Full Res Output .MOV file?

F

FeltSoulMedia

Active member
We love to screen our films from full res quicktime .mov files, but often run into issues when the projecting laptop does not have final cut. what is the best and most universal output codec for getting our projects out there at full resolution?
 
"Out there" to who? If you want universal, them mpeg4 or Flash are the best options. 25Mbps of good mpeg4 can look pretty darn good.

If you need a .MOV then motion jpeg at good bitrates can also look excellent. But without knowing the audience, answers to your question are going to be very limited.
 
Hey PerroneFord, they did say 'projecting laptop'. Maybe the original poster
is organizing a small film festival?
More info from FetSoulMedia would help.
 
Sorry for the lack of clarity.

Basically we are looking for the most universal full resolution output format from FCP for our films. Some times we need to deliver full resolution finished pieces to clients, for film festivals and for archiving. In the past we have just done self-contained full res quicktime files but in our experience they will only play if the host computer has FCP installed. We are hoping not to be limited by FCP codecs. We want our files to be played via Quicktime without the need for plug-ins. Does this help clarify what we are looking for?
 
FeltSoulMedia said:
Sorry for the lack of clarity.

Basically we are looking for the most universal full resolution output format from FCP for our films. Some times we need to deliver full resolution finished pieces to clients, for film festivals and for archiving. In the past we have just done self-contained full res quicktime files but in our experience they will only play if the host computer has FCP installed. We are hoping not to be limited by FCP codecs. We want our files to be played via Quicktime without the need for plug-ins. Does this help clarify what we are looking for?
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The only codec that is specfic to FCP is ProRes. So if you don't export in that, then your clients won't need FCP to play them.

Beyond that, you've got to make a choice or provide more than one file. Files suitable for archiving are lossless. Which means they are going to be very large, and probably won't play all that well off a laptop. Files suitable for playback, are typically poor choices for archiving, because they are lossy by necessity.

So either provide more than one file, or make a choice.
 
Quicktime container is not a deliverable. It's designed for Editors. There is a reason why it only works on other MACs that have FCP installed. Other people might disagree with me, but that is my stance. I cannot guarentee 100% compatibility when I hand a quicktime file to someone.

The two majorly supported standards are VC-1 in .wmv containers and h.264 in .mp4 containers, either will be playable on a majority of systems/hardware players. On Windows 2000 or greater you can guarentee 100% playback compatibility with VC-1 in a .wmv, and you can guarentee 100% playback compatibility with h.264 in Windows 7. On OS X, it's a different story.

h.264 has different Levels, so as long as your encoding level is low enough, you can guarantee playback on various systems. Encoding Main Profile @ level 3.1 and lower is a very safe bet, seeing as even mobile phones like the iPhone 4 can play back a MP@level 3.1 file. Some versions of quicktime player (6 and earlier) have issues playing back Main profile files, so there can be compatibility issues there.

Windows Media is a very safe bet in a Windows environment. H.264 in a .mp4 container is a pretty good bet in a Mac OS X/dedicated playback device environment.
 
PerroneFord said:
The only codec that is specfic to FCP is ProRes. So if you don't export in that, then your clients won't need FCP to play them.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. ProRes is supported with quicktime 7.6 and later on both Mac And PC. You cannot create a ProRes file without FCP on the other hand.

Here are a list of codecs off the top of my head that I know don't work without FCP on a Mac (only):


  • DVCPRO HD
  • AVC-Intra
  • XDCAM Ex (Mpeg-2)
  • HDV
  • AIC

There may be more, but this is just another reason why Quicktime .mov's aren't good deliverables.

Even if your NLE supports these formats "natively" they don't support them in a Quicktime Container, so you're SOL if you send any of these formats in a Quicktime container to a person running Windows.
 
Demistate said:
Incorrect. ProRes is supported with quicktime 7.6 and later on both Mac And PC. You cannot create a ProRes file without FCP on the other hand.
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Yes, I am aware of that, since I work with ProRes on the PC every month. However I cannot CREATE a ProRes file on the PC. And you cannot create one on a Mac without FCP.

Demistate said:
Here are a list of codecs off the top of my head that I know don't work without FCP on a Mac (only):


  • DVCPRO HD
  • AVC-Intra
  • XDCAM Ex (Mpeg-2)
  • HDV
  • AIC
Click to expand...

Incorrect. If I install Premiere, I can use every single one of those codecs, perhaps with the exception of AIC. And AIC installs with FCE, so no FCP needed for that one either.

Demistate said:
There may be more, but this is just another reason why Quicktime .mov's aren't good deliverables.
Click to expand...


Quicktime MOVs support numerous well used codecs such as MJpeg, jpeg2000, and others. I can read or create those on PCs. BUT I agree that there are better containers for PLAYBACK use than the .MOV. However, for archival purposes, the MOV container is very useful.

Demistate said:
Even if your NLE supports these formats "natively" they don't support them in a Quicktime Container, so you're SOL if you send any of these formats in a Quicktime container to a person running Windows.
Click to expand...

What are you saying? My NLE supports every codec you listed natively except AIC... inside a quicktime container. And that's on a PC. No different on a Mac.
 
PerroneFord said:
What are you saying? My NLE supports every codec you listed natively except AIC... inside a quicktime container. And that's on a PC. No different on a Mac.
Click to expand...

Unless things have changed in Premiere Pro CS5 (Windows), You have not been able to decode DVCProHD in a Quicktime container even if your NLE natively supported DVCProHD in an MXF container (CS3 with a patch supports DVCProHD in MXF containers).

I don't have any of the above listed codecs in quicktime containers, so I'm unable to test it in Adobe Premiere CS5 in Windows.
 
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