Another Canon MJPEG Transcoding Question

[chadandreo]

For people that have cameras that shoot MJPEG, I was just wondering what codec would you transcode the 4K footage to for footage that you do not plan to manipulate too much such as long form speeches, talking heads, interviews in a controlled lighting environment, etc. Nothing that requires a creative grade or too much pushing and pulling of the footage. 

Not sure if it makes a difference, but im using the 1DX Mark II. 

[webrunner5]

2 hours ago, chadandreo said:

For people that have cameras that shoot MJPEG, I was just wondering what codec would you transcode the 4K footage to for footage that you do not plan to manipulate too much such as long form speeches, talking heads, interviews in a controlled lighting environment, etc. Nothing that requires a creative grade or too much pushing and pulling of the footage. 

Not sure if it makes a difference, but im using the 1DX Mark II. 

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1445471

[chadandreo]

Thanks for the link,  but it appears as if all they’re talking about is transcoding to ProRes and editing in proxies, which is the opposite of what I’m trying to do.  

 

 I am looking for a solution that doesnt require editing in proxy or reconnecting footage. I am looking for a solution to create basic 4K content for basic interviews and jobs like that in which I can convert the MJPEG to a good 4K codec and delete the MJPEG files. I will use ProRes and ProRes LT for important and for jobs in which I need to push and pull the footage, but I am hoping there is another codec I can use for basic 4K videos and storage.

 

 

[kye]

I'm not sure what you should choose, but here's a handy list of codecs that might inspire you?

https://blog.frame.io/2017/02/13/50-intermediate-codecs-compared/

I would imagine your decision would revolve around quality vs bitrate.

[webrunner5]

This chart is even crazier for how many different codecs, wrappers there are. I don't see how any NLE can do all of it. Jesus.

http://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/DaVinciResolve/20180426-942419/DaVinci_Resolve_15_Supported_Codec_List.pdf

[newfoundmass]

H.264 and H.265 are probably the direction you'll want to look in if ProRes isn't what you're looking for. Because they're highly compressed they're not as easy for some systems to edit, so you'll want to keep that in mind. 

[andrgl]

ProRes 4444 XQ or DNxHR 444.

Cineform is interesting but the encoder hasn't been included with FFMPEG yet.

[gt3rs]

Why you want to reencode? ... if you have a good enough machine you can edit MJPEG directly... If you want to save storage for conservation then h264 or h265 but to edit why somebody would convert to even bigger DNxHR 444 or ProRes 4444?

PS: I use a 1Dx II and edit MJPEG directly in Resolve, sometime even directly from the CFcard.

[chadandreo]

3 hours ago, gt3rs said:

Why you want to reencode? ... if you have a good enough machine you can edit MJPEG directly... If you want to save storage for conservation then h264 or h265 but to edit why somebody would convert to even bigger DNxHR 444 or ProRes 4444?

PS: I use a 1Dx II and edit MJPEG directly in Resolve, sometime even directly from the CFcard.

The main reason is to save space and exporting time on 4K jobs that are considered “mundane.” Long speeches, interviews, etc. 

[KnightsFan]

You'll have trouble saving space AND reducing export times, unless you are willing to sacrifice a lot of quality. The reason MJPEG and ProRes files are huge is because they are lightly compressed, i.e. take less processing power to decode. So here are a few options:

1. Transcoding to ProRes, DNxHD, or Cineform seems like a bad idea, since you won't save any space with comparable image quality.

2. You could save a ton of space with HEVC--100Mbps would be plenty--but pay for it in increased exporting time.

3. H.264 might be your best option for balancing size, quality, and encoding time. Maybe do some tests at 200 Mbps and see how it goes.

[gt3rs]

2 hours ago, chadandreo said:

The main reason is to save space and exporting time on 4K jobs that are considered “mundane.” Long speeches, interviews, etc. 

Not sure how you would save exporting time by converting to another format, Resolve is definitely faster with MJPEG than h264 content...
Saving space for archiving etc.. is another story and there h264 probably is probably the best as KinghtsFan has mentioned. 
Now 200 mbits vs 500 mbits it is an important save but converting takes time and some works, so I simply buy more storage and I keep the MJPEG.