garageCube

I have looked into "How to prepare media" topic, and read the manual as well. I am still having questions though:

1. I am aware that Modul8 can import files with various codecs. My question is, which one is "native"? PhotoJPEG? I would like to know which codec will have least CPU usage.

2. My project will use most like anywhere between 2-4 layers. One layer will use long sequences - 3-4 minutes and the rest of the layers will have some shorter loops with effects on them.
The thing is, when the long sequences are rendered in PhotoJPEG codec, they have almost the same size (hence the bitrate) as AVI DV files.
My main concern is that this can probably hog the harddrive read times and I'm afraid I will have sluggish performance.

Should I use something with lower bitrate, even if it was non-native codec like H.264?

My setup is: MBPro 13.3 late 2010 (2.4ghz, 4 gig RAM). My output will be VGA projector, probably running on 800x600.

PhotoJPG is good for frame to frame effects, like scratching. AIC works rather well for playback and I kind of like it better over PhotoJPG when I do not effect much. PNG+ is best for alpha channel.
ProRes should be great too, but I have not tested it really.
H264 uses CPU a lot, but some of us like it as well.
Stay away from Animation, DV, Divx.

And, please do not double post. No need to do it - just your answers get scattered over many places.

Ok, I wanted to be more specific in this topic.

what is AIC?

I prefer not to have external drive attached (I have USB2 anyway, no FW.) I like to keep it on my internal disk. I don't really mind having large amount of space taken, it's just a bitrate I am worried about.

I will probably stick with photoJPEGs because I never know what I will use the clips for, so I can scratch, effect it, anything really as long as I have a smooth playback.

But I'm wondering for the long sequences to use something with lower bitrate if that is better over high CPU usage (h.264 maybe?)

Seems like there is no universal codec then heh?

I'm rusted up from using Resolume2 for years where I would just use Indeo for everything.

When I have to use long clips with sound I use h264. It works fine as long as you play it "as is".
AIC=apple intermediate codec

I noticed that the photoJPEG compression have larger file sizes than DV compression, isn't that weird?

Also does it help somehow if I reduced the resolution to 640x480? The output would be 800x600 so the media would be scaled up. The question is will this scaling up have bigger CPU usage or should I just keep the media files in 720x576 despite the larger file size?

Also would it help if I used the media from external drive? Even if it's USB2.0?

I noticed that the photoJPEG compression have larger file sizes than DV compression, isn't that weird?

No it's not, the point is not file size but how much processing power/time it takes to decompress

Also does it help somehow if I reduced the resolution to 640x480? The output would be 800x600 so the media would be scaled up. The question is will this scaling up have bigger CPU usage or should I just keep the media files in 720x576 despite the larger file size?

The smaller your clips the easier on processing

Also would it help if I used the media from external drive? Even if it's USB2.0?

Depends on the specs of your external drive compared to your internal drive

mowgli_uk wrote:
Depends on the specs of your external drive compared to your internal drive

The internal drive is stock one on MBPro - 250gb SATA 5400rpm. The external drive is Western Digital My Book with its own power source, 7200 rpm.

Yes the external drive is faster, although I'm not sure if USB2.0 bus isn't actually slowing it down.

I tried mixing 5 layers with various transparencies, each of the layer had effect applied on them. Media files were 720x576 photoJPEGs running from external drive... the playback was smooth, processor was around 75 percent of usage.
On the other hand, there were no filters applied so I'm still wondering...

comatory wrote:

mowgli_uk wrote:
Depends on the specs of your external drive compared to your internal drive

The internal drive is stock one on MBPro - 250gb SATA 5400rpm. The external drive is Western Digital My Book with its own power source, 7200 rpm.

Yes the external drive is faster, although I'm not sure if USB2.0 bus isn't actually slowing it down.

I tried mixing 5 layers with various transparencies, each of the layer had effect applied on them. Media files were 720x576 photoJPEGs running from external drive... the playback was smooth, processor was around 75 percent of usage.
On the other hand, there were no filters applied so I'm still wondering...

I would say; keep on testing!

I like AIC. Twice the less size and the quality is barely noticeable at 640x480.

Also I was wondering how modul8 handles flash files (SWF). I was under the impression that macs don't like them.