[Michael Rampe]

Hmmmmmmm….

Both the PAR and DAR are being written correctly as verified by mediainfo and ffmpeg itself.

Like I said previously, anamorphic 3gp files play with the correct aspect for me in Quicktime X BUT NOT in quicktime 7 on the same computer.
(MacPro, OS 10.6.2, QT 7.6.3 and QT 10.0)

It may be an issue of the 3gp anamorphic flag not being implemented in all players or devices.

Let me investigate further…..

In the meantime, you could try to replicate the success you had with avi files in ffmpeg which would help narrow down the issue of setting the PAR and DAR. I do not have a device capable of testing the final nokia result unfortunately.

Michael

[Michael Rampe]

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx264 -vpre libx264-hq -b 1500k output.mp4

This will create a H.264 stream in a mp4 wrapper at 1500 kbps. It will be at the original image size as -s was not specified.

You will need libx264 installed and enabled for this line to work. libx264 produces H.264 streams and is highly recommended.

[Michael Rampe]

mpeg 1 works in ffmpeg with whatever size you give it.

% ffmpeg -i fluid.mov -sameq intermediate.mpg

A 1024×576 frame size came out at 8 Mbps and looks stunning.

It is especially useful as a high quality intermediate to stitch tops/tails etc. before final encoding.

Michael

check out the new ffmpeg forum on the cow for more….

[Michael Rampe]

CORRECTION:

The .3gp file plays stretched in Quicktime 7 but not in Quicktime X.

Looks like the flag is there but pre-snow leopard versions of Quicktime ignore it.

Michael

[Michael Rampe]

Hi Dorian,

It seems to me that the confusion over the SUPER “stretch it” command is related to the function of what it turns off in FFMpeg rather than what it turns on.

To replicate the behavior using the FFMpeg command line tool:

1. “Stretch it” button ON
This occurs in ffmpeg as standard behavior.
Take this command line for example to produce a stretch between source and destination:
NOTE: source size is 1024×576, hence square pixel 16:9 or 1.777778
NOTE: ignore the “%”, it is just my way of saying: type the following into the command line and hit return.

% ffmpeg -i fluid.mov -vpre libx264-hq -vcodec libx264 -s 1024×768 -b 3000k stretch.mov

This will produced a stretched output. It is the 4:3 output image size which is causing the stretch because it is 1024×768, hence square pixel 4:3 or 1.333333

2. “Stretch it” button OFF
This requires the -padtop and -padbottom commands as well as the image size intended before black bars are added, NOT the final image size.

% ffmpeg -i fluid.mov -vpre libx264-hq -vcodec libx264 -s 1024×576 -b 3000k -padtop 96 -padbottom 96 letterboxed.mov

This will produce a 1024×768 4:3 square pixel result with black letterboxing top and bottom.

BONUS ANSWER:

You can also perform the aspect ratio setting you are making with mp4box by adding a simple command in ffmpeg: -aspect

% ffmpeg -i fluid.mov -vpre libx264-hq -vcodec libx264 -s 1024×768 -b 3000k -aspect 16:9 stretch_and_correct.mov

This produced a file with a 4:3 source frame size which displays as 16:9 in Quicktime X and Quicktime 7 (on Snow Leopard).

Hopefully this is enough to solve your size/aspect issues.

And finally:

As for your container choice, why 3gp? As this is designed for mobile devices, I am guessing that there is a maximum size which is why super wont allow you make it larger. Makes sense. I’ll give it a go anyway….

% ffmpeg -i fluid.mov -vpre libx264-hq -vcodec libx264 -s 1024×768 -b 3000k -aspect 16:9 -f 3gp stretch_and_correct.3gp

Yep. works. Aspect ratio conversion works. Plays in Quicktime. I seriously doubt it will play on any mobile devices though seeing it is a High Profile, Level 3.1 AVC stream!!!

I would suggest doing some googling to find out maximum sizes for the devices you are targeting (as well as the profile and level limits for H.264 which is a whole other story). Supposedly, 3gp works with other codecs as well so you might even need to go H.263 for compatibility with all devices.

