PhotoJPEG 75?

S

sean90291

Veteran
I've heard that a QuickTime movie using PhotoJPEG 75 is essentially "broadcast quality." Avid provides for JPEG2000, Motion JPEG A, and Motion JPEG B. Anyone know the difference between these QT codecs? Which would I use for highest quality archiving?

I'm trying to save a very high quality QuickTime movie for archive purposes. And it seems that a Lossless QuickTime Animation is overkill. At least that's what I'm told--that a lossless QT Animation is a giant file full of information you can't see.
 
Interesting. I've never contemplated using the Avid Meridien codec. I've never even heard of it being used. You definitely know something I don't here.

I'm on Media Composer, but the Avid Meridien Uncompressed codec is available, with options to go from "Least" quality to "Best."

So if Avid Media Composer can export Avid Meridien Uncompress, I presume it can ingest it as well, even if it has to transcode it to something else?

Is Avid Meridien a superior archive codec even for other programs, like After Effects, or Premiere?
 
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Avid Meridien is the native codec for standard def ingest into Composer. The point of archiving using the Meridien codec is to prevent additional transcoding on export and ingest. For importing the archived files into AE you'll need to have the Meridien codecs installed on the workstation. Anyone can download the codecs from Avids site. For HD work the DNxHD codec would be utilized for "same as source" exporting, also available for download on Avids site. If you're using AE you should be rendering using an Avid codec (Meridien or DNxHD) the files will import into Avid much faster.

Note - All of the above assumes an Avid centric facility. JPEG 2000 is considered by many to be a strong contender for a long term archive solution.
 
Ah, no wonder I'm having trouble. This is an HDV project, and therefore Avid not allow me to use the Avid Meridien codec to export the project because the frame size is wrong (unless I export in SD, which defeats my purposes of archiving in the highest quality possible/practicable).

You answered my original question, though, milksac--it sounds like I'll use JPEG 2000 after all for archiving this project in QuickTime.

So LAST question...should I use Best or High. I know, I know...there is some compression at High. But I was told it's so negligible nobody bothers with it (i.e., High is equal to PhotoJPEG 75, which is broadcast quality).

Thanks all!
 
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Personally, I would do some tests to determine the best archive solution. Transcoding the HDV material to DNxHD and exporting "same as source" might be a better option. I honestly don't know, but I do believe it would be worth the time and effort to determine the best possible archive solution.
You'll want to test the export/transcode speed, the import speed of the archived file and most importantly the quality of the image.
 
Well the export speed for the PhotoJPEG was super slow. I opted for DNxHD 220X in the end.

Good advice about testing various options. One day I'll do that. Though I bet some avid Avid editor has done that more thoroughly than I ever could.
 
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