How to get video going in Cubase 9.5?

[lfm]

Quicktime has no relevance to BERFAB or a Windows-user per se.

Earlier Cubase had quicktime requirement to even run video.
New video engine main purpose was to remove that requirement.

And Steinberg succeeded - so, so - as many discovered.

And BERFAB OP mentioned that he succeeded in 8.5 - which need quicktime.

So just felt this was relevant.

[jancivil]

BTW and Note Well: Quicktime-encoded is not really a thing. It encodes for the formats in use as this and another container type, eg .mov, .mp4 which contains a type of resolution, Apple ProRes, H.264 etc. Youtube is going to turn it into an .mp4 and in a lot of my cases this is a dramatically smaller file than my render. Youtube likes H.264 and at 1080p it's certainly not horrible.

But the real poop is at the link I posted earlier, Steinberg Support on encoding for the videoengine.

A "thing" or not - Premiere Elements did still not support quicktime encoded stuff, while still most other codecs were ok. Like mine from cameras, sometime MP4 or MOV - with H264 inside were ok. So just small reservations not needing quicktime software installed anymore.

Just a remark - many that removed need for quicktime software on windows - have still some reservations for various formats.

Ok, that is real and other users report it widely. But technically that's a bug in Premiere or the files are corrupt.

[jancivil]

Quicktime has no relevance to BERFAB or a Windows-user per se.

Earlier Cubase had quicktime requirement to even run video.
New video engine main purpose was to remove that requirement.

It's pretty evident I understand this already.
Per your question previously, I'll put it another way: QT is irrelevant for Windows Cubase User past C9.02; unless one is trying to export using Quicktime. BERFAB does not appear to be.

[lfm]

Ok, that is real and other users report it widely. But technically that's a bug in Premiere or the files are corrupt.

To be fair - it was mentioned in system requirements - so a limitation after removing quicktime software requirement.

"bug" is maybe strong word here.

[lfm]

QT is irrelevant for Windows User unless one is trying to export using Quicktime, BERFAB does not appear to be.

Pardon me if I am kicking in open doors.

And I truly believe there is issues even reading quicktime encoded formats - without quicktime software installed - or Cubase could just not give a damn and import and be done with it.

And Cubase could protest once to do export only - sorry cannot write this format!!!

And since video editors also protest importing quicktime encoded video - having many other output formats - there is something to reading it as well.

Not sure if Apple patented something that makes everybody not able to use it. Something fishi is going on with that codec.

[jancivil]

"Bug is a strong word"
Fine. As a practical matter, sure that whole area is a concern in particular case use particularly.
Except /thread.

Video-recording devices and video software applications encode files in a specific file format, such as AVI, QuickTime (MOV), and Windows Media (WMV). For a list of the file formats that Adobe Premiere Elements supports, search "Supported file formats in Adobe Premiere Elements " in the Adobe Knowledgebase.

Some video file formats, including AVI and MOV, are container file formats. The data inside these container files is encoded according to a particular codec. Codecs are algorithms for compressing video and audio data. Many different codecs exist.

For example, an AVI file can be encoded with the DV codec, a commercial codec (such as DivX), a Motion JPEG codec, among others. (Camcorders that record to miniDV tapes use the DV codec. Some still-image cameras use the Motion JPEG coded.)

Adobe Premiere Elements sometimes cannot decode video files that were created with a poorly designed codec or a codec that is not installed on your computer.

Knowing the format and, when applicable, the codec of the files you are working with helps you use these solutions. To gather this information, do one or more of the following tasks:

Open the file in Apple QuickTime Player and choose Window > Show Movie Inspector.
If the file is from a camcorder, camera, or other video-recording device, see the device's documentation, or locate the device's specifications on the manufacturer's website.
Open the file in a third-party application that analyzes media files, such as MediaInfo or GSpot 2.70.

And some users report that the output of their camera in a .mov container containing H.264 res works without QT installed.

[lfm]

And some users report that the output of their camera in a .mov container containing H.264 res works without QT installed.

I for one, I can do that in any editor. Will check this weekend with Cubase if I can do that.

MOV is just a container - that can hold video and audio in various formats.
So those doing MOV with H264 inside is different than those also did quicktime encoding inside. That is how I understand it.

