TriDef Movie Encoder - Guides

Input Settings

Video Source Files | Audio Source Files | Frame Rate | Aspect Ratio

Video Source Files

Video Source Files have a range of options which are categorized below for your convenience:

Artistic considerations

Left and Right views

Separation and 3-D effects

Video Source Technical requirements

Combined Video and Audio

Specifying Video Source files in TriDef Movie Encoder

Artistic considerations

Just because you can make a TriDef Movie, doesn't mean you should. There are some rules it is best to follow in developing or selecting 2-D Source material.

For example:

  • Scenes that are less than three seconds long leave the viewer little time to appreciate the 3-D effect.
  • A large number of small, quickly moving objects can be difficult to perceive in 3-D.
  • When objects intended to appear in space in front of the screen also connect with the physical edge of the screen, expect to see some distortion. Keep floating objects away from the edges of the screen.
  • Use good lighting, multiple layers of objects, and textures rather than plain colors.

More advice regarding composition is available from TriDef Support.

Left and Right views

Left and Right views show two perspectives of a movie from a left eye position and a right eye position. The difference between these two views is called separation. TriDef Movie Encoder encodes these two views into a single TriDef Movie file. TriDef Movie Player processes these two views to create the format required to see stereoscopic 3-D on any TriDef enabled single-viewer 3-D Display.

Separation and 3-D effects

The amount of separation between the Left and Right views will determine the 3-D impact. Stronger 3-D (wide separation) is not always better, and can cause viewer discomfort. 3-D Settings are available in TriDef Movie Player to modify the 3-D effect. However, it is better to aim for the ideal 3-D effect without relying on the viewer to make adjustments.

You may find—at least at first—that it takes several attempts to achieve the optimal separation factor for the target 3-D Display. It may be necessary to use different separation values for different sections of your media. Using image sequences as Video Source files can make it easier to selectively adjust individual scenes, and save Video Source render time.

If you are developing media intended for playback on a variety of different 3-D Displays, choose a representative display on which to optimize the separation value. When viewing this media on other displays, the viewer may need to use the TriDef Movie Player 3-D Settings to fine tune the effect.

Preview all TriDef Movies on the target display or displays at the same viewing angle, distance and lighting that will be encountered in the field. 

 Video Source Technical requirements

It doesn't matter where the Video Source files come from, as long as they conform to the technical requirements below. Video Source files can be movies or image sequences and all sets must be the same length. See also Audio Source Files.

The following Video Formats are supported:

Video Format

Description

Dual Stream (Left + Right)

Dual Stream (Left + Right) Two separate movie files (or two image sequences), where one contains the Left view and one contains the Right view.

Dual Stream (Source + Depth)

Dual Stream (Source + Depth) Two separate files, where one contains the Source Image and one contains the Depth Data.

Side by Side - Half Width (Left + Right)

Side-by-Side Half Width L+R A single movie file (or single image sequence) that contains side by side Left and Right views, each scaled to half their original width.

Side by Side - Half Width (Right + Left)

Side-by-Side Half Width R+L A single movie file (or single image sequence) that contains side by side Right and Left views, each scaled to half their original width.

Side by Side - Full Width (Left + Right)

Side-by-Side Full Width L+R A single movie file (or single image sequence) that contains side by side Left and Right views.

Side by Side - Full Width (Right + Left)

Side-by-Side Full Width R+L A single movie file (or single image sequence) that contains side by side Right and Left views.

Interlaced - Upper Left/Lower Right

Interlaced Upper Left Lower Right  A single movie file (or single image sequence) that contains line interlaced Left and Right views, with the Left view in the Upper field.

Interlaced - Upper Right/Lower Left

Interlaced Upper Right Lower Left A single movie file (or single image sequence) that contains line interlaced Left and Right views, with the Right view in the Upper field.

Please Note: Some customers testing Beta Versions of the TriDef Movie Encoder were granted a Stereo License - if you are using this license, you will not be able to Encode Dual Stream (Source + Depth) Video Format Files.

The following file types are supported:

  • Uncompressed AVI (.avi) (Note that the Cinepak Codec is not supported)
  • Lossless or uncompressed image sequence:

    • 24-bit color preferred

    • PNG preferred (BMP or JPEG also supported)

    • Files names must end in a 5 digit number.

    • Sequences must be numbered continuously.

    • All ../image in the sequence must be the same size.

    • Dual Stream only: use one folder for Left, and one folder for Right.

Combined Video and Audio

If an Audio track is detected in either Video Source file it is automatically added to the Audio box. If Audio is detected in both Left and Right Dual Stream source files, the Audio is taken from the last Video file specified.

Specifying Video Source files in TriDef Movie Encoder

  1. Use the Video Format popup menu to specify the file format of the Video Source files.
  2. For Dual Stream you wil see two boxes marked Left and Right. For all other formats a single box will be marked Video.

  3. Click on the marked boxes and browse to locate the media files, or drag and drop the files from your desktop onto the marked boxes.

    Note: To add an image sequence, browse to or drag and drop the first image in the sequence.

    Tip: You can preview the Video Source files by passing the mouse pointer over the boxes.

Audio Source Files

Audio can be specified as a separate file or included as an audio track in a Video Source file.

Audio Source Technical requirements

  • Uncompressed AVI (.avi)
  • Wave audio (.wav, .aiff)

Specifying Audio Source files in TriDef Movie Encoder

  1. Click on the Audio box and browse to locate the media file, or drag and drop the file from your desktop onto the marked box.
    • Note: If an Audio track is detected in a Video Source file it is automatically added to the Audio box. You can either leave it, right click to remove it, or click in the Audio box to replace it with a separate file.

Frame Rate

Frame Rate is automatically detected from movie Video Source files, but needs to be specified if the Video Source is an image sequence. Standard Film, NTSC and PAL frame rates are provided:

  • Film (24 FPS)
  • PAL (25 FPS)
  • NTSC (29.97 FPS) (i.e. 30000/1001)
  • Half Film (12 FPS)
  • Half PAL (12.5 FPS)
  • Half NTSC (14.985 FPS)
  • Film/NTSC (23.976 FPS) (i.e. (30000/1001) * (24/30))

Custom Frame Rates

A custom Frame Rate can be specified, for image sequences only. This custom Frame Rate is only available for this Project.

  1. Select one (or two) image sequences as Video Source.
  2. Choose Custom... from the Frame Rate popup menu.
  3. Enter a frame rate, then click OK.

Aspect Ratio

Aspect Ratio specifies the proportions of both the Video Source and the TriDef Movie. You cannot use TriDef Movie Encoder to alter the Aspect Ratio of the Video Source. A number of industry standard Aspect Ratios are provided.

  • (* x *) = "Square" = "Square (1.0)"
  • (720 x 480) = "NTSC DV" = "NTSC (0.9)"
  • (720 x 480) = "NTSC DV Widescreen" = "NTSC Widescreen (1.2)"
  • (720 x 486) = "NTSC D1" = "NTSC (0.9)"
  • (720 x 540) = "NTSC D1 Square" = "Square (1.0)"
  • (720 x 576) = "PAL D1/DV" = "PAL (1.07)"
  • (720 x 576) = "PAL D1/DV Widescreen" = "PAL Widescreen (1.42)"
  • (768 x 576) = "PAL D1/DV Square" = "PAL Square (1.0)"

Custom Aspect Ratio

A custom Aspect Ratio can be specified. This custom Aspect Ratio is only available for this Project.

  1. Choose Custom... from the Aspect Ratio popup menu.
  2. Enter an aspect ratio as a single numerical value then click OK.
    • Tip: For example, 1.1