Editing After Effects interpretation rules file

Adobe After Effects

Editing After Effects interpretation rules file

Posted by Tim Ash on October 8, 2008 at 1:57 am

I am getting increasingly frustrated having to constantly change the interpretation of imported footage and I want to edit the default interpretation settings that are applied.

I understand that I have the edit the active “interpretation rules 802.txt” file but I am unsure of the exact changes that I have to make.

Does anyone know how to change the default settings to..

Pixel aspect ration: D1/DV PAL Widescreen
Seperate fields: Upper field

or even better reply to this post with an exact copy of the complete interpretation rules text based on my existing file which I have copied to the bottom of this post..

Thanks
(my existing text file is pasted below)

# “Interpretation Rules.txt”
# Adobe After Effects Automatic Footage Interpretation
#
# lines beginning with “#” are comments
#
# basic format of a hard rule: {match requirements} = {set interpretation}
# basic format of a soft rule: {match requirements} ~ {set interpretation}
#
# + for each rule that matches, the interpretation is set; wild-cards (“*”) allowed
# on both sides; wildcard match matches anything, wildcard set sets nothing
# + multiple rules are allowed to match, later matches override earlier matches
# + all rules are scanned in order, one rule per line
# + rules are applied after pixel aspect ratio, alpha information, and field label
# information is read from a file
#
# + soft rules will not override values that are specified explicitly by the file format
#
# width, height, frame-rate, file-type, codec =
# pixel aspect ratio/name, field order, conform frame-rate, alpha interp, icc profile code or profile description (one or the other), linear light
#
# width & height are integer numbers
# frame-rate is a decimal number
# file-type is four characters in quotes (4c’s)
# codec (applicable for QT & AVI only) is also 4c’s
#
# to find out the file-type and/or codec 4c’s for a specific type of footage,
# opt-click (Mac) or alt-click (Windows) on the footage in the project window;
# the 4c codes will appear in the last line of text by the thumbnail
#
# the pixel aspect ratio is a ratio of integers (e.g. 10/11)
# optionally followed by a name for that ratio (e.g. 10/11/”My Aspect”)
# the field order is a single character, (F=frame, U=upper field, or L=lower field)
# the conform frame-rate is a decimal number
# alpha interp: (I=ignore, S=straight, P=premul/black, W=premul/white)
# alpha interp is ignored for footage without an alpha channel
#
# icc profile is specified either by profile code which is four characters in quotes or by profile description which is a string in quotes with at most 255 characters plus quotes
# The supported profile codes are:
# – working space profile: “wRGB”
# – embedded profile: “embe”
# – preserve RGB: “pRGB” (this does exactly what Preserve RGB checkbox does in Interpret Footage dialog)
# – sRGB: “sRGB”
# – Adobe RGB: “AS98”
# – Kodak 5218 film profile: “ginp”
# – SDTV NTSC: “r6nf” (SMPTE RP 145 primaries and ITU-R Rec. 709 TRCs. Black is encoded at 0 and White is encoded at 1.)
# – SDTV NTSC 16-235: “r6ns” (SMPTE RP 145 primaries and ITU-R Rec. 709 TRCs. Black is encoded at 16/255 and White is encoded at 235/255.)
# – SDTV PAL: “r6pf” (EBU Tech. 3213 primaries and ITU-R Rec. 709 TRCs. Black is encoded at 0 and White is encoded at 1.)
# – SDTV PAL 16-235: “r6ps” (EBU Tech. 3213 primaries and ITU-R Rec. 709 TRCs. Black is encoded at 16/255 and White is encoded at 235/255.)
# – HDTV (Rec. 709): “r7hf” (ITU-R Rec. 709 primaries and TRCs. Black is encoded at 0 and White is encoded at 1.)
# – HDTV (Rec. 709) 16-235: “r7hs” (ITU-R Rec. 709 primaries and TRCs. Black is encoded at 16/255 and White is encoded at 235/255.)
#
# The profile description can be looked up either in UI (project window thumbnail info) or in a color utility such as ColorSync or it is user-defined
# when creating a custom profile
#
# linear light is an integer (0=Off, 1=On, 2=On for 32 bpc footage)
#

