Software » Codecs » 3ivx 5.0.4

Technical Background Document:

3ivx MPEG-4 5.0.5

New Features

OS X
Now Mountain Lion compatible
Mountain Lion GateKeeper Support
Retina Display Support
Improvements

QT Video Codec
Now compatible with Mountain Lion's QuickTime Player X (10.2)

QT Exporter
Added Retina Graphics
OS X Preference Pane
Added Retina Graphics
OS X Register Application
Added Retina Graphics
OS X Installer
Added Retina Graphics
Installation packages are now a flat package so they can be signed
Code-signed with 3ivx's developer license, which makes GateKeeper happy
Bugs Fixed

Core
Fixed an incompatibility issue caused by Mountain Lion's sandbox protection

Missing Features
Core
Interlaced decoding is not implemented for S-frames (GMC)


Permanent Issues
Core
XviD streams prior to build0000 (ie up to and including 0.9 stable series) with non-multiples of 16 are not MPEG-4 compliant and exhibit occasional glitches. There is no work-around.
NVops (not coded PVops) can be used to more efficiently represent dropped frames or frames which are identical to the previous frame. NVops are not correctly handled by the QuickTime MPEG-4 Stream hinter and will cause a -5402 error when attempting to hint a file which contains NVops. The solution is to not use NVop coding. The 3ivx DirectShow Media Muxer can be used to remove NVops from an already coded bitstream. (This is currently still an issue with QT6.5)
As decoder delay has been reduced by 1 frame, if the clip playing does not correctly indicate low_delay field - the first B span will jitter.

QT Codec
QuickTime 7's native datarate setting is now in kilobits/sec. There are
1000 bits in a kilobit, and 1024 bytes in a kilobyte, according to the
QuickTime Player. Due to a work-around for an error in QT7's kilobit->byte conversion, third party applications which do not use the QT7 codec selection dialog to obtain a datarate from the user (in kilobits/sec) may end up undershooting by a factor 1.024 (roughly 2.5%). In order to correct for this multiply the datarate you enter into affected applications by 1.024. This is only an issue when using QT7.
Quicktime does not allow decoding GMC in mp4 files, error 2010 dialog would generally pop out
In certain versions of QuickTime Player, if using a CTTS enabled MP4 file, the first frame displayed will be black.
If the first frame produced is black, the last frame displayed will be mis-predicted.


Technical Background Document:

3ivx MPEG-4 5.0.4

Important Changes

General
Windows 7 Compatibility
Mac OS X Lion Compatibility

Core
New frame resource manager
New frame reference manager

QT Video Codec
Can correctly play CTTS mp4 videos

Mac OS X 3ivx Preference Pane
Added native x86_64 support for Lion and Snow Leopard
Improvements
Core
Can now handle large b-frame spans after a packed P/B frame
Can now handle more then one warp point GMC videos
Significantly re-written frame management and referencing systems
Significant modification of timing systems
Decoder delay has been reduced by 1 frame.
Improved B frame decoding.
Core now allows optional b-frame delay.
Core now allows optional frame-reordering
Improved Mach-O Position Independent Code support
Improved Watermark diagnostics

QT Video Codec
Significant front end rewrite so we can correctly play CTTS mp4 videos
Now support fully asynchronous decoding for CTTS enabled clips in QuickTime Player 7.5 or later

Mac QT Video Codec
Mac OS X Lion Compatibility
QuickTime X Compatibility
Finder QuickLook Compatibility
iMovie '08 Compatibility
iMovie '11 Compatibility
iPhoto 9.2 Compatibility
PhotoBooth 4.0 Compatibility
Aperture 3.2 Compatibility
QuickTime Plugin Compatibility with Chrome, Safari and FireFox

QT Exporter
iMovie 08 Compatibility
iMovie 11 Compatibility
Mac OS X Lion Compatibility

3ivx Configurator
Now uses XP visual styles

Mac Installer
Redunadant files were removed from packages
Meta-packages now share script resources
Hide the extension of the main meta-package inside the disk image more reliably
Updated CpMac with the universal version
Mac OS X Lion Compatibility

3ivx Media Splitter
Decreased opening time of some long clips.

