Can't render an alpha channel in Compressor

This has allways been a problem for us.
Whenever I try to compress a sequence using compressor (2.0.1 on a 2Ghz G5 OS 10.4.8) and render an alpha channel it never works.
Typically I'll send a sequence containing only a lower third over a transparant screen to compressor, select the Amination + Alpha codec (all the settings seem correct: Animation, million of colors+, best quality) and I end up with the lower third over a black screen, no alpha channel. Also, if there is blank space in the timeline between clips that also renders as black, not transparant.
The strange thing is that when I export using Quicktime Conversion with the same Animation+Alpha settings it does work and I get nice clean transparancy.
Is this a bug with Compressor or am I missing something?
2.0Ghz G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Mikey & Jumpy,
Compressor does have a Animation Alpha Preset under Motion Graphics and after reading this post for several days i decided to test it for myself and sure enough, I can't get it to work. I've exported the same lower third through Quicktime Conversion and through Compressor. Bring them both back into FCP and compare the format in the browser. They match exactly except for the Compressor version doesn't have the alpha in the time line. I tried exporting a ref and importing that into compressor, same result. I tried importing the new file into After Effects to see if it would interpret different, same result.
The only conclusion i can come up with is the Compressor is writing an alpha channel, but its also writing a black matte in the RGB. But as far as I'm concerned I can't see a discernible difference between QT Conversion and Compressor exports.
Good Luck
Chris

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OK, something must be wrong... but I don't find it!
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const int32 IMAGE_DEPTH = 32;
SPBasicSuite * sSPBasic = NULL;
SPPluginRef gPluginRef = NULL;
FormatRecord * gFormatRecord = NULL;
intptr_t * gMxiInfoHandle = NULL;
MXIInfo* gMxiInfo = NULL;
int16 * gResult = NULL;
#define gCountResources gFormatRecord->resourceProcs->countProc
#define gGetResources   gFormatRecord->resourceProcs->getProc
#define gAddResource    gFormatRecord->resourceProcs->addProc
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static void DoReadStart(void){
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cMax = new CmaxwellMXI( 0 );
strlen((char*)gFormatRecord->fileSpec->name);
gMxiInfo->filename = _strdup((char *)gFormatRecord->fileSpec->name + 1);
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                gMxiInfo->nMultilightChannels, gMxiInfo->lightNamesList,
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                gMxiInfo->widthPreview, gMxiInfo->heightPreview,
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if(!res) return;
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int count = 0;
if( gMxiInfo->availableBuffersMask & CmaxwellMXI::ALPHA_BUFFER ){
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    gMxiInfo->extraBuffersList[count] = "ALPHA";
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    count++;
else{
    gMxiInfo->hasAlpha = false;
gMxiInfo->nExtraBuffers = count;
switch( IMAGE_DEPTH ){
case 8:
      gMxiInfo->mode = plugInModeRGBColor;
      break;
case 16:
      gMxiInfo->mode = plugInModeRGB48;
      break;
case 32:
      gMxiInfo->mode = plugInModeRGB48; //96 gives me an error
      break;
// SET UP THE DOCUMENT BASIC PARAMETERS.
VPoint imageSize;
if( gFormatRecord->openForPreview ){
    // Preview always RGB8.
    imageSize.v = gMxiInfo->heightPreview;
    imageSize.h = gMxiInfo->widthPreview;
    gFormatRecord->depth = 8;
    gFormatRecord->imageMode = plugInModeRGBColor;
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    gFormatRecord->loPlane = 0;
    gFormatRecord->hiPlane = 2;
    gFormatRecord->colBytes = 3;
    gFormatRecord->rowBytes = imageSize.h * gFormatRecord->planes;
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    imageSize.v = gMxiInfo->height;
    imageSize.h = gMxiInfo->width;
    gFormatRecord->depth = IMAGE_DEPTH;
    gFormatRecord->imageMode = gMxiInfo->mode;
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gFormatRecord->imageHRes = FixRatio(72, 1);
gFormatRecord->imageVRes = FixRatio(72, 1);
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theRect.left = 0;
theRect.right = imageSize.h;
theRect.top = 0;
theRect.bottom = imageSize.v;
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// No resources for now.
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static void DoReadContinue (void){
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if( gMxiInfo->filename != NULL ){
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    delete cMax;
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static void DoReadLayerStart(void){
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static void DoReadLayerContinue (void){
int32 done;
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VPoint imageSize = GetFormatImageSize();
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total = gMxiInfo->nMultilightChannels + gMxiInfo->nExtraBuffers + 2;
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DisposeImageResources ();
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robert_ro wrote:
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Can't get "Encode Alpha Channel" to work.

