BitJazz
SheerVideo
Release Notes
2.8.0: 2009.10.21
Error check in Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] QT decoder fixed:
v2.8.0.10: The Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] QuickTime decoder mistakenly proceeded to decode frames even when certain critical errors had been detected.
This has now been corrected.
A46L support turned on in Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4]:
v2.8.0.9: Support for the RGB[A] 16bf pixel format 'A46L' has been switched on in the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4] codec,
where it had inadvertently been switched off.
UYVY support turned on:
v2.8.0.8: Support for the Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 pixel format 'UYVY', which had been switched off by a typographical error, has been switched on.
ABGR, RGBA, BGRA, RGB, BGR support on Mac:
v2.8.0.4..v2.8.0.7: Support for the RGB[A] 8bf pixel formats ABGR, RGBA, BGRA, RGB, and BGR has been switched on in SheerVideo for Mac,
to facilitate conversion of files imported from PC+Windows systems.
L555, L565 output support on Mac:
v2.8.0.2..v2.8.0.3: Support for outputting the RGB 5bf pixel formats L555 and L565 has been switched on in SheerVideo for Mac,
to facilitate conversion of files imported from PC+Windows systems.
B555 output support on Windows:
v2.8.0.1: Support for outputting the RGB 5bf pixel format B555 has been switched on in SheerVideo for PC+Windows
to facilitate conversion of files imported from Mac systems.
MMX+SSE support for PC+Windows:
v2.8.0.0: SheerVideo QT for Windows has been brought up to date with the SheerVideo Mac QT editions,
incorporating all the new features since v2.6.7.6.
Chiefly, this means that the Sheer decoders now run significantly faster for all common pathways
on Windows PCs with hardware support for MMX, SSE1, and SSE3 vector processing instructions.
2.7.9: 2009.08.01
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'UYVY' 19% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.19: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'UYVY' 47% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.18: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i -> 'UYVY' 15% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.17: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p -> 'UYVY' 41% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.16: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2:4 i -> 'UYVY' 21% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.15: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2:4 p -> 'UYVY' 27% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.14: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i -> 'UYVY' 23% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.13: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p -> 'UYVY' 31% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.12: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4:4 i -> 'UYVY' 31% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.11: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4:4 p -> 'UYVY' 36% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.10: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'UYVY' 20% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.9: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'UYVY' 35% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.8: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i -> 'UYVY' 12% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.7: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p -> 'UYVY' 36% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.6: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i -> 'UYVY' 36% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.5: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p -> 'UYVY' 37% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.4: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2:4 i -> 'UYVY' 16% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.3: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2:4 p -> 'UYVY' 26% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.2: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 i -> 'UYVY' 14% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.1: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 i decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 p -> 'UYVY' 27% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.9.0: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 p decoder for 'UYVY' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
2.7.8: 2009.07.27
Support for AVI pixel format 'UYVY' (YVYU) added:
v2.7.8.0..v2.7.8.27: Support for the AVI pixel format 'UYVY' (YVYU) added
to the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] p|i, Sheer, Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4] p|i, Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv|u 4:4:4[:4] p|i, Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] p|i, Sheer RGB[A] 10bf p|i, and Sheer RGB[A] 8bf p|i codecs.
For detailed information on the 'UYVY' pixel format, see the SheerVideo Product FAQ.
2.7.7: 2009.06.01
Misalignment error level:
v2.7.7.2: SheerVideo now considers misaligned data a fatal error only in the case of data handled by AltiVec (G4 or G5) vector processors,
where it yields incorrect results.
For scalar processors and for MMX+SSE vector processors, where misaligned data merely causes a considerable slow-down but yields correct results,
the Sheer engine now issues a warning instead of an error, and goes ahead and encodes|decodes the data, .
Image alignment constraints:
v2.7.7.1: The image alignment constraints for the Sheer encoders and decoders have been made more precise.
Previously, the Sheer engine required all image rows to be aligned on 4-byte boundaries for scalar code, and 16-byte boundaries for vectorized code.
Now, for scalar code, image rows for 1-byte and 3-byte pixel-formats (RGB, BGR, 'v308') may be aligned on 1-byte boundaries,
and those for 2-byte pixel-formats (B555, L555, L565) and 6-byte pixel-formats ('b48r') may be aligned on 2-byte boundaries,
while all others still require 4-byte alignment.
For vectorized code, image rows for 8-byte pixel formats ('b64a', 'L64A', 'A46L', 'V416') may be aligned on 8-byte boundaries,
while all others still require 4-byte alignment.
However, for vectorized progressive-scan functions, the length of an image row must still be a multiple of 16 bytes.
Sheer RGB[A] 10,8bf p, Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10,8bv 4:4:4[:4] p 1% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.7.0: The MMX+SSE versions of the Sheer RGB[A] 10bf p, Sheer RGB[A] 8bf p, Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] p, and Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bu,v 4:4:4[:4] decoders
have been sped up by a further 1%.
2.7.6: 2009.05.30
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p -> 'yuvs' 40% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.23: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p -> '2vuy' 40% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.22: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p -> 'v210' 30% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.21: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 30% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p -> 'v216' 55% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.20: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 41% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p -> 'v408' 23% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.19: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 23% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p -> 'v410' 10% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.18: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'v410' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 6% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'yuvs' 40% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.17: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 40% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p -> '2vuy' 35% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.16: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 35% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'v210' 41% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.15: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 41% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'v216' 48% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.14: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 48% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'v408' 48% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.13: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 48% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'v410' 21% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.12: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'v410' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 16% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i -> 'yuvs' 13% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.11: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 13% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i -> '2vuy' 24% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.10: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 24% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i -> 'v210' 8% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.9: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 8% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i -> 'v216' 9% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.8: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 9% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i -> 'v408' 22% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.7: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 22% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i -> 'v410' 18% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.6: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'v410' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 18% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'yuvs' 29% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.5: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 29% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i -> '2vuy' 29% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.4: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 29% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'v210' 24% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.3: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 24% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'v216' 27% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.2: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 27% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'v408' 38% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.1: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 38% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'v410' 35% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.6.0: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'v410' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 35% on Mac Intel.
2.7.5: 2009.04.08
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p -> 'yuvs' 31% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.15: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 31% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p -> '2vuy' 31% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.14: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 31% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p -> 'v210' 23% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.13: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 23% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p -> 'v216' 29% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.12: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 p decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 29% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p -> 'yuvs' 27% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.11: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 27% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p -> '2vuy' 27% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.10: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 27% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p -> 'v210' 27% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.9: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 27% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p -> 'v216' 26% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.8: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 26% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i -> 'yuvs' 23% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.7: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 23% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i -> '2vuy' 21% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.6: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 21% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i -> 'v210' 1% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.5: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 1% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i -> 'v216' 25% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.4: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 i decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 25% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i -> 'yuvs' 20% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.3: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 20% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i -> '2vuy' 20% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.2: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 20% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i -> 'v210' 5% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.1: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for 'v210' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 5% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i -> 'v216' 20% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.5.0: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for 'v216' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 20% on Mac Intel.
2.7.4: 2009.03.29
SSE enabled in SheerVideo for Mac Intel:
v2.7.4.0: The switch to turn on the SSE optimizations added to the Sheer Engine in v2.7.0..2.7.3
was inadvertently disabled in SheerVideo.
Since Mac OS X's overzealous DRM measure now make it virtually impossible to debug QuickTime codecs,
this problem was rather difficult to detect and confirm.
2.7.3: 2009.03.28
Sheer RGB 10bf p -> ARGB 45% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.17: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf p decoder for ARGB pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 45% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 10bf p -> 'F210' 44% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.16: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf p decoder for 'F210' (full-range 'r210') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 44% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 10bf p -> 'F10k' 44% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.15: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf p decoder for 'F10k' (full-range 'R10k') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 44% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 10bf p -> 'b64a' 54% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.14: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf p decoder for 'b64a' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 54% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf p -> ARGB 53% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.13: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf p decoder for ARGB pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 53% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf p -> 'F210' 47% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.12: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf p decoder for 'F210' (full-range 'r210') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 47% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf p -> 'F10k' 45% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.11: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf p decoder for 'F10k' (full-range 'R10k') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 45% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf p -> 'b64a' 56% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.10: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf p decoder for 'b64a' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 56% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 10bf i -> ARGB 21% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.9: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf i decoder for ARGB pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 21% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 10bf i -> 'F210' 17% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.8: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf i decoder for 'F210' (full-range 'r210') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 17% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 10bf i -> 'F10k' 16% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.7: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf i decoder for 'F10k' (full-range 'R10k') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 16% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 10bf i -> 'b64a' 28% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.6: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 10bf i decoder for 'b64a' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 28% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf i -> ARGB 34% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.5: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf i decoder for ARGB pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 34% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf i -> 'F210' 28% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.4: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf i decoder for 'F210' (full-range 'r210') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 28% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf i -> 'F10k' 27% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.3: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf i decoder for 'F10k' (full-range 'R10k') pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 27% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 10bf i -> 'b64a' 39% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.2: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 10bf i decoder for 'b64a' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 39% on Mac Intel.
'v408','r408' speedup on Mac Intel">Sheer Y"CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] -> 'v408','r408' speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.1: The MMX+SSE versions of the Sheer Y"CbCr[A] 8bu,v 4:4:4[:4] p,i decoders for 'v408','r408' pixel output
have been sped up by a further 1% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 8bf -> 'ARGB' speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.3.0: The MMX+SSE versions of the Sheer RGB 8bf p,i decoders for ARGB pixel output
have been sped up by a further 1% on Mac Intel.
2.7.2: 2009.03.20
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p -> 'yuvs' 38% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.23: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 38% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 p -> 'yuvs' 37% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.22: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 37% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p -> 'yuvs' 39% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.21: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 39% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'yuvs' 31% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.20: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 31% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p -> '2vuy' 39% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.19: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 39% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 p -> '2vuy' 37% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.18: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 37% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p -> '2vuy' 36% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.17: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 36% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 p -> '2vuy' 33% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.16: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 33% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i -> 'yuvs' 20% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.15: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 20% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 i -> 'yuvs' 32% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.14: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 32% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i -> 'yuvs' 11% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.13: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 11% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'yuvs' 31% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.12: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 31% on Mac Intel.
Note that this pathway has not been optimized for AltiVec G4 or G5 on Mac PPC.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i -> '2vuy' 20% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.11: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 20% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 i -> '2vuy' 33% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.10: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 33% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i -> '2vuy' 6% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.9: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 6% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 i -> '2vuy' 30% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.8: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 30% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p -> 'r408' 25% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.7: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 p decoder for 'r408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 25% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 p -> 'r408' 42% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.6: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'r408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 42% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p -> 'v408' 25% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.5: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 p decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 25% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 p -> 'v408' 42% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.4: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 p decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 42% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i -> 'r408' 1% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.3: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bu 4:4:4 i decoder for 'r408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 1% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 i -> 'r408' 18% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.2: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'r408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 18% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i -> 'v408' 1% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.1: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 i decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 1% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 i -> 'v408' 18% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.2.0: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 i decoder for 'v408' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 18% on Mac Intel.
2.7.1: 2009.03.11
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 p -> 'yuvs' 30% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.8: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 30% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 p -> '2vuy' 25% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.7: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 25% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 p -> 'yuvs' 26% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.6: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 26% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 p -> '2vuy' 26% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.5: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 p decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 26% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] i -> '2vuy'|'yuvs' 2% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.4: The vectorized Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] i decoders for '2vuy' and 'yuvs' pixel output
have been sped up by 1% on Mac Intel and 2% on Mac PPC G4 and G5.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 i -> 'yuvs' 17% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.3: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 17% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 i -> '2vuy' 13% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.2: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 13% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 i -> 'yuvs' 17% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.1: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for 'yuvs' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 17% on Mac Intel.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 i -> '2vuy' 14% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.1.0: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 i decoder for '2vuy' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 14% on Mac Intel.
2.7.0: 2009.03.04
Sheer RGBA 8bf i -> 'ARGB' 0% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.0.5: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 8bf i decoder for 'ARGB' pixel output,
“speeding up” this common pathway by a sad 0% on Mac Intel.
Maybe it performs better on other Intel or AMD CPUs.
Sheer RGB 8bf i -> 'ARGB' 18% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.0.4: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 8bf i decoder for 'ARGB' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 18% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB[A] 8bf p -> 'ARGB' 2% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.0.3: The MMX+SSE version of the Sheer RGB[A] 8bf p decoders for 'ARGB' pixel output have been sped up by a further 2% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGBA 8bf p -> 'ARGB' 28% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.0.1: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGBA 8bf p decoder for 'ARGB' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 28% on Mac Intel.
Sheer RGB 8bf p -> 'ARGB' 17% speedup on Mac Intel:
v2.7.0.0: MMX+SSE optimization has been added to the Sheer RGB 8bf p decoder for 'ARGB' pixel output,
speeding up this common pathway by 17% on Mac Intel.
2.6.7: 2008.05.09
Windows PC button wiring fix:
v2.6.7.6: The radio buttons in the Sheer Settings dialog box in the Windows PC edition were miswired in v2.6.7.4.