Windows Installer
Now uses NSIS version 2.46
Fixed an issue where previous installs would fail to uninstall

Bugs Fixed
Core
Fixed QPel-enabled crash while encoding
Fixed BlockAll0_MMX and BlockAll0_MMXEXT bugs
Fixed decoding packed b-frames with spans over 1
Fixed GMC 2-3 warp point prediction
Fixed skipped b-frames after GMC frames
Fixed b-frame prediction after GMC frames
Fixed GMC frame reconstruction after GMC frames
Fixed IntraDC too small to contain error code
Fixed DC clipping bug
Fixed compatibility issue with Mac OS X Lion
Fixed a crash with expired Trial

DS Video Decoder
Fixed RGB 15bpp output regression
Fixed upstream spitter detection
Fixed glitch when randomly seeking AVI files
Fixed first 30 frames black base class bug when using the VR Renderer with AVI files
Added 0x706D tag for AAC
Fixed input pin reconnection bug
Fixed a problem when stop/playing a directshow graph more then 2 times with a b-frame video
Sometimes the decoder would not flush all frames which caused a spin-lock if an encoder was waiting
Fixed the decoder not resetting correctly after a flush
Fixed an incorrect display issue for clips with Pixel Aspect Ratio not equal to 1

DS Audio Decoder
Fixed audio decoder input pin reconnection bugs
Fixed configuration setting bug for audio down-mixing

OpenQuicktime
Rounding bugs with get frame time and get frame duration are fixed, which makes the splitter behave more accurately
Fixed an esds memory leak
Fixed compatibility issue between iPhone/iPod and 3ivx encoded clips

DS Splitter
Based on the fix above of OpenQuicktime, timestamps in splitter were rewritten, which fixed the following problems:
slow playback
wrong detection of the end
frame step forward and backward
improper synchronisation of audio and video when playback rate is changed
restart delay after playback rate is changed was reduced significantly
IMediaSeeking interface was implemented in 3ivx media splitter, so multi-streams rendered by VMR could be stopped/seeked correctly
Fixed an esds memory leak
Fixed a video/audio synchronisation bug
Fixed the wrong determination for clips with non-zero track offset in the beginning
Fixed dead-lock when stopping a remux
Fixed VMR seeking bug, which occurred when two active sources were connected to the VMR
Fixed buffer mis-allocation for videos with presentation width or height of 0

DS Encoder
Fixed force key-frame bug

DS Audio Decoder
Fixed 3 memory leaks

Mac Installer
Now quits any instance of QuickTime Player before install so our codec is available straight away
Fixed trial to registered upgrade path
Re-wrote installer to use /tmp
Fixed a bug where the 3ivx folder would not be displayed after install, now forces finder refresh
Fixed silent installer from displaying dialog box
Fixed silent installer defaults for current user
Updated CpMac for Snow Leopard/Lion compatibility

Mac Register
Fixed plist non UTF-8 issue
Fixed potential bug where all licenses would be removed
Fixed pop-up registration application appearing alongside LoginWindow in Mac OS X Tiger PPC

QT Video Codec
Playing all frames in QuickTime Player would temporarily leak frames until decoder reset
Now support fully asynchronous decoding for CTTS enabled clips in QuickTime Player 7.5 or later
Fixed crash while receiving video stream from network
Fixed dropped frames while exporting from b-frame videos

QT Exporter
Now correctly displays version in configuration pane
Fixed possible broken m4v output which could not be played by native QuickTime m4v decoder
Fixed m4v compatibility issue with QuickTime Player 7.7

VFW Codec
VFW Ghosts now register correctly.

Windows Installer
Installer now supports NTFS mounts points on the directory page (NSIS patch)
Now detects and terminates any running old support application versions before install
Fixed a Windows 7 compatibility issue
Fixed non-removed shortcut issue

3ivx Configurator
Now correctly stores component configuration instead of applying the configuration to the current component instance only

Windows Register
Muxer would only be available when encoder licenses are installed.

