. You may have been advised to use that codec because it compresses about twice as much as the Huffy codec and is faster.

The huffy codec is still free as far as I know and is lossless meaning it compresses almost exactly what it sees but it is slower (when used in capture) than the mjpeg. You may not think the Huffy is better when you look at the results with the naked eye because it does not hide any defects in the capture either. The huffy codec allows you to set the output to YUY2 so that if you plan to convert and edit as an mpeg this is native to that format and is almost an equivalent conversion.

The picvideo mjpeg is not lossless so it may look a little better to the eye because it hides a bit of noise from the capture. If you have a perfect source, can handle a slower codec in your capture and have more disk space, then use Huffy or the Picvideo lossless codec. The huffy lossless and the picvideo lossless are probably a better comparison. If you did not pay for the picvideo lossless codec then it will be a trial and will have time limits and may include a logo on your caps. On the other hand the Huffy does not cost a thing. As far as I know existing free licenses for the mjpeg picvideo codec are still valid but I don't believe they are transferable.

With some apps the codecs that show in your window are dependant on the capture options you selected. If you select a 24bit capture then certain compression codecs will be shown. If you choose for example YUY2 (your options may differ) then you may see a smaller list of codecs to choose from for compression because some apps only show the one's that they feel are compatible to save errors.

This may not be the case for you. It may be that Picvideo is not offering that codec. Visit their site and see.

[Maximum Risk]

Thanks for your informative response pal. Well, I'm a VCD authoring hobbyist that not very well-versed in technical terms, so I really appreciate if you guys out there didn't use bunch of jargons that will make me crazy...!!

Yes, I agree that different image format did support different codec. but why with my system, I can only chose image format from 12-bit RGB, 24-bit RGB and UYVY..??Where's the YUY2 and others..??Any difference when using same codec but different image format i.e UYVY vs YUY2..??? If yes....which one is better...and why I can't select other than I've mentioned above...??

WHY...Why......Y....???

[gll99]

Some of those formats are dependant on your capture hardware but there are some good programmers out there who can milk the most out of devices and emulate certain formats. Load up virtualdub and press on file, capture.
Now look at custom size or settings ( I don't have in front of me) but anyway it starts with custom. You will see a lot of new sizes (including the word custom again ) where you can choose the size you want. there are also different options like 24bit and maybe yuy2, yuvy. If your system will accept those variations then try to set it (They won't all work). But dont touch the other line that says "format" after you leave that panel or it will override your custom setting. Also dont use compatibility mode for compression or compatability capture cause that's the standard setting and you want custom setting. The author wasn't consistent in the use of terminology here so you have to experiment a bit. You will know if everything is ok because during capture you can watch the encoder for captured frames, drops etc... stop with left or right clicks those are options you can set. Its got lots of other features. Read the helpdocs with it and experiment.

[LordVader]

Check this post :


http://forum.vcdhelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=103805

[D_Knife]

If you are using the ASUS capture drivers this could be the case.
You can download the NVidia home cinema drivers and they should upgrade your current cap drivers (note for this to work properly you should probably use the matching Nvidia generic driver as well)
This should then allow you to select YUV2 capture mode.

If you don't want to spend any money then stop here and you should be better off than before. Otherwise or if your curious read on...

The Nvidia cap drivers, IMHO are not that great - you may be better off spending a small amount of money and grab a BT chip based tuner card.
This along with a rewritten set of BT drivers will allow you to capture 704x480/576 with any colour format and supported codec without problems. When I'm not using my MPEG2 hardware encoder (and there are times) this little setup works flawlessly for me.
I can also watch TV using the onboard tuner on the BT card.
BT = Brooktree/Conexant there are several chips that all do similar functions. I believe the current model is a BT879. There are over 100 different brands of card available that use this chipset and HEAPS of thirdparty support available.

There are other tuner/capture cards - but most of the are based on a Philips SAA******** based chipset. This is most likely what your current capture chip is. I have an ASUS 6800 deluxe and that's the chip. Obivously if you are going to buy a dedicated capture card - don't but one the same as your trying to get away from.
any questions email me.

[gll99]

PS

When I speak about YUY2 with Huffy I speak from memory so the terms may differ slightly.
To set the huffy codec it must be installed on your system and when you chose a compressor prior to capture choose the huffy codec then select configure the compressor and an option window will open to set the codec the way you want. YUY2 is not lossless but I believe the reasons why you may want to chose this option are covered with the codec documentation.

[D_Knife]

gll99
Actually according to the codec options - the YUV2 option is lossless, it's RGB that's not.
But as you said the loss is so small your not going to notice unless you recompress alot.

[gll99]

D_Knife

You touched my curiousity, I thought my memory was failing me at this advanced age of mine.

I fired up the Huffy 2.1.1 codec and immediately saw this note:

Convert to "YUY2" compresses much better than any RGB options however this conversion is slightly lossy.........


My mind is intact. I can go to bed and sleep well

Good night.

[D_Knife]

Ahh!
Sorry I read it quickly and jumped to an incorrect assumption.
You are of course correct.