I just was looking over the specs on CL's web site (for the 100th time) when it dawned on me I did not see MOV (Quicktime) listed in the export list.

I'm just now coming to terms with the fact that they didn't bother to utilizie 3D harware acceleration for the interface (OK, I haven't really come to terms with it, but let's just pretend), but it appears they have not bothered to include Quicktime export functionality as well! ARRRRRRGGHHHHHH!!!!!! Once again the "Twelve Animators" are overlooked it seems. Someone in the know, say it isn't so!

-Tim (1 of the 12)

Hmmmm ... I noticed TIF was not listed either. Surely this was just an oversite, as that would make it totally useless to anyone who wanted to composite. Hopefully not listing MOV was an oversite as well.

Oooh, I just love these one-sided conversations. (My wife says I'm always talkinh to myself anyway.) Seriously, does anyone know if the mouse wheel will finally be supported for scrolling down through libraries. This is a must-have functionality feature.

Quicktime would be nice. I was looking at Quicktime Pro for compositing movies. It is not bad at $30.

Wheel support would be nice too!

I'm also wondering if they will get around to a Poser plugin for Carrara 2. Eovia just released VectorStyle, a new flash plugin for C2 that has some impressive render modes. It uses RAViX II for rendering, the same technology used in Flash MX. Mabye CL could license RAViX II to use Flash exports from Poser.

The TIFF absence is probably an oversite, like the earlier omission of OBJ-import. But remember, this is the PC version of P5; the PC version of P4 doesn't have QuickTime support either.

PNG is a perfectably acceptable image format for compositing; it has alpha-channel support. I use it all the time. It compresses better than TIFF, also.

My copy of Poser 4 (with Pro Pack) even exports to PhotoShop format, although I see this feature isn't mentioned in the official listings.

You can always export and then convert to the desired format. On the PC, QuickTime Pro will handle your AVI-to-MOV needs. And Paint Shop Pro can batch-convert an entire directory of PNGs to TIFFs.

Hope you're right about the TIFF oversite. "the PC version of P4 doesn't have QuickTime support either." Exactly ... and that was a huge gripe of mine for years, along with the inverted alpha on TIF renders. So many other Windows programs offer Quictime export, I don't see why it can't be included in a new release of Poser. A lot of the animators have been begging for it. "You can always export and then convert to the desired format. On the PC, QuickTime Pro will handle your AVI-to-MOV needs." I have a lot more powerful tools for cross-format converting, but that is not the issue. I should've been more clear ... I'm talking about alpha channels. You can't encode and AVI with alpha channels, but you can Quicktime. PNG is ok, but I still prefer TIF or TGA.

Err, .tif format uses LZW compression IIRC, and you have to pay a nice hefty royalty to Unisys if you want to make a proggie that saves to any kind of .tif compressed format. I don't blame CL for telling Unisys to go piss up a rope. I'll take .png - it's free of patent problems, and runs just fine on Linux (GIMP it, baby!) /P

Uhhh, TIF does not HAVE to use LZW ... it's an option in most programs whether to use it or not. I frankly rarely use it. If I want to compress something I'll save it as a 100% jpeg. But I rarely want to compress the frames before they get to post production. You want the cleanest least compressed frame you can get from the initial render if you're doing any kind of comp work.

I beg to differ, timoteo1 ... I encode AVIs with the alpha channel. If you use the "Full Frames (no compression)" selection for Compressor, you get a 32-bit video clip with alpha channel intact, ideal for compositing in editors like Adobe Premiere. If I want compression (and I usually do), I use the Huffyuv codec instead, which also supports the alpha channel.

PNG and Huffyuv use lossless compression, by the way (no loss of image quality), so I can compress before, during, and after postproduction.

LittleD: Cool, where can I get the Huffyuv codec? I have heard about the mythical alpha-channel AVI for years, (in fact Indeo 5.11 was supposed to support it) but could never get it to work. That is FABULOUS news!! Ok, I don't care that much about QT support anymore if this is true. Whoo-hooo! Thanks!

Anyone know what the new maximum render window (currently limited to (4096 pixels) is going to be?

It might be a little tricky to get working, especially if you have WinXP, but I haven't had any problems with it. Take note that Huffyuv defaults to a YUV colourspace, whereas Poser renders to RGB, so you must configure Huffyuv to use RGB, as shown above. You must also enable alpha-channel support in the codec since it defaults to alpha-channel-off.

I haven't heard about the maximum render size. The largest I've ever rendered in P4 has been 1600x1600, so it hasn't been much of an issue for me yet.

I hope you are right Little_Dragon, surely the Mac version will have Quicktime, import and export. If that is the case then we have something extra to look forward to !

I have a lot more powerful tools for cross-format converting, but that is not the issue Awwwwwwww. We Mac users have been using file conversion software for years. You're gonna whine over one little export issue? Gee. Now you have some glimmer of how it feels. Learn from it.

"Gee. Now you have some glimmer of how it feels. Learn from it." Sounds like being a Maccer is less of a choice than it is a sentence...what did you do?