Known Bugs
DS Video Decoder
Windows Media Player 11 does not post process and ignores
"Auto-Select for Video Filter Level" in the configuration pane

QT Codec
Sometimes does not report any format description for video tracks.
Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0.2 sometimes crashes.
If QuickTime Player is playing an MP4 file during a new 3ivx installation, it will stop the current file but the seek bar will keep moving.

Win QT Codec
When one movie has two or more video tracks, each encoded with 3ivx there may be problems playing the video when DirectDraw Acceleration is enabled in the QuickTime settings control panel. Work-arounds, disable DirectDraw acceleration, or DirectDraw.

DS Muxer
The muxer is currently limited to muxing streams no more than approximately 9.942 hours in length. If you attempt to mux a stream longer than this the resulting MP4 will be corrupt.

3ivx Installer
Requires computer administrator to install

Unknown Bugs
DS Muxer
When using an Apple File Share, you probably can't mux streams over 2GB in size
The DS Muxer probably can't mux streams over 4GB in size

Missing Features
Core
Interlaced decoding is not implemented for S-frames (GMC)

DS Media Muxer
Fragmented Muxing is not ISO compliant and has been disabled.


Non Issues
DS Muxer
The splitter can not be connected to the output of the muxer.


Permanent Issues
Core
XviD streams prior to build0000 (ie up to and including 0.9 stable series) with non-multiples of 16 are not MPEG-4 compliant and exhibit occasional glitches. There is no work-around.
NVops (not coded PVops) can be used to more efficiently represent dropped frames or frames which are identical to the previous frame. NVops are not correctly handled by the QuickTime MPEG-4 Stream hinter and will cause a -5402 error when attempting to hint a file which contains NVops. The solution is to not use NVop coding. The 3ivx DirectShow Media Muxer can be used to remove NVops from an already coded bitstream. (This is currently still an issue with QT6.5)
As decoder delay has been reduced by 1 frame, if the clip playing does not correctly indicate low_delay field - the first B span will jitter.

QT Codec
QuickTime 7's native datarate setting is now in kilobits/sec. There are
1000 bits in a kilobit, and 1024 bytes in a kilobyte, according to the
QuickTime Player. Due to a work-around for an error in QT7's kilobit->byte conversion, third party applications which do not use the QT7 codec selection dialog to obtain a datarate from the user (in kilobits/sec) may end up undershooting by a factor 1.024 (roughly 2.5%). In order to correct for this multiply the datarate you enter into affected applications by 1.024. This is only an issue when using QT7.
Quicktime does not allow decoding GMC in mp4 files, error 2010 dialog would generally pop out
In certain versions of QuickTime Player, if using a CTTS enabled MP4 file, the first frame displayed will be black.
If the first frame produced is black, the last frame displayed will be mis-predicted.

Direct Show Splitter
Windows Media Player 11 does not allow seeking when opening mov or mp4 files from within a library. The Solution is to open these files directly.


Technical Background Document: 3ivx MPEG-4 5.0.2

Important Changes

Critical Security Fixes, see http://secunia.com/advisories/27998/
QuickTime 7.3 Compatibility
Improved Vista Comaptibility
Dualpass and Constant Bitrate Fixes
DirectShow Seeking Fixes

Improvements


DS Media Muxer
* Now based on lib3ivx


DS Video Decoder
* Now based on lib3ivx


DS Video Encoder
* Now based on lib3ivx


VFW Codec
* Now based on lib3ivx


Register
* Provides user feedback by validating serials on the fly and updating GUI accordingly
* More informative registration success dialog


Win Installer
* Now built under Windows Vista.
* Uninstaller is now digitaly signed
* More robust when other applications have a lock on our dll's.

Bugs Fixed


Core
* Corrected type declaration for final MAD calculation for Vista OS.
* Fixed DS components crashing if core Params couldn't be created
* Fixed a core configuration bug which caused dual pass encoding to under or overshoot target bitrate.
* Fixed a Constant Bitrate bug causing bitrate overshooting.
* Fixed a bistream bug when QP is set to 1.
* Fixed y420 -> uyvy packed conversion crash under AltiVec PowerPCs
* General stability clean up
* Fixed leaking file handle
* Fixed deadlock while seeking a video
* Fixed memory leaks
* Fixed a bug where delay frames were being marked as I-Frames and hence caused seeking mispredictions.


