15.1.1 bug, won't read MP4 timecode

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George Deierling

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15.1.1 bug, won't read MP4 timecode

PostThu Oct 11, 2018 3:34 am

Resolve won't read MP4 timecode, start timecode is always 0.
If I recall earlier versions did read the timecode correctly.
I can confirm the timecode is there because Premiere sees it.
The MP4s were encoded with Adobe Media Encoder in H264.
This is of course a problem that needs fixing, we are using the MP4s as proxies and they won't link back to the originals because timecode is wrong.

Resolve 15.1.1 studio, Win 10 Pro
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Marc Wielage

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Re: 15.1.1 bug, won't read MP4 timecode

PostThu Oct 11, 2018 7:23 am

MP4 is dicey for timecode support, and I've seen problems like this before in other kinds of software. One trick with workflow is that you have to do a thorough test before committing to a proxy format, because otherwise you can drive right off a cliff with issues like this.

My suggestion would be not to use MP4 but instead use something like DNxHD36 or ProRes LT, both of which are decent intraframe codecs that support accurate jogging and better frame-by-frame playback with embedded timecode. They're also proven to work pretty well on most Windows and Mac editing software packages. I don't use any Long-GOP format like MP4 or H.264 for anything except as a quick & dirty online viewing tool for dailies or something like that.

There are exceptions like HEVC, which is a very high-quality H.265 format used by Sony and some others, but that's at a much different level.
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Charles Bennett

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Re: 15.1.1 bug, won't read MP4 timecode

PostThu Oct 11, 2018 1:30 pm

No problems with MP4 timecode in the free version of 15.1.1. If you would like an MP4 test file, here is one from my Canon G40 with timecode which I know works.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgtx04xx7tkqqja/0071.MP4?dl=0
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Reynaud Venter

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Re: 15.1.1 bug, won't read MP4 timecode

PostThu Oct 11, 2018 2:05 pm

Thank you Charles. No issues with Timecode on my systems either.
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George Deierling

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Re: 15.1.1 bug, won't read MP4 timecode

PostThu Oct 11, 2018 7:33 pm

Marc Wielage wrote:MP4 is dicey for timecode support, and I've seen problems like this before in other kinds of software. One trick with workflow is that you have to do a thorough test before committing to a proxy format, because otherwise you can drive right off a cliff with issues like this.

My suggestion would be not to use MP4 but instead use something like DNxHD36 or ProRes LT, both of which are decent intraframe codecs that support accurate jogging and better frame-by-frame playback with embedded timecode. They're also proven to work pretty well on most Windows and Mac editing software packages. I don't use any Long-GOP format like MP4 or H.264 for anything except as a quick & dirty online viewing tool for dailies or something like that.

There are exceptions like HEVC, which is a very high-quality H.265 format used by Sony and some others, but that's at a much different level.


Marc, I did test it and it was working in earlier versions. Intraframe codecs are better for editing - but there is too much blockiness at 36 Mbps. H264 at 8Mbps is far superior. So that was the priority together with smaller file size for a proxy archive with hundreds of hours.
So this comes as a bad surprise, there is no way to reencode our proxy archive, I just hope BM can get around to look at the issue and fix it. Its good to know that it works with others MP4 types. It would just be a matter of looking at the metadata to see where Adobe puts starting timecode.

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