H.264 Brightness / Contrast issue...

Emre Safak · September 3rd, 2006, 11:17 AM

My monitors are ICC profiled but my H.264 videos still look off. I find I can restore the contrast by using Quicktime's "A/V controls" but that only fixes it on my system. Strangely, ffdshow renders the video correctly; the problem is with Quicktime. I noticed the same problem with other people's encodes, not just my own with Sony Vegas. It is as if Quicktime is doing a (16,235) Levels conversion.

WMV is a good alternative at low bit rates.

Christopher Lefchik · September 4th, 2006, 12:03 PM

Yes, apparently the problem is with QuickTime's handling of ICC profiles embedded in H.264 encoded files.

Emre Safak · September 5th, 2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christopher Lefchik

Yes, apparently the problem is with QuickTime's handling of ICC profiles embedded in H.264 encoded files.

I can't find any references on the Web to ICC profiles in connection to H.264. Can you provide some? I thought color management was not used in video because it would be prohibitively expensive to perform color space conversions on every frame.

Christopher Lefchik · September 5th, 2006, 08:52 PM

Whoa! I did a search for ICC and H.264 and the top result is this thread! Scary.

Anyway, I did some research (not as deep as the first time, though), and can't find anything about ICC profiles being embedded in H.264 video. With all the research and pages I had open on the subject I must have gotten something mixed up.

However, if the last post on this thread is correct, QuickTime does attempt to compensate for monitor color profiles.

Steven White · June 26th, 2008, 09:14 AM

Wow. Last post in this thread is September 2006? So far as I can tell, it's still an issue. I'm having problems with H.264 playback both in Quicktime Player Pro and VLC.

Quicktime playback can be "corrected" by selecting the "straight alpha" mode in the video properties and re-saving, but that only works for me with Quicktime files in the *.mov format.

For *.mp4 files, Quicktime is no help - primarily because it's incompatible with High Profile H.264 encoding. While some Main Profile H.264 encodes do work, in general the performance on my Core2Duo T7400 4GB RAM laptop with nVidia Quadro FX1500 graphics is so poor it's not worth even attempting.

In VLC High Profile H.264 playback is smooth as silk, but the gamma issue pops up. Uploads to both Vimeo and YouTube play with correct gamma, as do a variety of open-source flash players that can be used to embed the original High Profile H.264 *.mp4 files in web pages.

My wife reports that on the current Ubuntu on her laptop (on-motherboard graphics), VLC also has a gamma issue, but MPlayer works okay.

-Steve

Ray Bell · June 26th, 2008, 08:19 PM

I posted this on the EX1 area a couple of days ago... see if this doesn't help you...

If your footage seems to be washed out from an improper gama setting while playback using Quick Time here is a fix I found over at Video Copilot...

Using mp4 or h.264 when compressing through QuickTime can make the final video look washed out. This is a common problem that seemed to have no solution… until now. The gamma shift can actually be fixed inside QuickTime Pro without re-compressing your video by simply changing a few settings.

Scrimski at CGtalk.com posted a good walk-through. Thanks!

SOLUTION: After rendering into a QuickTime/h.264 file, open it up in QuickTime Pro and select “Show Movie Properties.” Highlight the video track then click on the “Visual Settings” tab. Towards the bottom left you should see “Transparency” with a drop-down box next to it. Select “Blend” from the menu then move the “Transparency Level” slider to 100%. Choose “Straight Alpha” from the same drop-down and close the properties window and finally “Save.”

This will fix your video files upon the save step.

Steven White · June 27th, 2008, 03:16 PM

Yeah - I ran into that fix for QuickTime. It won't work for high profile *.mp4 though, because QuickTime can't play them.

Fortunately, Flash Player can, AND gets the gamma right.

-Steve

Christopher Ruffell · July 15th, 2008, 02:07 AM

Wow, 2006....to 2008. Go Apple! *sarcasm*

Yet another reason Apple ought to separate QuickTime into two different products; pro and consumer. And even then, FCP should still export and play H.264 as we intended it to be.

Thanks for the tips Ray.

Eugenia Loli-Queru · October 24th, 2008, 12:08 AM

This problem is still there, and even worse, it doesn't seem be fixable by this little trick anymore (the "straight alpha" thing). I just tried my h.264 MOV file that I had exported with Quicktime Pro, and it wouldn't give me back my gamma, it still looks washed out. I know that this trick worked a few months ago, I had tried it. But with the latest Quicktime, it doesn't give me any love.

Bahadir Colak · October 24th, 2008, 09:09 PM

This still looks like a problem if you use h.264 to upload a file to vimeo...

Does anyone have a solution for it?

BTW: First message but long time lurker ;) Hi to everyone (from Istanbul, Turkey)...

Bahadir Colak · October 26th, 2008, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bahadir Colak

This still looks like a problem if you use h.264 to upload a file to vimeo...

Does anyone have a solution for it?

BTW: First message but long time lurker ;) Hi to everyone (from Istanbul, Turkey)...

So there is no solution yet huh...

Chris Hocking · February 9th, 2009, 05:15 AM

Zap! It's now 2009... Any ideas?

Aric Mannion · February 9th, 2009, 09:08 AM

You can check enable final cut studio compatibility in the preferences in QT, which may help on your personal machine. Has anyone tried adjusting the contrast IN quicktime when exporting to compensate?
PCs are supposed to display darker than Macs, is this only a problem for mac users?

Herman Van Deventer · February 12th, 2009, 09:00 AM

Solution -

After struggling for many months to find a cure for H264's "milky desease" using Premiere,
TMPG Express etc. etc. - I ran some HDV footage through MPEG STREAMCLIP - Free.