DS Decoder
* Now correctly sets output pin dimensions
* Fixed decoder leaking frames on shutdown
* Fixed misprediction when quick seeking
* Fixed double frame display whilst quick seeking


DS Encoder
* Fixed a crash where the output buffer frame size was larger than the statically assigned size.
* Now correctly sets output bounds
* Fixed a buffer overrun.


DS Splitter
* Fixed a crash where the input buffer frame size was larger than the statically assigned size.
* Fixed Windows Media Center crash when previewing video.
* Removed assertion code
* Fixed a buffer overrun.
* Fixed MP4 File Processing Buffer Overflows
* Fixed an OQT memory leak


DS Muxer
* Now sets the PAR in the muxer configurator correctly.
* Fixed a buffer overrun.
* Fixed an OQT memory leak


DS GUI
* Fixed the slider tool-tips display under vista


DS Audio Decoder
* Fixed some audio types not being detected correctly


DS Audio Encoder
* Fixed a buffer overrun.


QT Video Codec
* Fixed Vista crash when generating thumb nails for videos
* Fixed iMovie HD 6.0.4 with QT 7.3 bug
* Fixed preview not working on first frame during export
* Supports y420 input pixel format again
* Now correctly handles applications utilizing QT 7 API
* Now supports gamma levels
* Fix failing export once video resized under Quicktime 7.3.1


QT Exporter
* Fixed iMovie HD 6.0.4 with QT 7.3 bug
* Now exports correct audio track format on PPC macs
* Fixed scaling bug with QT 7.3
* Fixed white noise bug on Intel Macs with QT 7.3


VfW Codec
* Fixed a buffer overrun


Register
* Now can be quit with the system exit button
* Fixed GUI not updating on Name or Company entry
* Fixed potential buffer overrun


Windows Installer
* Installer checks writability for all 3ivx dll's now
* Uninstaller is now digitaly signed
* Correctly limits itself to one instance
* Fixed application restart code for locked dlls.


Mac Installer
* Fixed a bug where execution of Register 3ivx application fails
* Now correctly displays copyright symbol in the copyright message
* Uninstaller now correctly detects OS version

Known Bugs


QT Codec
* Sometimes does not report any format description for video tracks.
* Rewinding/Fastforwarding on complex and high resolution video can sometimes result in mis-predicted frames being displayed.


DS Muxer
* The muxer is currently limited to muxing streams no more than
approximately 9.942 hours in length. If you attempt to mux a stream
longer than this the resulting MP4 will be corrupt.


3ivx Installer
* Requires computer administrator to install.

Unknown Bugs


DS Muxer
* When using an Apple File Share, you probably can't mux streams over 2GB in size

Missing Features


Core
* Interlaced decoding is not implemented for S-frames (GMC)


DS Media Muxer
* Fragmented Muxing is not ISO compliant and has been disabled.


Mac QT Media Importer
* Media Importer is not release quality. You can install it via a Custom Install on Mac OS X
* Media Importer is PowerPC only.


Non Issues


DS Muxer
* The splitter can not be connected to the output of the muxer.


Permanent Issues


Core
* XviD streams prior to build0000 (ie up to and including 0.9 stable
series) with non-multiples of 16 are not MPEG-4 compliant and exhibit
occasional glitches. There is no work-around.
* NVops (not coded PVops) can be used to more efficiently represent dropped frames or frames which are identical to the previous frame. NVops are not correctly handled by the QuickTime MPEG-4 Stream hinter and will cause a -5402 error when attempting to hint a file which contains NVops. The solution is to not use NVop coding. The 3ivx DirectShow Media Muxer can be used to remove NVops from an already coded bitstream. (This is currently still an issue with QT6.5)


QT Codec
* QuickTime 7's native datarate setting is now in kilobits/sec. There are
1000 bits in a kilobit, and 1024 bytes in a kilobyte, according to the
QuickTime Player. Due to a work-around for an error in QT7's kilobit->byte
conversion, third party applications which do not use the QT7 codec
selection dialog to obtain a datarate from the user (in kilobits/sec) may
end up undershooting by a factor 1.024 (roughly 2.5%). In order to correct
for this multiply the datarate you enter into affected applications by
1.024. This is only an issue when using QT7.


