Hi,

Further to what Jeff said, see the screens below:

If you did not go through this process, then you are missing most of the program.

Also, make sure that you update to the latest patch.

I did not select the Movie edit Pro add ons...

A bunch of Newblue activation happened. I need to go see what is different. The Mainconcept MPEG4 was not able to get an activation code. Something wrong on the Magix web page. I did however, have everything else that was not Movie Edit Pro. I had the fades... Doing slide shows and having templates for making DVDs is not important now. So... If I am not able to get the activation for Mainconcept... what am I using now to export as MP4?

what am I using now to export as MP4?

The Main Concept mp4 codec is now a purchased addition (in the UK it costs about £5 GBP, I think). If you do not have this codec then the "default" (Magix?) one will be used.

Jeff

Hi

. . . . what am I using now to export as MP4 . . . .

If the Preferred codec option in the Program settings, Import/Export tab says Default you are using the Intel HD codecs.

HTH

John EB

this is what I see

That is the Export screen, not the Program Settings. Press Y or from the top menu, File, Settings, Program. Then go to the Import/Export tab.

BTW, in the Export screen that you show, if you first click on Display all, you will see more settings.

That is the Export screen, not the Program Settings. Press Y or from the top menu, File, Settings, Program. Then go to the Import/Export tab.

BTW, in the Export screen that you show, if you first click on Display all, you will see more settings.

Why is this confusing? I went to import/export... I don't see "preferred...."

I do have a MainConcept codec for avi.

Then you have only the default codecs for both MPEG 2 and mp4. See my screenshot below which shows options for these two codecs.

Jeff

Then you have only the default codecs for both MPEG 2 and mp4. See my screenshot below which shows options for these two codecs.

Jeff

wow....... I never knew there was a missing screen

Hi

. . . . I never knew there was a missing screen . . . .

You are missing these options because the mp4 codec has not been installed or activated.

Open a new project and drag a genuine mp4 file onto the timeline and tell us what happens - note any messages you get.

. . . . I do have a MainConcept codec for avi . . . .

I do not understand this statement - please explain what you mean.

AVI is not a video format it is a container file and can contain a variety of video and audio codecs within it - you would need to analyse an AVI clip with MediaInfo to determine what is actually inside it.

John EB

Hi

. . . . I never knew there was a missing screen . . . .

You are missing these options because the mp4 codec has not been installed or activated.

Up above, johnebaker wrote: If the Preferred codec option in the Program settings, Import/Export tab says Default you are using the Intel HD Why is it, I did not even have a "default" choice?

Open a new project and drag a genuine mp4 file onto the timeline and tell us what happens - note any messages you get.

The only time I get any message, bringing clips in to Magix is when either the size, or frame rate is different than the timeline. I use gopro clips, which are mp4, and AVCHD clips which are .mts (mp4). I did just now, again, put a gopro mp4 file to the timeline of a new project. No pop up asking anything because the size and frame rate were the same as the timeline.

. . . . I do have a MainConcept codec for avi . . . .

Sorry.. I was mixed up. It is the Cineform codec.

I do not understand this statement - please explain what you mean.

If I go to export as .avi, I have some options - one being Cineform. Some of my projects have had lots of motion, and the only way I could get a good export with no blocky artifacts was to export as avi at a very high bitrate, and then load the avi in to gopro studio and export as mp4. When I load mp4 gopro cam files in to the gopro studio, it makes avi files for editing. They are decompressed and have great quality. Having the intel codec of lesser quality would explain why I have had such trouble with high quality exports. Seems all the codecs necessary for good quality should be present. ?

So then... do I have to buy the MainConcept codec?

AVI is not a video format it is a container file and can contain a variety of video and audio codecs within it - you would need to analyse an AVI clip with MediaInfo to determine what is actually inside it.

General
Complete name                            : F:\VIDEOS\avi\Mom 2017-03-24.avi
Format                                   : AVI
Format/Info                              : Audio Video Interleave
Format profile                           : OpenDML
File size                                : 7.96 GiB
Duration                                 : 3 min 46 s
Overall bit rate                         : 302 Mb/s

Video
ID                                       : 0
Format                                   : CineForm
Codec ID                                 : CFHD
Codec ID/Info                            : CineForm 10-bit Visually Perfect HD (Wavelet)
Duration                                 : 3 min 46 s
Bit rate                                 : 300 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 59.940 (60000/1001) FPS
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 2.416
Stream size                              : 7.91 GiB (99%)

Audio
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : PCM
Format settings, Endianness              : Little
Format settings, Sign                    : Signed
Codec ID                                 : 1
Duration                                 : 3 min 46 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 1 536 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Stream size                              : 41.4 MiB (1%)
Alignment                                : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration                     : 17  ms (1.00 video frame)

John EB

 

So then, this is not MainConcept?

Hi

. . . . So then, this is not MainConcept? . . . .

That is the Intel HD codec.

Unless there is a specific reason why you want the MainConcept codec there is no need for it.