And as I mentioned, Corel products, seemed to just go by file extension - and refuse to load it.

Those that work do it differently - and check what is inside as well, before refusing to load a MOV file.
- OK, H264, I can do that.

I will check this weekend Cubase 9.5.2 and do those MOV from camera if they work. MP4 with H264 work, that I checked. I have some output in AVCHD(MTS, M2TS) as well, and will check that too.

MOV from camera to PowerDirector and Premiere Elements work fine - without any quicktime software installed(windows).

[jancivil]

MOV is just a container - that can hold video and audio in various formats.
So those doing MOV with H264 inside is different than those also did quicktime encoding inside.

Different how? Ok, I exported a .mov using Quicktime at some point this morning. It is H.264. It would appear to use QT codec. It loaded in Cubase 9.5.2. So: the .mov containing H.264 resolution does not disagree per se with having QT codec. If you have QT, last version for Windows is 7.6 and afaict it's still downloadable, maybe test an export from it, eg. adding its codec in the doing and see if that fails to load.

I will check this weekend Cubase 9.5.2 and do those MOV from camera if they work. MP4 with H264 work, that I checked. I have some output in AVCHD(MTS, M2TS) as well, and will check that too.

MOV from camera to PowerDirector and Premiere Elements work fine - without any quicktime software installed(windows).

Sorry, I passed right by the last statement. that's basically what one or two users had at the Adobe support forum.

[jancivil]

And as I mentioned, Corel products, seemed to just go by file extension - and refuse to load it.

Those that work do it differently - and check what is inside as well, before refusing to load a MOV file.
- OK, H264, I can do that.

I will check this weekend Cubase 9.5.2 and do those MOV from camera if they work. MP4 with H264 work, that I checked.

I don't think Cubase cares at all about the container. The business end of the file is inside it, codecs essentially.
I don't know why Corel would work that way, but I'm not an expert. But, that contention disagrees with what I found via Steinberg Support, it doesn't make sense to me. I would venture to guess that there are idiosyncrasies per platform/application at this point.

[deastman]

I’m not quite sure what all the debating is about, but personally I would just transcode to an h.264 .MP4 file and be done with it. That is a much more universal format, and you won’t have to worry about Apple pulling more shenanigans with QuickTime. After all, you’re only going to be using the video for reference while scoring. It isn’t like you need an NLE-friendly edit codec.

[jancivil]

What debating? We're trying to figure it out comparing notes. A couple of lfm's notions on it may not be quite right so I'm deferring to Steinberg.

I just made a quick screen movie in QT. It is a .mov, H.264. It isn't going to load in Cubase 9.5 nor Nuendo 8.1.
That's not a debate point, it's a simple fact. Steinberg Support page on it did not recommend simply transcode to .mp4, which is just the container. You have to deal with it under the hood now.

Per the OP: I don't know what BERFAB's videos are, but they don't load. I tend to think they wouldn't be terribly exotic.

[jancivil]

How to encode H.264 video to work best with Nuendo?

H.264 encoder presets, as offered in current versions of Apple Final Cut, Apple Compressor, Avid Media Composer or Grass Valley EDIUS Pro, usually result in video files suitable for Nuendo. However, since the number of video tools that allow for H.264 export is high, and the H.264 specification includes various encoding parameters, you should take care of the following settings when creating H.264 video files:

The number of B-frames should not be higher than 3. Anything above will lead to an unreasonably high amount of memory allocation.
The number of reference frames should not be higher than 2.

[jancivil]

Now, what I found was exporting it to mp4 made something Cubase loads. My supposition is that it's not because it's mp4, which is just coincidental. The preset it applies works, as does the usual suspect in FCPX and the other things.

SO I shared the thing Steinberg says works for Windows. I don't know why you're debating the point but I would recommend reading the thread before deciding what to dismiss.

[lfm]

And as I mentioned, Corel products, seemed to just go by file extension - and refuse to load it.

Those that work do it differently - and check what is inside as well, before refusing to load a MOV file.
- OK, H264, I can do that.

I will check this weekend Cubase 9.5.2 and do those MOV from camera if they work. MP4 with H264 work, that I checked.

