Ive tried the trial pop video converter for the last hour and a half and cant get it to load any of my hd footage. Other apps on my machine load and play the footage I have. When I try to import footage into pop video converter it loads half way then locks up, Sometimes it tells me the codec is absent, but its not as even windows media player will play them. What gives???????

Hi Alex,

Which video format are the HD clips in?

Normally most videos that will play in Windows Media Player should be ok for popVideo Converter 2 but there are some exceptions.

I would advise contacting Technical Support who will be able to offer you help with this issue.

Please use the link below to request assistance.

http://www.reallusion.com/CustomerSupport/UserEx/QForm.aspx

Thanks.

                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

thanks for the response. I cant remember as my video machine is not my internet machine. I spent a few hours with Xilsofts converter trying many different full hd formats. I got one to work but the quality of the key in the demo was not encouraging and then the amount of time to render it out wasnt acceptable compared to Ultra or After FX and Premier pro. Ive uninstalled it and am waiting for future versions that will handle native hd from my camera like windows media player and PP do. The whole Iclone package bundle looks great on youtube, but when you actually start working with it, it needs some enhancements to bring it into a competitive position compared to other keying options which overall are far speedier. Thanks again and good luck.

I would have to disagree on the comments about PopVideo quality. I am a very experienced video producer, with many years teaching and applying video montage techniques. PopVideo works fine (version 2.0).
The problem with most, if not all video insertion, based on color backgrounds, is in lighting. With green backings there is also the problem of green purity, as it is difficult to obtain a correct 100% green without contamination.
Most "HD" cameras are also mostly automatic, with a constant readjusting of color balance, exposure, video gain, and focus. All automatic features SHOULD be disabled during Chroma shooting.
Preferably, two lighting systems should be used, one for the background with a light color favoring the proper chroma content (bluish for blue backing, greenish for the other)
The subjects, on the contrary should be illuminated with low Temp light, such as 3200 deg Kelvin, and the camera White Balance performed to a white plane, held by actors right under the tungsten light.
This will increase the background gain, delivering clear masks for compositing. Focus is of prime importance, which represents another problem if the subjects are moving in the depth axis.

Regarding footage acceptance, HD is NOT a format, it is only a screen proportion. Formats are established by the CODECS used. Most "HD" cameras use an H264 or mpeg4 codification, which can be troublesome for decoding in compositing programs. Video length can also be a problem.

I conclude saying, PopVideo 2.0 is good. Scene techniques must be improved!

Mike

Mike Aparicio-Reallusion Certified Innovative Content Developer

good tips mike - thanks

just a clarifying question - why is green or blue screen preferred over a plain white background? is it because it is easier to composite?

Hi Gabe!

Good question!  The answer would be:   White is NOT a color, or it is the SUM of all colors (additive synthesis).   So the only way to detect the background contour is by estimating luminosity as the key factor.     Also, bright colors contain a high degree of white in them, making it difficult for the software to distinguish a bright colored area from a simply bright colorless area.

Color backgrounds on the other hand, allow to find a "color distance" by computing the square root of the sum of the squared Red, Blue, Green component values.

This sounds too mathematical, but actually means; it is much easier to detect a pure colored (red, green, or blue) from other mixed colors, than detecting the white levels.

The actual problem becomes to create a "pure" base color for the background, as dyes and paints always have contaminants which add some other color to the base color.  But in general, it works MUCH better than a plain white background.

There is an exception to this:   If the white background is substantially brighter than ANY bright part of the foreground (subject), then white keying is possible and works fine.   The problem here is illumination as to have the foreground not as intense as the background.

I hope this mess I wrote, will help understand the problem.

Mike Aparicio-Reallusion Certified Innovative Content Developer

Well Apparation, First My green screen footage works fine in PP CS3 and Adobe ultra. The problem has been getting that footage into Pop Video converter. I finally got an answer, not from tech support, but the guy responsible for uploading Iclone stuff on to youtube. So, Im gonna take what he told me and give that a shot.

 I shoot all my stuff with auto off on my camera and manually adjust my white balance, exposure etc. and use three point lighting with 3 soft boxes, each at 5500K, so the footage or how its shot are not the issue...POP Video has a limited list of formats it accepts according to my Reallusion source, and that has been my problem. Converting my 1920 X 1080 footage into a compatable format using a compatable codec. Ive been using Cineform as its compatible with Adobe ultra, however, Pop video converter doesn't seem to like it.

Thanks for me being rebaptized as "Apparation".   Actually I will stay with Apparition, for a while! :P

Please consider the fact PopVideo and iClone are not intended for high end, top-of-the-line production.   What I do with iClone is to bounce "back the big" clips, into a nice average format, mostly AVI, mpeg4, to use them as PopVideo   Or Video Texture into iClone.

If you still want to use iCLone and work in super high formats, then it is better to render your iCLone scenery at highest possible resolution, and mix everything using a high end Post Production tool such s Combustion or AfterFX.

I agree with you, PopVideo still is having some trouble with importing and exporting processed clips.  That is true.   Let's wait enough time for the Genial R&D folks at Reallusion to fix details.  And let's take PopVideo for what it is.   A small clever addition to iClone, at the iClone Level in the iClone World!

Mike

Mike Aparicio-Reallusion Certified Innovative Content Developer

thanks for the explanation on the green screen - makes sense

thanks for the explanation on the green screen - makes sense -

for the popconverter - if i want to use it primarily for background props - example scenes of crowds, people moving about - what would be the ideal popvideo input and output format? should i opt for uncompressed avi from iclone then convert with popvideo?