. . . . Some of my projects have had lots of motion, and the only way I could get a good export with no blocky artifacts was to export as avi at a very high bitrate, and then load the avi in to gopro studio and export as mp4 . . . .

What is the final destination of your exported videos - Youtube, Vimeo, playing on computer or TV etc?

What mp4 export option are you selecting in MEP - click the Display all to see all the available options as shown below

Note: you will not have the top 2 listed in the image above they are custom settings that I have saved.

John EB

Unless there is a specific reason why you want the MainConcept codec there is no need for it.

What is the final destination of your exported videos -

What mp4 export option are you selecting in MEP - click the Display all to see all the available options as shown below

John EB

Earlier in this thread, it was asked me if I had it or not. I was told I needed it. Most my footage is highly compressed AVCHD files. They are harder to decode. A more pro camera would be shooting mp4 at a 50kbps bitrate as compared to AVDHD at 28kbps. Some videos are more of a challenge for Magix to export because of movement, or faint graduations in a gray sky... or something like that. I generally use the Full HD mp4 codec for export. If I was able to shoot no higher than a 60 shutter setting, I sometimes export at 29.97 instead of 59.94

One video I made down at Key West, Florida, was extremely difficult to export without artifacts. All my cam files are at max quality which is about 28kbps although they average 25kbps. I have tried changing some of the values in the export codec. A 60 GOP is kind of long when you need a fresh update rather than the codec borough image information from the next or previous frame. The default is 60, and I am having much better luck with it on 25, and I raise the bitrate up a little also. I am no stranger to compressing video files. Sometimes in the older SD world, I would manually configure TMPGEnc, to get better looking playback on DVDs than the authoring program I used could encode. Those tough projects were high action such as hydro boat races.

This is one example from long ago.... This is SD video

Using the AVCHD codec for export was much more problematic. Exporting to .avi was faster than mp4, and then I imported to gopro and exported to mp4 and it looked sharp, detailed, and no artifacts. Thats all I want... is to finish a project and not have to wrestle with this editor to get a final good looking video.

I am using the videos on youtube, and computer playback to a large flat screen TV.

Maybe it should be another topic... but it is irritating to finish a project, export it, and then later want to make some changes, and do another export and then there are a few clips with no audio. Nothing had changed with file locations. Why doesn't Magix have a solution to re-link the audio? This happens to frequently just when you least expect it.

I thought the MainConcept codec might do a better job than what I was experiencing, based on replies above.

Glenn

Thanks for your time.

Hi

. . . . Earlier in this thread, it was asked me if I had it or not. I was told I needed it . . . .

AFAICS there has been no mention in this topic (or your other posts about VPX) that you must have the MainConcept codec.

The issues you are having have been covered in your previous topic here

. . . . I am using the videos on youtube . . . .

YouTube converts your video to different resolutions/compression to cater for slower Internet connections - this can be as low as 240p, which is below about half NTSC SD resolution.

. . . . I thought the MainConcept codec might do a better job than what I was experiencing, based on replies above. . . . .

IMO the Intel codec is better than the MC codec, especially when used with the HD 4600 or later integrated graphics of the Intel i5 and i7 processors.

John EB

AFAICS there has been no mention in this topic (or your other posts about VPX) that you must have the MainConcept codec.

The issues you are having have been covered in your previous topic here

I was under the impression that I was missing something in the mp4 area because of your post and another. "You are missing these options because the mp4 codec has not been installed or activated."

emmrecs wrote: The Main Concept mp4 codec is now a purchased addition (in the UK it costs about £5 GBP, I think). If you do not have this codec then the "default" (Magix?) one will be used.

The above 2 comments gave me the impression I was missing this codec and needed it...

Sorry if I unintentionally misled you. When I wrote the statements above, I meant them at face value, i.e you do not currently have the MC codec. I certainly did not intend that to imply that you "needed it"; it is available to buy but not essential.

Jeff

Sorry if I unintentionally misled you. When I wrote the statements above, I meant them at face value, i.e you do not currently have the MC codec. I certainly did not intend that to imply that you "needed it"; it is available to buy but not essential.

Jeff

No prob. Jeff... Do you use the MC codec?

Yes, if evidence of the output files suggests it is the better one to use.  In practice, I have found NO recent projects where the MC codec offers a "better" output than the default one(s) which VPX offers. BUT, I have not needed to export much, if any, HD footage recently.

Jeff

Hi

I can see the confusion that has arisen in both directions - apologies are in order.

From what you posted originally I assumed that you had at least installed the codec and you just could not activate it and you should have had the Preferred codec option in the Program settings, Import/Export tab.

However once you had posted the image of the above tab with no drop down boxes it was clear the codec was not installed.

@ Jeff

. . . if evidence of the output files suggests it is the better one to use . . .

Interesting - what factors influence your decision to switch to the MC codec?

John EB

Yes, if evidence of the output files suggests it is the better one to use.  In practice, I have found NO recent projects where the MC codec offers a "better" output than the default one(s) which VPX offers. BUT, I have not needed to export much, if any, HD footage recently.

Jeff

Jeff.... if you are not exporting HD what are you doing... UHD?