Win QT Codec
* When one movie has two or more video tracks, each encoded with 3ivx
there may be problems playing the video when DirectDraw Acceleration
is enabled in the QuickTime settings control panel. Work-arounds,
disable DirectDraw acceleration, or DirectDraw.
* Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0.2 crashes when loading the 3ivx QT Codec. There is a work-around available, simply rename the CompilerQuicktime.prm' file to 'zCompilerQuicktime.prm'. The file is located at 'C:Program FilesAdobeAdobe Premiere Elements 3.0Plug-insen_US"


DS Splitter
* Windows Media Player 11 does not allow seeking when opening mov or mp4 files from within a library. The Solution is to open these files
directly.


DS Video Decoder
* Windows Media Player 11 does not post process and ignores
"Auto-Select for Video Filter Level" in the configuration pane


Technical Background Document: 3ivx MPEG-4 5.0.1

New Modules

* Mac QT MP4 Exporter
* Media Exporter now support MP4 export
* Supports Apple MPEG-4 AAC encoded audio
* Supports 3ivx MPEG-4 enncoded video
* iPhone Compatible
* DataHandler based allows encoding from in memory media as well as
from network and file based formats
* iMovie Compatible

New Features

* DirectShow Filter Suite
* Now supports QuickTime Transformation Matrices. Transformation Matrices areused in QuickTime, Apple iPhone and AppleTV to represent Aspect Ratios.
* QT Media Exporter
* AVI Exporter now supports uLaw audio compression

Improvements

* Core
* MMX Deblocker now works with intel-macs.
* MMX YUV420 to YUV422 routines now work with intel-macs.
* Added AltiVec routine for YUV420 to YUV422 conversion.
* Now supports Apple QuickTime 7's new SoundDescription V2 atom.
* Now always switches to MPEG4v2 syntax when using MPEG4v2 features, defaults to MPEG-4v1 syntax if only v1 features are used and no ASP features are used.
* Now detects SSSE3, SSE4.1 and SSE4.2 presence
* Completely new frame management system which can dynamically allocate buffer frames.
* Internal re-factoring makes modifcations simpler, more reliable and reduces crashes.
* Frame accurate rewinding
* Now reuses hot frames automatically allowing higher cache hit ratios.
* Reduced total memory requirements (Approx. reduction 2-3x.)

* DS Media Splitter
* Reads Transformation Matrices in mov and mp4 files
* Outputs VIH2 Aspect Ratio

* DS Media Muxer
* Writes Transformation Matrices in mov and mp4 files
* Accepts aspect ratio information from VIH2
* Uses PAR from ES/VOSH in preference to VIH2 AR

* DS Video Decoder
* Accepts aspect ratio information from VIH2
* Accepts aspect ratio information from ES/VOSH attached to VIH2
* ES/VOSH Par overrides VIH2 aspect ratio

* DS Video Encoder
* Sets VIH2 aspect ratio to encoder's PAR or source video's PAR

* Open QuickTime
* Now supports reading/writing float64
* Now supports reading/writing Fract data
* Now supports reading/writing Transformation Matrices

* GUIs
* All GUIs now display version number in gui, including build when necessary

* QT Codec
* Reduced fast forward startup lag
* Significant decoder performance improvements on Intel
* Decoder blitting accelerated dramatically which should help with slow "transitions"
* Codec startup memory usage reduced by a factor of 80

* DS Splitter
* Uses AAC2 decoder to get a more accurate sample rate directly from the aac2 audio stream.

* Register
* Added multichannel support.