They have now been rewired correctly.
QuickTime 7.5 pixel-format bug workaround:
v2.6.7.5: In QuickTime 7.5 for Mac, QuickTime Player and QTPlayerHelper accept all pixel formats for encoding and decoding,
whether or not it or the parent application can handle those pixel formats.
This is a major issue with SheerVideo, which supports dozens of pixel formats, many of which are specific to one or a few applications.
The problem occurs most often with 10-bit Sheer codecs.
QuickTime applications which use QTPlayerHelper find out too late if QTPlayerHelper has chosen a pixel format they can't interpret or provide.
There is no standard error code for this situation, so the few QuickTime applications which detect the error issue seemingly unrelated error messages.
But most affected QuickTime applicatons proceed as if there were no problem, and output a blank green, black, grey, or white image or random noise.
When running under QuickTime Player or QTPlayerHelper, SheerVideo for Mac now offers only those pixel formats currently supported by QuickTime Player.
Windows PC update:
v2.6.7.4: The Windows PC edition had been left behind at v2.6.6.7.
It has now been brought up to date.
Sheer RGB[A] -> Y'CbCr[A] speed-up:
v2.6.7.3: Decoding Sheer RGB[A] formats to Y'CbCr[A] pixels
has been sped up by an average of 6%, due to a new optimization in Synchromny.
RGB[A] -> Sheer Y'CbCr[A] speed-up:
v2.6.7.2: Encoding RGB[A] pixels to Sheer Y'CbCr[A] formats
has been sped up by an average of 6%, due to a new optimization in Synchromny.
iMovie bug workaround:
v2.6.7.1: iMovie mistakenly accepts many pixel formats it cannot handle.
As a result, Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 movies imported into iMovie were displayed as blank green,
because the preferred pixel format for the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 decoders is 'v410',
which, although defined by Apple many years ago, is still not supported by iMovie or other Apple applications.
Sheer Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:4:4:4 movies imported into iMovie were likewise displayed as blank green,
because the preferred pixel format for the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4:4 decoders is 'V416',
a non-Apple custom pixel format.
Similar problems may also have occurred for other Sheer decoders.
When running under iMovie, all Sheer decoders now offer only pixel formats recognized by iMovie.
Avid Meridien uncompressed support:
v2.6.7.0: Support for the RGB[A] 8bv pixel format 'VRGB' used by Avid's Meridien uncompressed codec
has been added to all Sheer QT codecs,
making it possible to export uncompressed video from Avid to standard QuickTime applications
by setting the 'RGB Input Range' to 'Video range' in the Sheer Settings dialog.
Internally, AVUI is a Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] format,
but the only pixel format supported by Avid's AVUI QuickTime codec is an RGB[A] 8bv pixel format which we call 'VRGB',
to distinguish it from the standard QuickTime 'ARGB' pixel format.
Unlike 'ARGB', a full-range RGB[A] 8bf format in which the red, green, and blue components have the range [0..255],
the RGB components in 'VRGB' are ITU-R BT.601-4-compliant video-range, [16..235],
preserving much of the footroom for subblacks and headroom for superwhites in standard video pixel formats.
But since essentially no QuickTime applications other than Avid's can deal with 8-bit video-range RGB[A] data,
uncompressed video exported from Avid inevitably gets misinterpreted as full-range,
reducing the contrast by over 14%,
so that for example true black and true white merely look dark and light grey, respectively.
2.6.6: 2008.04.07
Improved support for nonstandard pixels:
v2.6.6.9: The way that SheerVideo treated the names of certain nonstandard pixel formats
caused unpredictable behavior in some applications with encoding AJA and BMD's RGB 10b pixel formats to Sheer formats.
This problem has now been corrected.
A46L support:
v2.6.6.8: Support for the RGB[A] 16bf 4:4:4[:4] pixel format 'A46L' used by Adobe Premiere
has been added to the Sheer QT and AVI codecs.
This pixel format is referred to as BGRA_4444_16u inside Premiere.
Fixed first-frame-freeze bug:
v2.6.6.7: In SheerVideo Pro v2.6.6.3..v2.6.6.6, the Sheer QT encoders erroneously reverted to progressive mode after the first frame.
So for Sheer video tracks supposedly encoded in interlaced mode,
the Sheer QT decoders detected that the Sheer format in the header of subsequent frames did not match the expected (interlaced) format,
and incorrectly deduced that the encoded data had been corrupted,
which they reported as 'codecBadDataErr' (-8969), and did not decode the data.
Most applications did not pass this information on to the user, instead continuing to display the first frame as though nothing were wrong.
This release fixes the problem at both ends:
The Sheer encoders no longer incorrectly revert to progressive mode;
and the Sheer decoders now check whether the scan mode has changed, and switch modes accordingly.
Footage encoded with SheerVideo Pro v2.6.6.3..v2.6.6.6 play correctly with v2.6.6.7.
V416 support:
v2.6.6.6: Support for the Y'CbCr[A] 16bv 4:4:4[:4] pixel format 'V416' used by Adobe Premiere
has been added to the Sheer QT and AVI codecs.
This pixel format is referred to as VUYA_4444_16u inside Premiere.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 decoder speed-up:
v2.6.6.5: The Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 decoders (without alpha) have been sped up by an average of 2% on all processors.
The speed-up is greatest for poorly compressible images.
Sheer RGB 10bf and Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 decoder speed-up:
v2.6.6.4: The Sheer RGB 10bf and Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 decoders (without alpha) have been sped up by an average of 2% on all processors.
The speed-up is greatest for poorly compressible images.
Sheer RGB[A] 8bf and Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] decoder speed-up:
v2.6.6.3: The Sheer RGB[A] 8bf and Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] decoders have been sped up by an average of 2% on all processors.
The speed-up is greatest for poorly compressible images.
Backward compatibility fix:
v2.6.6.2: A bug introduced in v2.6.6.1 that broke backward compatibility to Sheer videos created before March 2004 has been fixed.
Specfically, the internal Sheer codes were changed from literal to constructed four-character codes to avoid zillions of compiler warnings,
but in the constructed codes, characters were improperly sign-extended when promoted to 'unsigned int'.
They are now cast first to 'unsigned char' and then to 'unsigned int' to work around this problem.
L64A support:
v2.6.6.1: Support for the RGB[A] 16bf 4:4:4[:4] pixel format 'L64A' used by Adobe Premiere
has been added to the Sheer QT and AVI codecs.
This pixel format is referred to as ARGB_4444_16u inside Premiere.
VUYA support:
v2.6.6.0: Support for the Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] pixel format 'VUYA' used by Adobe Premiere
has been added to the Sheer QT and AVI codecs.
This pixel format is referred to as VUYA_4444_8u inside Premiere, and used to be known as VUYA32.
2.6.5: 2007.07.24
AVI environment checking:
v2.6.5.6: SheerVideo AVI now rigorously checks all input addresses for validity,
to avoid crashing in applications that don't properly set up the AVI environment.
Streamlined Linux API:
v2.6.5.5: A rigorous test program was developed for the higher-level public programming interface for the Sheer Engine,
similar to the test program we have always used at the private level.
This development suggested some wasy to streamline the public interface, which have now been implemented.
Vegas workaround:
v2.6.5.4: Sony Vegas v7 and earlier does not fill in the 'finalDestinationPort' member of the 'codecDecompressParameters' parameter
for the 'Preflight()' selector of QuickTime image decompressor components.
SheerVideo relies on this information to determine whether the output is going to the display,
or to an offscreen buffer for further processing or output to a file.
For display, Sheer decoders will not accept pixel formats that it cannot convert to in real time.
For an offscreen buffer, Sheer decoders will not accept pixel formats that would entail information loss.
SheerVideo now defaults to offscreen behavior if this information is unavailable.
QuickTime environment checking:
v2.6.5.3: SheerVideo QT now rigorously checks all input addresses for validity,
to avoid crashing in applications that don't properly set up the QuickTime environment.
HDYC ('CYDH') support in Sheer AVI:
v2.6.5.2: Support for the Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 pixel format HDYC ('CYDH') used by Blackmagic Design has been added to the Sheer AVI codecs.
This pixel format is identical to UYVY ('YVYU'), except that they use the HD color space specified in ITU-R BT.709-2,
rather than the SD color space specified in ITU-R BT.601-4.
Public API for Linux:
v2.6.5.0: Linux lacks a standard multimedia framework like QuickTime and Video for Windows.
This means that Linux application developers have to write their own drivers for every file type.
To make SheerVideo available for Linux, the programming interface for the Sheer Engine has been separated out.
2.6.4: 2007.05.09
Native-endian 'r4fl':
v2.6.4.15: SheerVideo's interpretation of the Y'CbCr[A] 32bv 4:4:4[:4] ('r4fl') format used in Final Cut Pro
has been changed from big-endian to native-endian.
This bug caused high-precision Yuv computation in FCP on Mac Intel systems using SheerVideo in native Intel mode
to look solid green.
'S10k', 'F210', 'S210' output:
v2.6.4.14: The Sheer QuickTime decoders did not advertise their ability to output to the 'S10k' (video-range 'R10k' in AJA bit order),
'F210' (full-range 'r210' in BMD bit order), and 'S210' (video-range 'r210' in BMD bit order) RGB 10b pixel formats in their 'cpix' resources.
This oversight has now been corrected.
Sheer AVI 'biBitCount':
v2.6.4.13: Adobe Premiere Pro rejected most Sheer AVI codecs because their 'ICM_COMPRESS_GET_FORMAT' methods
specified the actual pixel precision in the 'biBitCount' field of the 'bmiHeader',
for example 30 bits per pixel for Sheer RGB 10bf, or 40 bits per pixel for Sheer RGBA 10bf;
and 16 bits per pixel for Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2, or 24 bits per pixel for Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4.
Instead, Premiere always needs to see a value of 24 for any color pixel with at least 8 bits per component, and a value of 32 if alpha is included
— the same convention used in QuickTime.
Unwanted alpha:
v2.6.4.12: The workaround introduced in SheerVideo v2.6.4.1 for an occasional bug in QuickTime 7.1.6
sometimes caused the Sheer encoders to include an alpha channel even when 'Millions of Colors' was selected,
because the 'cmpCount' of the source pixel map is sometimes set to 4 even when alpha is supposed to be ignored.
So the workaround has now been removed.
Sheer AVI truncated descriptions:
v2.6.4.11: AVI codecs are given a 128-character description field, but Video for Windows truncates the descriptions to 32 characters in its user interface,
cutting off part of the word "Codec" for the longer Sheer codec names.
We have now removed the word "Codec" from the descriptions to avoid this unsightliness.
Sheer AVI non-QuickTime Crasher:
v2.6.4.10: The SheerVideo AVI decoders called a function which depends on QuickTime,
causing them to crash in applications such as Windows Explorer which do not include QuickTime.
This has now been fixed.
Sheer AVI Memory Leak:
v2.6.4.9: The SheerVideo AVI compressors and decompressors allocated 1-scanline buffers on each 'CompressBegin()' and 'DecompressBegin()' call,
but freed those buffers only on 'Close()', not on 'CompressEnd()' and 'DecompressEnd()'.
In applications that call 'CompressBegin()' multiple times for the same open codec, this caused a small memory leak,
which has now been fixed.
Sheer AVI After Effects Templates:
v2.6.4.8: SheerVideo AVI Output Module Templates for Adobe After Effects have now been added to the SheerVideo AVI for Windows PC edition.
Note that Adobe After Effects does not yet support high-precision input and output of AVI video data,
except in the special case of uncompressed Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 ('V210') data.
Sheer AVI RGB Input Range:
v2.6.4.7: The Sheer AVI Settings dialog box did not display the correct setting for the 'RGB 10b Input Range' option.
This is now fixed.
Cross-platform After Effects Templates:
v2.6.4.6: SheerVideo Output Module Templates for Adobe After Effects created on Mac did not show the proper settings on Windows and vice versa.
This version makes the Sheer templates work cross-platform by accepting both big-endian (Mac) and little-endian (Windows) byte orders on both platforms.
RGB 10b Input Range in After Effects Templates:
v2.6.4.5: The 'RGB 10b Input Range' option was unset in the SheerVideo Output Module Templates for Adobe After Effects,
because the option was added after the templates were created.
This version sets the option to 'Full Range [0..1023]' in the templates for all Sheer encoders,
in accordance with the full-range RGB[A] 16b standard used by After Effects Professional.
Sheer RGB 8b|10b -> 8bf|10bf in After Effects Templates:
v2.6.4.4: The Sheer RGB[A] 10b and 8b Output Module Templates for Adobe After Effects have been renamed to Sheer RGB[A] 10bf and 8bf, respectively,
to distinguish them from the upcoming Sheer RGB[A] 10bv codec.
This renaming affects the folder names, file names, and internal temrplate names.
Patched After Effects Templates:
v2.6.4.3: The SheerVideo Output Module Templates for Adobe After Effects could not be read properly by the newest version of After Effects,
because they were originally created with a prerelease version of AE which output the incorrect length for a data chunk.
The newest version of After Effects balks at the bogus length and refuses to open the template, warning that it is corrupted.
This version patches the offending length.
