Understanding Computers
What do all the computer file suffixes mean?
When should you use them?
What should you render your finished project as?
How do you load a DVD into your edit programme?
Demonstrations are in Sony Vegas
Some examples of the significant numbers of video file types
Video File Types (fileinfo.com)
The Video Files category includes a wide range of video formats, which use different codecs to encode and compress video
data.
This category also includes video project files and video information files, which may not contain video data.
Common video file extensions include .MPG, .MOV, .WMV, and .RM.
Popularity
.gfp
GreenForce-Player
Protected Media File
.m21
AXMEDIS MPEG-21 File
Extension
File Description
.aep
After Effects Project
.sfd
Sofdec Dreamcast
Movie
.mani
Mine-imator Project
File
.wlmp
Windows Live Movie
Maker Project File
.mk3d
Matroska 3D Video File
Microsoft Photo Story
Project File
.mproj
Mine-imator Project
.wp3
.rdb
Wavelet Video Images
File
.dzp
DirectorZone Particle
Effect File
.rmp
ScreenCam Screen
Recording
RealPlayer Metadata
Package File
.scm
.rv
Real Video File
.rms
Secure Real Media File
.screenflow
ScreenFlow Document
.dir
Adobe Director Movie
.sec
.mswmm
Windows Movie
Maker Project
Samsung Security Video
File
.bik
Bink Video File
.swt
Flash Generator
Template
.dzm
DirectorZone Menu
Template
.usm
USM Game Video File
.3gp
3GPP Multimedia File
.vcpf
VideoConvert Project
File
.wpl
Windows Media
Player Playlist
.viewlet
Qarbon Viewlet
.psh
Photodex Slide Show
.bnp
Sony Camcorder Video
Data File
.ntp
Natron Project File
.dnc
Windows Dancer File
.trp
HD Video Transport
Stream
.ivf
Indeo Video Format File
.vro
DVD Video Recording
Format
.mp4.infovid
Parrot AR Drone and
Gyro Flyer Video
.amc
AMC Video File
.wm
Windows Media File
.bdmv
Blu-ray Disc Movie
Information File
.swf
Shockwave Flash Movie
.dck
Resolume Deck File
.mkv
Matroska Video File
.veg
Vegas Video Project
Project Files
stores all project information, including video, audio, effects, and timelines;
used to save and load video projects.
.aep
.aup
.avp
.dar
.ezp
.fcproject
.imovieproj
.prproj
.stu/.stx
.veg
After Effects Project
Audacity Project File
Avid Project File
DVD Architect Pro File
Edius Project File
Final Cut Pro X Project File
iMovie Project File
Premiere Pro Project
Pinnacle Studio project
Sony Vegas Project File
Video Files
produced by the video camera
.hdv
Format for the recording of high-definition video on DV cassette
tape; HDV is a a tape-based format and although a number of solutions for
tapeless recording of HDV video are available, these are not covered by the
HDV specification.
HDV video can be recorded or printed back to tape. For domestic and
consumer use, HDV video can be delivered on a Blu-ray Disc without
requiring any re-encoding, or can be converted to AVCHD and delivered on
an AVCHD disc, or can be downconverted to DVD-Video without being too
lossy.
Originally developed by JVC and subsequently supported by Sony, Canon
and Sharp, the HDV format was created so as to serve as an affordable high
definition format for digital camcorders.
The HDV format caught on rapidly with many amateur and professional
videographers owing to its low cost, portability, and an acceptable image
quality for many professional productions.
Video Files
produced by the video camera
.avchd
A file-based format for digital recording and playback of
high-definition video; its name is an acronym which stands for Advanced
Video Coding High Definition.
The AVCHD format was introduced in 2006 after being jointly developed by
Sony and Panasonic, primarily for use in high definition consumer
camcorders. As a format, AVCHD favors comparably to .HDV and is a format
which is acceptable for professional use.
Playback of the AVCHD format is not supported across all Blu-ray Disc
players as even though AVCHD does share many format similarities with Bluray Disc, it is not part of the Blu-ray Disc specification.
Video Files
produced by the video camera
.m2t
High-definition video recording format used by many HD
camcorders; commonly referred to as "HDV;" uses MPEG-2 compression to
store HD video data
.mts
High-definition MPEG Transport Stream video format,
commonly called "AVCHD;" used by Sony, Panasonic, and other HD
camcorders; based on the MPEG-2 transport stream and supports 720p and
1080i HD video formats.
.mov
Common multimedia container file format developed by
Apple and compatible with both Macintosh and Windows platforms; may
contain multiple tracks that store different types of media data; often used
for saving movies and other video files; commonly uses the MPEG4 codec for compression. MOV files may contain video, audio, timecode,
and text tracks, which can be used to store and synchronize different types
of media. Each media track may be encoded using one of several different
codecs. In order to play a MOV file, an application must be able to recognize
the specific codec(s) used in the file.
Project Properties
Some of the decisions to be made:
•Match clip settings
•Frame rate
•Interlaced or progressive
•Adjust source media
•Deinterlace method
What type of file do I render in my project?
What is a codec? What is a format?
A codec is a compression standard. Raw video or audio is compressed when
encoding, and decompressed (decoded) on playback.
A format is a file container that holds one or more codecs – video, audio, or
even data. The container format contains information about the video,
audio, and data tracks that it holds. Some example container formats are
mov (Quicktime), mp4, wmv, and avi.
What type of file do I render in my project?
Each type of editing software handles files differently so it is important to
learn how best to handle footage for example:
Sony Vegas Smart rendering
When you render video to any of the following formats, unedited video
frames are passed through without recompression (smart rendering):
DV AVI
DV MXF
IMX MXF (IMX 24p MXF is not supported for no-recompress rendering)
XAVC Intra MXF
HD MXF
MPEG-2 (for files such as those from HDV and DVD camcorders)
Panasonic P2
What type of file do I render in my project?
