Is there any way to configure or hack iMovie into using another codec instead of the AIC? Pixlet, or direct to DVCPROHD?

Avoid Pixlet like the plague - it's a ghastly codec that's worse in all respects to PhotoJPEG100%. I have no idea why Apple wasted time and money on Pixlet at all, as it has no advantage over low compression JPEG technology. Indeed, Apple should open up PhotoJPEG so that it works for RT at all settings of size and compression as it's a most awesomely good codec for most applications. I'm also told that JPEG2000 is good for compressing video.

Indeed, I don't know why they bothered inventing AIC at all, and would rather have had them just immediately transcode to high quality PhotoJPEG.

Graeme

I used Pixlet with no problems, but then again, I don't know if it is worse than the AIC. I'm very frustrated now...

heath

You don't get problems with Pixlet, but it's slower to compress / decompress than PhotoJPEG100%, and it has slightly lower quality for a larger file size. That's why I don't like it, because an old standard like PhotoJPEG beats it in all areas that count, and it is a standard codec everyone can use.

Graeme

I probably need some education here, but why not just use DVHSCap to capture the MT2 files and convert them to DVCPRO HD for editing?

Wouldn't this give you a better codec to edit in than AIC?

DVCproHD works well, but it is quite heavily compressed, and you loose some horizontal rez - down from 1440 to 1280 - however, I don't think visually this matters much as the camera might record 1440 pixels across, but I don't think the camera / lens / tape system resolves enough detail to warrant 1440 pixels.

Graeme

I just don't understand.

If space wasn't an issue, why isn't there just some kind of uncompressed format we could convert to?

Apple 8bit 4:2:2 uncompressed codec works great, but you need a very large and very fast drive for it. I'm using an Xserve RAID and it works very well with this kind of uncompressed HD.

Graeme

I don't like DVCPro HD at all--when trying to make DVDs, the image is squashed and actors look "wider."

To do a "Best" quality QT movie of the AIC, I had to do the 4:2:2 and for a 3 minute movie, it was 20 gb on my firewire drive (7200 rpm) and couldn't play at all! But I used QTPro to save it as the AIC Best.

heath

Try the DC30 lossless 4:2:2 codec, it is half the uncompressed from FCP and it works well even on slower machines.

I will post an example of the AIC destruction in nthe post I started regarding AIC compression soon.

Eric,

Where do you find the DC30 codec?

I don't yet have iLife '05 so if it's an iMove HD thing, then I understand why I can't find it.

In FCP I can see a DC50 option, but no DC30.

http://www.alfanet.it/squared5

Download the DC30 drivers (even if you don't have a DC30+ card :) and you will have their codecs.

They also do the MPEG streamclip application witch can convert m2t to Quicktime and quicktime to m2t.

Thanks!

I've been using Streamclip to do my coversions from MT2.

Eric,

Got the codec, do you edit in FCP with this?

I looked at the new DC30 presets in FCP and they were all SD. Do you make a custom 1080 one or what?

Thanks!

custom 1080i, 1440X1080 squared pixel anamorphic 16:9 upper field first, 29.97. Using DC30 lossless 4:2:2.