New quality analysis posted

[David Newman]

Our previous quality analysis only delt only with 1920x1080 sources for 10bit HD-SDI workflows. We just uploaded an analyis that compares the generation losses of HDV at 1440x1080 using CineForm Intermediate and comparing to "native" MPEG approaches.

http://www.cineform.com/technology/quality.htm

I hope this information is helpfully for customers looking for an editing solution.

[Kevin Shaw]

David: thanks for that info. Any thoughts of doing a similar comparison to the Canopus HQ codec, or the new Apple intermediary codec?

[David Newman]

If we get our hands on other worthy codecs we will do more comparisons. For now I need to take a break, multi-generation comparisions take a lot of work.

[Kevin Shaw]

Okay, thanks anyway. I think we all get the general idea from the latest document, and it's certainly informative to compare to "native" HDV editing.

P.S. Hopefully you'll recognize this punch line, which you can feel free to apply to your current workload:

"Coffee break's over, everyone back on your heads!" :-)

[Greg Jacobson]

Ok, this is for "10 bit" so it applies to your Prospect HD product. I understand what a "generation" is but not sure how it specifically applies to your demonstration.

Do you mean that in terms of each time HDV footage gets rendered? So let's say that I load a file into the timeline and then deinterlace and convert to 24p before I add effects, etc. Then after I have effects, transitions, music, I render again. Would that be considered 2 "generations" ? So that every time I render out I get some loss in quality?

[David Newman]

Yes Greg you have it. 10-bit is for Prospect HD, and the 8-bit analysis is for Aspect HD. Multiple generation work flows are more common in the profession space (10-bit), but it still a useful analysis to understand compression and what (if any) artifacts can be introduced. Generally compression involves some quality loss (MPEG suffers badly) so the trick is to design a compressor that has minimal losses without having a huge bit-rate. CineForm added editing performance to the design criteria. Codec design is a balance of quality, compressed size and speed. MPEG is a delivery format is it is only concerned with compressed size, and a quality suitable for end user consumption not for mastering or post-production. Speed wasn't a factor, that is why native editors are so slow. CineForm compression was designed with quality and speed as the most significant factors, as a result we have a higher bit-rate -- yet the trade-off is worth it from most post-production work flows. The analysis you read just scratches the surface of codec design.