High-Precision Yuv in Final Cut Pro for Mac Intel:
v2.6.4.2: SheerVideo for Mac Intel now supports the 'r4fl' pixel format for high-precision Yuv in Final Cut Pro for Mac Intel.
Previously, this pixel format was only supported on Mac PPC.
Alpha in QuickTime 7.1.6 for Mac Intel & Windows PC:
v2.6.4.1: QuickTime Player Pro 7.1.6 for Mac Intel and Windows PC sometimes fail to tell an image compression component to include alpha,
incorrectly setting the 'depth' field of the 'imageDescription' field of the 'CodecCompressParams' argument to 24 instead of 32.
This release works around this intermittent bug by also checking whether the 'cmpCount' field of the 'srcPixMap' field of the 'CodecCompressParams' parameter is 4.
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] decoder on Mac Intel:
v2.6.4.0: On Mac Intel, the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] decoder falsely advertised that it could handle Windows-only RGB[A] formats,
so some cross-platform applications sometimes produced blank output.
This release fixes this bug.
2.6.3: 2007.04.27
Mac 'b64a' support:
v2.6.3.10: Some applications on the Mac did not provide RGB[A] 16b data to the Sheer encoders or accept it from the Sheer decoders,
because of a bug in Apple's resource compiler.
It turns out that the resource compiler's preprocessor is not ANSI compliant, and is case-blind,
so it confounded a 'qb64aSupport' switch for the big-endian 'b64a' pixel format with a 'qB64aSupport' switch for the little-endian pixel format used by SheerVideo for Adobe After Effects on Windows PC.
So applications depending on the 'cpix' resources listing the pixel formats supported by the Sheer codecs did not find 'b64a' pixel format listed.
This release works around this bug by changing the name of the little-endian switch to 'qG64aSupport'.
Preferred RGB[A] 8bf decoding pixel format:
v2.6.3.9: The latest release of QuickTime Player ignores the 'preferredOffscreenPixelSize' specified by the decoder,
instead picking the first pixel format in the list of 'wantedDestinationPixelTypes'.
As a result, QuickTime Player was mistakenly choosing the RGB[A] 16bf pixel format 'b64a' instead of an RGB[A] 8bf pixel format for the Sheer RGB[A] 8bf decoder,
greatly slowing down playback.
In this release, the Sheer RGB[A] 8bf decoder puts the RGB[A] 8bf pixel formats at the top of the list of wanted pixel formats.
Flexible Windows PC installation again:
v2.6.3.8: The fix for non-English, 64-bit XP, and secondary drive installations of Windows introduced in v2.6.3.2 was accidentally lost in v2.6.3.4.
This version reintroduces it.
Sorry about the screw-up.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 'b48r' input:
v2.6.3.7: The Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 encoder falsely advertised that it accepted 'b48r' input pixels.
As a result, Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 encoding failed for applications choosing the 'b48r' pixel format for high-precision RGB data.
The Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 encoder no longer includes 'b48r' in its list of input pixel format, so this problem has been fixed.
AE Startup Scripts folder in Windows PC:
v2.6.3.6: The SheerVideo installation includes a startup script for Adobe After Effects Pro to let After Effects know that the Sheer codecs support high precision.
The Windows Registry location of the After Effects Startup Scripts folder has changed, which this version takes into account.
AE Startup Scripts folder in Mac OS X:
v2.6.3.5: The SheerVideo installation includes a startup script for Adobe After Effects Pro to let After Effects know that the Sheer codecs support high precision.
In Mac OS X, the SheerVideo installer sometimes fails to find the AE Startup Scripts folder,
because the older method of finding an application, using 'PBDTGetAPPLSync()', has become unreliable.
This version uses the newer method, using 'LSGetApplicationForInfo()'.
'b64a' byte order in AE 8 for Windows, Mac Intel:
v2.6.3.4: This release fixes a byte-order compatibility issue for the 'b64a' pixel format in Adobe After Effects CS3 (Adobe After Effects 8) on Windows PC and Mac Intel.
45% Windows PC speed-up:
v2.6.3.3: SheerVideo for Windows has been sped up by 45% across the board by using the Intel C compiler instead of Microsoft's,
so that the Windows PC edition of SheerVideo now runs just as fast as the Mac Intel edition on the same machine.
Flexible Windows PC installation:
v2.6.3.2: The "Install SheerVideo Pro.exe" and "Install SheerVideo Reader.exe" installers for Windows PC now work correctly for QuickTime 7
on installations of Windows PC where the programs are not stored on drive C, where the language is not English, and for Windows 64 XP x64.
Instead of using the hard-coded path "\Program Files\QuickTime\QTComponents", the installers now find the correct installation directory through the Windows Registry.
Updated Windows PC manual installation:
v2.6.3.1: The SheerVideo Manual Installation instructions have been updated for QuickTime 7,
which puts codecs in the "Program Files\QuickTime\QTComponents" directory instead of the system directory.
Sped up interlaced decoders:
v2.6.3.0: The interlaced decoders for Windows PC (both QT and AVI) and Mac Intel have been sped up by up to 5% with the help of cache hints.
2.6.2: 2007.03.10
Installer Edition in Splash Screen:
v2.6.2.10: The various editions of SheerVideo for Mac now prominently display the edition
(for Mac UB, for Mac Intel, for Mac PPC, for Mac Classic)
to help avoid confusion.
Settings Version Number in Mac OS X:
v2.6.2.9: Since v2.5.0.8, the version number has not been updated in the Sheer Settings dialog in Mac OS X,
because Xcode does not properly track resource dependencies.
The build procedure has now been modified to work around this problem.
X, Xi, Xu -> for Mac PPC, for Mac Intel, for Mac UB:
v2.6.2.8: In the Mac OS X editions of SheerVideo, the name suffixes X, Xi, and Xu have been changed to PPC, Intel, and UB for clarity,
in accordance with how the website now refers to them.
This affects the names of the installation folders, installers, registration applications, and documentation, but not the codec or updater files.
Also, the trademark symbol has been removed for portability, except in the names of the codec and updater files.
Due to restrictions on file-name length in Mac OS8|9 and Windows '95|'98,
the names of the Mac Classic and Windows PC editions remain unsuffixed with a platform designation.
Duplicate Sheer AVI Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] fixed:
v2.6.2.7: In v2.6.2.0, the Sheer AVI Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] codec was inadvertently replaced with a duplicate of Sheer AVI Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4].
The real Sheer AVI Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] codec has now been reinstated.
Sheer AVI RGB 8|10b -> 8|10bf:
v2.6.2.5: In SheerVideo AVI, the RGB[A] full-range codecs SheerRGBA10b and SheerRGBA8b
have been renamed to SheerRGBA10bf and SheerRGBA8bf, respectively,
to distinguish them from the upcoming Sheer RGB[A] 10bv video-range codec.
Version number in Mac OS X Finder updated:
v2.6.2.4: Since v2.5.0.8, the version number has not been updated in the Finder's Info window in Mac OS X,
because Xcode does not properly track the dependencies for Info.plist files.
The build procedure has now been modified to work around this problem.
Radio buttons wired correctly in Mac Intel edition:
v2.6.2.3: In SheerVideo Pro for Mac UB, the Sheer Settings dialog-box resources are shared between PPC and Intel,
even though they should have different numbers of radio buttons because the Mac Intel edition does not yet offer vectorized code.
So the radio buttons were wired up wrong for the Universal Binary edition when running in native Intel mode.
To fix this problem, the Scalar|Vectorized option has now been turned on in Intel mode, even though it is not yet functional.
DVCPro HD Easy Setups:
v2.6.2.2: DVCPro HD 1080 and 720, though ostensibly high-definition formats,
have actual resolutions of 1280 x 1080 rather than 1920 x 1080, and 960 x 720, rather than 1280 x 720.
Instead of the standard square pixels of full HD, DVCPro HD 1080 has pixels with a rectangular aspect ratio of 3:2,
and DVCPro HD 720 has rectangular 4:3 pixels.
For editors working with DVCPro HD source material,
SheerVideo for Mac OS X now includes sets of Final Cut Pro Easy Setups with Presets
for the native DVCPro HD resolutions of 1280 x 1080 pixels per frame with rectangular 3:2 pixels,
and 960 x 720 pixels per frame with rectangular 4:3 pixels,
cutting the Sheer data rate by 1/3 below that for full 1920 x 1080 HD resolution,
and by 1/4 below that for full 1280 x 720 HD resolution,
and avoiding (or postponing until the end) the blurring that inevitably occurs when scaling the 1280 x 1080 image up to 1920 x 1080
or the 960 x 720 image up to 1280 x 720.
For clarity, the preexisting Easy Setups for true HD 720 resolutions were renamed from 720 to 1280x720.
HDV HD Easy Setups:
v2.6.2.1: HDV 1080, though ostensibly a high-definition format,
has an actual resolution of only 1440 x 1080 instead of 1920 x 1080 pixels per frame,
with rectangular 4:3 pixels instead of square pixels.
For editors working with HDV source material,
SheerVideo for Mac OS X now includes sets of Final Cut Pro Easy Setups with Presets
for the native HDV resolution of 1440 x 1080 pixels per frame with rectangular 4:3 pixels,
cutting the Sheer data rate by 25% below that for full 1920 x 1080 HD resolution,
and avoiding (or postponing until the end) the blurring that inevitably occurs when scaling the 1440 x 1080 image up to 1920 x 1080.
For clarity, the preexisting Easy Setups for true HD 1080 resolutions were renamed from 1080 to 1920x1080.
Generic AVI codec:
v2.6.2.0: A generic Sheer codec was added to SheerVideo for AVI,
analogous to the generic Sheer QT codec,
to automatically choose the appropriate Sheer format for the input pixel format.
2.6.1: 2007.02.24
Friendlier Video Standards for AVI codecs:
v2.6.1.1: In accordance with the SheerVideo for QT codecs,
the Video Standards in the SheerVideo for AVI codecs
have been changed in v2.6.1.1 from obscure ITU and SMPTE standards
to the friendlier terms NTSC, PAL, HD, and HD 1035,
where NTSC replaces ITU-R BT.601-4, HD replaces ITU-R BT.709-2, HD 1035 replaces SMPTE 240-M-1995,
a separate choice has been added for PAL, and an additional choice has been added for Unknown video standards.
Rename Video Source to Video Standard in AVI codecs:
v2.6.1.0: The Video Source switch in the SheerVideo for AVI codecs has been renamed in v2.6.1.0 to Video Standard,
in accordance with the corresponding switch in the SheerVideo for QT codecs,
reflecting the fact that the setting applies not only to a video source on encoding,
but also to an eventual video target on decompression.
2.6.0: 2007.02.20
RGB[A] 10b Input Range for AVI codecs:
v2.6.0.2: An RGB[A] 10b Input Range switch has been added in v2.6.0.2 to the Settings Dialog box for the SheerVideo for AVI encoders,
in accordance with the analogous switch for the SheerVideo for QT encoders,
with the following choices:
- Full-range to indicate that the input RGB[A] 10b data is full-range
- Video-range to indicate that the input RGB[A] 10b data is video-range
- Automatic to let SheerVideo choose automatically based on the pixel format
RGB[A] 10bf|v pixel formats for AVI codecs:
v2.6.0.1: Support for the following six RGB 10b pixel formats has been added to all SheerVideo for AVI codecs in v2.6.0.1,
as previously done for the SheerVideo for QuickTime codecs:
- 'F10k' Full-range 'R10k' (AJA bit order)
- 'R10k' Full-range unless specified to be Video-range (AJA bit order)
- 'S10k' Video-range 'R10k' (AJA bit order)
- 'F210' Full-range 'r210' (BMD bit order)
- 'r210' Video-range unless specified to be Full-range (BMD bit order)
- 'S210' Video-range 'r210' (BMD bit order)
Rename Sheer RGB[A] 8|10b for AVI to 8|10bf:
v2.6.0.0: The full-range Sheer RGB[A] 8b and Sher RGB[A] 10b for AVI codecs have been renamed in v2.6.0.0
to Sheer RGB[A] 8bf and Sher RGB[A] 10bf, respectively,
to distinguish them from the upcoming video-range Sheer RGB[A] 8bv and Sher RGB[A] 10bv for AVI codecs,
in accordance with the analogous renaming of the Sheer RGB[A] 8bf and Sher RGB[A] 10bf for QT codecs.
2.5.0: 2007.01.20
'b64a' on PC, Mac Intel:
v2.5.0.9: Support for the RGB[A] 16bf pixel format 'b64a' had been inadvertently turned off
in the Generic Sheer codec for Adobe After Effects on Windows PC and Mac Intel systems;
v2.5.0.9 turns it back on.
SheerVideo for Mac UB Ships:
v2.5.0.8: SheerVideo Pro & Reader for Mac UB are officially released.
SheerVideo for Mac Intel Ships:
v2.5.0.7: SheerVideo Pro & Reader for Mac Intel are officially released.
Update SheerVideo for Mac Intel:
v2.5.0.6: Update SheerVideo Pro & Reader for Mac Intel are added.
Register SheerVideo for Mac Intel:
v2.5.0.5: Register SheerVideo Pro & Reader for Mac Intel are added.
