<p>I doubt Adobe Media Encoder is rewrapping the video stream.</p>

<p>To copy the data losslessly from a Type 1 to Type 2 DV-AVI or to MOV, use <a href="https://ffmpeg.org/download.html" rel="nofollow">ffmpeg</a>, a free command-line tool, like so</p>

<pre><code>ffmpeg -i input.avi -c copy -map 0 -video_track_timescale 25 output.mov
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-05T12:19:08.957Z
You can tell if it's re-wrapping by how long it takes. If it's re-wrapping it should be lightning fast, taking very little time at all. If it chugs through them it's probably transcoding.
stib
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-07T21:00:00.500Z
Unfortunately that command gave the error `FATAL error, file duration too long for timebase, this file will not be playable with quicktime. Choose a different timebase or a different container format`. It did create a file with an identical filesize to the original, though, but no applications were able to open it.
TheHvidsten
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-08T06:00:10.433Z
Please paste the console readout of the ffmpeg command.
Gyan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-10T11:33:34.773Z
Here's everything that was output when I used the command you provided: http://pastebin.com/CKM7034A
TheHvidsten
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-10T11:52:35.213Z
Command edited.
Gyan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-11T13:40:58.453Z
That extra option did at least remove the error message, and the resulting file was closer in filesize to the original than the file exporter via Adobe Media Encoder. Because it uses the `-c copy` option, which only copies the video track without any transcoding, I conclude that this has done exactly what I asked for. Thanks :)
TheHvidsten
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-13T20:13:21.327Z
Even though the command says `-c copy` I don't think it copies it losslessly as I first thought. Putting the original video and the copied video in After Effects and setting the topmost layer to "difference" blending mode, the resulting composite isn't all black, but has grey areas all over. This could only happen if there are any actual differences between the videos, which suggests that the video hasn't been copied correctly.
TheHvidsten
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-13T20:56:47.863Z
Nope, there's no transcoding involved with `copy`. This is probably a color range flag issue. Check the scopes in Color Finesse or the like for max and min values in the two clips. Also check for frame sync between the two clips and the pixel aspect ratio.
Gyan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-13T21:19:33.337Z
I've no idea how to do any of that. I found another solution to get the software to open AVI files containing DV footage, though. By opening the AVI file in Quicktime Pro and saving the file as a Reference Movie, the other software reads the reference file just fine, which means it really reads the video from the AVI file.
TheHvidsten
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-01T16:26:59.557Z
2016-03-10T11:51:15.857Z
2016-03-10T11:51:15.857Z
Gyan
<p>I have a bunch of AVI files containing captured DV footage (Microsoft DV, as that is what is captured through Adobe Premiere on Windows).
These now need to be converted to Quicktime DV to work with some other software package.
When I Export as Quicktime and select DV25 as codec (in Adobe Media Encoder) the filesize remains almost the same (not surprising because it is the same bitrate as the source), but what exactly happens during the export?</p>

<p>Is the raw DV footage simply extracted from the AVI container and put into a MOV container (meaning only copying of data with no loss in quality)?
Or is the video transcoded from Microsoft DV to Quicktime DV (meaning there will be a slight loss in quality)?</p>

<p>If the latter, how can I losslessy extract the DV footage from an AVI container and put into a MOV container?</p>

<premiere><quicktime><adobe-media-encoder><avi>
Losslessly converting Microsoft DV to Quicktime DV
TheHvidsten
# Losslessly converting Microsoft DV to Quicktime DV

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-01)

I have a bunch of AVI files containing captured DV footage (Microsoft DV, as that is what is captured through Adobe Premiere on Windows).
These now need to be converted to Quicktime DV to work with some other software package.
When I Export as Quicktime and select DV25 as codec (in Adobe Media Encoder) the filesize remains almost the same (not surprising because it is the same bitrate as the source), but what exactly happens during the export?

Is the raw DV footage simply extracted from the AVI container and put into a MOV container (meaning only copying of data with no loss in quality)?
Or is the video transcoded from Microsoft DV to Quicktime DV (meaning there will be a slight loss in quality)?

If the latter, how can I losslessy extract the DV footage from an AVI container and put into a MOV container?

**Tags:** premiere, quicktime, adobe-media-encoder, avi


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-03-01. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I doubt Adobe Media Encoder is rewrapping the video stream.
To copy the data losslessly from a Type 1 to Type 2 DV-AVI or to MOV, use ffmpeg, a free command-line tool, like so
ffmpeg -i input.avi -c copy -map 0 -video_track_timescale 25 output.mov

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: You can tell if it's re-wrapping by how long it takes. If it's re-wrapping it should be lightning fast, taking very little time at all. If it chugs through them it's probably transcoding.  
> **username_0**: Unfortunately that command gave the error `FATAL error, file duration too long for timebase, this file will not be playable with quicktime. Choose a different timebase or a different container format`. It did create a file with an identical filesize to the original, though, but no applications were able to open it.  
> **username_1**: Please paste the console readout of the ffmpeg command.  
> **username_0**: Here's everything that was output when I used the command you provided: http://pastebin.com/CKM7034A  
> **username_1**: Command edited.  
> **username_0**: That extra option did at least remove the error message, and the resulting file was closer in filesize to the original than the file exporter via Adobe Media Encoder. Because it uses the `-c copy` option, which only copies the video track without any transcoding, I conclude that this has done exactly what I asked for. Thanks :)  
> **username_0**: Even though the command says `-c copy` I don't think it copies it losslessly as I first thought. Putting the original video and the copied video in After Effects and setting the topmost layer to "difference" blending mode, the resulting composite isn't all black, but has grey areas all over. This could only happen if there are any actual differences between the videos, which suggests that the video hasn't been copied correctly.  
> **username_1**: Nope, there's no transcoding involved with `copy`. This is probably a color range flag issue. Check the scopes in Color Finesse or the like for max and min values in the two clips. Also check for frame sync between the two clips and the pixel aspect ratio.  
> **username_0**: I've no idea how to do any of that. I found another solution to get the software to open AVI files containing DV footage, though. By opening the AVI file in Quicktime Pro and saving the file as a Reference Movie, the other software reads the reference file just fine, which means it really reads the video from the AVI file.  

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