"new Ipad" (3) , how do I get highest quality demo video on it ?

[Justin O'Neill]

I rendered out a 2048 32Mbit/s H.264 clip with Premiere: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5673574/retina-h264-32Mbit.mp4

Won't even load on my iPad...

[Jonas Klittmark]

This is very good question, instruction just mentioned "to connect your iPad to the HDMI TV"
But I have seen iPad playing laptop screen content replicated by AirPlay I think.

There is a way to show computer screen content on iPad, try google. I came across an article how to do it.

Found it. Company called Teradek. $2K each for transmitter and receiver using SDI and with 1/4 second lag. Hardly worthwhile until it becomes cheaper and/or closer to real-time.

[Carl Elster]

There is an app with accompanying free program that will make your iPad into a second monitor. There is no delay and it works quite well!

http://avatron.com/apps/air-display

I sincerely doubt it has 2k capability....

[Jonas Klittmark]

There is an app with accompanying free program that will make your iPad into a second monitor. There is no delay and it works quite well!

http://avatron.com/apps/air-display

I sincerely doubt it has 2k capability....

That is cool in its own right but I'm thinking of ways to use the iPad as a client monitor during production. Without having to go through a computer :)

[Carl Elster]

I have been searching or one as well and from what I've found the Teradek cube is the best solution available right now for under $10, 000. A DOP friend of mine said that with the new firmware on the Teradek the delay is even less. She was very impressed by the Teradek and said it works well and was easy to setup etc.

I'm looking forward to a hands on demo myself.

[Andrew M.]

Same thing here, something wrong with export.
Similar effect as the TimeScapes.
Maybe you have to check all export parameters?

Looks like you exported it without the speed limit.
TimeScapes is also exported without the speed limit.
Rerender this file putting restriction on the stream speed.

update:

I loaded retina-h264-32Mbit.mp4 on my laptop into the QT player.
Both this file and TimeScapes do not show streaming limit, yet you mentioned that you set it to 32MBits/sec.

Maybe mp4 .files on the QT do not show the limits?
.mov files all show limits if exported this way.
You can see it on QT in the movie inspector.
This one do not show.

I loaded file into local iPad memory.
Opened it in iPad player, it tries to start, blank screen for a second and quits immediately.

I rendered out a 2048 32Mbit/s H.264 clip with Premiere: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5673574/retina-h264-32Mbit.mp4

Won't even load on my iPad...

[BillBarnes]

This is a great thread and a topic I’m really interested in. Up until now I think my posts have been a bit off-the-cuff and non-rigorous; sorry ‘bout that. I’m going to try to offer more evidence this time. Any criticism is appreciated.

Short Version:

All the following videos are encoded with Handbrake on OSX and work on the iPad3 via Dropbox, GoodReader and CineXPlayer.

TIFF 2048x1536 Test Pattern Image

PNG 2048x1536 Test Pattern Image Screenshot
This is a screenshot of the TIFF taken on the iPad3. I include this because screenshots taken by the iPad3 have a slight color shift. I will use this file for comparisons with screenshots taken from the videos.

H.264 2048x1536 Test Pattern Video

H.264 1920x1440 Test Pattern Video

MPEG4 2048x1536 Test Pattern Video

For fun:
Timescapes Trailer – H.264 2048x1152 40Mbit High Profile - encoded from Tom’s 2560x1440 file

Long Version:

I started out with the test pattern JPG I found with Google, resized it in Photoshop using Bicubic Sharper to 2048x1536, output a TIFF, and dropped it into Final Cut 6. I created a 10 second sequence and output it uncompressed at 2048x1536 resolution. It’s a 3 gig 10 second video.

From there I created a 1920x1440 (4:3) resolution H.264 video and took a screenshot with the video paused. Comparing this to the PNG Chart in Photoshop produced this difference image:

H.264 1920x1440 vs chart screenshot

Next I made an MPEG4 2048x1536 version of the video. Compared to the PNG Chart, Photoshop produced this difference image:

MPEG4 2048x1536 vs chart screenshot

After some research I made a special H.264 encode at 2048x1536. Compared to the PNG Chart, Photoshop produced this difference image:

H.264 2048x1536 vs chart screenshot

Finally, I compared the MPEG4 2048 image to the H.264 2048 image:

H.264 2048x1536 vs Mpeg4 2048x1536

In the difference images the darker areas are very similar and the brighter areas are very different. Here’s a Photoshop file with all the images lined up and labled. Pick any 2 layers to compare them:

Photoshop file

Based on these tests, MPEG4 at 2048 does a better job than H.264 at 1920 at holding detail. This doesn’t mean it’s better in motion, holds color better, or better per megabyte, but I think this makes a good argument that the detail lost from the small upscale of 1920 video is significant. MPEG4 at 2048 wins here in my opinion.

However H.264 at 2048 vs MPEG4 at 2048 produces very, very few differences which is important since my way of getting H.264 on the iPad3 at 2048 resolution is a slight hack. I think it’s fair to say that if it works, the detail in the H.264 file is “as good as MPEG4” resolution-wise and we get all the benefits of the H.264 codec.


My Solution:

So here’s how you do it: H.264 supports anamorphic encoding of an arbitrary amount.

My H.264 files are encoded at 1920x1536 in anamorphic mode with a horizontal stretch of 1.0666666. It outputs as 2048x1536 and this is taken care of by the encoder which should prevent the iPad3 from needing to use its hardware scaler. It took some digging but the option is right there in Handbrake. (I have no idea what other encoders expose this option, but Handbrake is a cross platform front-end for FFMPEG and is free.)

Handbrake settings Screenshot

Open the file you want to encode, choose an output name, then select High Profile under the Presets windows / Regular Settings.

Hit the picture settings button at the top (Mac Version) set “Anamorphic” to custom, Set your “width” to 1920, then reduce the “height” until “screen resolution” says 2048.

Set your audio and any other settings the way you like and hit the start button at the top to encode.

I think this is a good workaround for what really should be a temporary shortcoming of the iPad3’s software. Normal 2048 H.264 encoding should be allowed at some point and that should provide the best results.

Hope this helps,

Bill

[Justin O'Neill]

Andrew, how are you opening my links in the DropBox app? Can't seem to figure that out...

EDIT: Oh, you are probably just downloading it to your DropBox on your desktop and then opening it on the iPad. Duh.

[Justin O'Neill]

Justin testing to see how much of the vertical we can fill...here is an 8x5 clip or 2048x1280. Looks amazing! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5673574/retina-8x5.mov

Btw, Bill is a genius, his H.264 workaround WORKS! Now I have to download and learn handbrake.

[BillBarnes]

Thanks Justin, much appreciated!