MlRawViewer 1.3.3 (CDNG/MLV/RAW Viewer & Encoder, Linux/Mac/Win)

Started by baldand, December 09, 2013, 06:10:19 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ibrahim

Hi,

In order to optimized the export speed/performance of the MLRawViewer 1.4.3 what should be optimized on my computer the GPU or increase the RAMs?
Canon 5D Mark IIIs | Ronin-M | Zeiss 50mm 1.4 planar | Zeiss 35mm 1.4 distagon  | Zeiss 24mm f2 distagon | Zeiss 85mm f1.4 planar
Dual sound system: Tascam DR-60d MKII | Audio Technica AT899 | Sennheiser MKE 600

Licaon_Kter

CPU & SSD I guess.


Also, do give MLVFS a try (see my previous post), as MLRawViewer is no longer developed for some time now, last release date of 2014-12-12 should give everyone a hint.

ibrahim

Thanks man.

Does MLVFS convert the MLV to DNG or cDNG on windows?
Canon 5D Mark IIIs | Ronin-M | Zeiss 50mm 1.4 planar | Zeiss 35mm 1.4 distagon  | Zeiss 24mm f2 distagon | Zeiss 85mm f1.4 planar
Dual sound system: Tascam DR-60d MKII | Audio Technica AT899 | Sennheiser MKE 600


sav

Hello, guys. I rendered my raw footage in mov with c-log, but after rendering it in premiere i have horrible gradients. With dng i have not got this problem, but i love c-log so much, that its important to get such image. So may be you can tell how i can got this LUT for adobe products or may be i can do smht to render dng in mlrawvier with c-log? Sorry for my english, hope smb can help me)

keepersdungeon

Quote from: sav on March 03, 2016, 08:07:51 PM
Hello, guys. I rendered my raw footage in mov with c-log, but after rendering it in premiere i have horrible gradients. With dng i have not got this problem, but i love c-log so much, that its important to get such image. So may be you can tell how i can got this LUT for adobe products or may be i can do smht to render dng in mlrawvier with c-log? Sorry for my english, hope smb can help me)
What's the settings u're using to export them from premiere?

sav

Quote from: keepersdungeon on March 04, 2016, 03:56:30 PM
What's the settings u're using to export them from premiere?
different) at first i tried to export as usual - with vimeo codec, 20 bitrate. but prores 444 gives much better results. now i solved problem with banding with adding grain. but the main question is: where i can get c-log for adobe? to color raw, not mov

aace

I honestly don't see how MLVFS is in any way better than MlRawviewer. I'm not trying to engage in a debate I just don't see how DNGs, JPEG previews, WAV files and what ever else MLVFS produces is any better than MlRawViewer. Now I see the point that MlRawViewer hasn't been updated since Dec 2014, but how much progression has the MLV format had since then aside from code optimization and menu adjustments. I haven't seen much. So yeah it was last updated in 2014 but MLV hasn't changed.... much since then. MlRawViewer allows you to playback real time mlv files on Windows, mac and Linux, it produces prores 444 and DNG if you want the additional workflow and it works right out of the box. No extra junk files to install.

MLVProducer is cool also as it has some color manipulation features and what not but that (to me) is contrary to my work flow. I say all that to say this. Each of these programs were released free and have their own quirks. It's not necessary to downplay one app because it wasn't updated in a few years if the technology it supports hasn't changed much since it's last update.

Licaon_Kter

With MLVFS you don't need to extract the files somewhere else.

markodarko

Hi there,

I'm not sure if you're (baldand) still active but I would just like to say that I think that MLRawViewer is the ONLY reason it makes sense to shoot in RAW with ML from a workflow perspective. It's such a powerful application once you get to know it. At first it doesn't seem like much but once you learn all the shortcut keys and discover the power of setting In-Out points, matching external audio and batch processing an entire folder it makes the RAW workflow a piece of cake - let alone the ability to immediately preview and SEE what you've just shot in REAL TIME by plugging your CF card into your computer (which makes checking takes painless) or the fact that it can output ProRes 4444 in a variety of LOG formats and hence cutting out so many other extra steps in other programs!

I tried many different solutions when I was researching the best workflow for dealing with ML files after shooting them and, bar none, there is nothing that comes close to saving time and effort than MLRawViwer. Most solutions involved converting to DNG files then opening in DaVinci Resolve to apply a LOG profile and then exporting to ProRes 4444 from there - but even then you'd still have to align your audio in the NLE. Your program does it all, elegantly and without fuss.

