Al Spaeth wrote:I tried MediaCoder x64 free but it seems to have a bitrate limitation of 16Mbps for x264 mp4 - if I understand it correctly.
Didn't know that. I've never used it other than to test if it accepts Cineform and DNxHD. Maybe you need the paid Premium version to get higher bitrates.
Al Spaeth wrote:Also found same Handbrake error "no valid source or titles found" when trying to open a Cineform AVi.
We've already established that the current version of Handbrake
does not accept Cineform or DNxHR input:
Bryan Worsley wrote:....So it was reasonable to assume that Handbrake is what you are familiar with and want to use. And if you still do, that rules out Cineform and DNxHR as compatible UHD/4K export intermediates, at this time at least. But you still have Grass Valley HQX, which, as Andrew indicated, is a perfectly acceptable option; yes, I've done some tests.
Otherwise for Cineform or DNxHR you'll need to consider and get to grips with these other options we've discussed
Next:
Al Spaeth wrote:VirtualDub FilterMod x64 gives me an error "Internal error (FFMPEG): Invalid data found when processing input" (frame zero) on all Cineform AVI files I try to encode using x264 8bit or x264vfw (file type mp4) including AVIs from Resolve, GoPro Studio, and even those created by VirtualDub FilterMod. It imports and plays AVIs fine but bombs on encoding.
I don't know why. Works fine for me. Have you tested Resolve DNxHR and Grass Valley HQX mov renders also ?
Al Spaeth wrote:...also can't see how to get MediaCoder to encode Cineform AVi (it does have DNxHD).
Probably because it can't. There's no mencoder/ffmpeg Cineform encoder, only decoder.
Al Spaeth wrote:All export codecs were in the 82-84% range and DNxHR HQX scored as high as Cineform Best=Filmscan 2 - what's your conclusion for best workflow?
You keep pressing me on this but I won't be drawn. The whole point of posting those results was to demonstrate just that - that all of those export formats are very high quality and from them you can produce very high quality x264 encodes. Have you tried Grass Valley HQX with Handbrake ? Like DNxHR, you won't be able to play the GV HQX renders with MPC-HC or VLC player, but MPV will play them very nicely.
Al Spaeth wrote:Did DNxHR-HQX at half resolution give you smooth timeline performance vs your source mp4?
Yes, it makes a difference. And what do you find ?
Al Spaeth wrote:Why do you think your render results with Optimized Media on (half res) and off (rendered from your source clip) were identical?
Because:
Bryan Worsley wrote: in each case the renders were bit-identical and produced identical SSIM scores.
Bit-identical - they had exactly the same file size down to the very last byte.
Al Spaeth wrote:If you still have rendered clips it would be interesting to compare file sizes.
Which you could also test yourself. No I don't still have the rendered clips. But the clip was 15.25 secs long. So if you multiply the reported bitrate (video stream) by that it will give you the approx file size minus the audio. But what more does that tell you any than comparing bitrates?
Al Spaeth wrote:Were your x264 mp4 clips similar bitrates to your source AVI mp4?
Bitrate of the source UHD/29.97 AVC mp4 clip was 91.0 Mbps (video stream) with 1536 kbps PCM audio.
Al Spaeth wrote:Would it be possible to add Resolve QT h.264 MOV, re-wrap to mp4 and compare SSIM% to show how bad Resolve h.264 is (our original topic).
Why ? We've already been through that.
Edit: But for that particular source, not bad actually at a comparable bitrate:
High - 144Mbps, SSIM 86.33
Medium - 83.9Mbps, SSIM 81.37Low - 54Mbps, SSIM 77.16
OK, I'm done.