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Can’t read or edit uncompressed MOV 10 bit file
Hi folks,
I’m trying to work with an uncompressed 10 bit MOV file for a client that was extracted from a Digibeta. I am unable to find any PC programs, including Vegas, that can read the file in any sense, video or audio. I have BlackMagic codecs that can read and export 8 and 10 bit video files, but realize that this probably only would help if the file were initially encoded with a BM codec, which is not the case.
I also have a Mac with Snow Leopard, and have been trying to see if I can open it with a few programs there to transcode the video to a format still high-res enough that I can work with on the Windows side, but haven’t had any luck. More specifically, I’m able to hear and/or import the audio with programs like VLC and Ableton Live, etc, but can’t see the video at all; it either doesn’t show up, or is simply a black or green screen. The file is obviously large and uncompressed, and so meant more for editing than regular playback, so maybe that’s to be expected. I do have the very basic iMovie installed, as well as Quicktime Pro, but neither seems to accept files of this type. I do have the Apple Intermediate Codec installed, which I believe was installed iMovie, but this doesn’t seem to make any difference for that program or QT. A test transcode to MP4 with VLC produced a similarly unusable file: audio works, video is just green.
The normally informative VLC doesn’t give me any codec info for this file at all, unfortunately, so I’m not quite sure how to proceed. All I need is something on the Mac side that can read the file to just transcode to other formats so I can export and work with it elsewhere, or a way to read it directly on Windows in Vegas. I don’t know if my only option is to use Final Cut, which we don’t currently have, so that’s undesirable if there are other alternatives. I’m checking with the house that performed the extraction from the Digibeta, but wondering if you Vegas users had any experience with this in the meantime.
Thanks a lot!
Howie -
5 Replies
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Uncompressed means that it doesn’t use a codec. That’s what uncompressed is (i.e., no compression = no codec). Since no codec is used or required, uncompressed can be read by anything and everything. The fact that nothing can read the file on a PC or Mac suggests that it is not uncompressed and that uses a codec that you don’t have on any of your systems. I would see what the house that performed the extraction from Digibeta says about the file.
Also if you open it in QuickTime player and use Ctrl+I the Inspector should be able to tell you what codec is being used.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Hi John,
Thanks for the quick reply. Regarding the uncompressed vs codec thing, that’s pretty much what I figured. What’s odd is that neither Quicktime on the PC or the Mac will even open the file at all; on the PC side, I immediately get an error message telling me that it’s not a format that Quicktime understands, and on the Mac side, I get that plus a link telling me I may need to install more software, and we’re off to the Final Cut Pro website. So I can’t check the codec in either place, unfortunately, or in any other program.
I’ll have to check with the dub house, but does this sound like behavior that would occur with an uncompressed file, or with a file compressed with a codec that I don’t have installed?
Thanks,
Howie -
[Howie Kenty] “I’ll have to check with the dub house, but does this sound like behavior that would occur with an uncompressed file, or with a file compressed with a codec that I don’t have installed?”
It sounds to me like it uses a codec that you don’t have installed. QuickTime on the Mac and PC should have no problem with uncompressed video. The fact that QuickTime on the Mac thinks you need to buy a codec implies that the file uses a codec that you do not have.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Hi John,
After talking to the dub house, I’ve worked it out. From them: “The movie uses the “Uncompressed” codec inside a Quicktime wrapper… It’s not necessary to have FCP, Avid, or Adobe software for playback, but one does need the uncompressed codec.”
They were able to send me a component file, “FCP Uncompressed 422.component,” which is placed in the /Library/Quicktime folder on your Mac, after which Quicktime, iMovie, and the like can read both video and audio. So oddly enough, it is in fact both uncompressed and uses a codec. As far as I can tell, there does not seem to be a corresponding Windows component to allow one to read these files on a PC (the FCP component is something that is installed automatically with Final Cut Pro), so I’m just converting here to a high-res format I can use on the PC side for editing. I’m set now, thanks for your advice!
Best,
Howie -
[Howie Kenty] “…so I’m just converting here to a high-res format I can use on the PC side for editing. I’m set now, thanks for your advice!”
You want to use the Avid NDxHD codec to do this. Otherwise you may have gamma issues. You can download both the Mac and PC version of NDxHD from the Avid web site.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com
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