So... Thank you so much for developing this program. You've obviously spent a lot of time on it and it hasn't gone unnoticed.

All the best,

Mark.

flostro

I wouldn't say it's the 'only' reason for me to shoot raw, but for me it was as well one of the main reasons to get further into ML-Raw. When all your MLVs are indexed it is even faster to look through your raw files, then through your canon h264 movs with the quicktime player, and with all metadata + histogram.

kidfob

I agree mlRAWViewer is amazing and my tool of choice. i hope badland makes it open source and development continues.

Licaon_Kter

Quote from: kidfob on March 16, 2016, 09:21:56 AM
I agree mlRAWViewer is amazing and my tool of choice. i hope badland makes it open source and development continues.
It is open-source already: https://bitbucket.org/baldand/mlrawviewer

markodarko

Well, in an unexpected turn of events I'm now no longer using MLRawViewer for exporting to ProRes. Basically, I ran into a bug where it seems that individual audio slip data and In-Out export points are ignored during batch export and as I have better things to do than sit in front of my laptop and choosing the next file to render I started looking into things a bit deeper.

I discovered on this forum that MLRawViewer uses ffmpeg to render ProRes 4444 and that doesn't actually render as 16bit but 10bit (I checked on ffmpeg's website). I know the end result will probably be 8bit but throwing away billions of colour data before grading didn't fill me with joy. This on its own was enough for me to re-think my workflow and as of yesterday I've been trying out MLVFS, opening the cDNG files directly in DaVinci Resolve 12 Lite and creating timelines within Resolve that I can render as many times as I like - for example I could render ProRes 422 Proxy files for quick editing and then re-render as ProRes 4444 XQ for final output.

So far it has been quite a steep learning curve (and a slow one as I don't have a very powerful computer for running Resolve, but it doesn't need to be as I don't need to be able to play things in real time) but here's what I've found so far...

1. MLRawViewer's built-in LUTs are excellent. Being able to export as S-Log2 or Log-C is so easy. Opening cDNG files in Resolve however is a bit of a color management nightmare to the uninitiated (me). Having said that, I think I've got things sorted now:
- Resolve Timeline: Rec.709 Gamma 2.4
- Resolve Colorspace: BMDFilm
- 3D Input LUT: BMD Film to VisionLOG LUT (not as good as S-Log2 in my humble opinion but this is the best LOG starting point I could come up with, although this may change as I learn more about Resolve)

2. Resolve is slooooooow to work in on my mid-2010 MBP i7 with 8Gb RAM / 2TB SSD / 512Mb NVidia GFX, but that's to be expected judging by the specs posted on BlackMagic's website that you actually need to run things (and I guess that some of the speed loss will be due to MLVFS?). Luckily all I need to be able to do is create timelines, put clips on there, grade and render.

3. The image quality is superb (I'm not sure why people say that the debayering is rubbish in Resolve?). I rendered out a clip with the closest colour grade I could make in Resolve to match a clip which was exported from MLRawViewer and then graded in FCPX and I can categorically say that grading the native RAW cDNG files in Resolve produces a far superior result than files that are graded in FCPX from 10bit MLRawViewer ProRes files. You seem to be able to "push" the levels far more before the image degrades. Makes sense really.

4. My Resolve project will contain several timelines with clips that have been trimmed so that only the needed parts are rendered - saving disk space. You can also align audio to the clips.

5. A proper render queue. You can add as many timelines to the render queue and render out individual clips with any name you like which is one of the main features I was looking for so that  I can just press "start render" and not have to be there to open another file when one is finished rendering.

6. The whole workflow process takes longer than pressing "E" on MLRawViewer, but in my opinion it's worth it because you can grade the footage before you even start cutting (if only to colour balance) and not have to grade in FCPX meaning that FCPX will be more responsive as it won't have to render LUTs or colour corrections, just edits. When I've finished my edit I can go back to Resolve and do a proper grade and then simply re-render and replace the initial MOVs. (If I could play things in realtime I wouldn't even need FCPX or to render out the clips at all!)

Personally, I'm glad that MLRawViewer experienced that bug as I wouldn't have looked into this solution (or discovered that the ProRes files it produces are only 10bit) as I believe that although a little bit more time-consuming (due to my system specs) it is far more flexible in the long run.

Having said that, MLRawViewer is still an indispensable tool and I still stand by my initial statement a few days ago and that without it, shooting RAW would be a chore. Just being able to view what you've shot in realtime by sticking your CF card into your laptop is absolutely fantastic and I shall be using it in conjunction with MLVFS & Resolve for the foreseeable future I'm sure, just not for exporting from MLVs.

