Codecs Codecs Codecs!

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Budgieboots

Well-known member
Hey guys,

What are the different codecs out there that we can use in premiere pro 2.0 for exporting?

The only one I am familar with is the main concept codec, but I've heard of something called "Media Press Pro"

Anybody know anything?
 
there are hundreds of diffrent codecs you can use in premiere, what are you looking to do with your exported clip? (presentation, backup, color correcting webcast etc.)
 
there are a bunch of ways to make an mpeg-2 main concept that is built into premiere pro is good just becasue it already has the preset to allow you to alter bitrates and such without going out of DVD legal limits (even thouhg dvd legal limits and what will actually play in a typical dvd player are two sepereate things) I havent seen a problem with it but if yuou want there are a lot of codec for mpeg-2 codecs that you can download and install on your system that should pop up in the export movie compressor dialog box in premiere. As long as you set the settings for these codecs to be dvd lagal it should be ok. A lot of people preffer to simply encode their mpeg-2 files with third-party software that is specifically made for mpeg-2 encoding for best results and then burn it in a dvd authoring program to make menus and such.
 
Well whats the standard practice for dvx users?

Like on this forum I learned about how squeeze mode is bad and that I should just crop 4:3 to 16:9 for widescreen.
 
Honestly I dont think there is anything wrong with the results coming out of premieres built in mpreg2 encoder main concept. It really all depends on how proffesional you want everything then you might want to compare diffrent results coming out of diffrent encoders (you prob wont be able to tell the diffrence on a television because of how low res consumer television are and might want to use a professional crt or see the results off of a computer software dvd player which is were the compression of mpeg-2 will really show up. For someones event video certain things are not worth the extra effort. I am not aware of the names of the software but if you wan to make better and cleaner dvd's the best way is to do i chroma upsampling of 4:1:1 footage ot 4:2:2 much like grame nattress's plug-in for final cut. A proffesional looking menu and dvd logic can make dvds look that much better so you can either use encore for simple dvds or you can use dvd-lab pro for total control over your dvd look. Also if you have to choose between shooting 24pn or 24pA consider the space saving or rather extra quality you get with 24pA because you have less frames to dedicate the bitrate to each second with a true 24pa dvd.
 
I hate dealing with codecs in Premiere so much that I just don't do it anymore.

I just export the entire sequence as an uncompressed, 8bit 4:2:2 *.AVI, and then get whichever tool suits the output target best to deal with it. God help me when I move to DVCPro HD.

For those who don't know...

Codec = Co/Dec = Compressor/Decompressor.

As an example, think of an MP3 file. The original source was a CD, which ran at 80 minutes per 700MB, or 8.75 MB/s (Megabytes per second.) An MP3 takes up hardly anything by comparison. That's because the original information on the audio CD has been run through a compressor to get rid of anything that is similar in the original to save space.

There are lots of types of audio codecs -- MP3, AAC, OGM -- and by the same token there are loads of video codecs. They still work in the same way though, by throwing out redundant information as your file plays. If the left channel sounds exactly the same as the right, then there's twice the amount of information that can be cut and by extension half the data can potentially go.

Next time you watch a South Park episode, look at how much the background changes in a shot. Instead of having full frame after full frame of information stored and displayed, why not grab a scalpel and cut away the parts of the clip that don't move in every frame after the first one, which contains most of the information? Just keep the information from the first frame that

And for that matter, if blocks of colour are the same, then why not try to define the area that contains the colour, remove the information that defines the colour in each pixel, and then tell the decompressor to fill in specific area with a colour that matches the original? That would save you having to write a specific colour down (number of pixels * number of frames) times, throughout the shot!

This is the basis of compression, specifically the use of I frames. Doing this in reverse is decompression, and the various methods that you can use to get the best results in the smallest space form the black arts of Compression. Codecs are the tools of the trade, and depending on what you plan for your footage, there's a lot to learn. For more, see doom9.org. Geek yourself up before you go though.

So in summary...

This is the kind of mindset that you need when you are dealing with codecs. They all do the same job, but because footage varies so wildly in the real world, you need to know how they work and what they'll do to your footage. Don't think for a second that they will give you blocky, webcast quality footage. Codecs are everywhere from shitty webcasts to DVDs to broadcast. It's all about using them properly, modifying settings and matrices ever so slightly will greatly improve your footage.

Hope this helps. I know it's general, but it's good to start with the basics.

-DAVE.
 
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