-
Premiere Pro CS5 – Exporting (Extremely) High Bitrate HD Video
Hi, I was given a video clip to add effects to by someone who works on a Mac. I work on a Windows PC. The original video is around 20 seconds long, 260Mb, 1080p, H.264 MOV, with a bitrate of 109,784Kbps.
I added the effects in After Effects, exported as AVI, which made the file size jump to 2.26Gb, with a bitrate of 1,193,231Kbps. I then imported this footage into Premiere Pro CS5 and added the sound effects. I now need to export the file with a similar file size and bitrate to the original, but can’t seem to find anything that does the trick. The reason I need to do this is because the person who sent me the original video clip really wants it done that way and is closely checking the filesize and bitrate of any edited footage that I send back to him. I don’t know much about bitrates but after briefly Googling the subject, it does seem that 109,784Kbps is extremely high, but I don’t really know. All I know is, the client wants his edited clip back with a similar bitrate and filesize to the original.
It might be relevant to mention that when I export using MainConcept H.264 Video and set it to VBR 2 pass with a target bitrate of 109Mbps and a maximum bitrate of 163Mbps, the estimated file size is displayed as being 407Mb, but the actual filesize I get is 260Mb with a bitrate of 70,210Kbps. I can’t get the bitrate any higher than that, even when I set the target bitrate right up to 240Mbps.
What do I need to do to get that bitrate back up to the original 109,000Kbps? Thanks.
-
15 Replies
-
Hi Simon,
Apple ProRes is the preferred format for Mac editors, but it is difficult to export from a PC – there are some third-party developers with supposed solutions to this issue, but I’ve not tried them yet.
I would recommend installing and using the Avid DNxHD codec, available free from the Avid website. This will provide lossless quality .mov files that the Mac editor can work with.
You do NOT want to use an H.264 format – this is a highly-compressed DELIVERY format, not a great choice for maintaining quality for EDITING.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
So, the issue is that the client used a codec that isn’t often used at that data rate when it’s temporally compressed (long GOP), and my guess would be that it probably is long GOP.
I’m sure H.264 was chosen as it’s a wrapper that can be dependably read on both platforms. I’m certain the image quality is excellent as HDcamSR is H.264 at 220 Mbits/s, and AVC-Intra is 100 Mbits/s…both respected production formats, and bot I-frame codecs, so for the bitrate, they’re actually less efficient.
To the point of encoding H.264…each encoder will do things a bit differently as there are a lot of moving parts in H.264…QuickTime’s compressor and Adobe’s compressor will make two different files with as identical settings as you can make on the same source material.
While I worry about QuickTime 7.x’s screwing up of H264’s gamma, I would suggest getting QuickTime Pro (downloadable from Apple for 30 USD), and try to use that to compress the material to the target bitrate.
I doubt there is a question that what you have is at an adequate quality level, but the compression is likely more efficient…before trying QuickTime, you could always attempt to run a clip out CBR at your set bitrate and see what it looks like. I usually like dual pass VBR for efficiency’s sake, but if the client wants a certain amount of bits, they’re already kind of distracted.
You could always give them the version you have as a “test” to see how it works…they may see the material and see what it looks like and move on…
TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,Adobe Certified Instructor
-
Hi,
Thanks, this is great advice! I’ve already downloaded the Avid DNxHD codec and it seems to have worked well. The file size is now 500Mb with a bitrate of 135,198Kbps, which is much closer than what I had achieved before now. Hopefully the client will be happy with those figures.
About the H.264 format – I noticed that there is a format called H.264 and also a codec called H.264 (found further down in the media encoder) which can be used with the Quicktime format. Are both of these bad? I find the subject of formats and codecs a bit confusing! There are so many of them!
Thanks,
Simon.
-
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Though I have followed Jeff’s advice and downloaded the Avid DNxHD codec, I would also like to try your advice to see how it works. I already have Quicktime Pro. How do I use this to compress the edited video? Do I have to export it from Premiere first as an uncompressed file? I feel silly, but how do I do this? I’ve just moved from Pro CS3 to Pro CS5, and Pro CS5 doesn’t have the ‘export movie’ option, so I’m a bit lost.
Thanks,
Simon.
-
Hi,
I don’t know if this is a coincidence, but since I downloaded the Avid DNxHD codec I have had a problem with After Effects. I have a layer with a curves adjustment with the blue channel set very high. I’ve gone back and fore to this project for the past few days with no issues, but since this afternoon the layer with the curves adjustment has become corrupt, with an unwanted yellow colour present. It was not present when I last saved the project but is now present on loading the project. I have included a screenshot of the issue, hopefully it will be visible in the picture. I’ve tried adding a new curves effect, with the same unwanted results. Do you have any idea what could be causing this?
Thanks,
Simon.
-
Export Media or Movie…it’s all the same. Pick a format and parameters the same basic way as I recall. (It’s been 5 years since I used CS3 and a couple years since CS5). Pick something large from the QuickTime formats available and make a master clip, then load it into QT Player and Export it. It will take a while (QT Pro is 32 bit), but you may be able to hit the data rate numbers.
DNxHD is a fine codec, but you’ll have to double the data rate to reasonably preserve image quality…and the QuickTime wrapped version of the DNxHD codec doesn’t have the flexibility of the MXF wrapped codecs. All this also assumes your client has the Avid codecs on their system to use the media you deliver…
TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,Adobe Certified Instructor
-
Ok, thanks man. So I have an uncompressed file and I’ve loaded it into Quicktime Pro. Which format do I then choose?
Thanks.
-
Hi, I’ve made the yellow colour vanish now by clicking on the pencil icon to the right of the curves graph. Not sure how this happened but it’s solved now, at least I hope 🙂
-
Ah I think I may have made a mistake with the details regarding the original file I received from the client. I think the format he used was Quicktime Apple Pro Res.
-
[Simon Matthews] “I added the effects in After Effects, exported as AVI, which made the file size jump to 2.26Gb, with a bitrate of 1,193,231Kbps. I then imported this footage into Premiere Pro CS5 and added the sound effects.”
Your workflow can be simplified by using dynamic links between Premiere Pro and After Effects. As an alternative, work on the sound without the video and import an uncompressed wav file to AE. There is minimal advantage to creating an intermediate file in this case.
Otherwise, I agree with the recommendations to use a 10-bit all-intra 422 codec. I have experienced color issues when going from DNxHD to QuickTime H.264. If the final output from the client is darker than expected, try using another codec instead (eg AVC-Intra, Cineform).
[Simon Matthews] “So I have an uncompressed file and I’ve loaded it into Quicktime Pro. Which format do I then choose?”
DNxHD can be exported directly from AE; it will appear as one of the options under the QuickTime format.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up