# soft rule: tag all untagged footage with an sRGB profile
*, *, *, *, * ~ *, *, *, *, “sRGB”, *

# soft rule; assume ATSC 704×480 in any format is D1 aspect
704, 480, 29.97, *, * ~ 648/720, *, *, *, *, *

# NTSC rules
# soft rule; assume 720×480 29.97fps formats are DV NTSC (lower, NTSC D1/DV aspect)
# soft rule; assume 720×480 formats with all frame rates have NTSC DV/D1 pixel aspect ratio
# soft rule; assume 720×486 formats with all frame rates have NTSC DV/D1 pixel aspect ratio
# soft rule; assume 720×480 and 720×486 native mediacore formats are SDTV NTSC
# soft rule; assume 720×480 DVCPro50 files are SDTV NTSC
720, 480, 29.97, *, * ~ 648/720, L, *, *, *, *
720, 480, *, *, * ~ 648/720, *, *, *, *, *
720, 486, *, *, * ~ 648/720, *, *, *, *, *
720, 480, *, *, “dvc ” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6nf”, *
720, 486, *, *, “v210” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6nf”, *
720, 486, *, *, “UYVY” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6nf”, *
720, 486, *, *, “2vuy” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6nf”, *
720, 480, *, *, “dv5n” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6nf”, *

# PAL rules
# soft rule; assume 720×576 25fps formats are DV PAL (lower, PAL D1/DV aspect)
# soft rule; assume 720×576 formats with all frame rates have PAL DV/D1 pixel aspect ratio
# soft rule; assume 720×576 native mediacore formats are SDTV PAL
# soft rule; assume 720×576 DVCPro50 files are SDTV PAL
720, 576, 25, *, * ~ 768/720, L, *, *, *, *
720, 576, *, *, * ~ 768/720, *, *, *, *, *
720, 576, *, *, “dvcp” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “v210” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “UYVY” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “2vuy” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “dv5p” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *

# D16/D4 rules
# soft rules; assume 2880×2048, 1440×1024 formats with all frame rates D16/D4 pixel aspect ratio
# removed from 7.0 — remove comments to re-enable
# 2880, 2048, *, *, * ~ 128/135, *, *, *, *, *
# 1440, 1024, *, *, * ~ 128/135, *, *, *, *, *

# HD / HDV rules
# soft rule; Panasonic Varicam is 960×720
# soft rule; Sony HDV is 1440×1080, upper field first
# soft rule; assume HD dimensioned native mediacore formats are HDTV full swing
960, 720, *, *, * ~ 1280/960/”HDV”, *, *, *, *, *
1440, 1080, 25, *, * ~ 1280/960/”HDV”, U, *, *, *, *
1440, 1080, 29.97, *, * ~ 1280/960/”HDV”, U, *, *, *, *
1280, 720, *, *, “v210” ~ *, *, *, *, “r7hf”, *
1280, 720, *, *, “UYVY” ~ *, *, *, *, “r7hf”, *
1280, 720, *, *, “2vuy” ~ *, *, *, *, “r7hf”, *
1920, 1080, *, *, “v210” ~ *, *, *, *, “r7hf”, *
1920, 1080, *, *, “UYVY” ~ *, *, *, *, “r7hf”, *
1920, 1080, *, *, “2vuy” ~ *, *, *, *, “r7hf”, *

# DVCProHD 1080i is 1280/1080, 1.5 PAR, upper field first
# assume Rec. 709 Full Swing color space
1280, 1080, *, “MooV”, “dvh6” ~ 1920/1280, U, *, *, “r7hf”, *

# assume NTSC DV is D1 aspect, lower-field
#
# 720, 480, 29.97, “MooV”, “dvc ” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *
# 720, 480, 29.97, “MooV”, “dvpn” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *
# 720, 480, 29.97, “.AVI”, “dvsd” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *

# soft rule: tag all Cineon files for now with Working RGB
*, *, *, “sDPX”, * ~ *, *, *, *, “wRGB”, *

# soft rule: tag Cineon files with Kodak 5218 profile
# remove comment below to enable
# *, *, *, “sDPX”, * ~ *, *, *, *, “ginp”, *

# hardware- and format-specific rules

# Media 100 640 x 480 is square-pixel, upper-field first
640, 480, 29.97, “MooV”, “dtmt” = 1/1, U, *, *, *, *

# Media 100 Finish 720 x 486 is D1-pixel-aspect, lower-field first
720, 486, 29.97, “MooV”, “dtNT” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *

# assume Matrox DigiSuite is D1-pixel-aspect, lower-field first
720, 486, 29.97, “.AVI”, “MJPG” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *

# assume Pinnacle Targa 3000 YUV is D1-pixel-aspect, lower-field first
720, 486, 29.97, “.AVI”, “UYVY” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *

