Compression Codecs
Editor's Note:
Compression is a topic that becomes very important to computer animators.
Choosing the right compression format and settings is best accomplished
by knowing a little bit about how compression works and how the various
parameters affect the final product. I will eventually write my own contribution
to the compression discussion, but what I know of compression I learned
mostly from a book called Video Compression for Multimedia by Jan
Ozen. I highly recommend it. The book includes a layman's discussion
of compression principles, techniques and considerations. Its good at presenting
this information without overburdening you in technical mumbo-jumbo that
makes your eyes glaze over. It also includes a great comparison of the
most widely used codecs, explaining which ones are best for particular
applications. Check it out....
Presented below are various responses from the TS mailing list to a
query regarding codecs. Clearly, most of the animators prefer Cinepak.
And for good reason: it has good image quality, reasonably speedy encoding,
and decent compression rates. It is not, however, the best choice in all
situations. This is where the above-mentioned book is quite handy. (By
the way, if I'm starting to sound like ad copy, let me state for the record
that I have no affiliation with the book, the author or the publisher,
other than being a satisfied reader.)
1. Which provides the smoothest playback?
2. Which provides the best compression?
3. Any particular settings you prefer?
4. Any bugs you've notice using any particular compression method?
Shane Davison, daviso@cs.uregina.ca
- Cinepak
- Cinepak
- I set the quality at 100% and disable the keyframe setting.
- I've noticed some fuzziness but it usually works alright.
Bjorn-Kare Nilssen, bjoernk@oslonett.no
- CinePak
- CinePak (maybe Indeo 3.2?)
- CinePak, no keyframes, 100% quality
- When I use Indeo I get several problems. E.g. if I try to view the
avi at double size when using Indeo 3.2 I get a GPF.
Michael Mills, Michael.Mills@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU
- Cinepak
- Cinepak
- Cinepak 100% quality, no keyframes
- Indeo often seems to create a ghosting effect around brilliantly coloured
objects (say red against grey for example) on every other frame or so.
Also, as was discussed before, the quality is much better if you assemble
and compress your animation outside of TS.
I'd really like to see TS be able to render direct to Quicktime/Cinepak
since I'm attempting to render to Broadcast NTSC and Premiere keeps choking
on the Targas.
Marshall, MARSHALL@ids.net
- Cinepak
- Cinepak
- Cinepak, 100% quality, no keyframes
Ian Firth, IanFirthDS@aol.com
I use Indeo V3.24.01.01 for all CD stuff, CinePak compresses way too
slow for the tons of animations I do. And I find Indeo to playback much
better (set keyframing at 4). The only problem is color bleeding with intense
reds. The Indeo fixed palette is also decent, since most of my work incorporates
AVI's overlayed on background art, I don't need to worry about nasty palette
flash. The colors in the palette map very nice to existing artwork. Indeo
4.0 should be out by summer (640x480 @30fps from the info I've gathered),
and should be something to see.
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