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Best video file format for Avid? and What format is Highest quality, but not a Huge file?
Hello, I was wondering what is the best video file format most suitable for Avid, if I’m doing standard 4:3 NTSC 720×480 video. I work in other programs too such as Proshow Producer, Adobe Premiere, and After effects. What Codec would be best for Avid to handle? I noticed sometimes when I import a Quicktime video it will say that it’s converting the video in Avid but then the end result will be a White screen but the audio will be there. I think this has to do with the type of Codec used, but I’m not sure. I think H264 would be the safest as that is the most standard codec, and Avid usually imports this type of codec fine. But there’s so many codecs and file types out there it gets confusing as to which one would be the best in terms of High Quality, but also not a file that is 10-20gb in size.
So, I guess what I’m asking is, from an editor’s point of view, what is the recommended video format for the best possible quality but not a gigantic file. It can be a “Compressed/Lossy Format” but as long as the quality is not overall noticeably bad. Most of the time when I do an Uncompressed format the file turns out Huge and it’s hard to do editing that way because it slows down my computer. So when I’m exporting from After effects or some other program to import into Avid, I usually do Quicktime-H264 but is there another filetype or codec that is better? such as AVI-DV/DVCPro?
Thanks!
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3 Replies
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Hmmm… standard def doesn’t leave a whole lot of options. I would look to the DV24 codec for a balance of size and quality.
Michael
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An uncompressed file is about 1 gig a minute.
DV25 is probably the most friendly format to all, but if you are focusing on an Avid workflow, you can render directly into an Avid format, which will make import into Avid much faster.
DV25 is compressed roughly 5:1, so it depends on what your delivery will be whether it will be high enough quality or not. But since you are speaking in typical NTSC terms, DV25 may be just fine.
Attached is a quick document I created to help out of After Effects.
https://thebeatties.com/thecow/AEtoAvidSettings.pdf
James Beattie
ACSR Elite/Avid ACI, Apple Certified TechnicianConsulting for Workflow and Digital Technologies at Comprehensive Technical Group
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Thanks for your responses, I appreciate the PDF too!
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