YUV422 -- Got any recommendations?

[markfilipak]

I downloaded some YUV422, y4m raw videos. I encoded them as MKV and as VOB. They all play fine in MPV and VLC, but PowerDVD has some problems. Of course, I want to encode YUV422 and mux them in something that will play everywhere, by anyone.

Do you knowlegeable and experienced folks have any recommendations?

Thanks a bunch,
Mark.

[Sharc]

...Of course, I want to encode YUV422 and mux them in something that will play everywhere, by anyone.
....
Sounds like a contradiction to me. For wide playback compatibility you should probably convert YUV422 to YV12 (YUV 4:2:0).
So I would suggest to convert the video to YV12, encode it as AVC (H.264), the audio to AAC and wrap video and audio into an .mp4 (or perhaps .mkv) container which should play on very most devices today.
Alternatively, you may encode and author fully DVD specs compliant (mpeg2 video, ac3 audio, other DVD constraints, author as DVD file structure ...).

[markfilipak]

Sounds like a contradiction to me. For wide playback compatibility you should probably convert YUV422 to YV12 (YUV 4:2:0).
So I would suggest to convert the video to YV12, encode it as AVC (H.264), the audio to AAC and wrap video and audio into an .mp4 (or perhaps .mkv) container which should play on very most devices today.
Alternatively, you may encode and author fully DVD specs compliant (mpeg2 video, ac3 audio, other DVD constraints, author as DVD file structure ...).
Yeah, I did encode the VOB as mpeg2 and the MKV as AVC. I was hoping that all players would correctly handle the 422 chroma, but apparently not.

Too bad. I have an idea -- a purely mechanical, no filter, no risk of 'ringing' method -- to slightly sharpen 420 chroma during MV interpolation. To be effective, the method depends on the output being 422. I'll have to abandon the idea. That's no big deal; the sharpening would have only been slight.

Thanks.

[Reclusive Eagle]

Yeah, I did encode the VOB as mpeg2 and the MKV as AVC. I was hoping that all players would correctly handle the 422 chroma, but apparently not.

Too bad. I have an idea -- a purely mechanical, no filter, no risk of 'ringing' method -- to slightly sharpen 420 chroma during MV interpolation. To be effective, the method depends on the output being 422. I'll have to abandon the idea. That's no big deal; the sharpening would have only been slight.

Thanks.

Ok maybe there is some confusion here.
So clarification before PowerDVD conclusion

YUV

YUV is a color family like RGB.
YUV444,422,420 are formats that contain information.

You can upsample YUV420 to YUV422 to YUV444 if you want.

The difference is:
444 contains more information per pixel than 422
422 contains more information per pixel than 420.

Upsampling lower sources won't add information, however certain plugins require certain formats.
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Color Matrix.
The color matrix is what controls how colors are displayed.
They are standardized like sRGB, Adobe RGB etc for images.

If you have issues with your encoded file looking different its because the color matrix has been changed during encoding.

If your source is HD DVD your color matrix is most likely:
BT.709 (Rec 709)

If your source is SD DVD your color matrix is most likely:
BT.601 (Rec 601)

You can also go deeper and specify color primaries to make sure Color is not modified.
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VOB/MKV
These are container files.
They just hold the information.
You can't encode a container. You can encode a video into a container using an encoder.
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If you want VOB or MKV you need to specify the color matrix and color space you want using with the Codec you are using or it will default to whatever it decides.
Eg -vf scale=out_color_matrix=bt709

Its very important that you pay attention to the color matrix otherwise it will be altered and changed.

Power DVD

Now here it the thing. Its not your problem if power dvd can't display the YUV family. Or has issues with MKV/VOB.
Anyone who downloads VOB/MKV files should already know what players support them. If they don't, why are they downloading these formats?
Its like attempting to display an SVG (vector file) in a raster program that doesn't support vector.

If you want a "universal container" MP4 is you best option to have most players play it.
When it comes to color family and color matrix. Leave them what they originally are.

Unless you know how to convert YUV to RGB properly which is a while different story.
Its as complicated as properly converting CMYK colors to sRGB.