Install SheerVideo for Mac Intel:
v2.5.0.4: Install SheerVideo Pro & Reader for Mac Intel are added.
First Mac Intel Beta:
v2.5.0.3: The first SheerVideo for Mac Intel Beta is released.
Sheer utilities update:
v2.5.0.2: The SheerInstall, SheerRegister, and SheerUpdate programs have been updated to accord with the redesigned BitJazz website.
Sheer RGB[A] 10bf,8bf G5 optimization:
v2.5.0.1: The G5 optimization switches for the G5 pathways in the Sheer RGB[A] 10bf and Sheer RGB[A] 8bf codecs
were inadvertently turned off in SheerVideo v2.4.7.5, slowing down the performance of these codecs on the G5.
This release turns them back on.
Windows Gamma bug:
v2.5.0.0: Some older QuickTime movies specify the gamma value with a 'gama' Image Description Extension
instead of the newer Color Info Image Description.
The SheerVideo for Windows PC and SheerVideo for Mac Intel decoders interpreted this value incorrectly,
which could result in a gamma shift or even a crash.
Movies supplying both specifications were not gamma-shifted, but could still crash.
This release fixes this problem.
2.4.9: 2006.12.30
Sheer RGB[A] 10bf,8bf format reporting:
v2.4.9.6: The Sheer RGB[A] 10bf and 8bf codecs have been updated to include the letter 'f' designating full-range
in the format reported to QuickTime for labelling the track in the QuickTime Sample Description,
to distinguish the format from the upcoming video-range Sheer RGB[A] 10bv codec.
Package Info:
v2.4.9.5: In Mac OS X, some older applications determine the type of a bundled file from a "PkgInfo" file inside the bundle.
This release adds a "PkgInfo" file with the type 'thng' (QuickTime Component) and creator 'BtJz' (BitJazz Inc.)
to the Mac OS X editions of Sheer Video Pro and Reader.
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4]p|i format reporting:
v2.4.9.4: The Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4]p|i codec no longer reported the format variant to QuickTime for labelling the track in the QuickTime Sample Description.
This release fixes the problem.
FCP 5.1.2 Crash Fix:
v2.4.9.3: On a few Mac OS X systems with third-party codecs installed, Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 mysteriously crashes on launch.
It turns out that Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 and QuickTime 7.1.2 cannot handle more than 64 codecs.
SheerVideo alone currently comprises 8 encoders, 8 decoders, and 5 transcoders.
Having too many codecs installed can cause Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 to crash on launch.
Other applications relying on QuickTime may crash or issue spurious "codec not found" warnings.
This crasher was fixed in Final Cut Pro 5.1.4 and QuickTime 7.1.5.
Website Redesign:
v2.4.9.2: In response to user feedback, the website has been completely redesigned for ease of use,
with a clear layout and structure and a fresh clean professional look.
To improve maintainability, the website is now written in PHP instead of HTML,
and hosted by a more reliable server.
Registration Name Recognition:
v2.4.9.1: A registration name recognition problem introduced in v2.4.9.0 was fixed.
Byte-reversed Image Description Extensions:
v2.4.9.0: SheerVideo for Windows incorrectly reversed the byte order of the fields of two QuickTime Image Description Extensions:
- 'colr' Color Information
- 'gama' Gamma
As a result, SheerVideo files created on Windows sometimes exhibited a color shift or brightness shift in Windows applications,
and almost always exhibited a color shift or brightness shift in Macintosh applications.
This release corrects this problem.
2.4.8: 2006.01.20
Ignore 'HighQuality' flag for on-screen display:
v2.4.8.0: Because most displays cannot display images with 10-bit precision,
SheerVideo accepts pixel formats with 8-bit precision when outputting to a display.
However, some Sheer decoders did not always correctly detect whether the output is a display.
This release fixes this problem.
2.4.7: 2005.12.19
Sheer RGB[A] 10b|8b Renamed 10bf|8bf:
v2.4.7.5: The Sheer RGB[A] 10b and Sheer RGB[A] 8b codecs have been renamed to Sheer RGB[A] 10bf and Sheer RGB[A] 8bf, respectively,
to distinguish them from the upcoming Sheer RGB[A] 10bv codecs.
Sheer RGB 10b -> 'S210' AltiVec Optimization:
v2.4.7.4: AltiVec optimization has been added for the following decoding pathways:
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> 'S210'
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> full-range 'r210'
Sheer RGB 10b -> 'S10k' AltiVec Optimization:
v2.4.7.3: AltiVec optimization has been added for the following decoding pathways:
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> 'S10k'
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> full-range 'R10k'
Sheer RGB 10b <-> 'F210' AltiVec Optimization:
v2.4.7.2: AltiVec optimization has been added for the following encoding and decoding pathways:
- 'F210' -> Sheer RGB 10b p|i
- full-range 'r210' -> Sheer RGB 10b p|i
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> 'F210'
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> full-range 'r210'
Sheer RGB 10b <-> 'F10k' AltiVec Optimization in Reader:
v2.4.7.1: In the previous release, the AltiVec optimization for the Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> 'F10k' | full-range 'R10k' decoding path
was accidentally included only in SheerVideo Pro, and omitted from SheerVideo Reader.
This release adds the AltiVec-optimized version to the Reader as well.
Sheer RGB 10b <-> 'F10k' AltiVec Optimization:
v2.4.7.0: AltiVec optimization has been added for the following encoding and decoding pathways:
- 'F10k' -> Sheer RGB 10b p|i
- full-range 'R10k' -> Sheer RGB 10b p|i
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> 'F10k'
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b p|i -> full-range 'R10k'
2.4.6: 2005.12.17
Non-English Input Range Fix:
v2.4.6.4: The non-English versions of the RGB 10b Input Range radio buttons in the Sheer Settings dialog
have now been updated properly.
Updated SheerVideo Pro Usage:
v2.4.6.3: The SheerVideo Pro Usage Manual has been updated with a new section explaining the RGB 10b Input Range setting.
RGB 10bf & 10bv Pixel Formats:
v2.4.6.2: Because QuickTime does not pass the input data's image description extensions to the encoder,
nor the output data's image description extensions to the decoder,
the notion of using image descriptioins to distinguish between different subtypes of pixel formats is impractical.
For encoder input, we work around this problem by having the user (redundantly) specify this information in the Sheer Settings dialog box.
But for decoder output, no such workaround is possible, because QuickTime provides no way for the user to specify decoder settings.
For developers who want to unambiguously distinguish between full-range and video-range RGB 10b pixel formats,
SheerVideo now defines the following four fixed-range pixel formats:
- 'F10k' Full-range 'R10k'
- 'R10k' Full-range unless specified to be Video-range
- 'S10k' Video-range 'R10k'
- 'F210' Full-range 'r210'
- 'r210' Video-range unless specified to be Full-range
- 'S210' Video-range 'r210'
Support for these formats has been added to the Sheer,
Sheer RGB[A] 10b, Sheer RGB[A] 8b,
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4],
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4], and Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] codecs.
RGB 10b Input Range: Automatic:
v2.4.6.1: The user-specified input-range switch in the Sheer Settings dialog box
has been generalized to apply to both AJA's ('R10k') and Blackmagic Design's ('r210') RGB 10b pixel formats.
Also, to the existing choices of "Full-range" and "Video-range", a third choice, "Automatic", has been added.
In principle, the "Automatic" setting chooses between full-range and video-range according to
the QuickTime image description extension of the input video,
but since QuickTime does not pass this information in to the encoder,
SheerVideo chooses the default setting according to the input pixel format:
Full-range for AJA RGB 10b ('R10k'), and Video-range for BMD RGB 10b ('r210').
Blackmagic Design RGB 10bf ('r210'):
v2.4.6.0: In response to requests from users,
support for a video-range RGB 10-bit pixel format with the same bit-packing scheme as Blackmagic Design's RGB 10bv pixel format, 'r210',
has been added to the Sheer,
Sheer RGB[A] 10b, Sheer RGB[A] 8b,
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4],
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4], and Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] codecs.
This pixel format also honors the QuickTime image-description extension 'Rnge' used for AJA's 'R10k' pixel format.
In case of a missing 'Rnge' extension, however, whereas the default range for AJA's 'R10k' pixel format is Full range,
the default for BMD's 'r210' pixel format is Video range.
2.4.5: 2005.12.14
AJA RGB 10b Input Range:
v2.4.5.1: AJA distinguishes between full-range and video-range RGB 10b data
through a QuickTime image description extension, 'Rnge',
although QuickTime provides no mechanism for encoders to access this information.
To work around this problem, a switch has been added to the Sheer Settings dialog
to allow users to specify the input range.
Note that the input range specification in AJA's codec merely serves to label the data;
it does not affect how the data is interpreted.
In contrast, the Sheer RGB[A] 10b and Sheer RGB[A] 8b codecs are both defined to be full-range,
and automatically convert video-range input data to full-range.
AJA RGB 10bv ('R10k'):
v2.4.5.0: Support for AJA's RGB 10-bit video-range pixel format, 'R10k', has been added to the Sheer,
Sheer RGB[A] 10b, Sheer RGB[A] 8b,
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4],
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4], and Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] codecs.
2.4.4: 2005.12.13
Faster 'r210' Encoding:
v2.4.4.1: The Sheer RGB 10b encoders for Blackmagic Design's RGB 10-bit video-range pixel format, 'r210',
have been sped up by 20%.
Blackmagic Design RGB 10bv ('r210'):
v2.4.4.0: Support for Blackmagic Design's RGB 10-bit video-range pixel format, 'r210', has been added to the Sheer,
Sheer RGB[A] 10b, Sheer RGB[A] 8b,
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4],
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4], and Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] codecs.
2.4.3: 2005.12.12
AJA RGB 10bf ('R10k'):
v2.4.3.0: Support for AJA's RGB 10-bit full-range pixel format, 'R10k', has been added to the Sheer,
Sheer RGB[A] 10b, Sheer RGB[A] 8b,
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4],
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4], and Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] codecs.
2.4.2: 2005.11.30
Nonstandard Pixels Fix for Windows:
v2.4.2.2: The bug in the code that registers nonstandard pixel formats with QuickTime
has now been squashed for Windows as well.
Nonstandard Pixels in QT 7 for Mac:
v2.4.2.1: QuickTime 7 requires nonstandard pixel formats to be registered with CoreVideo as well as with QuickTime itself.
SheerVideo v2.4.2.1 does this for the Mac, so that SheerVideo can handle pixel formats 'v210', 'v410', and 'Y216'
in QuickTime 7 even when these are not defined by the application or any other loaded QuickTime component.
Nonstandard Pixels Fix for Mac:
v2.4.2.0: A bug had crept into the code that registers nonstandard pixel formats with QuickTime.
The bug has now been squashed for the Mac, so that SheerVideo can once again handle pixel formats 'v210', 'v410', and 'Y216'
even when these are not defined by the application or any other loaded QuickTime component.
2.4.1: 2005.11.15
Better Swedish:
v2.4.1.17: The Swedish localization of the Sheer codec user interface was improved
by a helpful Swedish expert user in exchange for a complimentary SheerVideo Pro license.
Installer Version Synchronization:
v2.4.1.16: The previous release had a version problem:
Many of its pieces were v2.4.1.12 instead of v2.4.1.15, causing installation problems.
This release synchronizes the parts.
Progress Item Name in Mac OS:
v2.4.1.15: The progress dialog in the SheerVideo installers for Mac OS X + 8|9 now displays the name of each item as it is installed,
to facilitate debugging.
This replaces the phase number introduced in v2.3.7, which has now been phased out.
Progress Item Count in Mac OS:
v2.4.1.14: The item count-down in the progress dialog in the SheerVideo installers for Mac OS X + 8|9 has been fixed.
The problem was that Mac GUI does not automatically refresh the display of a dialog text item when the text is changed.
Progress Bar Bytes in Mac OS:
v2.4.1.13: The progress bar in the SheerVideo installers for Mac OS X + 8|9 now shows the amount of data copied,
rather than the number of files copied.
Bundle Installer for Mac OS X:
v2.4.1.12: The SheerVideo installers for Mac OS X have been updated to install the new bundled components.
Localization for Western European Languages in Mac OS X:
v2.4.1.3..2.4.1.11: In Mac OS X, the Sheer codecs have now been localized for
German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian,
in addition to the original English.
The installer, registration, and updater applications are still English-only.
Codec Bundles in Mac OS X:
v2.4.1.2: In Mac OS X, the Sheer codecs are now built as bundles instead of self-contained files,
to facilitate localization.
Xcode Codecs in Mac OS X:
v2.4.1.1: In Mac OS X, the Sheer codecs are now built with Xcode instead of Metrowerks CodeWarrior,
in preparation for porting them to the upcoming Intel-based Macintosh.
Mach-O Codecs in Mac OS X:
v2.4.1.0: In Mac OS X, the Sheer codecs are now built as dynamically linked Mach-O components
instead of statically linked CFM components,
in preparation for porting them to Xcode.
This also facilitates smarter merging, cutting the SheerVideo codec files in OS X down to less than half their former size.
