I would like to do more animation but I am not happy with the quality of the compressed output. I have tried to render in full frame un-compressed but my video editing software couldn't deal with it. I have also tried using virtual dub to switch formats, but it will also choke on the un-compressed stream.... What I am looking for is the smallest file-size best quality codec for the poser render....Anybody have any Ideas, preferences, pitfalls? PS---- I am on Windows, not Mac.

Always best to use full-frame uncompressed for the initial output if you intend to perform video editing in post production, as you will always lose additional quality when recompressing after post production.

The root of the problem is the inability of your current video editing software to handle the output. On recent Windows graphics implementations the uncompressed output is probably 32 bits (4 bytes) per pixel. A bit of arithmetic comparing the frame dimensions and the number of frames with the byte size of output should tell you how many bytes are being used for each pixel.

A lot of older video editing software (eg. Corel) can only handle 24 bit true colour.

My advice is look around for alternative software (eg. JASC Animation Shop or AVIEdit) which can handle 32 bits, or any freeware that can convert from a 32 bit to a 24 bit format so that you can use your existing editing tools. These will also reduce the size of your uncompressed output files by 33% or so.

Try the DIVX compression codec (divx.com) what mp3 is for audio ,is the divx format for video :) high compression...with low quality loss

Attached Link: http://www.tmpgenc.net

Hi ! Render always in "full-frame"... it's better to test the different codec in another software than POSER. Rendering again a 3D animation take hours, while encoding in a different format only takes a few minutes. All the codecs available for the AVI format are, in my opinion, too radical. I did test with all the codecs available (Cinepack, DivX, Vivo, Truemotion, Microsoft MPEG 4, etc...) and I never managed to get acceptable results... Encoding your files in MPEG 1 or 2 can be an answer. the quality/file size ratio is very good, and your PC will handle the stream without any problems (unless it's a sub 300 Mhz processor !). MPEG 2 (the mandatory format for DVDs) gives outstanding results. You can encode AVI files in MPEG 1 and 2 formats with an excellent freeware : TMPGenc. It's one of the best MPEG encoder available (much better than the one included in my $600 video editing software...). get it here : http://www.tmpgenc.net You could also try the Quicktime, Windows Media or Real Video formats. But I don't think that you'll get better results than with the MPEG 1 and 2 formats. :) Eric

Eric, What Video editing software are you using?

Vegas Video 3 by Sonic Foundry. it's a powerful video and audio editor.

I bought this video software (instead of the usual Premiere and Final Cut Pro) because it's also a full featured multi-track audio editor (unlimited tracks, multiple busses, enveloppes, effect, filters, SMPTE and MIDI time code, etc...).

I love it but the MPEG encoding (provided by MAIN CONCEPT) is miserable.

Thanks everyone so far.... I am going to try the tmpgenc first (because its free) Then the Divx... I am using Pinnacle Studio 7.... (Opinions?) Its easy to use but it can't read the uncompressed file. Any patches of fixes or do I bail on it?

I use the Huffyuv codec for rendering and editing, because it has a lossless compression scheme. I can compress, edit, and recompress the video without suffering any loss of image quality. It doesn't compress well (although it's better than full-frame no-compression), so I usually recompress to DivX or convert to MPEG for the final video.

Make sure you configure the codec to "Always suggest RGB format for output", because Huffyuv defaults to a YUV colourspace, and Poser uses RGB. You can enable alpha-channel support from the configuration panel, also, if necessary.