Hey there,

Even though I did a fair bit of research and asked several people for expertise there doesnt seem to be a clear answer to this anywhere. 

Basically, we have used MXF files for our exports that come out of Nucoda in the default Legal Range color space. However we exported everything using Scale From Legal to Full Range setting. H264, Quicktime codec. The exports will be watched on various monitors, projectors and TV screens (not online). As I can see looking at the exports now - the blacks do seem crushed when watching it on Quicktime player but they seem fine when watching it with VLC.

My question is: did we make a mistake by exporting everything with the Full Range setting? Even though the MXF's we used as I mentioned were exported in Legal range (16 - 235) so technically this export setting should scale it to full range (00 - 250). 

Kestiu:

The exports will be watched on various monitors, projectors and TV screens (not online).

You should not Scale from Legal to Full Range for the devices noted.  Legal is Avid's label for broadcast type devices. Full range is for use on computer based monitors / viewing, not what you described.

Jef

Friends don’t let friends do custom QT h264 exports from inside Media Composer. It uses the old, slow QT engine and Apple QT h264 codec that is notorious for causing gamma shifts and mis-flagging content. So what appears to happen is that you expand to 0-255, while the encoder still flags the content as 16-235. QT player then reads that flag and ‘corrects’ for that, while VLC does not.

I usually export same-as-source from MC, then encode to h264 in Handbrake. Fast and good quality (you need to tinker with the settings, though).

Job ter Burg:

Friends don’t let friends do custom QT h264 exports from inside Media Composer.

T-shirt anyone?

Jef

jef:

Job ter Burg:

Friends don’t let friends do custom QT h264 exports from inside Media Composer.

T-shirt anyone?

Jef

OMG I belted out a laugh!

M

Very difficult to control the playback environment.

if you are watching on a tv or a projector then the display device will scale “legal” levels to full range (perceptually) for you. If you are watching on a computer monitor it won’t scale, but the player might!

I do mp4 files full range, expecting they will be played on a computer. I do professional codecs “legal” expecting they will be played on a video monitor.

Vimeo for example expects legal range, and it will scale levels in its player.

OUCH!

Martin Fox:

Very difficult to control the playback environment.

Ain't that the truth.  Even between two of the same monitors in the same room sometimes .....

Jef

I see, thank you. 

Thank you all for replying, I have a better understanding of this issue now. We re-exported everything using Legal range as most likely the devices used for screening will read the file as legal range and scale it automatically.