Video Results / The Calyptonians on Vimeo

Problemo Solved !

Greetings/

The Third World.

September 3rd, 2006, 11:17 AM	#16
Emre Safak Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,447	My monitors are ICC profiled but my H.264 videos still look off. I find I can restore the contrast by using Quicktime's "A/V controls" but that only fixes it on my system. Strangely, ffdshow renders the video correctly; the problem is with Quicktime. I noticed the same problem with other people's encodes, not just my own with Sony Vegas. It is as if Quicktime is doing a (16,235) Levels conversion. WMV is a good alternative at low bit rates. Last edited by Emre Safak; September 3rd, 2006 at 12:02 PM.

September 4th, 2006, 12:03 PM	#17
Christopher Lefchik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: US Posts: 1,152	Yes, apparently the problem is with QuickTime's handling of ICC profiles embedded in H.264 encoded files.

September 5th, 2006, 08:52 PM	#19
Christopher Lefchik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: US Posts: 1,152	Whoa! I did a search for ICC and H.264 and the top result is this thread! Scary. Anyway, I did some research (not as deep as the first time, though), and can't find anything about ICC profiles being embedded in H.264 video. With all the research and pages I had open on the subject I must have gotten something mixed up. However, if the last post on this thread is correct, QuickTime does attempt to compensate for monitor color profiles.

June 26th, 2008, 09:14 AM	#20
Steven White Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 547	Wow. Last post in this thread is September 2006? So far as I can tell, it's still an issue. I'm having problems with H.264 playback both in Quicktime Player Pro and VLC. Quicktime playback can be "corrected" by selecting the "straight alpha" mode in the video properties and re-saving, but that only works for me with Quicktime files in the .mov format. For .mp4 files, Quicktime is no help - primarily because it's incompatible with High Profile H.264 encoding. While some Main Profile H.264 encodes do work, in general the performance on my Core2Duo T7400 4GB RAM laptop with nVidia Quadro FX1500 graphics is so poor it's not worth even attempting. In VLC High Profile H.264 playback is smooth as silk, but the gamma issue pops up. Uploads to both Vimeo and YouTube play with correct gamma, as do a variety of open-source flash players that can be used to embed the original High Profile H.264 *.mp4 files in web pages. My wife reports that on the current Ubuntu on her laptop (on-motherboard graphics), VLC also has a gamma issue, but MPlayer works okay. -Steve

June 26th, 2008, 08:19 PM	#21
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	I posted this on the EX1 area a couple of days ago... see if this doesn't help you... If your footage seems to be washed out from an improper gama setting while playback using Quick Time here is a fix I found over at Video Copilot... Using mp4 or h.264 when compressing through QuickTime can make the final video look washed out. This is a common problem that seemed to have no solution… until now. The gamma shift can actually be fixed inside QuickTime Pro without re-compressing your video by simply changing a few settings. Scrimski at CGtalk.com posted a good walk-through. Thanks! SOLUTION: After rendering into a QuickTime/h.264 file, open it up in QuickTime Pro and select “Show Movie Properties.” Highlight the video track then click on the “Visual Settings” tab. Towards the bottom left you should see “Transparency” with a drop-down box next to it. Select “Blend” from the menu then move the “Transparency Level” slider to 100%. Choose “Straight Alpha” from the same drop-down and close the properties window and finally “Save.” This will fix your video files upon the save step.

June 27th, 2008, 03:16 PM	#22
Steven White Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 547	Yeah - I ran into that fix for QuickTime. It won't work for high profile *.mp4 though, because QuickTime can't play them. Fortunately, Flash Player can, AND gets the gamma right. -Steve

July 15th, 2008, 02:07 AM	#23
Christopher Ruffell Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 202	Wow, 2006....to 2008. Go Apple! sarcasm Yet another reason Apple ought to separate QuickTime into two different products; pro and consumer. And even then, FCP should still export and play H.264 as we intended it to be. Thanks for the tips Ray.

October 24th, 2008, 12:08 AM	#24
Eugenia Loli-Queru Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA, USA Posts: 348	This problem is still there, and even worse, it doesn't seem be fixable by this little trick anymore (the "straight alpha" thing). I just tried my h.264 MOV file that I had exported with Quicktime Pro, and it wouldn't give me back my gamma, it still looks washed out. I know that this trick worked a few months ago, I had tried it. But with the latest Quicktime, it doesn't give me any love.

October 24th, 2008, 09:09 PM	#25
Bahadir Colak Tourist Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Istanbul, Turkey Posts: 2	This still looks like a problem if you use h.264 to upload a file to vimeo... Does anyone have a solution for it? BTW: First message but long time lurker ;) Hi to everyone (from Istanbul, Turkey)...

February 9th, 2009, 05:15 AM	#27
Chris Hocking Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 595	Zap! It's now 2009... Any ideas?

February 9th, 2009, 09:08 AM	#28
Aric Mannion Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 616	You can check enable final cut studio compatibility in the preferences in QT, which may help on your personal machine. Has anyone tried adjusting the contrast IN quicktime when exporting to compensate? PCs are supposed to display darker than Macs, is this only a problem for mac users?

February 12th, 2009, 09:00 AM	#29
Herman Van Deventer Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: cape town South-Africa Posts: 251	Solution - After struggling for many months to find a cure for H264's "milky desease" using Premiere, TMPG Express etc. etc. - I ran some HDV footage through MPEG STREAMCLIP - Free. Video Results / The Calyptonians on Vimeo Problemo Solved ! Greetings/ The Third World.