Unable to Play a QT File on New Macs

[Brad Elliott]

In my opinion H264 is one of the best cross platform deliverables out there.

The caveat with the PC is that some version of QT may not be installed on the PC or the end user cannot circumvent the IT restrictions to install the free version.

DG accepts HD H264 files for broadcast and trust me when I say they are
very particular when it comes to what they will accept.

In my experience the quality of a H264 file is based on how you compress it not the limitations of the codec. There can be exceptions based on your source but these two rules apply more often than not to most situations.

1)Data rate and file size effect each other proportionately.
The higher the data rate the larger the file size and usually the better the quality.
2)Lower the data rate enough and you will see quality issues in your end export.

[Thomas Hughes]

I greatly appreciate everyone’s help on this. We redid it using H.264 and it worked, the client was happy. A few days later, the tech who was in charge of showing it pointed out to me that whenever there’s aggressive movement in the video, the picture degrades and we see fine horizontal lines/jagged edges. This occurs only when there’s fast movement. So we need to redo it. How do I fix that?

Here are my settings:

Field Acquisition: XDCAM disc – 1440×1080. We cut it in FC using ProRes422. The first QT version we created for the client, the one that wouldn’t play on their new Macs was done with these settings:

Window Title: All5.mov – Inspector
All5.mov
Source: /Volumes/2TB Buffalo/Branson/QT Files/All5.mov
Format: Apple XDCAM HD 1080i60(35 mb/s VBR), 1440×1080 (1888×1062), millions
16 bit integer (little endian), stereo, 48.000 kHz
FPS: 29.97
Playing FPS: (available while playing.)
Data Size: 3.25GB
Data Rate: 35.35 mbits/s
Current Time: 0:00:00:00.00
Duration: 0:00:13:09.15
Normal Size: 1920×1080 Pixels
Current Size: 1920×1080 Pixels (actual)

And here are the settings used when we redid it in h.264. This version worked for them but with the compromised picture during the fast moving scenes:

Window Title: Video 2011 QT.mov – Inspector
Video 2011 QT.mov
Source: /Volumes/2TB Buffalo/Branson/QT Files/
Branson Admissions Video 2011 QT.mov
Format: 16-bit integer (little endian), stereo (LR), 48.000 kHz
h.264, 1920×1080, millions
FPS: 29.97
Playing FPS: (available while playing.)
Data Size: 3.52GB
Data Rate: 38.34 mbits/s
Current Time: 0:00:00:00.00
Duration: 0:00:13:09.15
Normal Size: 1920×1080 Pixels
Current Size: 1920×1080 Pixels (actual)

Perhaps worthy of note: My editor said that the first version, the one that wouldn’t play for them at all, she created the QT file from the timeline, the sequence. The second one, the h.264 version that played for them but with picture breakup where there was fast movement, she created the QT file from the first QT file, not from the timeline/sequence. She’s the tech and thinks this is a non-issue. Yes? No?

Thank you