<p>You don't need a 64bit codec to use it in 64bit Software like VirtualDub or After Effects, a 32bit codec will work just fine.
For intermediate codecs I generally use either a QuickTime with <code>PhotoJPEG</code> compression or <code>Animation</code> like you suggested yourself. The latter is lossless and produces fairly big files, the former is lossy just like JPEG but offers visually lossless compression with a reasonable size and works very well in every software that supports QuickTime video.</p>

<p>Another alternative would be a <code>JPEG2000</code> image sequence which can be be either lossless or lossy, though its a bit less fun to work with as you end up with thousands of files in a folder, though there are commercial <code>JPEG2000</code> codecs out there that are 64bit native and integrate into Windows.</p>

<p>Another good (open source) alternative is <a href="http://www.videohelp.com/tools/Ut-Video-Codec-Suite" rel="nofollow">Ut Video</a>. It also features a native 64bit version of the codec and integrates into Windows aswell. It's completely lossless but produces files with reasonable size.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-16T16:58:12.840Z
Thank you. I pretty much ended up settling with `ffmpeg` encoding into video frames using the `qtrle` codec and placing them under `.mov` files. In my case generated about 120Mb per minute, which I think is quite suitable since After Effects does understand that video codec.
Jesús Zazueta
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-16T22:11:26.410Z
Bare in mind that RLE codecs are very inefficent. If you want lossless go with UT video, the compression ratio and decoding performance is a ton better.
timonsku
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-13T12:36:04.793Z
2014-06-13T12:36:04.793Z
timonsku
<p>I'm currently editing some video screen capture recordings I did under Linux using recordMyDesktop (basically OGG Theora video files).</p>

<p>Since there's currently no way to import Theora video into After Effects CC, I first need to transcode the video files into an intermediate format. I first tried with the Huffyuv and Lagarith losless codecs, but the file sizes came up too big.</p>

<p>I also tried transcoding to MP4 using ffmpeg with mixed results. It seems that After effects only likes a particular kind of MP4 encoded videos which I have yet to find. In my case, the footage would show intermittent "video offline" frames, which is undesirable.</p>

<p>The My ideal codec would be something that:</p>

<ul>
<li>Uses screen capture specific compression.</li>
<li>Can be enumerated as a 64bit VFW codec inside Virtualdub 64.</li>
<li>Runs in 64 bit mode (since I need to decode and edit inside After Effects).</li>
<li>It's free (I'd pay for one, but first I'd like to exhaust my options).</li>
</ul>

<p>Finally, I tried looking for VFW compatible screen capture codecs and here's what I found:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>TSCC codec - TechSmith: Not free. Free version does not allow me to encode video using Virtualdub. I think this one can run with 64-bit applications.</p></li>
<li><p>inno Screen Capture Codec(iSCC): Not free. Don't know if runs in 64-bit mode.</p></li>
<li><p>MSU Screen Capture Lossless Codec: Free. Compresses files fairly nice. I think it kind of messes with the framerate of the video. Unfortunately, I didn't find a 64-bit build of the codec, so the 32-bit codec encoded files get rejected by After Effects :(.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I also read about using ffmpeg to encode to Quicktime mov with an animation codec here <a href="https://video.stackexchange.com/a/8315/6059">https://video.stackexchange.com/a/8315/6059</a>. So I'll give that a try. </p>

<p>So has anyone else done something like this?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<after-effects><codec><screen-casting>
Are there any recent 64-bit VFW screen capture codecs out there?
Jesús Zazueta
# Are there any recent 64-bit VFW screen capture codecs out there?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-06-12)

I'm currently editing some video screen capture recordings I did under Linux using recordMyDesktop (basically OGG Theora video files).

Since there's currently no way to import Theora video into After Effects CC, I first need to transcode the video files into an intermediate format. I first tried with the Huffyuv and Lagarith losless codecs, but the file sizes came up too big.

I also tried transcoding to MP4 using ffmpeg with mixed results. It seems that After effects only likes a particular kind of MP4 encoded videos which I have yet to find. In my case, the footage would show intermittent "video offline" frames, which is undesirable.

The My ideal codec would be something that:

* Uses screen capture specific compression.
* Can be enumerated as a 64bit VFW codec inside Virtualdub 64.
* Runs in 64 bit mode (since I need to decode and edit inside After Effects).
* It's free (I'd pay for one, but first I'd like to exhaust my options).

Finally, I tried looking for VFW compatible screen capture codecs and here's what I found:

* TSCC codec - TechSmith: Not free. Free version does not allow me to encode video using Virtualdub. I think this one can run with 64-bit applications.
* inno Screen Capture Codec(iSCC): Not free. Don't know if runs in 64-bit mode.
* MSU Screen Capture Lossless Codec: Free. Compresses files fairly nice. I think it kind of messes with the framerate of the video. Unfortunately, I didn't find a 64-bit build of the codec, so the 32-bit codec encoded files get rejected by After Effects :(.

I also read about using ffmpeg to encode to Quicktime mov with an animation codec here <https://video.stackexchange.com/a/8315/6059>. So I'll give that a try.

So has anyone else done something like this?

Thanks!

**Tags:** after-effects, codec, screen-casting


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-06-13. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

You don't need a 64bit codec to use it in 64bit Software like VirtualDub or After Effects, a 32bit codec will work just fine.
For intermediate codecs I generally use either a QuickTime with `PhotoJPEG` compression or `Animation` like you suggested yourself. The latter is lossless and produces fairly big files, the former is lossy just like JPEG but offers visually lossless compression with a reasonable size and works very well in every software that supports QuickTime video.

Another alternative would be a `JPEG2000` image sequence which can be be either lossless or lossy, though its a bit less fun to work with as you end up with thousands of files in a folder, though there are commercial `JPEG2000` codecs out there that are 64bit native and integrate into Windows.

Another good (open source) alternative is [Ut Video](http://www.videohelp.com/tools/Ut-Video-Codec-Suite). It also features a native 64bit version of the codec and integrates into Windows aswell. It's completely lossless but produces files with reasonable size.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you. I pretty much ended up settling with `ffmpeg` encoding into video frames using the `qtrle` codec and placing them under `.mov` files. In my case generated about 120Mb per minute, which I think is quite suitable since After Effects does understand that video codec.  
> **username_1**: Bare in mind that RLE codecs are very inefficent. If you want lossless go with UT video, the compression ratio and decoding performance is a ton better.  

---