I don't think Cubase cares at all about the container. The business end of the file is inside it, codecs essentially.
I don't know why Corel would work that way, but I'm not an expert. But, that contention disagrees with what I found via Steinberg Support, it doesn't make sense to me. I would venture to guess that there are idiosyncrasies per platform/application at this point.

I tested right now and I can just drag-n-drop a MOV files from Canon DSLR camera into Cubase 9.5.20 video track - which format has H264 inside - and it just works. Even creating an audio track - extracting that on windows 7. And they even use just I-frames on this kind of time-lapse that I do - so each frame is a full frame. Canon call it All-I - and has no P or B frames. So it might be just a bit harder to decode, since nothing is predictive(as I recall about three times the bandwidth compared to when predictive stuff).

What remain though - empty project - just playing this constantly use 30% cpu on my i7 quadcore. And it's just 25 fps pal - not 30 fps. And just 1/8 of full 1920p monitor screen, so not full screen preview. And waited until thumbnails were done.

Doing the same thing with VidPlayVst instead use 10-14%, with a small bumb up to 20% in between. So I'd say half cpu or less than Cubase video engine. Just one instrument track with Vidplayvst and this loaded MOV file(one minute long).

Consistent with my former tests, with audio track and stuff inside as well. 36% Cubase video engine, and 16% with just Vidplayvst.

I don't have a fancy graphics card though, just GT 730. Maybe it runs smoother on super duper expensive cards. But it's the same card with both my tests, so. Drivers updated about two months or so ago.

Your MOV/H264 example - something about what quicktime do then, or?

So most software that take video files, seems to look inside - rather than go by file extension. For some reason Corel Movie Studio refused this kind of file - assume missing quicktime software(don't remember message).

[jancivil]

And as I mentioned, Corel products, seemed to just go by file extension - and refuse to load it.

Those that work do it differently - and check what is inside as well, before refusing to load a MOV file.
- OK, H264, I can do that.

I will check this weekend Cubase 9.5.2 and do those MOV from camera if they work. MP4 with H264 work, that I checked.

I don't think Cubase cares at all about the container. The business end of the file is inside it, codecs essentially.
I don't know why Corel would work that way, but I'm not an expert. But, that contention disagrees with what I found via Steinberg Support, it doesn't make sense to me. I would venture to guess that there are idiosyncrasies per platform/application at this point.

I tested right now and I can just drag-n-drop a MOV files from Canon DSLR camera into Cubase 9.5.20 video track - which format has H264 inside - and it just works. Even creating an audio track - extracting that on windows 7. And they even use just I-frames on this kind of time-lapse that I do - so each frame is a full frame. Canon call it All-I - and has no P or B frames. So it might be just a bit harder to decode, since nothing is predictive(as I recall about three times the bandwidth compared to when predictive stuff).

What remain though - empty project - just playing this constantly use 30% cpu on my i7 quadcore. And it's just 25 fps pal - not 30 fps. And just 1/8 of full 1920p monitor screen, so not full screen preview. And waited until thumbnails were done.

Doing the same thing with VidPlayVst instead use 10-14%, with a small bumb up to 20% in between. So I'd say half cpu or less than Cubase video engine. Just one instrument track with Vidplayvst and this loaded MOV file(one minute long).

Consistent with my former tests, with audio track and stuff inside as well. 36% Cubase video engine, and 16% with just Vidplayvst.

I don't have a fancy graphics card though, just GT 730. Maybe it runs smoother on super duper expensive cards. But it's the same card with both my tests, so. Drivers updated about two months or so ago.

Your MOV/H264 example - something about what quicktime do then, or?

So most software that take video files, seems to look inside - rather than go by file extension. For some reason Corel Movie Studio refused this kind of file - assume missing quicktime software(don't remember message).

I see. So Corel does seem to kind of do certain things differently than others.

Yeah. Others are reporting poor performance. Steiny say the B frames and what-not address performance; I haven't needed to see video in a busy sort of project, and I'm going to just check sync sort of issues by a two-file anyway.

I don't know why these screen videos ain't right, it was just the one thing I have which resembles BERFAB'S OP issue of, they just do nothing when you go to load them. I wouldn't use that result anyway, have to edit and all so it doesn't really matter why.