Alan Okey
5
COW Coins
2
DaVinci Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Why not get some fiber optic transceivers and a fiber optic cable?
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And don’t just take my word for it:
Pro Living in a Consumer Quicktime World
https://www.fxguide.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=462
These are just a few of the MANY caveats for working with QuickTime in production. We find QuickTime and FCP to be so great and wonderful….yet at the same time are shocked at the hoops we must jump around at times to make things work.
Enjoy.
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There’s also this gem:
https://www.videocopilot.net/blog/2008/06/fix-quicktime-gamma-shift/
My point is not that these various issues don’t have workarounds, my point is that you shouldn’t need them. It shouldn’t be necessary to jump through hoops like this just to get Quicktime to work the way it should by default.
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More craziness:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT2912?viewlocale=en_US
Final Cut Pro assumes that all RGB image files are created with a gamma of 1.8. When RGB image files are imported into Final Cut Pro and edited into a sequence set to 8- or 10-bit YUV rendering, the gamma is automatically boosted to 2.2 in an attempt to match the other video files in your project. This boosted gamma is then used when the sequence is output to video or rendered as a QuickTime movie.
During playback on your computer’s monitor, Final Cut Pro lowers the gamma of the sequence playing in the Canvas to 1.8 for display purposes. This is to approximate the way it will look when displayed on a broadcast monitor. The still image clips in your sequence are still boosted when the sequence is output to video or rendered as a QuickTime movie.
Important: QuickTime movies compressed using the Animation codec (which only supports the RGB color space) are also assumed to have been created with a gamma of 1.8. As a result, these clips are also boosted to 2.2 when edited into a sequence set to 8- or 10-bit YUV rendering.
Remember folks, what happens when we assume?
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No Walter, I’m talking about Quicktime changing the clip gamma when exporting/importing clips to and from other applications from Final Cut.
Depending on the codec (DVCPRO HD is notorious for this), clip gamma can change when exporting clips from FCP and importing them into compositing applications, then rendering them and importing back into FCP. Sometimes this can be avoided by using image sequences, but not always. I’ve experienced this issue with Combustion, and many others have experienced it with After Effects.
It’s not simply a matter of YUV>RGB conversion, there’s something else going on. I’m aware that any YUV clips with superwhites will be clipped upon conversion to RGB, but that’s not the problem here. I always export clips from FCP after any superwhites have been brought down to under 100 IRE using the 3-way CC.
Let’s not even get started on web codecs… Trying to get an h.264 Quicktime to look correct (and look the same) on both Macs and PCs is enough to drive one to drink.
Oddly enough, h.264 clips usually look too bright when I check them on a PC. I’ve taken to applying a gamma reduction in Compressor to correct for this.
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The Cow needs to have a “Nominate for Best of the Cow” feature, like Craigslist.
David, this brilliant post would be my first nomination. Thank you for the laughs.
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You probably CAN afford a dedicated hardware RAID. Check out the CalDigit RAID card – it’s sublime, and reasonably priced.
https://www.CalDigit.com/RAIDCard/
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[Sean Donnelly] “Even though apple seems to prefer ATI, the quadro adds a LOT of processing power. “
Not the case with Apple’s Pro Apps. 3D apps, yes, but Apple software, no. Their OpenGL driver performance is much more optimized for the ATI cards than nVidia. For Color and Motion, the ATI card will provide better performance than a Quadro. Strange but true.
I think most people doing hardcore 3D are using Windows PCs due to the much stronger and broader support for high end OpenGL graphics cards and application-specific drivers. Also factor into that equation the unavailability of certain powerhouse 3D and CAD apps (3dsMax, AutoCAD).
It’s obvious that Apple doesn’t have any real interest in pursuing the high end 3D market. They’ve been offering anemic graphics cards and/or drivers for years, and despite the constant outraged complaints of 3D pros, the situation hasn’t improved.
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You simply cannot rely on manufacturer specifications for choosing computer monitors. Manufacturers routinely quote ridiculous specs for contrast ratio, brightness and pixel response time. Many actual tests of these monitors using precision instruments reveal that the specs that manufacturers quote are often either bogus or not applicable for real-world use. Once monitors are properly set up with proper gamma, black level and something less than an eye-searing full brightness backlight setting, their specs will be different from the quoted ideal specs.
Your best bet is to read lots of reviews and talk to people who have a lot of experience with various monitors.
Having said that, the Dell LCD monitors are quite popular with many users of this forum.
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I’m able to capture, edit and play back a single stream of Uncompressed 1080i/60 without dropping frames using four internal SATA drives striped in RAID 0 (software RAID) in a Mac Pro. Boot drive is an external Firewire 800 drive. Not recommended for archiving or critical storage, however.