2.4.0: 2005.10.31
Generic Sheer Video Color Standards:
The generic Sheer encoder now lets you specify the video color standard in the Sheer Settings dialog box,
just as for the specific Sheer codecs. This feature was added in v2.4.0.11.
Updated On-line User Manual:
The sections of the on-line SheerVideo User Manual
concerning the Video Color Standard selection in the Sheer Settings dialog box
have been updated to reflect the changes in v2.4.0.
Updated Video Color Standard Heading:
The group label for the Sheer Settings choice between NTSC, PAL, HD, and HD 1035 was changed to Video Color Standard
in v2.4.0.9 to reflect its more-general applicability.
Added PayPal Purchase Option:
You can now buy SheerVideo through PayPal, in addition to VISA, MasterCard, Discover Card, American Express, and eCheck.
Updated Presets for Final Cut:
The Video Color Standard settings were change in the PAL SheerVideo Easy Setups for Final Cut Pro
to accommodate the NTSC|PAL Video Color Standard split introduced in the Sheer Settings.
Updated Presets for Final Cut:
The Video Color Standard settings were change in the PAL SheerVideo Easy Setups for Final Cut Pro
to accommodate the NTSC|PAL Video Color Standard split introduced in the Sheer Settings.
After Effects Trillions for Sheer Y'CbCr:
The After Effects Output Module Templates for the Sheer Y'CbCr codecs in 16-bit projects
were mistakenly set to Millions of Colors (+ Alpha) instead of Trillions of Colors (+ Alpha).
This was fixed in SheerVideo v2.4.0.6.
Updated Presets for After Effects:
The file names and template names of the SheerVideo Output Module Templates for After Effects
have been updated to reflect the friendlier Video Color Standard names.
In addition, the Video Color Standard settings were change in the PAL templates
to accommodate the NTSC|PAL Video Color Standard split introduced in the Sheer Settings.
Updated FAQ About SheerVideo: Formats:
The Formats section
of the FAQ About SheerVideo has been brought up to date.
It was a couple of years out of date.
Updated Usage Manual:
The installed SheerVideo Pro Usage Manual was updated to agree with the new Video Color Standard choices.
Video Color Standards NTSC, PAL, HD, HD 1035, unknown:
The names of the video standards in the Sheer Settings dialog box
have been changed in v2.4.0.1 from obscure ITU and SMPTE standards
to the friendlier terms NTSC, PAL, HD, and HD 1035,
where NTSC replaces ITU-R BT.601-4, HD replaces ITU-R BT.709-2, HD 1035 replaces SMPTE 240-M-1995,
and a separate choice has been added for PAL.
Video Color Standard Parameters:
The Sheer encoders now use the user-specified video standard
to set additional QuickTime color-space parameters that some applications otherwise set incorrectly,
which had resulted in brightness and saturation display shifts.
2.3.9: 2005.10.19
ARGB -> Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] Fix:
Version 2.3.9.2 of the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] codec accidentally disconnected ARGB input,
causing Final Cut Pro to issue the obscure error message "Codec error: The image frame size may not be supported."
This was fixed in v2.3.9.4.
Video Color Standard for Y'CbCr[A] -> Sheer Y'CbCr[A]:
Previously, the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] codecs only stored the Video Color Standard setting in the Sheer Settings dialog box for RGB[A] sources,
and ignored it for Y'CbCr[A] sources,
because Y'CbCr[A] sources are supposed to supply this information in mandatory QuickTime Image Description Extensions.
However, most applications do not propagate this information; nor does QuickTime itself;
nor does QuickTime provide any mechanism for the encoder to determine this information.
So SheerVideo now (as of v2.3.9.3) stores this information even for Y'CbCr sources.
ABGR, RGBA, BGRA, RGB, BGR for generic Sheer:
The generic Sheer codec now also directly outputs the ABGR, RGBA, BGRA, RGB, BGR pixel formats in Windows for Y'CbCr[A] Sheer formats,
bringing it up to the same level of functionality as the specific Sheer Y'CbCr[A] codecs.
This feature was added in v2.3.9.2.
Sheer RGB[A] 10b AVI Wiring:
A wiring problem was discovered in the Sheer RGB[A] 10b AVI codec,
so that in some situations it couldn't figure out how to get to or from an RGB[A] 16b pixel format,
causing some applications to issue misleading error messages such as "Out of memory".
This was fixed in v2.3.9.1.
ABGR, RGBA, BGRA, RGB, BGR for Sheer Y'CbCr[A]:
All Sheer Y'CbCr[A] codecs now directly input and output the ABGR, RGBA, BGRA, RGB, BGR pixel formats in Windows.
Prior to v2.3.9.0, the only RGB[A] 8b pixel format these codecs directly input and output was ARGB,
and they relied on QuickTime to shuffle the components for other RGB[A] 8b pixel formats, which required a second pass.
This substantially speeds up encoding and decoding of these other RGB[A] 8b pixel formats with Sheer Y'CbCr[A] codecs.
More importantly, it means that, even without QuickTime,
the Sheer Y'CbCr codecs can now provide and accept whatever RGB[A] 8b pixel formats an applicaton prefers,
thus fixing a number of problems with the SheerVideo AVI codecs
that had elicited obscure error messages such as "Unspecified AVI error".
2.3.8: 2005.09.26
Rainbow-Streak Bug Eradication:
The "rainbow-streak bug",
which added colorful diagonal streaks when decoding some progressive-mode Sheer videos in vector mode,
was fixed back in February 2005.
Unfortunately, when the fixes were merged back into the release code,
the buggy code snuck back in after the fixed code in some of the decoders.
Specifically, this affected the Mac G4 and G5 when decoding Sheer RGB[A] 10b p to 'b64a',
and when decoding Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4] p to 'v210' and 'v216'.
That buggy code has now been eradicated in SheerVideo v2.3.8.4.
New Final Cut Pro Easy Setups:
The original SheerVideo Easy Setups for Final Cut Pro broke in Final Cut Pro 5.0.2,
so that they could no longer be edited.
Accordingly, all the Easy Setups have now been recreated,
and many more have been added, in SheerVideo v2.3.8.3.
Quality Slider:
The standard QuickTime Compression Settings dialog box originally always displayed a Quality slider,
even for lossless codecs such as SheerVideo,
for which the slider is meaningless,
since the quality of a lossless encoder is always Perfect or Best.
Eventually QuickTime introduced a mechanism for encoders to remove the Quality slider.
The Sheer encoders, as of v2.3.8.2, now remove the Quality Slider from the standard Compression Settings dialog.
White Document Background:
The background color of the RTF documents in the SheerVideo installation folder was not set,
so the text was hard to read for users who had set their default background color to black or blue.
TextEdit only stores the background color if it's nonwhite,
so in v2.3.8.1 we have set the background color in all RTF documents to slightly off-white.
After Effects Manual:
There's now a complete SheerVideo User Manual for Adobe After Effects available on-line.
2.3.7: 2005.08.25
Installer Error -120 Fix:
An occasional error -120 (directory not found) in the Mac installers has been fixed.
Installer Traceback:
The error-reporting mechanism in the installers has been enhanced to report the installation phase causing an error.
Thread-Safe Transcoders:
The Sheer QT transcoders, though thread-safe, were not properly marked as such,
causing applications using them to run slower,
particularly on multiprocessor PCs under QuickTime 7.
This oversight was fixed in SheerVideo v2.3.7.1.
All SheerVideo components are thread-safe.
Faster Synchromy:
All SheerVideo paths involving a color space transformation have been sped up significantly.
On the current generation of processors, the speed-up ranges between 10% and 30% faster;
on the G4 and P4, between 5% and 15% faster.
2.3.6: 2005.08.05
AVI Precision:
The SheerVideo AVI beta decoders sometimes miscomputed the pixel precision and hence the length of a scanline,
causing pixels with 5-bit or 10-bit channels to be skewed. This bug was removed in v2.3.6.6.
The SheerVideo AVI beta codecs also sometimes set the bit count in the AVI header incorrectly,
which could confuse applications relying on this parameter.
This bug was removed in v2.3.6.5.
No BinHex in MacOSX Zip Installer:
The new Zip archives of the SheerVideo for Mac OS X Installer introduced in v2.3.5
included a BinHex encoding stage, which is not supported by Tiger.
The BinHex encoding was removed in v2.3.6.4.
AVI Alpha Allocation:
The SheerVideo AVI beta codecs were naively determining whether to allocate space for an alpha channel
on the basis of the bit count in the AVI header, which is unreliable.
This caused access violations, resulting in crashes and hangs.
This bug was removed in v2.3.6.3.
Windows QuickTime 7 Installer:
In QuickTime for Windows 7, currently in public beta, QuickTime is stored in the Program Files folder
instead of the System or System32 folder.
SheerVideo v2.3.6.2 installs in the new location for QuickTime 7 and beyond.
QuickTime Version Checking:
Verson 2.3.2 introduced a bug in the way the QuickTime version number is checked.
This was fixed in SheerVideo 2.3.6.1.
Local|User install in Mac OS X:
In Mac OS X, the SheerVideo Installers now offer a choice between installing SheerVideo
for all users of the system in the local library (/Library/QuickTime);
and in the current user's library (~/Library/QuickTime).
Note that a local installation requires administrator privileges.
2.3.5: 2005.08.02
AVI Instance Deallocation:
The Sheer AVI beta codecs had a memory leak due to an incorrect assumption
that applications properly dispose of the codec instances when done.
This was fixed in v2.3.5.7, so that the codecs now dispose of themselves when closed.
Package Version:
As of version 2.3.5.6, the name of the SheerVideo installer folder now contains the current version number,
to make it easier to distinguish different versions on disk.
Zip Archive for OS X:
Since StuffIt is no longer bundled with Mac OS X,
the Mac OS X downloads are also available as Zip archives,
beginning with version 2.3.5.5.
Inverted AVI Images:
In AVI, certain Y'CbCr[A] pixel formats imply that the image is upside-down,
with the origin at the lower left instead of at the upper left
- as does a positive (!) height for RGB[A] images.
The ability to encode and decode images upside-down was added to the Sheer Engine in v2.3.5.3,
and to the SheerVideo AVI wrapper in v2.3.5.4.
Array Boundary Checks:
To aid in testing SheerVideo AVI,
more array-boundary checks were added to the Sheer engine in version 2.3.5.2.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bw 4:2:2 Height:
In v2.3.1, a bug was introduced in the obsolete Sheer Y'CbCr 8bw 4:2:2 codec,
causing the image height to be miscalculated under some conditions.
Version 2.3.5.0 removed this bug.
2.3.4: 2005.07.20
Grouped After Effects Templates:
The SheerVideo Output Templates for After Effects are now grouped three to a file:
without alpha, with straight alpha (unmatted), and with premultiplied alpha (matted).
In addition, the "AE" suffix in the tmeplate names has been changed to "QT"
to distinguish them from the AVI versions.
This change was made in version 2.3.4.0.
AVI Y'CbCr Encode Buffer Size:
The SheerVideo AVI beta encoders allocated too small a buffer for Y'CbCr 4:2:2 input,
causing crashes and other problems.
This bug was fixed in version 2.3.4.1.
AVI Coding Setting:
In the SheerVideo AVI beta encoders, the progressive|interlaced setting was not properly saved.
This problem was fixed in version 2.3.4.3.
2.3.3: 2005.07.19
AVI FOURCC Reversal:
The four-character codes of AVI pixel formats not shared with QuickTime were inadvertently reversed
in byte order in the initial SheerVideo AVI beta,
causing SheerVideo AVI to reject many pixel formats which it can actually handle.
This was fixed in version 2.3.3.0.
Undamaged Windows Installer:
The SheerVideo QT for Windows Installer sometimes halted after installing the SheerVideo codecs
but before installing the After Effects Pro script,
issuing the spurious message "This installer appears to be damaged..."
This was fixed in version 2.3.3.1.
2.3.2: 2005.07.14
Sheer QT 'v210' Recompression Fix:
Due to a bug in QuickTime, recompressing Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 movies
to any other compressed format that accepts the 'v210' pixel format,
such as Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 itself or any other Sheer codec,
results in a solid green movie.
Thanks to Apple's QuickTime team, SheerVideo v2.3.2.3 contains a workaround for this bug,
effective only in QuickTime 7.
Sheer QT Decoder Speedup:
As of v2.3.2.6, the Sheer decoders now take advantage of a new feature in QuickTime 7.0
to speed up performance under some circumstances when playing through CoreVideo.
AVI Buffer Allocation:
Due to a nasty bug, all 6 SheerVideo AVI beta decoders allocated too small an image buffer
when the output image had no alpha channel, causing crashes and other problems.
This was fixed in version 2.3.2.7.
2.3.1: 2005.07.06
AVI Registry File Fix:
In the first SheerVideo AVI beta, Windows often failed to accept the registry file for the Sheer AVI codecs.
This problem was fixed in version 2.3.1.2.
FOURCC Capitalization:
Unlike QuickTime, Windows Media does not distinguish between upper-case and lower-case letter
in the four-character identifier codes for pixel formats.
The first version of the SheerVideo AVI beta did not properly take this case-blindness into account,
and as a result may have rejected many pixel formats which it can actually handle.
