#MPEG and 24bitAnimation
8 messages in this thread
If I bought an mpeg encoder/decoder card, would it be possible to make an
animation in TGA files and save it in an mpeg format? – getting real time 24bit
animatio multires on computer instead of out putting on video.
MPEG is a little different from JPEG, because it typically requires a
dedicated/expensive workstation to efficiently master the source
material into an MPEG file. There's a lot of processing going on.
However, the decoding is the opposite and is quick and cheap. Many of
the video game platforms are talking about adding MPEG decoders as
options to their machines. There may have been advances in encoders
to bring down the price, but I'm not too sure if the software is
included or available for .tga conversion. If the program came with
an API (application program interface?) or SDK (software developers
kit) it might be possible to write such a utility.
I don't know much about MPEG, but isn't one of the inherent problems with it a
lack of single frame control? I'd appreciate any enlightening on MPEG, since
it's a kind of blank spot in my brain <g>.
thanks,
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
John
>> but isn't one of the inherent problems with it a lack of single frame
control? <<
I believe that's right on target which is why the CCIT people have adopted JPEG
for Video.
-JE
I suspected as much.
thanks,
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
John,
>> lack of single frame control? <<
that's true, and that's why it's not useful for non-linear editing. It's not a
problem for cd-rom titles though, which is where you'll see a lot of it, I'd
guess. Also, cable movies on demand and other applications will find it useful.
The outputs really very good and will be quite sufficient for most consumers.
Thanks, Martin. That's what I'd heard, too. Great for the end user, but not
useful for production.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
Hello James;
It looks as though you would like to render your animations directly to the
hard disk and then play them back in real time. Well we have a JPEG solution
called MAX (Matrox Animation Xpress) which is made up of the Illuminator-Pro
and our Studio Xpress board. This will allow you to create JPEG streams either
from TGA files or directly through 3DS and then play them back (play, FF, REW,
pause, loop,etc…) The Pro can also output a composit or Y.C (or optional
analog component) video signal you can record. No more need for frame accurate
decks and controllers.
If you need any more info, let me know, I'll have the sales people give you a
gingle.
Alain P. Levesque (Matrox Technical Support)