MPEG-4 is now one of the most widely used formats.
MPEG-4
Movie or video clip that uses MPEG-4 compression, a standard developed
by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG); commonly used for sharing
video files on the Internet.
H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10, Advanced Video Coding (MPEG-4 AVC) is a video
compression format that is currently one of the most commonly used formats for the
recording, compression, and distribution of video content.
H.264 is perhaps best known as being one of the video encoding standards for Blu-ray
Discs; all Blu-ray Disc players must be able to decode H.264. It is also widely used by
streaming internet sources, such as videos from Vimeo, YouTube, and the iTunes
Store, web software such as the Adobe Flash Player and Microsoft Silverlight, and also
various HDTV broadcasts over terrestrial (ATSC, ISDB-T, DVB-T or DVB-T2), cable (DVBC), and satellite (DVB-S and DVB-S2).
What type of file do I render in my project?
Quotes re quality
“There are codecs that are lossless (e.g., Lagarith, HuffYUV) and you can rerender 1000 times and there will be NO LOSS of quality. Only "lossy" codecs
will lose quality; "lossless" codecs will not. Also rendering "uncompressed"
will not lose quality either.”
“MPEG4 AVC/H.264 is lossy so re-rendering to MP4 will always lose quality
even if it is "visually" lossless as you have seen.”
“People are always worrying about quality when re-rendering and most of it
is unfounded. I've worked on projects that were shot in HDV and we've rerendered sections back to HDV and dropped them back onto the timeline
and delivered the show for national broadcast a no one could see any
difference from the original HDV footage and the footage that was rendered
twice so don't angst over it.”
“My general rule of thumb is: "if you can't see the difference, there is no
difference" ;-)”
What type of file do I render in my project?
Video
H.264 is currently the highest quality video codec available, which means that it can
usually look better at the same file size, or the same at smaller file sizes, than other
codecs. It's also widely deployed, and most web browsers can play it (either natively,
or via a Flash plugin), and so can many mobile devices, like the iPhone and Android.
But there are licensing issues to consider.
Theora is a free and open video codec with no licensing issues. It is natively playable
in many browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, and Safari, but compression is a bit
worse than H.264.
VP8 is a newer codec. Like Theora, it is free and open. But it compresses better than
Theora, and about as well as the H.264 Baseline profile. H.264 is still better in its Main
and High profiles. But that will hopefully change as VP8, and VP8 encoders, mature.
VP8 is expected to be widely adopted in web browsers, and can be played today in
the newest versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.
VP6 is supported natively in Flash 8, and so is widely used on the web. It is a good
codec, but doesn't compress as well as H.264. A good option is to encode to VP6 in
the FLV container, with MP3 audio.
MPEG-4 is often used in a 3GP format on mobile devices.
WMV is a Windows codec.
What type of file do I render in my project?
ProRes is a line of intermediate codecs, which means they are intended for use during
video editing, and not for practical end-user viewing. The benefit of an intermediate
codec is that it retains higher quality than end-user codecs while still requiring much
less expensive disk systems compared to uncompressed video. It is comparable to
Avid's DNxHD codec or CineForm which offer similar bitrates which are also intended
to be used as intermediate codecs. ProRes 422 is a DCT-based[2] intra-frame-only
codec and is therefore simpler to decode than distribution-oriented formats
like H.264.
What type of file do I render in my project?
Best setting seems to be MPEG4 h.264 for uploading to the internet.
If you upload an mp4 to Youtube they will still re-encode it as they offer
different viewing options. However I believe they prefer mp4 since the
quality can be good and the file size small, which makes for faster uploads.
Bottom line is the better quality you upload, the better your video will look.
Useful tools from the internet:
MediaInfo – tells you everything you need to know about a file including
format, codec etc
Any MPEG4 converter – converts all popular file formats to MPEG 4, rips and
converts DVDs, batch processes, downloads from Youtube – costs about £20
h.264 Converter – converts from h.264 to other codecs – free converte.
r
Key decisions to be made:
Bitrate
Two Pass
What type of file do I render in my project?
Bit Rate and Number of Passes
Single pass constant bitrate: you pick the bitrate, the encoder encodes the entire video at
that bitrate. If the bitrate is very low the video will be of low quality. If the bitrate is very
high the video may be of good quality but bitrate will probably be wasted on lots of shots
that didn't really need it.
Single pass constant quality: you pick the quality, the encoder uses whatever bitrate is
necessary to deliver that quality at each frame.
Two pass variable bitrate: you pick the bitrate, the encoder delivers whatever quality it can
for that bitrate. The encoder makes two passes. During the first pass the encoder examines
the entire video to see what parts need more bitrate and what parts need less. During the
second pass it encodes the video using that information. It allocates more bitrate to parts
that need it, less to parts that don't. This produces better quality than single pass CBR
because bitrate isn't wasted on parts of the video that don't need it.
When your primary concern is the file size you use 2-pass VBR encoding. You're saying "I
don't care what the quality is, I want a file of THIS size." Because file size = bitrate *
running_time.
When your primary concern is quality you use constant quality encoding. You're saying "I
don't care what the file size is, I what THIS quality."
Loading a DVD into the project
Import DVD
Editing programmes usually have an option to import automatically – but it doesn’t
always recognise the file
Loading a DVD into the project
Import DVD
If importing automatically doesn’t work, manually choose or copy the file. Look for
the biggest file.
If it’s a .vob (DVD Video Object) file and your software doesn’t like it, try changing the
suffix to .mpg