If it was for computers and the web only, I would definitely go for mp4 as the container and the proper square pixel dimensions for 2.35:1 material ie. 470×200 or 1692×720 and forget about the aspect ratio conversions. This will ensure the material is always played back in the correct dimensions.

Which OS are you using?
Are you running ffmpeg from the command line?

Michael

[Michael Rampe]

I just had a look at the “stretch-it” command in Super.

It reports it’s function as “stretches the video image over the entire canvas”

FFmpeg does this automatically using the libswscale library based on the output dimensions. (eg. -s 1920×1080)

For example: If you had a 4:3 640×480 movie and wanted to stretch it to 960×480, you would only need to specify the ouytput dimension and ffmpeg takes care of the rest.
example command line:
ffmpeg -i test.mov -vcodec libx264 -s 960×480 output.mov

…of course this can be further manimulated using the -aspect flag.

Michael

[Michael Rampe]

Hi Martin,

The x264encoder component for Quicktime is by far one of THE BEST encoders for H.264 encoding. It shot to fame about a year ago as a solution to the infamous Quicktime gamma bug.

Many people get confused with the term x264 thinking it is not H.264 compliant. H.264 has many names, Mpeg4 Layer10, AVC and even x264. x264 encoded streams are fully compliant with H.264 decoders. I use this component on a daily basis for my FCP work and general encoding needs.

Takashi Mochizuki’s page can be found at https://www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp/mycometg3/
It is a good idea to check back regularly as he is constantly improving it. It is based on Videolan’s libx264 open source library as well as the ffmpeg source code which is also open source.

FFmpeg is the real powerhouse beneath the bonnet. It has very broad support for encoding and decoding a multitude of codecs that you just can’t find anywhere else. Check it out here: https://www.ffmpeg.org/
And here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffmpeg for a list of supported codecs.

I have been using these libraries from a unix command line on both OSX Snow Leopard as well as Ubuntu Linux. The good thing about these libraries is that they compile on almost any system or chipset and are free under a GPL license. They are also very versatile and a useful tool in your arsenal.

I will be posting some tutorials soon on how to install these for the creative professional not savvy with unix command line tools. In the meantime, do some searching and you will find some tutorials out there, albeit a bit tricky for a unix beginner.

Anyway, x264 is great in it’s various forms and thanks for the first post on this new forum.

Michael

[Michael Rampe]

It is not the avi container that is the problem, it is the DV codec.

The DV codec is locked to 25 Mbits/s which equates to 13GB/hour. The quality slider has no effect whatsoever on DV streams.

I am guessing the reason that you cannot copy it to your clients USB drive is because it is formatted as FAT32 which has a 2GB file size limit.

First I started with the entire 23 mins, and the resultant file was about 4.87 gigs. Then i cut it in half, it was still 4.87 gigs. Then I cut it in half again, even smaller, and it’s STILL 4.87 gigs. This is driving me nuts. We’re only talking 5 mins of DV footage and it won’t fit on a data DVD.

It seems you are not actually cutting it in half. Check your in and out points. 13GB/hour = 216MB/minute. 5 mins should be just over 1GB.

So you have a few options.

Break the file into two 2.5 GB “chunks” and burn them to two DVDs.
Break the file into “chunks” that are smaller than 2GB and copy them to the USB drive.
Use a dual-layer DVD which holds approx 8GB.

I would avoid using a lower quality codec as you will lose a digital generation.

Michael

[Michael Rampe]

Youtube does except mpeg2. mpeg2 will require around 10-15 Mbps for good looking HD content.

To combine the video and audio in one file, you need to use a transport stream container.

In compressor, the preset is under formats NOT dvd.

You will only be able to preview this encoded file using VLC or Mpeg streamclip. It will not play in Quicktime.

Good luck and let us know how the quality holds up.

Michael

[Michael Rampe]

The issue you are experiencing is a flaw in colour subsampling inherent in component codecs, especially 4:2:0. It is especially apparent on bright red.

check out https://www.eleventy.org/drupal/?q=node/2 for an excellent “proof” and explanation.