Linked by Eugenia Loli on Wed 17th Sep 2008 23:09 UTC
Dirac is an advanced royalty-free video compression format designed for a wide range of uses, from delivering low-resolution web content to broadcasting HD and beyond, to near-lossless studio editing. The v1.0.0 version was released yesterday, and the new VLC version supports playback of .ts/.drc Dirac files.
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Member since:2005-06-28
Well, looking for this implementation I can only find source code. I don't think that my Ubuntu's Gstreamer comes with it, or the command line encoder, and I can't find any info about your GUI either by searching online.
More over, there is no encoder for Video for Windows, so it's impossible for me to edit something on Sony Vegas and export to Dirac. When a codec that's supposed to be so important is released, it better have some Windows encoding support.
And you say that there's an encoder somewhere. Where can I find docs about how to use it?
Member since:2006-02-01
Well, looking for this implementation I can only find source code. I don't think that my Ubuntu's Gstreamer comes with it, or the command line encoder, and I can't find any info about your GUI either by searching online.
The package is gstreamer0.10-schroedinger, or something very similar to that. It's definitely in Ubuntu Gutsy, though I can't remember what version. Debian, Fedora, Gentoo etc have the latest version as far as I know.
After installing this, command-line encoding/transcoding can be done via GStreamer's gst-launch syntax, though I appreciate that this is only "easy" if you already know how gst-launch works.
More over, there is no encoder for Video for Windows, so it's impossible for me to edit something on Sony Vegas and export to Dirac. When a codec that's supposed to be so important is released, it better have some Windows encoding support.
They do seem to be lacking Windows binaries, which is probably something they should fix. There do seem to be DirectShow filters available though, once you've got it compiled.
And you say that there's an encoder somewhere. Where can I find docs about how to use it?
The wiki on diracvideo.org is the main source of info at the moment it seems. For example,
http://diracvideo.org/wiki/index.php/Schroedinger_Encoder_Parameter...
gives a list of all the different settings for the Schroedinger encoder. There's also a (somewhat over-complicated IMHO) guide to encoding Big Buck Bunny into Dirac from the source PNGs, at
http://www.diracvideo.org/wiki/index.php/Encode_Big_Buck_Bunny
Please be more careful of what you write [you edited that out now]. I DID include the link to Dirac's site. It's the first word in the article.
You did, and I apologise. I thought I'd changed it back quickly enough when I realised my mistake, but apparently not
EDIT: Ach. I meant Ubuntu Hardy, not Gutsy. Or 8.04, anyway. Stupid code names.
Edited 2008-09-18 00:27 UTC
Member since:2005-06-28
Member since:2005-06-28
Basically, as an editor, what I need is this to take the codec seriously:
1. Port the encoder/decoder under Gstreamer, FFmpeg, mencoder with the patches applied by default, and Video for Windows, Quicktime.
2. Support for AVI, MXF, OGG, MKV, TS, MOV, and DRC containers on all of the above apps/architectures (if their architecture allows).
3. A sane GUI for encoder options under VfW (e.g. bitrate, colorspace) and Quicktime (pixel aspect ratio, field order, res, fps, bitrate, etc).
4. A decoder for Quicktime/Windows with an easy installer (encoder's installer should also include the decoder btw).
Then, this could be useful for me. But not otherwise. Having a 1.0.0 spec, and a third party encoder/decoder that plays with its own rules and doesn't even provide binaries, doesn't do it for me. I am not looking into playing with Dirac, I am looking into doing some work.
Member since:2005-07-06
1. Port the encoder/decoder under Gstreamer, FFmpeg, mencoder with the patches applied by default, and Video for Windows, Quicktime.
Dirac works with GStreamer ot of the box. At least on openSUSE. If your distro doesn't support it, bug your distributor or change the distro.
Dirac has also been ported to DirectShow and/or VfW. Dirac for QT: http://diracvideo.org/wiki/index.php/SchroQT
Edited 2008-09-18 04:29 UTC
Member since:2005-09-17
You want support for the somewhat obscure AVI container while not caring about ASF, for which at least exists an official spec, and on which most WMV (and hence VC1) are based on? Why is keeping AVI around a desirable option?
Forgive my ignorance, and please correct me if I am mistaken, but there doesn't appear to be many current codecs that comply with all your conditions (that notwithstanding,I do agree any serious codec should be easily usable)
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Member since:
2006-02-01
Yes, the dirac research codec is awkward to use. Happily, there is another encoder called Schrodinger, which comes with GStreamer elements which allow all the things you're after -- command line encoding, muxing into Ogg etc. It's also quite a lot faster than the Dirac research encoder, and is currently at version 1.0.5.
There's even a (very basic) GUI to encode to the Dirac format using Schroedinger, and it's been around for over a year. I know, I wrote it.
Edited 2008-09-17 23:47 UTC