Release 2.3.1.4 fixes this problem.
2.3.0: 2005.06.13
SheerVideo AVI for Windows PC Beta:
This is the first beta release of SheerVideo AVI for Windows PC.
It contains complete codecs (compressors + decompressors) for all six current specific Sheer codecs.
2.2.7: 2005.05.22
Generic Sheer Error -110 Fix:
The generic Sheer decoder allocated too little space for the list of supported pixel formats,
which the decoder detects and returns with the error 'memAdrErr' (-110) for safety,
causing QuickTime Player to abort.
This bug was fixed in v2.2.7.6.
Easy Setups Description:
The "ReadMe.rtf" file in the "Extras:for Final Cut Pro:SheerVideo Easy Setups" folder
now includes a key explaining what the various setups are for.
Output Template File Names:
The names of a few of the Output Module Template files for using SheerVideo in Adobe After Effects
got garbled because they were too long.
This problem was fixed in v2.2.7.2.
Easy Setup File Names:
The names of many of the Easy Setup files for using SheerVideo in Apple Final Cut Pro
got garbled because they were too long.
This problem was fixed in v2.2.7.1.
After Effects Output Templates:
A set of Output Module Templates for Adobe After Effects and After Effects Pro
has been created and placed in the "Extras" folder in the SheerVideo Pro installation,
on both Mac and Windows PC.
Templates are included for 8-bit and 16-bit projects; for all 6 specific Sheer codecs;
for progressive and interlaced material; for SD and HD video color standards;
with straight alpha, premultiplied alpha, and no alpha.
2.2.6: 2005.05.20
After Effects Compatibility:
In After Effects, when exporting or outputting to Sheer Y'CbCr[A] codecs,
QuickTime 7.0 did the color conversion from RGB[A] itself,
rather than letting SheerVideo's more-accurate Synchromy color converter take care of it.
This release supplies a workaround for this problem.
2.2.5: 2005.05.11
Revised On-Line User Manual:
The on-line SheerVideo User Manual for QuickTime Player Pro has been thoroughly revised
to account for the new layout and feature mix of QuickTime 7.0.
Check it out!
Updated Installed Usage Manual:
QuickTime 7.0 fixed a whole bunch of critical bugs for SheerVideo.
The list of "Known Problems" in the SheerVideo Usage Manual included with the SheerVideo Installer
has now been updated to reflect these changes.
Y'CbCr Display Workaround:
QuickTime 7.0 no longer reports correctly whether an image buffer is offscreen -
information critical for real-time playback.
The previous release of SheerVideo introduced a workaround for this bug for Sheer RGB[A] playback;
This release also applies the workaround to Sheer Y'CbCr decoders, which the bug also affected in certain situations.
2.2.4: 2005.05.01
QuickTime 7.0 Compatibility:
This release fixes compatibility issues with QuickTime 7.0,
chiefly real-time playback of Sheer RGB[A] formats.
2.2.3: 2005.04.10
Final Cut Pro Easy Setups:
For real-time cuts-only editing of SheerVideo in Final Cut Pro,
an "Extras" folder has been added to the SheerVideo HD Pro for Mac installation
containing sets of Easy Setups with Presets for Capture and Sequence Settings
using SheerVideo for all standard SD and HD formats,
including sets for all formats supported by the AJA Kona 2 and Blackmagic Design DeckLink.
2.2.2: 2005.02.25
Overall Windows PC Speed-Up:
The recently overhauled Sheer engine has now been successfully ported to Windows PC,
resulting in a speed-up of 5 to 20% on all Windows platforms.
MMX optimization of direct pathways is still forthcoming.
Reader Installer for Windows PC:
This release finally adds an automatic installer for SheerVideo Reader for Windows PC,
which installs the SheerVideo codecs and the After Effects Pro 6 High-Precision Script.
An automatic updater is not yet included.
Rainbow-Streak Bug Fix:
In certain situations, progressive decoders on the G4 and G5
exhibited a diagonal "rainbow streaking" pattern in "Present Movie" mode.
Though strikingly beautiful, this effect was not under artistic control,
and was removed in Build 4 of this release.
2.2.1: 2005.02.09
Overall Mac Speed-Up:
The indirect (that is, involving pixel-format conversion)
encoding and decoding pathways in the Sheer Engine
have now also been completely overhauled,
resulting in a speed-up of 5 to 20% on all Macintosh platforms.
SheerVideo HD:
This release marks the unofficial introduction of SheerVideo HD for the Mac.
SheerVideo now offers full support for real-time High Definition on the Mac G5,
and can now encode or decode any supported uncompressed pixel format in real time,
whether RGB or Y'CbCr, 4:4:4 or 4:2:2, 10-bit or 8-bit.
2.2.0: 2005.01.12
General Mac Speed-Up of Direct Pathways:
The direct (that is, not involving pixel-format conversion)
encoding and decoding pathways in the Sheer Engine
have been completely overhauled in this release,
resulting in a speed-up of 5 to 20% on the G3, G4, and G5.
G5 Optimization:
This release finally adds G5-optimized versions for all direct pathways
paralleling the existing G4-optimized versions.
Some of our beta testers are reporting a 100% speed-up on the G5.
Much of this improvement is due to cache-management strategies
tuned to the G5 and to the preemptive operating-system environment in Mac OS X.
2.1.0: 2005.01.05
Pro Installer for Windows PC:
This release finally adds an automatic installer for SheerVideo Pro for Windows PC,
which installs the SheerVideo codecs and the After Effects Pro 6 High-Precision Script.
An automatic updater is not yet included.
Pro Registration for Windows PC:
This release also at last adds a registration for SheerVideo Pro for Windows PC,
to help protect the investment of Pro customers.
2.0.2: 2004.12.02
After Effects Pro 6 High-Precision Script:
Because many codecs falsely claim to support channels greater than 8 bits,
Adobe After Effects Pro assumes that every codec only supports 8-bit channels,
unless it is explicitly listed as supporting high-precision input or output in the After Effects Preferences file.
This release installs a script, "SheerVideo.jsx", in the After Effects Startup Scripts folder
which automatically lists the appropriate Sheer codecs as supporting high-precision channels.
2.0.1: 2004.10.25
Official version 2.0 Launch
2.0.0: 2004.10.24
Sheer Settings Dialog:
The Sheer Settings dialog has been redesigned.
In the Algorithm section, "Normal mode" has been renamed "One-way" for clarity.
Also in the Algorithm section, "G3" and "G4 (AltiVec)" have been renamed "Scalar" and "Vectorized" for cross-platform applicability.
In the Pixel Format Conversion section, the confusing "Allow destructive conversion" has been renamed to "Best".
Installer:
The About SheerVideo page in the installer has been updated to reflect the version 2.0 features.
Also, in Mac OS X, some of the dialogs in the installer were slightly too narrow, so some text was hidden;
This has been fixed in v2.0.0.
1.9.9: 2004.10.13
Hyperthreading Fix:
This version of SheerVideo no longer hangs or crashes on PCs with hyperthreading or multiple processors.
Autoupdater Fix:
The automatic updater for SheerVideo on the Mac now works again.
SheerVideo will automatically check whether a newer version is available on the web and offer to download it.
You can also launch Update SheerVideo manually to check for new versions,
and select whether you want the automatic updater to check daily, weekly, monthly, or never.
Synchromy Documentation:
There is now an in-depth illustrated explanation of Synchromy on-line at
http://www.bitjazz.com/en/products/synchromy/
In addition, the SheerVideo Usage manual, home page, and QuickTime Player manual now describe the Synchromy feature.
1.9.8: 2004.09.21
Video target for RGB source | Video source default:
In order for Synchromy to interconvert between RGB[A] and Y'CbCr[A] formats properly,
it needs to know the technical characteristics of the Y'CbCr[A] video to avoid information loss
through further conversion between different flavors of Y'CbCr.
Specifically, Synchromy needs to know which video standard the video complies with,
whether the video source when encoding Y'CbCr[A] to one of the Sheer RGB[A] codecs,
or the intended video target when encoding RGB[A] to one of the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] codecs.
You must provide this information by hand in the Sheer Settings dialog in both cases.
In v1.9.8β, SheerVideo currently supports the following three video standards:
-
ITU-R BT.601-4
- Composite NTSC (SMPTE 170-M-1994)
- Composite PAL (ITU-R BT.470-4)
- Digital 525 (SMPTE 125-M-1995, SMPTE 267-M-1995, SMPTE 259-M-1997)
- Digital 625 (ITU-R BT.656-3)
- 720x483 progressive 16:9 (SMPTE 293-M-1996)
-
ITU-R BT.709-2
- 1920x1080 HDTV (SMPTE 274-M-1995)
- 1280x720 HDTV (SMPTE 296-M-1997)
-
SMPTE 240-M-1995
- 1920x1035 HDTV (SMPTE 240-M-1995, SMPTE 260-M-1992)
- 1920x1080 HDTV interim (SMPTE 274-M-1995)
Nondestructive decoding:
The Sheer decoders are designed to be strictly nondestructive,
and try to prevent QuickTime from inadvertently losing image information
by accidentally choosing the wrong destination pixel format for the codec,
and thus reducing the sample precision, changing the chroma sampling,
or converting the color space without increasing the sample precision.
However, SheerVideo does permit destructive pixel-format conversion
for cases when the user needs this capability.
This capability is controlled by QuickTime's High Quality Mode checkbox.
By default, High Quality Mode is turned off, because lower quality usually implies greater speed.
To ensure that an open SheerVideo QuickTime movie, slide show, or image sequence
is decoded to a compatible pixel format for perfect-fidelity playback,
check the High Quality Mode checkbox.
In QuickTime Player, the High Quality Mode checkbox is found in the Quality Panel
of the Video Track in the Movie Properties window.
Note that, while checking the High Quality Enabled box prevents SheerVideo from converting to a lower-quality pixel format,
it does not prevent QuickTime or the application from doing its own conversion to a lower-quality pixel format.
In some cases, information loss is inevitable, such as when displaying 10-bit data to an 8-bit monitor,
editing 8-bit RGB in an 8-bit Y'CbCr editor or editing 8-bit Y'CbCr in an 8-bit editor,
or exporting 4:4:4 data to a 4:2:2 codec.
In such cases, SheerVideo's pixel-format conversion is generally of higher quality,
especially when converting between RGB and Y'CbCr, where the SheerVideo beta uses Synchromy technology.
'v210' QuickTime Bug Trapping:
When converting to or from the 'v210' (Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2) pixel format,
QuickTime computes the row width incorrectly and allocates too little memory for the image.
To avoid crashes, SheerVideo v1.9.8 detects this condition and returns error code -2034.
Error code -2034 means "Internal QuickTime Error."
Online Documentation:
A thorough, up-to-date, illustrated User Manual for SheerVideo in QuickTime Player Pro is available on-line at
http://www.bitjazz.com/en/support/sheervideo/user_manual/quicktime_player/
Check it out!
1.9.7: 2004.09.20
Y'CbCr[A] 10bv ↔ 8bv, 4:4:4[:4] ↔ 4:2:2[:4] conversion:
As of v1.9.7, the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4] codec can now input and output
all Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4:[4] pixel formats (10-bit 'r4fl', 'v410'),
and the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] can now input and output
all 10-bit Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4] pixel formats ('v210', 10-bit 'v216', 10-bit 'Y216').
In a few other specific cases, each Sheer Y'CbCr codec lacked support for certain individual Y'CbCr pixel formats.
All these gaps have now been filled in the beta, so that every Sheer Y'CbCr codec can now input and output every standard Y'CbCr[A] pixel format,
as well as every standard cross-platform RGB[A] pixel format.
RGB 8b|10 ↔ Y'CbCr[A] 8bv|10bv 4:2:2:[4]|4:4:4[:4] conversion:
This release adds input and output support for all standard Y'CbCr pixels -
including 10bv and 8bv, 4:4:4[:4] and 4:2:2[:4] -
to both the Sheer RGB[A] 8b and the Sheer RGB[A] 10b codecs.
Universal Interconversion:
With the additions in v1.9.7, every Sheer codec can now encode from and decode to essentially every standard pixel format. Specifically, all seven Sheer codecs
- Sheer
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b
- Sheer RGB[A] 8b
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4]
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4]
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4]
now all support all standard direct-color QuickTime pixel formats with at least 8 bits per component for both input and output:
- 10-bit 'b64a' (RGB[A] 16b)
- ARGB (RGB[A] 8b)
- 10-bit 'r4fl' (Y'CbCr 32bu 4:4:4[:4])
- 'v410' (Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4)
- 10-bit 'v216' (Y'CbCr 16bv 4:2:2)
- 10-bit 'Y216' (Y'CbCr 16bv 4:2:2)
- 'v210' (Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2)
- 'v408' (Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4:[4])
- 'r408' (Y'CbCr[A] 8bu 4:4:4:[4])
- '2vuy' (Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2:[4])
- 'yuvs' (Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2:[4])
In addition, the Sheer, Sheer RGB[A] 10b, and Sheer RGB[A] 8b codecs also support the following nonstandard pixel formats:
- 10-bit 'b48r' (RGB 16b)
- ABGR (RGB[A] 8b) [Windows PC only]
- RGBA (RGB[A] 8b) [Windows PC only]
- BGRA (RGB[A] 8b) [Windows PC only]
- RGB (RGB 8b) [Windows PC only]
- BGR (RGB 8b) [Windows PC only]
- B555 (RGB 5b) [Mac output only]
- L555 (RGB 5b) [Windows PC output only]
- L565 (RGB 5b) [Windows PC output only]
For backward compatibility, the generic Sheer codec also supports
the following obsolete wide-range video pixel format for both input and output:
- 'yuv2' (Y'CbCr 8bw 4:2:2)
Synchromy
The newly added support for Y'CbCr pixel formats in the Sheer RGB[A] codecs in v1.9.7
uses our patented Synchromy technology (US Patent 7,659,911),
as does all RGB[A] ↔ Y'CbCr[A] interconversion in SheerVideo.
