Codecs and Bitrates

[Fredrik_A]

I'm going to work with a little project in Adobe Premiere (from a videocam (8mm)) and have questions about codecs and bitrates.

One of the most important issues is that it should be fast to work with in Premiere (PAL 720x586) but at the same time I want the quality to be as good as possible. Is Huffyuv v2.1.1 is to slow to work with? Perhaps I should use a MJPEG codec insted?

Even though I want as good quality as possible I don't want to use more space on the harddrive than necessary. I know I have read that there is a "bitrate limit" of a Hi-8 film where it is unnecessary to exceed, since it won't be better anyway, but I can't remember how much it was. Between 2000-3000 kbps?

I have an Athlon 1800+, 256MB RAM and using Windows 2000 SP3.


Fredrik

[bb]

You should verify your PAL settings: it should read 720x576.

MJPEG would be fast to work with, Huffyuv is slower, because you have to read and write much more data from/to your harddrive. But Huffyuv will result in a better quality as it's lossless. You may also want to try a DV codec, like MainConcept, Canopus, Panasonic, etc.

DV codecs are widely used in digital video processing - DV is the native format of all those digital camcorders out there, and it compresses 5:1 (Huffyuv's compression is typically around 2:1 or 2.5:1). MJPEG compression varies a lot depending on the quality chosen.

The bitrate you need depends on the codec, the video quality (how much noise), the video content (how much movement), the pre-filtering you apply (spatial and temporal noise filters), whether you encode in progressive or interlaced mode, the chosen resolution, etc.

You didn't mention your target format, so let me guess you want to create a DVD. A resolution of 352x576 at a bitrate of 3000 kbps sounds reasonable to me for a first try. I'd rather calculate the bitrate from the space I have on the DVD+-R(W) medium and the length of the video. This way you get best quality possible without wasting bits on the medium.

bb

[Fredrik_A]

Yes it should be 720x576, just a little typing-error :)

The target format will be different. I will encode it to a MPEG-2 file and send it to friends via Internet and I will also exported the movie to a VHS so it can be showed on a TV. Does this mean that I should encode in interlaced mode and then, when I have finished it in Premiere, export the MPEG-2 file in a progressive mode and the "VHS version" interlaced? If I have understood things the right way it's not possible to export to an interlaced mode if the source aren't interlaced?

Even though I should make a DVD version, wouldn't it be better if I should have used the 720x576 when I imported the movie and after when the editing was finished choose 352x576(?) when exporting from Premiere?

The movie is filmed underwater and the quality is pretty good mostly, but not great. If I use a M-JPEG codec will 3000 kbps be good?

If I use a anti-noise filter, could it harm the imported movie if I use it wrong? I mean, if it could filter away other things than the noise.


Oops, that was alot of questions :rolleyes: I just feel so curious because me and my friend will probably show the film on an amateur film festival and we want it as good as possible :)


Thanks for your help bb

Fredrik

[bb]

Originally posted by Fredrik_A
The target format will be different. I will encode it to a MPEG-2 file and send it to friends via Internet and I will also exported the movie to a VHS so it can be showed on a TV. Does this mean that I should encode in interlaced mode and then, when I have finished it in Premiere, export the MPEG-2 file in a progressive mode and the "VHS version" interlaced? If I have understood things the right way it's not possible to export to an interlaced mode if the source aren't interlaced?
For sending the file via Internet I'd rather use an MPEG-4 codec like DivX5 or XviD because of the much smaller filesize at the same quality. I'd use a resolution of 640xYYY (don't know your video's aspect ratio), and a bitrate of something between 1000 and 2000 kbps, depending on your quality needs (encode a short clip to get an idea of the quality).
You source is film, thus encode progressive (= non-interlaced). For the VHS, you better encode to DV or MJPEG at high quality - if you are not going to archive the "digital master", then filesize doesn't matter.

Even though I should make a DVD version, wouldn't it be better if I should have used the 720x576 when I imported the movie and after when the editing was finished choose 352x576(?) when exporting from Premiere?
In your first post you asked for minimum requirements. It's better to capture in a higher resolution, filter, and then downsize. For a DVD version I'd stay with 720x576, if your video is not too long, and you don't want to fit several videos on a single medium.

The movie is filmed underwater and the quality is pretty good mostly, but not great. If I use a M-JPEG codec will 3000 kbps be good?
Underwater scenes are known to be complicated for MPEG codecs, so you have to try...
My MJPEG codec is from PicVideo, and at least that one doesn't have a bitrate setting, but a quality setting instead. I use q19.

If I use a anti-noise filter, could it harm the imported movie if I use it wrong? I mean, if it could filter away other things than the noise.
Yes. Good filtering need experience. For each filter start with the defaults, and then tweak and tweak and tweak...

Oops, that was alot of questions :rolleyes: I just feel so curious because me and my friend will probably show the film on an amateur film festival and we want it as good as possible :)
Good luck...

bb