From: "Greg Balint" <AE-List@media-motion.tv>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 12:15:21 -0400
Message-ID: <CADKB15Z=f20UJ6JrWnn8kjjdLXgky=FfzHUL6hjz5dZVUH4KPg@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Depreciated output formats gone completely in AE 2014
To: After Effects Mail List <AE-List@media-motion.tv>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Hey all.. Bit of a rant here.. but I needed to get this out..

<RANT>
----------------------

Just getting around to messing with AE2014.

For YEARS, I've been using output modules which use H.264 as the
format for the output...

They work wonderfully, export out using multiprocessor support, are
very clean, low file-size, easy for my clients to view as proofs,  and
almost all of my clients are fine receiving them as FINAL output files
unless they have special needs for an end client.

I've had it setup in such a way that basically when I render from AE,
and the client approves... that's their deliverable in their hands and
we're all set..

Anyway...

In CC and probably CS6 previously..   there was a big to do about them
removing H.264, MPEG, and WMV from the render output module formats..
 It wasn't such a huge deal, because they had an option in the AE
preferences to show/use depreciated output formats...  It was
"suggested" to use AME for my h.264 needs.. but that just adds another
layer to the workflow... Considering I can just set up my render queue
directly in AE and have everything I need.. why would i render out
elsewhere?   AME tends to be a bit slower, especially when it can't
address as much RAM (because AE is still open in the background as
well)

Well.. everything has been fine up to this release.. and now, they've
gone and removed the option to show these depreciated formats in the
output module formats drop-down..

I get it.. they were "Depreciated" so I shouldn't expect them to be
around forever... but still if they work just fine, and handle
everything at a modern level workflow.. why remove them?

I'm not quite sure why this was removed in the first place.. but it's
leaving me kinda puzzled and ticked..   I just want to export h.264
directly from AE.. and be done with my renders..   why should I need
ANOTHER program to render out my AE comps to this format?  or why
should I render out different format masters, just to have to
re-render as H.264? Shouldn't AE pretty much include all of the
features that AME has in its render engine? and AME just be a good
encoder/transcoder tool?

Yes.. I know.. h.264 isn't a great format for mastering at all.. and I
should probably have some other workflow.. but it doesn't really
matter in my setup.. my clients have always been happy with what I've
provided them and I've never had a need for uncompressed masters,
etc..

Can anyone shed light on why H.264 was removed from output formats in
AE in the first place?  Things seem to work just fine on my end
whenever I use it.. Not like it was causing errors or corrupted video
files or anything.. the past few versions of AE tried to force it out
of the workflow, but then provided check boxes to allow it to still
work..

This couldn't be related to codec licensing could it? (considering
it's still included in the Adobe CC package.. why would it matter if
it IS or ISN'T in AE?

I guess I'm kind of wishing that AME would just be considered a
modularized render engine.. that is basically used inside of AE,
Premiere, and also as it's own program outside of those environments..
Like, the render queue in AE would just be an interface into the AME
render engine.. could export all formats available, etc.. Same with
Premiere...   Then the "AME" app would just be it's own stand-alone UI
to do the same functions you could do in any of the other programs..
The AME render engine becomes the bucket that everything drops into,
to render things out, and thus, all programs get the same codec output
formats available to them.

As it stands, there's a divide on which adobe video apps can export to
which formats..it's ridiculous that i should have to use a separate
program from the same software suite to output a certain video
format....that shouldn't be a case in a suite setting such as this..


</RANT>

Thanks for putting up with that....


-- 
///Greg Balint
//Art Director / Motion Graphics Designer
/321.514.4839
delRAZOR.com/