Jeez LD, you're an incredible scource of info. I've been wondering all week about a problem. I even thought about IMing you about it. I read this and there it is: Avisynth. Wonderful. Thanks. Hey, you had predicted September 15th as the release date too, if memory serves. AMAZING Q

Hey Tim, Good news and bad news. The good news? The new Firefly renderer will render to new windows greater than 4096x4096. I honestly don't know what the maximum pixel size for renderings is though. I'll do some tests to see if I can max it out. We do still work with TIFFs but we don't formally support the format due to license issues. The bad news? MOV files aren't supported in Poser 5 Windows.

Having low-level precognition helps, quixote. Now, if only people had used real money in the release-date betting pool .... Besides, the CL announcement said P5 would ship "no later than" the fifteenth, so I still have plenty of time to be proven wrong.

Sounds like being a Maccer is less of a choice than it is a sentence...what did you do? Nothing. Our little friend here who's whining about not having QT export capabilities is the same person who slammed me because there's no release date for Macs yet and why didn't I just get with the program and buy a PC. Funny how it all comes around sometimes...

Well how best to rub this in? Ahem... You made your choice of ... (You fill in the blanks). ...and you know the worst thing, there may not be Quicktime for Poser 5 for a number of weeks, months, years. Where does this Tim person get off using Quicktime anyway? Not Quicktime 6?!! WOW, because thats the standard for digital video and streaming media. - http://www.apple.com/software/. Sohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... We might All have to wait a bit longer wont we, and not just the people with older-slower hardware (like me) or filled up Master cards (DOHH!) or the animators. But it may happen. Look at mimic (ooops!!). Meanwhile Id get used to what I believe is called waiting. You wont be alone in having to learn, us Quicktime users arent either, not really, not really really. (Except for that elusive 64bit G5, come on Motorola we know youve got them)

Kupa: Thanks for the info. It's no longer bad news, thanks to Little Dragon's info. Renedering out to Quicktime has become a mute point really. (It's all about the Alpha). Still bummed about 3d acceleration, but how about mouse wheel support this time around? LittleD: Thanks for the mini-tutorial. I'm sure it will be a cinch. I'd rather work with AVI's than QT anyway. The only reason I wanted QT was the alpha channel. -Tim

Ok. Please help educate me here. What are the uses for an alpha channel in an animation?

You can use the alpha channel to create composite animations in a nonlinear video editor, just like you can use the alpha channel to create composite images in a paint program.

If you're going to do compositing (say in After Effects, which does export to Quicktime in Windows, BTW) it is a must. It allows you layer objects (or scenes) on top of other layers and scenes with relative ease. Hope that helps.

Identical times on our posts. (Guess it's not the first time.) Still funnt though.

Thanks to both of you!

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12356&Form.ShowMessage=835584&Reply=835902#37

No I was "slamming" you because you were attacking Starlet and CL for something that you HAVE TO entirely be used to as a Mac user (in fact, I'd be thankful if I were you that it was coming out at all). And more important, the reason for the delay is: a) Apple is being a pain in the ass (as usual), and b) CL actually wants to make some money first.

Yeah, it is funny ... because it isn't "coming around" and it never "comes around" for Windows users.

http://www.lemkesoft.com/us_gcabout.html

XV: Seriously (I'm not being sarcastic or flippant) ... why are you posting this link? What does it have to do with the thread? Just curious.

Little Dragon- I recently did a Poser animation where I set the background to green and the shadows to green and did a greenscreen into AE. I knew there had to be a better way and tonight you shared it. Thank you.

Jt: You also could have been simply exporting TIF sequences with an alpha channel (which is what I have been doing all these years), but unfortunatley Poser inverted the alphas. However, AE can invert the alpha on import of the TIF sequence so it was no big deal. LittleD: How long has alpha AVI been available via the HUFFYUV codec?

I have no idea. The revision history doesn't include dates. I've been using the codec for a couple of years in my digital video work, and there haven't been any major revisions in that time, to the best of my knowledge.

Alpha support was first added in version 1.2.1 (Adobe AfterEffects only); alpha support for all applications in v2.0.

it never "comes around" for Windows users Two words: Windows ME.

ROTFL@ VS! Yep - ME = "Microsoft's Excrement". My standard cure for troubled WinME boxen is to install Win2k Pro on them. Personally, this whole argument is like watching folks stand around complaining at Toyota becuase the Civic doesn't come riced-out with built-in hydraulics or hard-lined for nitrous oxide. Oh, and dammit Kupa, you'd better come out with fur-lined cupholders as standard, too! (evil grin) Leave the man in peace and let P5 come out... then, and only then, perhaps you can put in a request, or better yet, write that functionality in yourself (Python is certainly flexible enough...) and make a few bucks off of it. If you sell a lot of software, you know your argument isn't so esoteric... if you sell none, well, at least you'll get some use out of it yourself, yes? As for Macs, it has more to do with Apple than with CL, so I wouldn't be too harsh on Kupa over it. /P