Avisynth support for Quicktime 7 ?

[varunb]

Is is possible to input Avisynth files in Quicktime 7 Pro ? Well i have found out that quicktime accepts only uncompressed RGB AVI & not YUV avi videos. Basically i want to avoid any conversions from YUV(4:2:0) to RGB. If not, then is there any free quicktime plugin available that allows quicktime to accept uncompressed YV12 AVI ?

[bond]

you need to use special fourccs for quicktime to understand the format:
http://www.ntta.szm.sk/Tutors/FourCC.htm#QT4CC

[varunb]

http://www.ntta.szm.sk/Tutors/FourCC.htm#QT4CC

Its says the page cant b displayed. Any other 4CC link that works ?

[Blue_MiSfit]

Try the QTSource plugin. It's been very handy for me.

Note that it also has QTInput and QTOutput modes - independent of any encoder. Sort of counterintuitive but very handy!!
~MiSfit

[varunb]

Sorry Blue_misfit but i didn't understand what u said. From where do i get the qtsource plugin ? How do i use it ?

[Blue_MiSfit]

:search: :)

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=104293

Example

loadplugin("c:\avs plugins\qtsource.dll")

avisource("yv12.avi")

#filter if you want

qtoutput("quicktime.mov")

Note that yv12.avi and quicktime.mov are just sample filenames.

Just drag and drop this avs script on any program that accepts avisynth input, like virtualdub or media player classic - and the quicktime video encoder dialogs will come up. Configure as you wish. when you click OK the encoding will start.

If you need to import this into Final Cut or something, then I would suggest using the Blackmagic codecs as output, but that means uncompressed. The lossless Sheer Video works well if you have a PowerPC. There was a Huffyuv Quicktime codec in development, but I don't think it was ever finished.

Anyway - that should get things working
~MiSfit

[sh0dan]

@varunb: AviSynth cannot be wrapped in Quicktime.

There might be a way to get your video virtually lossless, by using a common codec. I haven't tried it, but you could try:

* Use x264 in loss-less mode. You should be able to encode in a format that Quicktime understands.

* Use MJPEG. Encode using ffmpeg, maximum quality.

* Use an AVI MJPEG codec, convert to MOV using ffmpeg "-vcodec copy".

[varunb]

Thanx Blue_misfit! I did try the Qtsource plugin 0.0.5a but it seems that the plugin is not working when trying to output mov file using H264 codec, otherwise its working fine with other quicktime codecs. Moreover it doesn't support YV12 output.

Well sh0dan, i cant use x264 cos i dont have a fast processor (2.4 GHz, 512 RAM) & so x264 playback causes frame drops. As for ur other suggestions, i rather want to try uncompressed Yv12 AVi -> H264 quicktime video.

Is qtsource 0.0.5a an older release or is there any newer release available ?

[bond]

quicktime h.264 is by far slower than x264

[varunb]

Thats definitely not the answer to my previous post, Bond.

[Blue_MiSfit]

How about this? Use AviSynth to do YV12 -> YUY2, then QTOutput to Sheer (lossless).

loadplugin("c:\plugins\qtsource.dll")
avisource("c:\my movie.avi")

converttoyuy2()

qtoutput("C:\sheer movie.mov)


Drop that script in media player classic. Select sheer from the codec list, and click ok. Make sure you make media player classic close the movie after playback as it loops by default, and this may cause problems with qtoutput().

Then open this MOV in QuickTime Pro, and encode to Apple H.264. I've tested it, and it works perfectly.

You'll surely get better results using x264 with QuickTime compliant settings, but for comparison it works. The colorspace conversion should hardly make an impact.

Your PC has more than enough horsepower to play x264 at full NTSC resolution and sane settings. My P3 700MHz /192MB / Win2k laptop just barely works perfectly when I use CoreAVC to decode and the overlay mixer to render in MPC. So a 2.4 GHz P4 should be more than enough.

PS - don't get smart with mods ;)

~MiSfit

[varunb]

Thanx misfit but honestly i have already tried Sheer codec. Moreover, its not free, only 20 days for tryout.

2ndly x264 playback has caused frame drops during playback in my pc.
i cant use x264 cos i dont have a fast processor (2.4 GHz, 512 RAM) & so x264 playback causes frame drops.

Dats y i had posted this comment.

Coming back to the point, using Sheer codec wont b the ultimate solution. I need to find some other remedy which doesn't involve any colorspace conversions...AT ALL.... just want to keep YV12 throughout the conversion/s.

Waiting eagerly for more suggestions.....:)

[Blue_MiSfit]

Sheer is not free, but its very affordable, and is very handy.

I performed this exact workflow just a few hours ago.

MPEG-4 OGM -> Directshowsource -> YV12 -> YUY2 -> QToutput to sheer.mov

sheer.mov -> quicktime pro -> Apple H.264.mp4

It works. The only difference is that you will be directly loading in uncompressed YV12, but it doesn't matter once it's in avisynth.

If it's not working for you, I need more information to help you.

If decoding h.264 with ffdshow is dropping frames on your PC then something is very wrong. What player are you using? what container? what splitter? Try VLC or mplayer.

BTW - YV12->YUY2 is nothing from what I understand. YUY2->YV12 (for h.264) does loose a bit, but I hear it is NOT noticeable, the only penalty is a bit of speed.

~MiSfit

[varunb]

What player are you using? what container? what splitter? Try VLC or mplayer.



I am using Media Player Classic 6.4.9.0, noticed frame drops while playing avi created with x264 codec with viryauldub, ffdshow generic 723 with Gabest Mp4 Splitter. I haven't tried VLC mplayer cos I dont wanna install more players when MPC is just doing fine for me. Is it necessary to get CoreAVC installed for smooth x264 video playback ?

[Blue_MiSfit]

It is necessary for smooth playback of 720 / 1080 line material for most CPUs. ffdshow should have no problems with it.

Try haali's splitter and the ffdshow on x264.nl.

Could be because the video is stored in an AVI which isn't really supported... Try an up to date version of x264 that uses the CLI encoder - MeGUI etc... :)

[varunb]

Thanx misfit! For the 1st time, the x264 playback was smooth without any frame drops. I just had to install ffdshow from x264.nl. I dont think there's any need to install CoreAVC since x264 encoded video is playing fine now. There's just one problem. I tried to open an x264 AVI in Quicktime 7 and it gave me an error. It appears that only uncompressed RGB AVI play fine on Quicktime.

[Blue_MiSfit]

QuickTime does not support all the advanced features that x264 does. It also has VERY poor support for AVIs, and since h.264 isn't designed for AVI in the first place I wouldn't be surprised if even QT compatible H.264 would work in AVI.

Mux it into an MP4 first. If that doesn't work, you have to re-encode with quicktime compliant settings. MeGUI does this automatically for you if you select (for example) an iPod profile. If you MUST use VFW, then make sure you follow the quicktime rules.

[varunb]

Thanx Misfit. I wanted to ask u if there's any software like Yamb available that can mux a .h264 & .aac files into a .mov file ? I haven't tried Megui yet but i guess i will give it a shot.

[Blue_MiSfit]

I dont know offhand of any program that can mux files to a MOV without re-encoding. Maybe QuickTime Pro can...

[varunb]

Quicktime Pro cannot perform any muxing operations. Anyways, thanx Blue_misfit. U really helped a lot.

[foxyshadis]

ffmpeg can mux into mov, as sh0dan said. Can't hurt to try whether it has AVC mux support.

[Blue_MiSfit]

Right! Forgot that bit. I did a bit of searching for ffmpeg, and am having trouble finding a recent win32 build. Can mencoder do this as well?

~MiSfit