I've been sent new footage, and can't tell if I'm needing a new codec, or if they've sent me something goofy. Can you help me sort it out?
Symptoms:
--In (mac) finder and Quicktime, I get a white screen with audio. This usually means a codec is missing.
--In AE however, I have no errors on import, but RAM previews are black WITH sound. To me, this suggests something is goofy with the footage.
--AE specifies the footage as HDV2. Does someone have a link to that codec so I can verify/update it?
--Finder specifies it as HDV 1080i/60, at 1920x1080, which I find interesting because I understood HDV to not be full HD. This leads me to believe something is goofy with the footage.
Thanks for your input. I'm hoping to get more info from the client as well, but it may be one of those conversations that starts with "Well, I just hit export on my computer..."
Re: Help with getting HDV2 into AE? by Dave LaRonde on Feb 12, 2008 at 8:32:48 pm
[Greg Neumayer]"I'm hoping to get more info from the client as well, but it may be one of those conversations that starts with "Well, I just hit export on my computer...""
You knew this was coming.....
You're missing a codec, and you'll either have to find it or have the client export the footage in a different one. Is this the kind of client who knows what a codec is?
I'll bet the client's on a Windows box, which makes the process even more fun!
Re: Help with getting HDV2 into AE? by Erik Pontius on Feb 12, 2008 at 8:42:26 pm
My guess is that they output it from FCP using it's HDV codec. And I'm guessing that your Mac doesn't have FCP, which means you don't have the neccessary codec.
This might be a blessing in disguise...working with HDV in AE is a real choir because of the extra processing in decoding the lossy HDV long GOP MPEG2.
See if they can re-output the video in a common lossless codec like QT Animation. The file size will be large, but it will be easier to work with in the long run.
Re: Help with getting HDV2 into AE? by Greg Neumayer on Feb 12, 2008 at 10:30:43 pm
Thanks for your input guys,
I've pulled this article, which suggests that the Apple Intermediate Codec may be the recommended solution for HDV users that need to move files around.
Re: Help with getting HDV2 into AE? by Dave LaRonde on Feb 12, 2008 at 10:47:15 pm
Beware of the Apple Intermediate Codec! It's not as good as the Apple propoganda would have you believe. Better to go with a codec your two machines already share.
If you want details, go to the Final Cut Pro forum on the COW and post a message with some catchy title like, "Apple Intermediate Codec: is it any good?
Re: Help with getting HDV2 into AE? by Dave LaRonde on Feb 13, 2008 at 4:08:03 pm
[Greg Neumayer]"Does anyone have a link to a codec I can pop into AE(mac) so I can at least work with the (FCP) HDV footage? (HDV2) Does it exist?"
You can try upgrading to QT 7.4.1. It doesn't give AE fits, and depending on the QT version you currently use, it may contain the codec. Unfortunately, I don't know for sure.