* Win Installer
* ReadMe's are now IE Web Archives for Vista compatibility

Bugs Fixed

* Core
* Fixed a bug in the NASM deblocker which caused corrupted output
* Increamented all component versions to 5.0.1
* Now correctly decodes odd width planes
* Now dynamically allocates frames, avoiding circular buffer crashes
* Can now handle large amounts of contiguous b-frames
* Fixed a timestamp bug for frame accurate rewind
* Fixed bframe mis-prediction during the switch to delayed output (bframe) mode
* Now keeps reference frames for longer to fix potential mis-prediction

* DS Splitter
* Now correctly detects sample rate of audio stream
* Fixed crash if splitter is passed a invalid file handle
* Fixed crash if splitter is passed a file without any tracks
* Fixed crash if splitter is passed a file with invalid data

* QT Video Codec
* No longer allocates unnecessarily large amounts of frames
* No longer has circular buffer race conditions
* Fixed mis-predited frames after a window resize
* Fixed render preview image in the export settings panel
* Now displays correct version

* QT Importer
* Now displays correct version

* QT Exporter
* Now adjust duration of video track if audio track is longer.
* Now displays correct version
* Works with iMovie 3.0.3 again

* Register
* Added extra day issue date for serials to account for serial server time
zone differences
* Fixed an issue with invalid serials being displayed

* Windows Installer
* Added a flag to force installation.
* Fixed installer failing if previous version's uninstaller is missing

* Mac Installer
* Now uses correct version information for upgrading packages
* To solve finder bug, now updates finder windows after install

* MP4tifier
* Default output type is now MP4.

Known Bugs

* Core
* Multiple packed b-frames (XviD Jambo) have issues

* DS Video Decoder
* Windows Media Player 11 does not post process and ignores
"Auto-Select for Video Filter Level" in the configuration pane

* QT Codec
* Sometimes does not report any format description for video tracks.
* Sometimes cannot render preview image in the export settings panel.
* Rewinding/Fastforwarding on complex and high resolution video can sometimes result in mis-predited frames being displayed.

* Win QT Codec
* When one movie has two or more video tracks, each encoded with 3ivx there may be problems playing the video when DirectDraw Accelerationis enabled in the QuickTime settings control panel. Work-arounds, disable DirectDraw acceleration, or DirectDraw.

* DS Muxer
* The muxer is currently limited to muxing streams no more than approximately 9.942 hours in length. If you attempt to mux a stream longer than this the resulting MP4 will be corrupt.

* 3ivx Installer
* Requires computer administrator to install.

Unknown Bugs

* DS Muxer
* The DS Muxer probably can't mux streams over 4GB in size

Missing Features

* Core
* Interlaced decoding is not implemented for S-frames (GMC)

* DS Media Muxer
* Fragmented Muxing is not ISO compliant and has been disabled.

* Mac QT Media Importer
* Media Importer is not release quality. You can install it via a Custom Install on Mac OS X
* Media Importer is PowerPC only.

Non Issues

* DS Muxer
* The splitter can not be connected to the output of the muxer.

Permanent Issues

* Core
* XviD streams prior to build0000 (ie up to and including 0.9 stableseries) with non-multiples of 16 are not MPEG-4 compliant and exhibitoccasional glitches. There is no work-around.
* NVops (not coded PVops) can be used to more efficiently represent dropped frames or frames which are identical to the previous frame. NVops are not correctly handled by the QuickTime MPEG-4 Stream hinter and will cause a -5402 error when attempting to hint a file which contains NVops. The solution is to not use NVop coding. The 3ivx DirectShow Media Muxer can be used to remove NVops from an already coded bitstream. (This is currently still an issue with QT6.5)
* QT Codec
* QuickTime 7's native datarate setting is now in kilobits/sec. There are 1000 bits in a kilobit, and 1024 bytes in a kilobyte, according to the QuickTime Player. Due to a work-around for an error in QT7's kilobit->byteconversion, third party applications which do not use the QT7 codec selection dialog to obtain a datarate from the user (in kilobits/sec) may end up undershooting by a factor 1.024 (roughly 2.5%). In order to correct for this multiply the datarate you enter into affected applications by 1.024. This is only an issue when using QT7.


3ivx MPEG-4 5.0 features enhanced compression efficiency and introduces new Advanced Simple Profile features such as B-Frame and QPel encoding. The Mac OS X versions are compatible with QuickTime 7 and are Universal Binaries optimized for Intel based Macs.