Which Compression?

[arrynev]

Hi all,i'm a noob' at all this and i need some good advice. i'm capturing VHS and TV with Video CapturixSuite and i get a choice of compression's....Cinepack codec by radius...Intel indeo (R3.2 and 4.5)...Codec IntelIYUV...Divix 5.0.1 Codec...MS Mpeg-4 3688 (V1,V2 and V3) and also...TRAMES complete(non compressed)what's the best to use to save space and get the best result. i'm using XP home...Athlon 2400 cpu...80gb hdd(45gb free)1024Ram, and i save my Temps at the very start of the "C" drive. any help will do, cheers.

[Inc]

The best compromise (IMHO) for speed/compression/Quality as a capture video codec is the PicVideo Mjpeg Codec at Quality 19 set. It also uses the needed YUY2 colorspace to avoid bad captured chromasubsampling.

Its not free but you'll like it!

Also an option and btw free: The HuffYUV codec (also YUY2) but results in large filesizes! On the other hand the quality is very good as its a lossless codec.

[jggimi]

Hello, arrynev, and welcome to Doom9's forum.

You'll want to take the time to review both the Capture FAQ and the Capture Guide.

[rfmmars]

You might want to give Leadtools MJPEG a try. Many options, the fastest .AVI codec around. Demo at www.leadtools.com

richard
www.photorecall.net

[arrynev]

Thanks, you've all been a big help;)

[mustardman]

I use the Panasonic DV codec. It's not lossless, but does offer a good compromise between quality and filesize.

It is all I frame (keyframe) based. There are many other versions out there, MainConcept, Matrox, etc.

A big and nasty restriction is frame size. Fine for captures from TV or camcorder, but no good for letterboxed DVDs.

A plus is the portability. Is is pretty much standardised. I know for a fact (bitter experience) that not all MJPG codecs generate compatible data.

MM

[Inc]

Well if you see it like that, MJPEG is also totally "I" Frame based (theoretically). ;-)

Im not that in DV but as I know it comes in 4:1:1 colorspace ... where you would loose a lot of chroma quality.

[trevlac]

Originally posted by incredible

Im not that in DV but as I know it comes in 4:1:1 colorspace ... where you would loose a lot of chroma quality.

Actually, DV is a better compression than MJPEG. I believe DV allows variable quantization on a macro block level (vs on a frame level for MJPEG). Also, DV is interlace aware. Having said all of that, MJPEG is not really a standard so they could do all sorts of things to improve compression and or quality.

On the 4:1:1 thing .... I see this as an overblown issue. The chroma resolution is extreamly low for almost all analog source. I know people talk about color bleed and such, but with proper resampling I doubt people can tell the difference ... maybe. :)

PS: I capture with MJPEG. This is because the original card samples are 4:2:2, and you get to pick your frame size. And I've just always done it that way. :)

[mustardman]

Very true. MJPG has a lot of advantages - you can choose a frame size, you can choose a compression level. Neither you can do with DV.

Both are "I" frame compressors (as pointed out by incredible)

However, DV does not suffer (to my knowledge) the incompatibilities between different manufacturers of the same type of codec (ie: I would guess there are at least a dozen 'manufacturers' of MJPG codecs).

I suppose it is what you really want. For me, all my output is going to an interlaced TV display. So, frame size is fixed. I want good quality all the time, so my compression quality is fixed.

Sure, that can all be done with MJPG, but compatibility issues worry me.

Oh, and also, DV can be input and output directly through an IEEE1394. I am not aware that MJPG can do that?

MM

[trevlac]

Ivo gave me a hard time about this. Offline of course, because he is not allowed within 50 meters of Doom9 or they let the dogs out. :D

The following link is a nice summary of DV vs MJPEG vs MPEG vs (some pro formats). I based my comments on the info in this write-up. Adam Wilt has become an unofficial FAQ on DV stuff. He also writes in a very readable fashion. Well worth a look.

http://www.adamwilt.com/DV-FAQ-editing.html#transcoding

Transcoding section and the one after.

[trevlac]

Ivo has a test of PIC mjpeg vs MainConcepts DV ...

PIC wins.

Tune in at the link below to see if his test can stand up to the preasure as we grill him on the details and call him a girly man!

http://virtualdub.everwicked.com/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=7662&