HEVC (h.265) codec native support

halfisher wrote on 9/12/2015, 8:58 AM

How long does the consumer have to wait until the big NLE software makers finally build native support to open H.265 files? It's a wonderful codec that came out almost 2 years ago that puts h.264 to shame but so far only smaller companies such as Cyberlink have it built in to their prosumer editing software. Come on SONY! Don't make me switch to another NLE to run my Samsung NX-1 files!

UPDATE: Sorry for the long delay! I finally got someone at Adobe to realize that HEVC is needed in an NLE. They have added a really nice plugin to Premiere cc so I will use it for editing footage from the NX1 (which won the "camera of the year" this month in VideoMaker magazine). I'm not giving up on SONY and Vegas, but I'm not waiting any longer on them to make a move.

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 9/12/2015, 10:30 AM

How much more would you be willing to pay for a licensed h265 encoder in Vegas?
You can run a DI or frame serve to Handbrake x265.

Were you dissatisfied with the response to your last thread on the same topic?

astar wrote on 9/12/2015, 3:52 PM

+1 to Musicvid10's comment. Consumers buy cheap gear and expect a lot, Sony has 4K support in Vegas in a variety of formats. Vegas will support HEVC when demand is high enough. I would prefer Sony spend time on supporting RAW formats like ARRI, 4K+ formats, easy DCP export, a Sony SStP level of H265 supporting rec2020, or fluid playback of 4K composited EXR in 32-bit-full level. This stuff would put Vegas and Sony back up among the "players." Simplifying Vegas back to core editing, making a Catalyst Composite, and possible a Catalyst Pro Surround Mix is possibly the right trend. Text overlays, 3D elements, tracking, and compositing is better handled by other products. With all those different products, Sony better be working on pipeline testing like dogs. The test matrix will huge, but probably easier to make corrections than on one monolithic application.

This topic came up on the SV forum a while back. http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/showmessage.asp?Forum=4&messageid=929878

You might try this and see if it works for that camera format. Google translate can help with the German.

http://www.videotreffpunkt.com/index.php/Thread/18251-HEVC-ProRes-XAVC-L-Vegas-Plug-In/

Can you post the Media Info on your HEVC files? The media I have seen from that camera is not that special, at only being 8-bit 4:2:0. Converting to XAVC-I 10-bit will maintain what you have recorded. Editing XAVC-I will also utilize the GPU for timeline playback and rendering. Which you cam see from the image above, there is no GPU assist on the HEVC conversion.

It is important to read the entire installer document for tips on how to correctly enable 10-bit 422 support.

DGates wrote on 9/12/2015, 3:58 PM

And he never replied to any comments in that other thread either. Just sounds like a petulant child.

musicvid10 wrote on 9/13/2015, 2:46 PM

. . . who is waiting for someone to agree with him.

PixelStuff wrote on 9/14/2015, 9:46 PM

Isn't the the Samsung NX-1 the only camera that currently records to that format? It seems to me that isn't even all that popular yet compared with other under dogs like the Panasonic GH4. If anything you should be writing Samsung and asking them for some specific codec plugins for VFW, DirectShow, or whatever.

musicvid10 wrote on 9/14/2015, 10:10 PM

Oh, its the latest craze with pirateers, who want to fit 1080p movies under 700 MB.
That's all.

astar wrote on 9/18/2015, 7:52 PM

I would like to add a caveat to this HEVC support using the linked addon.

Add the LavAV software, and the "HEVC_PlugIn.Release.fio2007-config" to the Vegas folder.

Use the HEVC mode to convert your footage to XAVC-I for editing. Editing in HEVC is going to be a chunky experience.

When complete with conversions, remove the "HEVC_PlugIn.Release.fio2007-config" from the Vegas folder, and delete the FFCache_x64_1033.ini from your Sony App data folder. Restart Vegas and the FFCache_x64_1033.ini will be rebuilt automatically.

Leaving the HEVC plugin enabled could confuse operation and editing of native formats like the .MXF formats in Vegas. With the HEVC enabled, the LavAV is used for .MXF media vs the Vegas native mechanism when you go to edit the XAVC. With the HEVC plugin enabled, working with certain formats on the timeline may appear to cause sluggishness, or hanging of the timeline. Problems the native handling of these formats does not have.

I did not develop this addition to Vegas, and these are just somethings I have noted while attempting to utilize the addition.

Gemzy wrote on 2/18/2016, 10:11 AM

BrightSign's 4K Digital Signage mediaplayers only work with this codec. As I am a big fan of Sony Vegas I'd rather keep using this software and don't waste time and effort on other programs.

BruceUSA wrote on 2/18/2016, 1:10 PM

h.265 has a pro and con. Pro, is this a 64gb card will record 4 hrs 4K footage. Con, its required conversion. I current use RMMC to do the conversion. My system convert h.265 to h.264 in real time. So it is not to bad. Few yrs from now, probably a lot more NLE will support h.265 codec. h.265 and 4K is a win wins in the future.

PS. A 64gb card can only hold 30 minutes of 4K 60P where h.265 codec can hold much more with the same card. In my opinion h.265 is the future for 4K storage.