you know, i've actually discovered something:

I had been using a really fat video file (codec/frame rate/frame size) and that was eating all of the computer's resources. Its not the kernel.. the patch helps this keyboard lock problem and the rest is just fine thus far. I realized this when using pdp on a different machine with linux 2.4 and the same video clip.

So, I decided to to a quick survey in codecs/settings for pdp/pidip so future newbies might read this and save themselves the trouble.

Here is a bit of research I did into video codecs that work with the pdp/pidip library.

PURPOSE:

To determine what codecs work well with pdp/pidip libraries in pd. The term *works well* can be understood as a codec/setting that:

• is readable by pdp_qt and/or pdp_yqt;
• plays back without using too much ram or cputime
• doesnt hang the kernel or x environment;
• results in files that are of a manageable size

Essentially, the point was to determine the best method to transcode Apple Quicktime DV NTSC native uncompressed 29.97 fps files for future use in pdp/pidip for a mixing and live stream environment.

METHOD:

• transcode a short clip into each of the codecs available for export in

the default Quicktime Pro 6.4 release for OS X. Test the codecs in pd/pdp/pidip for linux using the pdp_qt.pd and help-pdp_yqt.pd help patches. Try processing video with effects. Try resizing and using fullscreen output. Guage responsiveness of screen redraws and ancillary processes.

pd/pdp/pidip machine setup:

850mhz celeron processor 256 MB SDRAM Debian GNU/Linux sarge (testing/unstable) Linux kernel 2.4.22 ffmpeg-cvs-2003-03-04 pd-0.37-0 pdp-0.12.2 pidip-0.12.11

ORIGINAL MOVIE FILE CHARACTERISTICS:

running length: 00:00:16.11 codec: Apple DV-NTSC frame size:720 x 480 pixels other: Millions of Colours, Integer (big endian) audio: Stereo, 48000 Hz, 16 bits frame rate: 29.97 fps data rate: 3.6 MB/S Data Size: 59.1 MB

PROPERTIES OF EXPORTED SAMPLES:

frame size: 360 x 240 pixels frame rate: 15 fps audio settings remained unchanged unchecked prepare for internet streaming option

CODECS TESTED:

Animation Apple H.263 Apple Pixlet Video Apple VC H.263 BMP Cinepak Component Video DV - PAL DVCPRO DV/DVC - NTSC DVCPRO50 - NTSC DVCPRO50 - PAL Graphics H.261 JPEG 2000 Motion JPEG A Motion JPEG B MPEG-4 Video None Photo - JPEG Planar RGB PNG Sorenson Video Sorenson Video 3 TIFF TGA Video

OBSERVATIONS/RESULTS:

I rated them out of 5 based on how well I felt they performed. The lighter the effect on the operating system the better. I'm looking for a lean codec, something that can be used for multiple video instances for mixing and streaming.

The following codecs worked somewhat:

Photo - JPEG: Horrible pig. Works in both pdp_qt and pdp_yqt but who cares.. (1/5)

Animation: works in pdp_qt but locked X once and was redrawing slowly the second time. pdp_yqt gives a green screen. (2/5)

PNG: works in both qt_pdp and yqt_pdp but still too fat. (2/5)

Sorenson (not Sorenson3): works in pdp_qt and pdp_yqt pretty well. Still a little heavy, causing slow screen redraws. (3/5)

Cinepak: works well in pdp_qt, green screen in pdp_yqt (4.5/5)

Video: works well in pdp_qt, green screen in pdp_yqt (5/5)

Component Video: very good, works in both pdp_qt and pdp_yqt and very light (5/5)

None: very good, works in both pdp_qt and pdp_yqt and very light (5/5)

DV-NTSC: both pdp_qt and pdp_yqt accepted the codec, but as soon as i tried to send them a play message... seg fault.. socket reset by peer (honorable mention)

FILE SIZES of transcoded files:

64M BMP.mov 7.5M H261.mov 46M PNG.mov 64M TGA.mov 64M TIFF.mov 7.7M VCH263.mov 63M animation.mov 8.2M cinepak.mov 44M componentvideo.mov 60M dvcpro50ntsc.mov 71M dvcpro50pal.mov 37M dvcpropal.mov 31M dvntsc.mov 37M dvpal.mov 17M graphics.mov 53M jpeg2000.mov 9.8M motionjpega.mov 9.7M motionjpegb.mov 7.2M mpeg4.mov 64M none.mov 5.0M applepixlet.mov 8.7M photo-jpeg.mov 64M planarrgb.mov 13M sorenson.mov 20M sorenson3.mov 13M video.mov

CONCLUSIONS

Video Component and None are the best settings to use, based on their portability between pdp and pidip and the fact that they are light and do not cause any seriously ill effects to the operation of the system or other running processes. Since Component Video encoding results in a smaller file size (44MB) than None (64MB) it is best to go with Component Video encoding when transcoding media from Quicktime Pro for use in pdp/pidip. Perhaps, in the future, or with additional codec libraries, there might be a way to read files that work just as well but with better compression so the files are more portable and take up less drive space.

CAVEATS:

• I did not test every setting in each codec, rather went with the

default options.

• The pd machine has only the default libavcodec package from ffmpeg CVS

• I did not use quantific methods to evaluate the degrees of resource

taxation. Rather, it was a subjective analysis, that started as a quick test and ended up being ... If it were useful for development I could do a further survey that incorporates some sort of output from cpu or memory usage.

cheers,

naveen

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Message: 12 Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 22:08:42 -0500 From: navz@dreaming.org To: pd-list@iem.at Subject: [PD] -rt freeze on a mac linux-2.6.3 and the patch

hi,

i am using linux 2.6.3-rc3-ben1 (for ppc) on an ibook g4, with pd-0.37-1test6. When i tried using the -rt option on pd start, the kernel hangs the keyboard and if I try and kill X (Xfree 4.3.99.902 (4.4.0 RC 2)) then I am left with a green screen.

also, i have used this patch, on s_inter.c line 515

// p3 =3D (higher ? p2 - 1 : p2 - 3); p3 =3D (higher ? p1 + 3 : p1 + 1);

and now, after doing a make with this patch, the pd process will almost d= rown out my other processes completely. for example, i launched pdp_zoom and loaded a quicktime and it suddenly slowed everything (including the movie) down to a crawl... my only hope was to escape to a terminal and kill -9 the pd process. although this was a very difficult thing to do since everything (including keyboard interrupts and mouse/trackpad response) was saturated by the rampant pd process.

hope this helps.

cheers,

naveen

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