Exporting to .MOV - and- Where / What is the Configure Encoder tool?

[p nelson]

OpenToonz 1.2.1  ,  Windows 7

I've been experimenting with outputting my animations to video files.   I've successfully output to .AVI but in the documentation PDF it says

Note: To be able to export AVI format with Xvid codec, you have to deactivate the Display encoding status option

available in the Other Options > Encoder page of the Configure Encoder tool.

... so does that mean it defaults to a different Codec on my PC?  I didn't make or change any settings in the Configuration Encoder tool, mainly because I've never heard of it.  Where IS the Configure Encoder tool?    That's only reference to the string "Configure Encoder tool" in the whole PDF file.

Also when I tried to output to .MOV I got a totally black video ( but no error message! ).   My animation is black lines on a white background).   What's up with this?

Thanks in advance.

[joshua shute]

the white background of the viewer is just alpha so if you render in a format that supports alpha channels(mov does), all of that white will become purely transparent pixels after rendering and many video players display transparent pixels as black. that could be your problem. but if by "white background", you mean you added a new column of white to fill your background and still have all black after rendering, then there's some other issue at play here.

I wish i could be of more help on these topics but I am mac user and only have the ffmpeg/mp4 option to work with.

[Rodney]

For those looking in, here's the general reference @p nelson is referring to:

http://opentoonz.readthedocs.io/en/latest/rendering_the_animation.html#choosing-the-output-settings

[Rodney]

The Configuration Encoder Tool can be found via the Options button on Output Settings panel.

This is where each image/movie format has specific settings pertaining to that format; to include codecs (if available).

In the distant past when MOV format was a going concern there were a lot of codecs for the MOV format.

Many of those have faded into obscurity.

Of interest, the MP4 format/container was created on the basis of the MOV format/container.

Clicking on Options for AVI for me crashes OpenToonz... so... buyer beware!

Added:  The codecs listed in the dropdown will depend on what codecs you have installed on your operating system.

For instance, I have some Techsmith codecs that came with a program called Camtasia.

The problem with using odd codecs though is that those viewing the video need to also have that codec installed.

[Rodney]

(This is only tangentially related to the topic but addresses the underlying issue of why some users cannot use the MOV format at all)

In chatting via Discord I came across someone that was able to use MOV files with Win10 with no issue.

Turns out we all can.

There is a lot of drama behind the MOV format and I'll skip that and get tot the point

Those interested in the story can read up on what happened online.

Bottom line:  In order to use the MOV and 3GP formats Apple's Quicktime needs to be installed.

As the Quicktime player on WIndows is said to have security vulnerabilities it may be appropriate to install quicktime but not the player.

This is done by using the Custom option during install and simply turning off the option to install the player.

Here's the linke to Apple's Quicktime download page:

Warning:  Quicktime Pro users should record and backup their activation code before installing newer versions of Quicktime as the install will invalidate the previous Quicktime Pro activation.  

Quicktime Download Link:  https://support.apple.com/kb/DL837?locale=en_US

[Jane Eyre]

Strangely, having QuickTime does not enable the .mov format on a mac.