Synchromy (formerly known as StickyColor) is more accurate than any other color conversion method,
and makes it possible for the first time to interconvert between certain RGB[A] and Y'CbCr[A] 4:4:4[:4] pixel formats
with absolutely no information loss.
In particular, this release enables the following three nondestructive workflows:
- Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] → Sheer RGB[A] 10b → Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]
- Sheer RGB[A] 10b → Y'CbCr[A] 12bv 4:4:4[:4] → Sheer RGB[A] 10b
- Sheer RGB[A] 8b → Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] → Sheer RGB[A] 8b
in addition to those available in earlier releases:
- RGB[A] 8b → Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] → RGB[A] 8b
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] → RGB[A] 12b → Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4]
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] → RGB[A] 9b → Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]
1.9.6: 2004.08.09
Integrated 10-Bit Codecs:
Release v1.9.6 of SheerVideo Pro integrates the Sheer 10-bit codecs with the Sheer 8-bit codecs
in a single package for easy installation and use.
The generic Sheer codec now supports all high-precision QuickTime pixel formats, and automatically chooses the appropriate 10-bit Sheer format when encoding high-precision source material.
-
Sheer
to let QuickTime automatically choose the appropriate Sheer pixel type
The following specific Sheer codecs are now available as part of the SheerVideo Pro:
-
Sheer RGB[A] 8b
for broadcast-quality scanned film and computer-generated imagery, of pixel format ARGB,
or, on Windows PC, ABGR, RGBA, BGRA, RGB, or BGR.
-
Sheer RGB[A] 10b
for studio-quality scanned film and computer-generated imagery, of pixel format 10-bit 'b64a' or 10-bit 'b48r'
-
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]
for compositing broadcast-quality digitized video, of pixel format 'v408' or 'r408'
-
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4]
for cutting and archiving broadcast-quality digitized video, of pixel format '2vuy', '2Vuy', or 'yuvs'
-
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4]
for compositing studio-quality digitized video, of pixel format 'v410' or 10-bit 'r4fl'
-
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4]
for cutting and archiving studio-quality digitized video, of pixel format 'v210', 10-bit 'v216', or 10-bit 'Y216'
The wide-range Sheer Y'CbCr 8bw 4:2:2 encoder,
corresponding to Apple's old uncompressed Component Video codec,
whose native pixel format is 'yuv2', has been retired.
However, the decoder will continue to be included in SheerVideo Pro and SheerVideo Reader.
If you need the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bw 4:2:2 encoder, please let us know.
Usage Manual:
The SheerVideo Pro Usage manuals have been updated to reflect the availability of the 10-bit Sheer codecs.
Public Preview:
Release v1.9.6 is a public preview of v2.0, which we intend to release very soon.
Please let us know immediately of any remaining compatibility issues!
Version 2 will require a new key, but everyone who has a valid version 1 license will be entitled to a free upgrade.
1.9.5: 2004.07.28
Alpha for Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4]:
v1.9.5β adds an alpha channel to the beta Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 codec,
accordingly renamed to Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:2:2[:4].
Y'CbCrA 10bv 4:2:2:4 pixel formats are in common use in video editing
in cases where storage space is critical or where chroma interpolation is not a problem,
and are supported by BlueFish444 and Targa 3000, among others.
Although QuickTime does not yet define a 10-bit Y'CbCrA 4:2:2:4 pixel format including alpha,
this Sheer codec can encode from and decode to a number of other pixel formats, currently including:
| ARGB | | (RGB[A] 8b) |
| 'b64a' | | (RGB[A] 16b) |
| 'v210' | | (Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4) |
| 'v216' | | (Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4) |
| 'Y216' | | (Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4) |
| 'r408' | | (Y'CbCr[A] 8bu 4:4:4[:4]) |
| '2vuy' | | (Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2) |
| 'yuvs' | | (Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2) |
Note that many of these paths are not yet vectorized for speed.
Because the chroma channels are undersampled in Y'CbCr[A] 4:2:2[:4] formats,
it is not possible to interconvert between them and any RGB[A] formats without any information loss.
Nevertheless, the RGB[A] ↔ Y'CbCr[A] color conversions in this and all Sheer codecs
are implemented using our revolutionary Synchromy technology,
which is more accurate than any other method.
1.9.4: 2004.07.19
Alpha for Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4]:
This release adds an alpha channel to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 codec,
accordingly renamed to Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:2:2[:4].
Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:2:2:4 pixel formats are in common use in video editing
in cases where storage space is critical or where chroma interpolation is not a problem,
and are supported by BlueFish444 and Targa 3000, among others.
Although QuickTime does not yet define an 8-bit Y'CbCrA 4:2:2:4 pixel format including alpha,
this Sheer codec can encode from and decode to a number of other pixel formats, currently including:
| ARGB | | (RGB[A] 8b) - β only |
| 'b64a' | | (RGB[A] 16b) - β only |
| 'v408' | | (Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]) - β only |
| 'r408' | | (Y'CbCr[A] 8bu 4:4:4[:4]) - β only |
| '2vuy' | | (Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2) |
| 'yuvs' | | (Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2) |
Note that many of these paths are not yet vectorized for speed.
Because the chroma channels are undersampled in Y'CbCr[A] 4:2:2[:4] formats,
it is not possible to interconvert between them and any RGB[A] formats without any information loss.
Nevertheless, the RGB[A] ↔ Y'CbCr[A] color conversions in this and all beta Sheer codecs
are implemented using our revolutionary Synchromy technology, which is more accurate than any other method.
Alpha Display in Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv & 10bv 4:4:4[:4]:
v1.9.4β also fixes subtle errors in alpha channel display in the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv and 10bv 4:4:4[:4] codecs.
1.9.3: 2004.06.30
Alpha for Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4]:
v1.9.3β adds an alpha channel to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 codec,
now renamed, appropriately, to Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4].
Although QuickTime does not yet define a 10-bit Y'CbCr pixel format including alpha,
this Sheer codec can encode from and decode to a number of other pixel formats, currently including:
| ARGB | | (RGB[A] 8b) |
| 'b64a' | | (RGB[A] 16b) |
| 'r4fl' | | (Y'CbCr[A] 32bu 4:4:4[:4]) |
| 'v410' | | (Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4) |
| 'v408' | | (Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]) |
| 'r408' | | (Y'CbCr[A] 8bu 4:4:4[:4]) |
| '2vuy' | | (Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2) |
Note that many of these paths are not yet vectorized for speed.
The Y'CbCr[A] color conversions are implemented using our revolutionary nondestructive Synchromy technology,
which converts 10-bit Y'CbCr[A] to 12-bit RGB[A] and back with absolutely no information loss.
This means that you can repeatedly edit 10-bit video using high-precision RGB tools
such as Adobe After Effects and Shake with no degradation or generational loss using the following workflow:
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] → RGB[A] 12b → Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4]
That is, any output Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] pixels which were untouched by editing in RGB[A] 12+b space
are perfectly preserved from the original Y'CbCr[A] 10bv 4:4:4[:4] pixels.
1.9.2: 2004.06.11
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv ↔ RGB[A] 9b Conversion:
v1.9.2β release adds 9-bit RGB[A] input and output, using the 16-bit 'b64a' pixel format, to both Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv codecs:
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]
- Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2
These paths are not yet vectorized for speed.
The Y'CbCr color conversions are implemented using our revolutionary nondestructive Synchromy technology,
which converts 8-bit RGB[A] to 9-bit Y'CbCr[A] and back with absolutely no information loss.
This means that you can repeatedly edit 8-bit video using high-precision RGB[A] tools
such as Adobe After Effects Pro and Shake with no degradation or generational loss using the following workflow:
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] → RGB[A] 9b → Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]
That is, any output Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] pixels which were untouched by editing in an RGB[A] space of 9 bits or greater
are perfectly preserved from the original Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] pixels.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv ↔ RGB 12b Conversion:
v1.9.2β also adds 12-bit RGB input and output, using the 16-bit 'b64a' pixel format, to both Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv codecs:
- Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2
- Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4
These paths are likewise not yet vectorized for speed.
The Y'CbCr color conversions are implemented using our revolutionary nondestructive Synchromy technology,
which converts 10-bit RGB[A] to 12-bit Y'CbCr[A] and back with absolutely no information loss.
This means that you can repeatedly edit 10-bit video using high-precision RGB tools
such as Adobe After Effects and Shake with no degradation or generational loss using the following workflow:
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 → RGB 12b → Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4
That is, any output Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] pixels which were untouched by editing in an RGB[A] space of 12 bits or greater
are perfectly preserved from the original Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] pixels.
Alpha display for Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bu|v 4:4:4:4 in Adobe After Effects:
In SheerVideo v1.9.1β, the alpha channel in the RGB[A] 8b display of the Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 was displayed incorrectly.
This bug, which showed up mainly when importing Sheer Y'CbCrA 8bv 4:4:4:4 into Adobe After Effects,
has been fixed in SheerVideo v1.9.2β.
1.9.1: 2004.06.02
Sheer Y'CbCr ↔ RGB 8b Conversion:
v1.9.1β adds RGB 8b output to the Sheer Y'CbCr codecs.
All four Sheer Y'CbCr video-range codecs now input and output RGB 8b:
- Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2
- Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4]
- Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2
- Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4
but these paths are not yet vectorized, so in most cases they won't run in real time.
Synchromy nondestructive RGB 8b → Sheer Y'CbCr 10b → RGB 8b conversion:
Version 1.9.1β of SheerVideo incorporates our revolutionary Synchromy technology
in all RGB 8b ↔ Y'CbCr conversion.
Synchromy makes conversion between RGB (film and CGI) formats and Y'CbCr (video) formats
more accurate than ever before possible.
In particular, you can now use SheerVideo in the workflow
(Sheer) RGB 8b → Sheer Y'CbCr 10b → (Sheer) RGB 8b
with absolutely no information loss:
Any output RGB 8b pixels which were untouched by editing in Y'CbCr 10b space
are perfectly preserved from the original RGB 8b pixels.
For more information, see our recent press release.
Hyperthreading:
The bug that caused QuickTime to hang when displaying SheerVideo under hyperthreading has mostly been fixed.
You can now play and scrub SheerVideo tracks under hyperthreading.
The only known remaining problem occurs when looping on Sheer Y'CbCr tracks.
1.9.0: 2004.04.19
RGB[A] 8b → Sheer Y'CbCr Conversion:
For historical reasons, QuickTime requires all video encoders to accept RGB[A] 8b input -
even lossless Y'CbCr codecs, where RGB input makes no sense.
Accordingly, in v1.9.0β all the Sheer Y'CbCr codecs now support color-space conversion for RGB[A] 8b on input.
Note that the RGB[A] 8b → Sheer Y'CbCr conversion is not yet optimized, so don't expect it to work in real time.
The RGB ↔ Y'CbCr color transform is inherently lossy,
so you must use Normal mode and Allow destructive conversion for all Sheer Y'CbCr codecs
unless you know that your application doesn't require RGB encoding support.
Preview Images:
Now that the beta Sheer Y'CbCr codecs support RGB[A] 8b input,
QuickTime can correctly display the Preview image in the Compression Settings dialog,
which requires RGB encoding support.
'r408' ↔ Sheer Y'CbCr Conversion:
In v1.9.0β, all four Sheer Y'CbCr video-range codecs now support Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] ('r408') input and output.
This code is not yet vectorized.
Note that this conversion involves inherently destructive precision reduction on decoding from Sheer 10bv,
and involves inherently destructive chroma subsampling on encoding to Sheer 4:2:2.
Accordingly, you must use Normal mode and Allow destructive conversion
when encoding 'r408' to Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv or 10bv 4:2:2.
Final Cut Pro with Sheer Y'CbCr:
In v1.9.0β, Final Cut Pro now works properly with all four Sheer Y'CbCr video-range codecs
for import, export, and Yuv rendering.
'r4fl' ↔ Sheer Y'CbCr Conversion:
v1.9.0β adds support for 'r4fl' input and output
to Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4, and Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2.
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 doesn't yet.
This code is not yet vectorized.
Final Cut Pro High-Precision Yuv Rendering:
In v1.9.0β, Final Cut Pro can now do high-precision Yuv rendering
using the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4, and Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 codecs.
'2vuy' Input & Output:
v1.9.0β now supports '2vuy' input and output for Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2, and Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 doesn't yet.
