This IS the Avid L2: Re: [Avid-L2] Adobe Media Encoder Interpretation of Avid H

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Re: [Avid-L2] Adobe Media Encoder Interpretation of Avid H_264 anamorphic .mov?

Your original post mentioned nothing about adding pulldown, only making an H.264 from and H.264 export, and that is why I had that "huh?" reaction. A few notes: exporting an H.264 from Avid takes several times longer to make than Same-As-Source. Since you have to recompress again, I don't know why you don't just SAS or QT Ref the thing from Avid, then make your H.264 with or without pulldown in Media Encoder. Secondly, there is almost NO formula which will make an H.264 file with fields. I believe you have to force the encoder into making you a High Profile High Level H.264 to even attempt to make an interlaced H.264 file. So if you're not doing that, your H.264 file will be a progressive 29.97 with blended frames. Maybe that's what you need and it's OK, but I would be surprised.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 1:23 AM, bigfish@pacbell.net [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Yes there is more. First I like to keep the Avid free. Exporting to the NTSC 16:9 H_264 makes a smaller file than putting out a 1920x1080. This is the method the AEs use so I just followed there preset. What I'm making aren't image critical as they are a reference for captioning folks. This particular project is a revision to a show already delivered but content has been removed and added etc... so the captioning files need to be redone. Our main delivery is 23.976 and the network is fine with this. However the show subsequently got sold to a Canadian broadcaster that requires the files be 59.94i. If it were the final delivery files I'd either do the Avid mixdown route to add pulldown or use AME on the full res files but these files tonight are neither.

It takes almost an hour for Avid to make the H-264 s and I had three Avid stations cranking out those but then I also need 29.97 versions for captioning of the Canadian broadcaster's files so it makes more sense to just let AME add the pulldown than take the time to play the Avid mixdown dance to create 29.97 files that would then take another hour or more to bake out of Avid.

Now if there is a way in Avid to export straight out of the 23.976P project and add pulldown without mixing down and opening in a 59.94 project that might be doable but AME only took half an hour to rebake and add pulldown to these non image critical files so that's the logic behind it.

As far as cropping in AME when I highlight the tool the entire image is full screen with no black at the boarders so I didn't see a way to crop on the source side. Perhaps as you say AME doesn't care about how Avid has flagged the files to play anamorphic in QT so the fact that the target output dimension of 864x486 which is 16:9 is why the black appears and AME just centers the 720x486 file inside. I didn't have time to scrutinize the file but at a casual glance it didn't quite seem tall and skinny enough to be totally 720x486 inside the wider screen but I may have misjudged that. When I have more time I'll see if I can find out what's really going on.

---In Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com, <cutandcover@...> wrote :

I would be surprised if anyone goes about things the (ahem) unique way that you do. Exporting an H.264 from Avid and then recompressing it with Media Encoder? Seems a bit much to me. I can't comment on the workflow because maybe there's some info that you missed putting in (like "why"). You should be able to get what you want from either Avid or Media Encoder - no need to do it twice.

That said, the "anamorphic" flag (or display aspect / aperture) is a QuickTime metadata item, and I'm sure Media Encoder isn't required to care about that sort of thing. Pixels to pixels - you should be able to sort it out with the raster and crop controls in Media Encoder in order to get what you want. Not sure why you would bother with anamorphic H.264 anyway - just encode straight square pixels with 1:1 display aspect ratio.

On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 11:49 PM, John Moore bigfish@... [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Using Adobe Media Encoder to take a 23.976 H_264 exported from Avid with the NTSC 16x9 size setting that makes a 720x486 .mov that knows to display as 864x486 in QT player. I'm finding when that file is uses as the source file in AME to add pulldown the resulting file has black pillar boxes on the sides. It's like AME sees the file as really being 864x486 but the there is no video beyond the actual 720x486 video essence. Does this make any sense? In QT 7 the file displays fine with no borders. The resulting file doesn't seem completely whacked in aspect ratio but it might be a bit tall and skinny ignoring the side Pillar bars.

When I open up the export settings I don't see the black wings but I do in the encode window and in the resulting file. Perhaps I need to just export a non anamorphic file and then tell AME to make it 864x486 or would it be 864x480? Oh well curious if anyone else has figured this aspect of AME out.

John Moore Barking Trout Productions Studio City, CA bigfish@...