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Alpha channel and imaging lingo

I have a 32 bit image with an alpha channel. When placed on
the stage only
the black anti-aliased text shows and no background shows
(using the copy
ink)
I'm scrolling this image with imaging lingo where I take a
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checked it
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question. First, how can I maintain the alpha channel with
imaging Lingo
and second why do I get the error telling me that the
useAlpha property
can't be set?
Craig
Craig Wollman
Lingo Specialist
Word of Mouth Productions
212-928-9581
www.wordofmouthpros.com

Thanks. You're right, I did need to create the image in 32
bits but
otherwise I only needed to set useAlpha to TRUE and the alpha
was maintained
perfectly without any other changes.
Craig Wollman
Lingo Specialist
Word of Mouth Productions
212-928-9581
www.wordofmouthpros.com
"Lukewig" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
news:ek0ibj$c9k$[email protected]..
> Hi Craig,
>
> If "pImage.useAlpha = TRUE" gives a 'cannot set this
property" error, then
> pImage.depth is less than 32. Change your code to
something like this to
> confirm:
>
> if pImage.depth < 32 then put "oops, no alpha to use"
> else pImage.useAlpha = TRUE
>
> As how to "maintain the alpha channel with imaging
Lingo", I gotta scratch
> my
> head each time (its kind of counter-intuitive). Basic
rule of thumb is
> turn off
> alphas for copypixel operations, extract your alphas and
copypixel them
> separately, and then reset the alpha of the final
composite image (of
> course,
> the details depend on whether your are wanting to
combine your alphas or
> not).
>
> -- Luke
>
>

Import QuickTime with Alpha channel into Flash CS3

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I don't know the answer to your question.
Do you have a video player where you can verify that the alpha channel in the video is displaying as you expect?.... that is, the background is transparent?
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http://www.mrfilmbiz.com/
the walkon... could have had other action (like Flash artwork) going on in the background... but that may not really be what you are looking for.
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Adninjastrator

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QuickTime Pro does support alpha channel masks.
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Click on the image. A blue line appears around the image.
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Welcome to the forum.
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If step 2 doesn't work, then find all the .qtindex, .mpgindex, .cfa and .pek files associated with the media that's supposed to be in your project and delete them. Then clean the media cache database again.
Launch Pr and while it's launching, hold down the Alt + Shift keys until the Welcome screen appears. Alt resets your preferences and Shift resets the plug-in cache.
To address the other issues you say you've been having with Pr, you should start a different thread (or threads). Coming from other editors, there may be a difference in the way Pr does things that produce unexpected results that may be seen as bugs. More serious issues, such as crashes, can often be caused by 3rd-party hardware like AJA, Matrox or BlackMagic and the associated drivers. Outdated or incorrect drivers for audio and video cards can also cause problems. I recommend that you start troubleshooting those areas first.
Other issues may have workarounds. If you have serious, reproducible problems that have no workaround, then please file bug reports here:
Adobe - Feature Request/Bug Report Form
-Jeff

Why can I no longer export alpha channels in the new FCPX update (10.0.6)?

While the new update is rich with new goodies- I am having some issues doing some things. My main concern is the inability to export alpha channels in the 10.0.6 updated version of FCPX.
I followed the following steps, same as before the update.
I used the Keying effect to remove the greenscreen and did some cleanup using the "sample color" refining tool.
I cropped and resized the clip so that the actor is the correct size for my clip.
Now it looks great in FCPX, except that I now need to put that footage into Motion 5 and do some motion tracking and match move.
I export the keyed clip as Apple Pro Res 4444
Now when I import that file into Motion 5 everything that is supposed to be transparant is black!
Is there an additional setting in the new version that I need to fix in order to export alphas? Is there a new way to do it?
I am operating Mountain Lion, OSX Version 10.8.2 with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor.
Thank you so much! This is a key element in almost all the projects I do and now I am stuck!

You got me curious so had to test and validate some of the above, forgive me if I go a little OT in the process.
Have you set your background to checkerboard, I find psycologically this makes a difference, though in exporting it does not...
screen grab below, from 422 timeline, showing original, exported 444 and then imported file comp'd in and scaled down for differentiation in FCPX, note that the project render parameter is actually set to 422 NOT 444 as fox_m suggested, it still works.
This one below shows the above scenario exported 444, with background set to black in pref's, note the overlap showing transparency, again in FCPX. This is purely to illustrate that the checkerboard and black backgrounds are not relevant, only that the 444 on export is relevant.
Hopefully this illustrates that cropping and 444 exports are working.
Tony

Can't render an alpha channel in Compressor

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