Note that this involves inherently destructive precision reduction on decoding from Sheer 10bv,
and involves inherently destructive chroma subsampling on decoding from Sheer 4:4:4[:4].
This code is vectorized on the Mac, so it should be plenty fast.
Final Cut Pro RT Extreme:
If Final Cut Pro could accept third-party real-time codecs, it would now be able to use
Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4], Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2, and Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 for RT Extreme.
1.4.0: 2004.04.13
Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4 ↔ 4:2:2 Conversion:
We have added chroma subsampling and supersampling to the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv codecs.
Thus the Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] ('v408','r408') codec
can now encode and display video in Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 ('2vuy') pixel format,
and the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 ('2vuy','yuvs') codec
can now encode and decode video in Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] ('v408','r408') pixel formats.
Note that encoding Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] to Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 is an inherently destructive operation,
because it throws away half the chroma information.
Therefore you must Allow destructive conversion and turn off Self-check mode to enable this conversion.
Encoding Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 to Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4], in contrast, is nondestructive.
The addition of this feature means that these two codecs are almost ready
to work with RT Extreme in Final Cut Pro.
All that remains to be done [we wish] is the addition of RGB ↔ Y'CbCr conversion,
which we are currently working on.
1.3.9: 2004.04.01
5-bit display for Sheer RGB[A] 8b, 10b:
This release adds 5-bit output to the Sheer RGB[A] 8b and beta Sheer RGB[A] 10b codecs.
Five-bit color channels are packed into 16-bit pixels yielding to "Thousands of Colors".
This feature permits even faster display - albeit at lower color precision.
It also permits display at larger resolutions on systems that have too little video RAM to display 32-bit pixels at high resolution.
Specifically, the Sheer RGB[A] 8b and 10b decoders now support the following output pixel format on the Macintosh:
and the following output formats on Windows PC:
| L555 | | (RGB[A] 5b) |
| L565 | | (RGB[A] 5b) |
1.3.8: 2004.03.18
Dual Processor Bug Fix:
One of the component instance variables in the Sheer decoders should have been a thread variable.
This bug sometimes caused applications on dual-processor Windows PC systems
to hang when displaying SheerVideo movies.
This is fixed in v1.3.8.
Y'CbCr 4:2:2 8bv ↔ 10bv conversion:
In v1.3.8β, Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 and the generic Sheer 8b codec can now handle
the corresponding high-precision Y'CbCr 10bv and 16bv 4:2:2 pixel formats ('v210','v216','Y216') for input and output,
and Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 can now handle
the corresponding standard-precision pixel formats ('2vuy','yuvs') for input as well as output.
Note that reducing the pixel-component precision is an inherently destructive conversion process,
which SheerVideo ordinarily tries to prevent.
So whenever you want to use SheerVideo to down-convert,
for example from a 16-bit format such as Y'CbCr 16bv 4:2:2 ('v216') to Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2
or from a 10-bit format such as Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 ('v210') to Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2,
you must Allow destructive conversion.
In addition, in case reducing the precision results in any actual information loss, Self-check mode must be turned off.
1.3.7: 2004.03.15
Adobe After Effects Pro for Windows:
v1.3.7β of the SheerVideo 10b Pro beta for Windows fixes a byte-ordering compatibility issue
between the Sheer RGB[A] 10b codec and Adobe After Effects Professional for Windows for 10-bit import and rendering.
Version 1.3.6β did not fix this correctly.
Sheer Y'CbCr 4:4:4 8bv ↔ 10bv conversion:
In v1.3.7β, Sheer Y'CbCr[A] 8bv 4:4:4[:4] can now handle the corresponding high-precision ('v410') pixel format for input and output,
and Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 can now handle the corresponding standard-precision ('v408') pixel format for input as well as output.
Note that when down-converting from Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 ('v410') to Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:4:4,
you must Allow destructive conversion, and, if the actual data is 10 bits per component,
Self-check mode must be turned off.
The same applies when down-converting from RGB[A] 10b to Sheer RGB[A] 8b,
or, analogously, from RGB[A] 16b to Sheer RGB[A] 10b or 8b.
Precision conversion for generic Sheer codec:
In v1.3.7β, the generic Sheer 8b codec now supports high-precision RGB[A] and Y'CbCr 4:4:4 input and output as well.
As in the specific codecs, when encoding to reduced precision, Allow destructive conversion must be turned on,
and Self-check mode must be turned off.
1.3.6: 2004.03.10
Adobe After Effects Professional for Windows:
v1.3.6β of the SheerVideo 10b Pro beta for Windows fixes a byte-ordering compatibility issue
between the Sheer RGB[A] 10b codec and Adobe After Effects Professional for Windows for 10-bit import and rendering.
Sheer RGB[A] 8b ↔ 10b Conversion
In the 1.3.6. beta, Sheer RGB[A] 8b can now handle high-precision ('b64a','b48r') pixel formats for input and output,
and Sheer RGB[A] 10b can now handle standard-precision (ARGB,ABGR,RGBA,BGRA,RGB,BGR) formats for input as well as output.
Allow destructive conversion:
The Sheer encoders are designed to be strictly nondestructive, and attempt to prevent inadvertent image degradation through accidentally choosing the wrong codec. For those occasions when you need to convert to a different pixel format entailing potential image information loss, the Sheer Settings dialog now offers a switch
Pixel Format Conversion:
- Strictly nondestructive
- Allow destructive conversion
You must allow destructive conversion to encode from RGB[A] 16b pixel formats ('b64a','b48r') to Sheer RGB[A] 10b or 8b. In addition, Self-check mode must be turned off if the actual data precision is greater than the Sheer representation.
For example, to encode 10-bit Cineon to Sheer RGB[A] 10b, self-check mode can be turned on because this is guaranteed to be nondestructive. But QuickTime represents 10-bit Cineon images with 16-bit pixel formats ('b64a','b48r'), and the Sheer RGB[A] 10b codec has no way of knowing that the data is actually only 10 bits, so 'Allow destructive conversion' must be turned on.
Currently, this switch is only implemented for the RGB[A] 10b and 8b codecs. Over the next few weeks, we will be adding precision conversion to the Y'CbCr[A] 10bv and 8bv 4:4:4[:4] and 4:2:2[:4] codecs as well, followed by RGB ↔ Y'CbCr and 4:4:2 ↔ 4:2:2 interconversion.
1.3.5: 2004.02.26
Adobe After Effects Professional Support:
v1.3.5β of the SheerVideo 10b Pro beta adds support for 10-bit import and rendering
in Adobe After Effects Professional using the Sheer RGB[A] 10b codec.
For this release you have to edit your After Effects Preferences file,
but we'll automate that soon, and the next release of After Effects Pro will bless the codec automatically.
Unaligned row display bug in 10-bit AltiVec codecs:
A bug in the 10-bit AltiVec-optimized Sheer codecs caused weird display artifacts when the scanlines weren't block-aligned.
Version 1.3.5β fixes this.
AltiVec Display for Misaligned Rows:
When successive scanlines differ in their block alignment, the Sheer codecs fall back to using slower, unvectorized code.
The Interlaced decoding algorithm has now been generalized
so that the Sheer decoders can use fast vectorized code even when scanlines are misaligned.
1.3.4: 2004.02.22
TARGA Ciné YUV8 & 10-bit YUV16:
Version 1.3.4 adds support for two new pixel formats:
- TARGA Ciné YUV8 ('2Vuy') in the Sheer Y'CbCr 8bv 4:2:2 codec
- TARGA Ciné YUV16 ('Y216') in the beta Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 codec
The 'Y216' path in the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 codec is not yet vectorized.
A separate uncompressed 'Y216' decoder is provided for fast 8-bit display of 'Y216' files
for those without Cinéwave hardware.
1.3.3: 2004.02.17
Odd 4:2:2 Widths:
In v1.3.3, we removed a restriction requiring Y'CbCr 4:2:2 images to have a width that is an even number of (luma) pixels.
The restriction had been added in v1.2 in accordance with Apple's developer documentation,
but users working outside TV often want odd widths.
Fields:
In videos lacking the required field description information,
the Sheer codecs added a field descriptor based on the Progressive|Interlaced coding mode selected,
if any, in the Sheer Settings dialog.
Version 1.3.3 no longer does this, as it was causing fields to invert in some cases.
Note that the Progressive coding mode can be used on interlaced video,
and the Interlaced coding mode can be used for progressive video.
1.3.2: 2004.02.15
Faster 8-bit AltiVec Encoders:
The AltiVec versions of all 8-bit Sheer encoders have been sped up by an average of 10%.
1.3.1: 2004.02.13
AltiVec Sheer 10b:
v1.3.1β adds AltiVec support for all the 10-bit Sheer codecs,
including the 8-bit display decoders,
and we're very happy to report that these 10-bit Sheer codecs are every bit as fast as their 8-bit counterparts,
making it possible to do 10-bit HD in real time on a high-end Mac.
We eased up a little on the compression power in order to achieve this speed,
so please check it out and let us know how you feel about the speed:power balance.
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 and 4:2:2
As in the first beta release, this 10-bit SheerVideo beta contains QuickTime encoders, transcoders, and decoders
for one Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 pixel format ('v410') and two Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 pixel formats ('v210' and 10-bit 'v216').
Note that Apple has now added support for the 'v210' pixel format,
listed under QuickTime video compressors as "Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2", as part of Final Cut Pro 4.
Packaging, Installation, & Price
For debugging purposes, this beta release is still manually installed as separate encoder, decoder, and transcoder
components for each format. We haven't yet decided on pricing for the 10-bit versus 8-bit codecs, and would
like to hear from you on this issue. Note that beta testers get a discount, and registered SheerVideo Pro users will get a free upgrade.
1.3.0: 2004.02.10
Sheer RGB[A] 10b for Windows PC:
v1.3.0β introduces the Windows PC edition of the Sheer RGB[A] 10b codec.
1.2.9: 2004.02.09
Sheer RGB[A] 10b for Mac:
v1.2.9β introduces the Mac edition of the Sheer RGB[A] 10b codec.
1.2.8: 2004.02.04
Gamma:
Different video standards have different gamma values.
For example, the standard gamma value for Mac RGB displays is 1.8,
while PC displays often have a gamma level of 2.5.
For DV and other standard-definition video formats, the gamma is fixed at 2.2.
The Sheer codecs never change the gamma level of the image,
because gamma correction is an inherently destructive process.
But this version of SheerVideo adds gamma tracking,
so that the Sheer codecs can pass the gamma level on to QuickTime or the application,
which can then make the appropriate correction where necessary.
1.2.7: 2004.02.02
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 and 4:2:2 for Windows PC:
In v1.2.7β, the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 and SheerY'CbC4 10bv 4:2:2 codecs have been ported to the Windows PC platform.
For those lacking hardware support for the corresponding pixel formats,
the 'v410', 'v216', and 'v210' codecs have also been ported.
1.2.6: 2004.01.28
Blackmagic 8-bit ('2Vuy'):
For historical reasons, Blackmagic's codecs call the '2vuy' pixel format '2Vuy'.
SheerVideo now explicitly supports this alternate name.
1.2.5: 2004.01.25
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 and 4:2:2 for AltiVec:
v1.2.5β adds G4-optimized versions of the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 codec for encoding from and decoding to 'v410',
and of the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 codec for encoding from and decoding to the 'v216' and 'v210' pixel formats.
1.2.4: 2003.12.21
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 ('v210') for Mac:
v1.2.4β adds support for input and output of the 'v210' pixel format to the Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 codec,
including both a progressive version and an interlaced version. .
In the 'v210' format, six luma pixels and three chroma pixels are stored in four 32-bit words.
This makes the program much more complicated than for the 'v216' format,
but it's worth it because 'v210' only has two thirds the data rate of 'v216'.
An uncompressed 'v210' encoder and decoder are also included in this release
for those without hardware support for this pixel format,
since QuickTime itself does not yet suppor 'v210'.
1.2.3: 2003.12.02
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 ('v216') for Mac:
v1.2.3β adds a Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:2:2 encoder, decoder, and transcoder for 10-bit 'v216' image data,
offering both progressive and interlaced algorithms.
Note that the 'v216' pixel format can store up to 16 bits per channel, but the Sheer codec only handles 10 bits.
We also include an uncompressed 'v216' encoder and decoder in this release
for those without hardware support for the 'v216' pixel format,
which is not yet supported by QuickTime itself.
1.2.2: 2003.11.13
Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 ('v410') for Mac:
v1.2.2β adds a Sheer Y'CbCr 10bv 4:4:4 encoder, decoder, and transcoder for 10-bit 'v410' image data,
with both progressive and interlaced algorithms.
Note that the 'v410' pixel format can store up to 16 bits per channel, but the Sheer codec only handles 10 bits.
An uncompressed 'v410' encoder and decoder are also included in this release
for those without hardware support for this pixel format,
since QuickTime itself does not yet support 'v410'.
1.2.1: 2003.10.27
Integrated Windows PC Codecs:
All the encoders, decoders, and transcoders are now bundled into a single package in the Windows PC edition of SheerVideo,
just as they are in the Mac edition.
1.2.0: 2003.10.10
SheerVideo for Windows PC:
The first Windows PC edition of SheerVideo is now available.
This release requires manual installation of individual QuickTime components.
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