Cheers,

Mark.

DeafEyeJedi

MLRV (for viewing purpose) + MLVFS (or MLP for Dual-ISO/HDR stuff) + DR12's quick workflow (or AE for better details IMO at the cost of longer rendering times especially @ ProRes4444XQ) = Pure Magic.

Jm2c.
5D3.113 | 5D3.123 | EOSM.203 | 7D.203 | 70D.112 | 100D.101 | EOSM2.* | 50D.109

markodarko

Quote from: DeafEyeJedi on March 17, 2016, 08:00:58 AM
or AE for better details IMO at the cost of longer rendering times especially @ ProRes4444XQ

I've not tried the AE approach yet but I will give it a go. As I'm right at the beginning of shooting my feature I think it's worth exploring all avenues to get the best workflow that works for me before getting set into a way of working which I regret later - although having said that, I don't particularly like AE so I may try Lightroom instead - I take it they both use ACR in the same way?

Can't see MLRawViewer not being part of the workflow though!  :)

Cheers,

Mark.


s8film40

I dowloaded this program it worked great. Then I went out shot some test footage and when I get back it won't let me export the footage. I click the + icon and the only thing that happens is it creates a small file with the same name and .MRX. Any ideas what happened? I'm using it on mac, tried deleting it and reinstalling it but nothing seems to work.

Licaon_Kter

The small files are created on open anyway.

What format did you choose to export in?
Did you choose the folder where to export?

Is MLVFS not working for you?

s8film40

I tried exporting as MOV and DNG neither worked. I'm not familiar with MLVFS.

Licaon_Kter


TKez

In my experience...

MLRawviewer
-Fast / Stable / Crossplatform . Great for quickly going through a card full of MLVs as you can preview and export only what you need very easily.
-It's mostly keyboard controlled though which can be annoying if you forget the keys.

MLVFS
-More thorough options for things like Dual ISO and be-banding
-Great idea in theory using a virtual file system, but using it in this way is painfully slow. Forget working in Resolve like this. You'll have to drag the DNGs to a real folder to get reasonable speed. If you're doing the AE/ACR method, you'l be used to a painfully slow conversion process anyway so you may not notice.

If you want a fast workflow while still keeping 14bit raw, you need to get the cDNGs to a real folder on a hard drive, preferable SSD.
You can either do this by just going through each shot in MLRawviwer and pressing 'E' to add to the export queue.
Or, using MLVFS and dragging the cDNGs from the virtual drive created by MacFuse to a real drive.
If you have Resolve configured for performance, they should lay in realtime without conversion.
DON'T attempt this using just MLVFS's virtual DNGs though, it's a joke.

I'd say, unless you have banding issues or are using Dual ISO, just export through MLRawViewer. It's a lot less steps to get cDNGs and no 3rd party software to install (MacFuse).



dmilligan

Quote from: TequilaKez on April 04, 2016, 01:39:17 PM
Great idea in theory using a virtual file system, but using it in this way is painfully slow.
Quote from: TequilaKez on April 04, 2016, 01:39:17 PM
DON'T attempt this using just MLVFS's virtual DNGs though, it's a joke.
Nonsense, your post is what is a joke. MLVFS is extremely fast, and myself (and countless others) get real-time speed. If you are having issues, where is your bug report?

Licaon_Kter

Quote from: TequilaKez on April 04, 2016, 01:39:17 PM
If you want a fast workflow while still keeping 14bit raw, you need to get the cDNGs to a real folder on a hard drive, preferable SSD.
So why not host the MLV on a SSD then?

TKez

QuoteNonsense, your post is what is a joke. MLVFS is extremely fast, and myself (and countless others) get real-time speed. If you are having issues, where is your bug report?

Well in my experience with Resolve, I could get very close to realtime playback from DNGs exported to a real (non SSD) drive. When I tried this with the same DNGs directly from the MLVFS virtual drive, I could get only barely a few fps which wasn't usable for me
I did not put this down to a bug, but rather assumed there must be too much extra overhead from the virtual file system converting between MLV and cDNG 'on the fly'.

I havne't got MacFuse installed right now so I can't retest, but if you are saying that no body else notices any different in speed between real and virtual files, I'm open to it being a specific issue with my system.

The only thing I can think of is that, running on a 1G Radeon HD6870 didn't give enough hardware acceleration for Resolve so was maxing out CPU.
In that case maybe the added CPU overhead of the 'on the fly' conversion was just too much.