# Media 100 Mac 720 x 486 is field-labeled by Media 100, and
# can be upper or lower depending on the hardware, but
# uncomment the next line to force D1, lower-field first
# 720, 486, 29.97, “MooV”, “dtmt” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *

# Avid 640×480 is square-pixel, upper-field first
640, 480, *, “MooV”, “avr ” = 1/1, U, *, *, *, *

# Avid Meridien Codec NTSC is lower-field first
720, 486, 29.97, *, “AVDJ” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *
720, 486, 29.97, *, “AVUI” = 648/720, L, *, *, *, *

# Electric Image writes straight alpha files
*, *, *, “EIDI”, * = *, *, *, S, *, *

# OpenEXR is premultiplied by convention
*, *, *, “EXR “, * ~ *, *, *, P, *, *

# only adds a custom pixel aspect ratio to the popup in the Comp Settings & Interpret Footage
# dialog boxes — uncomment the next line to try it out
# 0, 0, 0, “0000”, * = 10/11/”Custom Aspect”, *, *, *, *, *

Trace Elements Media.
IntelMac 8 core 3.0GHz, 10GB RAM, Blackmagic Multibridge Pro HD, 5.6TB Enhance 8 bay RAID, 30″ LCD, 50″ PanasonicVIERA, JVC SDI Line Monitor, OSX Leopard

Torsten Lohrmann replied 17 years, 4 months ago 3 Members · 3 Replies
3 Replies

David Bogie
October 8, 2008 at 3:26 pm

I edited this file once back in AE3. My machine never worked the same.
You will want to work on a copy of this file and you will want to make sure you spell everything correctly (separate not seperate and ratio not ration) so use a good text editor and then cut and paste after spellchecking.

Before diving into this, search the online help carefully and then cruise blogs at adobe.com. Start with the after effects forum from this portal:

https://www.adobe.com/support/forums/index.html

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”
Tim Ash
October 20, 2008 at 3:40 am

Well I have worked out what line to change to make AE’s default video import settings as PAL D1 Widescreen & upper field.

this is the original PAL section…

# PAL rules
# soft rule; assume 720×576 25fps formats are DV PAL (lower, PAL D1/DV aspect)
# soft rule; assume 720×576 formats with all frame rates have PAL DV/D1 pixel aspect ratio
# soft rule; assume 720×576 native mediacore formats are SDTV PAL
# soft rule; assume 720×576 DVCPro50 files are SDTV PAL
720, 576, 25, *, * ~ 768/720, L, *, *, *, *
720, 576, *, *, * ~ 768/720, *, *, *, *, *
720, 576, *, *, “dvcp” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “v210” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “UYVY” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “2vuy” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “dv5p” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *

this is the changes version…

# PAL rules
# soft rule; assume 720×576 25fps formats are DV PAL (lower, PAL D1/DV aspect)
# soft rule; assume 720×576 formats with all frame rates have PAL DV/D1 pixel aspect ratio
# soft rule; assume 720×576 native mediacore formats are SDTV PAL
# soft rule; assume 720×576 DVCPro50 files are SDTV PAL
720, 576, 25, *, * ~ 1024/720, U, *, *, *, *
720, 576, *, *, * ~ 768/720, *, *, *, *, *
720, 576, *, *, “dvcp” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “v210” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “UYVY” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “2vuy” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *
720, 576, *, *, “dv5p” ~ *, *, *, *, “r6pf”, *

this is the line that has changed (the first one that doesn’t start with a #)

720, 576, 25, *, * ~ 1024/720, U, *, *, *, *

I hope this helps someone else out there cos it will save me lost of mouse clicks per day!!

Trace Elements Media.
IntelMac 8 core 3.0GHz, 14GB RAM, Blackmagic Multibridge Pro HD, 6TB Enhance 8 bay RAID, 30″ LCD, 50″ PanasonicVIERA, JVC SDI Line Monitor, OSX Leopard
Torsten Lohrmann
January 13, 2009 at 11:50 am

i tried to edit the file as described [and as i did several times before], but somehow AFX seems not to accept the values for the PAR – if i change the settings for the field dominance AFX changes the way my footage is interpreted – but somehow changing the values from 768/720 to 1024/720 does not make any difference…

any idea what i make wrong???!

AFX 8.0.2, OSX 10.5.5. and yes: i edited the “interpretation-rules 802” file

TIA
torsten

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