Green Frames in CFHD with PHD 4 beta at DVinfo.net

Matt Vanecek · April 26th, 2009, 11:16 PM

I've seen a couple of mentions of green frames with respect to Cineform, but never a solution...

I've a clip, about 51 minutes. After using HDLink from the PHD 4 beta to convert the file to CFHD High quality, progressive (30p), there are a couple of spots where the frame is all green, preceded by a frame that is like the same frame all scrunched up side by side 3 times, and green. I can't see the green frame in Windows Media Player 11. I cannot open the CFHD files in VLC or VirtualDub 64, ("VLC does not support the audio or video format "CFHD"..."--same thing from VirtualDub 64), but VirtualDub (32-bit) does open the file and does NOT display the green frames (but don't stop reading here...).

I've imported the AVI into a new PPro project, double-checked the import settings, and re-converted the file several times. I even cut about a 5-second clip out of the AVI using VirtualDub (32 bit), and the green frame is there when I import the AVI into PPro (even though I don't see the green frame in VirtualDub. Weird).

I've reviewed the original M2T in VLC, and in MPEG Streamclip, and in Premiere Pro (CS4) in an HDV project. The M2T looks fine--there's no sign of a dropped frames or anything. The file plays perfectly. I extracted a sub-clip from the M2T using MPEG Streamclip surrounding one of the AVI's problem spots, and converted the result to CFHD (y'know, so I could test and send to Cineform if need be...). The resulting clip does NOT have the errant green frames.

Worst case scenario, I can pull the MPEG_Streamclip trick on all the problem areas, but that's going to be rather tedious.

Just for giggles, I'm going to try exporting to CFHD AVI with MPEG Streamclip, and see what happens....

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

Matt Vanecek · April 27th, 2009, 07:33 AM

Just an update before I rush off to work 30 minutes ago....

Exporting the video to CFHD using MPEG_Streamclip worked, mostly. The green frames are not present in the resulting CFHD AVI. The file is 61GB (I used 100% quality...). Also, the time code is off by about a second from what HDLink produces, so I'm not sure it's an effective replacement for HDLink, in terms of consistency across conversions....

Thanks,
Matt

Matt Vanecek · May 1st, 2009, 07:18 AM

Update on this.

Converting the M2T to Cineform CFHD using MPEG_Streamclip produces a visibly better result than using HDLink from either 3.4.9 or 4 beta. Converted at 75% quality. Colors are better, sound is better.

When HDLink converts the file, not only are there green frames here and there, but also there are frames that are skipped, being replaced with the preceding frame. E.g., I have one spot (actually, several) with a camera flash. In the HDLink, the frame with the flash is missing, but the preceding frame is repeated. In the MPEG_Streamclip conversion, the frame with the flash is there.

If I can manage to cut the M2T up and preserve the HDLink errors on the smaller sample, I'll open a trouble ticket--the source file is about 9GB, which seems a bit unwieldy for a trouble ticket submission.

In the meantime, has nobody ever seen this behavior?

Machine specs:
Intel i7 920 (stock)
12GB RAM
Sil 4726 eSATA RAID0 for video

Thanks,
Matt

April 26th, 2009, 11:16 PM	#1
Matt Vanecek Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 334	Green Frames in CFHD with PHD 4 beta I've seen a couple of mentions of green frames with respect to Cineform, but never a solution... I've a clip, about 51 minutes. After using HDLink from the PHD 4 beta to convert the file to CFHD High quality, progressive (30p), there are a couple of spots where the frame is all green, preceded by a frame that is like the same frame all scrunched up side by side 3 times, and green. I can't see the green frame in Windows Media Player 11. I cannot open the CFHD files in VLC or VirtualDub 64, ("VLC does not support the audio or video format "CFHD"..."--same thing from VirtualDub 64), but VirtualDub (32-bit) does open the file and does NOT display the green frames (but don't stop reading here...). I've imported the AVI into a new PPro project, double-checked the import settings, and re-converted the file several times. I even cut about a 5-second clip out of the AVI using VirtualDub (32 bit), and the green frame is there when I import the AVI into PPro (even though I don't see the green frame in VirtualDub. Weird). I've reviewed the original M2T in VLC, and in MPEG Streamclip, and in Premiere Pro (CS4) in an HDV project. The M2T looks fine--there's no sign of a dropped frames or anything. The file plays perfectly. I extracted a sub-clip from the M2T using MPEG Streamclip surrounding one of the AVI's problem spots, and converted the result to CFHD (y'know, so I could test and send to Cineform if need be...). The resulting clip does NOT have the errant green frames. Worst case scenario, I can pull the MPEG_Streamclip trick on all the problem areas, but that's going to be rather tedious. Just for giggles, I'm going to try exporting to CFHD AVI with MPEG Streamclip, and see what happens.... Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Matt

April 27th, 2009, 07:33 AM	#2
Matt Vanecek Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 334	Just an update before I rush off to work 30 minutes ago.... Exporting the video to CFHD using MPEG_Streamclip worked, mostly. The green frames are not present in the resulting CFHD AVI. The file is 61GB (I used 100% quality...). Also, the time code is off by about a second from what HDLink produces, so I'm not sure it's an effective replacement for HDLink, in terms of consistency across conversions.... Thanks, Matt

May 1st, 2009, 07:18 AM	#3
Matt Vanecek Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 334	Update on this. Converting the M2T to Cineform CFHD using MPEG_Streamclip produces a visibly better result than using HDLink from either 3.4.9 or 4 beta. Converted at 75% quality. Colors are better, sound is better. When HDLink converts the file, not only are there green frames here and there, but also there are frames that are skipped, being replaced with the preceding frame. E.g., I have one spot (actually, several) with a camera flash. In the HDLink, the frame with the flash is missing, but the preceding frame is repeated. In the MPEG_Streamclip conversion, the frame with the flash is there. If I can manage to cut the M2T up and preserve the HDLink errors on the smaller sample, I'll open a trouble ticket--the source file is about 9GB, which seems a bit unwieldy for a trouble ticket submission. In the meantime, has nobody ever seen this behavior? Machine specs: Intel i7 920 (stock) 12GB RAM Sil 4726 eSATA RAID0 for video Thanks, Matt