Jump to content

Looping Prores files


arjenmooij

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone,

 

using Watchout 6 I get a "runtime error; Unable to decache DS video" message when I turn on Free Running and Looping.

It is a Apple Pro Res 4:2:2 Clip in 3200 x 1800.

If I take out the checkmarks, everything works fine again. Has anyone ever experienced this?

 

Cheers,

Martina

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Erik,

 

Placing the video in a composition and looping the composition will not result in a seamlessly looped media cue. Compositions have not been able to jump to their zero time base without some sort of visual jump/glitch for some time now. I even tried your suggestion with the latest version of WO and it did not work. Composition time bases have not been able to produce the same time base behavior results that we have traditionally gotten with internal time bases of a video media cues. If I ever use the loop behavior feature of a composition, it is only when I have matched the first 0.5s of the composition with the last composition with something static. Otherwise, drops to black occur. If one were to line up multiple iterations of the ProRes media within a composition - for a longer-than-needed duration, and then placed the composition in free-run mode, that would work. But if someone needs to loop a composition for a completely TBD duration, then your suggested workaround will not work.

 

My suggestion to anyone wishing to loop ProRes media at this time, is to convert the media to HAP. We have found the HAP codec to be incredibly powerful, lightweight, while delivering very good quality. We have adjusted our workflow from MPEG2 to HAP. And HAP even supports alpha transparency!

 

JJ 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello!

 

The looping issue will be included in a release as soon as we're done. It is currently impossible to say when, but we are working on it. 

Regarding HAP, it is a very nice codec, since most of the work is done in the GPU relieving the CPU of the burden of uncompressing video in real time. We support all three flavours of HAP (HapStandard, HapAlpha and HapQ). HapStandard and HapAlpha have the same quality, the only exception being the alpha channel. HapQ takes more space than HapStandard, but is quite a lot better in reproducing colors. There is no way to get alpha with HapQ, meaning that is you want alpha you will have to live with slightly lower quality. 

 

/Erik 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderator

Hi JJ,

I have the utmost respect for your knowledge,

but I am not seeing issues with looping a composition in v6. iono.gif

 

I suppose you know this, but to get it to work correctly,

you must place the video at time 0 and then

trim the composition duration to exactly match the video's duration

(and I lock the composition's duration after doing that).

Do not designate looping or free running in the movie cue inside the composition,

only do this in the composition cue.

 

so for video cue placed at 0.0 with a duration of 11.4

 Video_Cue_basic-duration_circled.png

 

set composition timeline settings duration to the same value

 Composition_Timeline_settings-duration_c

 

in the composition's video cue do not check loop or free run in advanced

Video_cue_advanced-no_loop_nofree_circle

 

and when calling the composition, in that cue, DO set loop and free run

 composition_cue-advanced-loop_free_check

 

 

Hi Erik,

 

Placing the video in a composition and looping the composition will not result in a seamlessly looped media cue. Compositions have not been able to jump to their zero time base without some sort of visual jump/glitch for some time now. I even tried your suggestion with the latest version of WO and it did not work. Composition time bases have not been able to produce the same time base behavior results that we have traditionally gotten with internal time bases of a video media cues. If I ever use the loop behavior feature of a composition, it is only when I have matched the first 0.5s of the composition with the last composition with something static. Otherwise, drops to black occur. If one were to line up multiple iterations of the ProRes media within a composition - for a longer-than-needed duration, and then placed the composition in free-run mode, that would work. But if someone needs to loop a composition for a completely TBD duration, then your suggested workaround will not work.

 

My suggestion to anyone wishing to loop ProRes media at this time, is to convert the media to HAP. We have found the HAP codec to be incredibly powerful, lightweight, while delivering very good quality. We have adjusted our workflow from MPEG2 to HAP. And HAP even supports alpha transparency!

 

JJ 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Jim,

 

With all due respect, something is getting overlooked. I have produced a video sample of what I am referring to here:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wa81yy6u5nqruof/Looping%20Composition%20of%20video%20cue.m4v?dl=0

 

As you can see, I followed all of your instructions to produce this working example. I will say, if you blink, you will not see it. In fact, watching this in real time will probably take a couple passes to see it, so you may be better off just downloading the video and then examining the footage frame by frame.

 

This cue is a 180 frame composition out of After Effects, counting each frame. We use it to examine drop frame scenarios. What you will see is, when the cue arrives to frame 180, it drops to black (when the composition is at the loop point), and then continues at frame 2 of the cue's internal time base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Erik

 

Hmm.. Yes potentially QT took over. I'll have to check

 

The ProRes Proxy files that worked for me no problem were 1920x1080p29.97

 

The ProRes Proxy files that did NOT work for me were 5200x1080p60.

 

60 fps - perhaps this is the issue - the frame rate? Or if not the 5000+ width of the video?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, there has been another issue with the prores decoder, affecting certain resolutions. One video played ok when not looping, but the output when looping looked very strange. With another video it was the exact opposite. 

The frame rate should not be the problem, rather the resolution. This has however been solved, and will be included in the upcoming service release of Watchout 6. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...