File conversion quality loss

Mars Bar · Sep 25, 2016

Hi all, when I download footage from my Hikvision NVR I need to convert the file to be able to play it on different players (DIVx, windows media player etc) My problem is i am loosing the quality of the original footage. I record in 2048x1536 and the file might be 50MB. When I use different converters they always put it back to 1080 and the file size will drop to say 30MB.
Yes I choose the highest quality settings in the converter and I have used several different converters without any luck.
I have used Bigasoft, Wondershare (which just crashes) and Cloud Converter.

Does anyone know of a converter that might work without loosing quality?

alastairstevenson · Sep 26, 2016

Hi all, when I download footage from my Hikvision NVR I need to convert the file to be able to play it on different player

You shouldn't need to do this if you install an h.264 codec, which WMP does not have by default.
That way you won't loose any quality.
Try VLC media player, which has h.264 built in, check out the codec info.

Mars Bar · Sep 26, 2016

alastairstevenson said:
You shouldn't need to do this if you install an h.264 codec, which WMP does not have by default.
That way you won't loose any quality.
Try VLC media player, which has h.264 built in, check out the codec info.

Will VLC let me convert it to other file types? When I give footage to Police they need it in MP4, MKV, MPEG etc format.

nayr · Sep 26, 2016

what kinda police force do you have? mine want the original files, untouched.. unmolested, its not like they have never encountered a hikvision file before <rollseyes>

they cant be used as evidence if they ask you to manipulate them

mp4 and mkv are just containers, they are not formats.

Mars Bar · Sep 26, 2016

nayr said:
what kinda police force do you have? mine want the original files, untouched.. unmolested, its not like they have never encountered a hikvision file before <rollseyes>

they cant be used as evidence if they ask you to manipulate them

mp4 and mkv are just containers, they are not formats.

Ok, so how to I not modify the footage and play it on DIVX or Windows Media Player? Those programs don't recognize the file. Only way to play it is to change it to MKV or AVI and thats when I lose quality.

nayr · Sep 27, 2016

Divx is dead, and WMP needs the proper codecs installed.. you need a newer computer it sounds like

the police will have a copy of VLC installed, and very likely and they can get VSPlayer direct from Hikvision to play them back..

Brad_C · Sep 27, 2016

Use ffmpeg to remux the file without reencoding if you really have to. As long as you are not using Hiks butchered "h264+" almost anything will be able to play it.

Here the cops want something that can be played on a clean windows install with no extra codecs as that is what they get in a court room. We give them the original and a transcoded version for playing that way they can have an "expert" certify the footage is as delivered if required. Ffmpeg does anything to anything transcoding, and you can certainly reencode with minimal quality loss (and no loss of resolution).

alastairstevenson · Sep 27, 2016

Here the cops want something that can be played on a clean windows install with no extra codecs as that is what they get in a court room.

Here the courts have both WMP and VLC as media players.
It is generally expected that you supply the video in unmodified form - that is what you presumably attest to when signing the evidence form as we do.
The exported video from the NVR is already in mp4 format - as @nayr says, that's the container, within it are the h.264 encoded files.

Mars Bar · Sep 27, 2016

Brad_C said:
Use ffmpeg to remux the file without reencoding if you really have to. As long as you are not using Hiks butchered "h264+" almost anything will be able to play it.

Here the cops want something that can be played on a clean windows install with no extra codecs as that is what they get in a court room. We give them the original and a transcoded version for playing that way they can have an "expert" certify the footage is as delivered if required. Ffmpeg does anything to anything transcoding, and you can certainly reencode with minimal quality loss (and no loss of resolution).

Thanks Brad, ffmpeg worked perfectly. No loss in quality! Champion

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