videoQC - File/IP Quality Control
robust media player for consistent deliverables
View files and streams, with time code, closed captions, and metadata. Compare your media to a template or file, and perform full reference analysis. It's easy to make sure the content conforms to your specs with audio and video scopes, display modes, and CSV/SQLite, HTML, and PDF reports.
| Compatibility: | ||
 |
Windows 7 or greater, macOS Version 10.14 Mojave and greater, CentOS/RedHat 7.4-7.8 | |
videoQC will take the media coming into your facility and perform a series of automated tests on video, audio and metadata values against a template, then analyze the audio and video. It includes metadata extraction, comparison and templating tools, intuitive charting of audio and video metrics, a full set of audio and video waveform/vectorscope/phase tools, db and PDF reporting, file to file visual comparison, and clipping and exporting tools. videoQC's automated server components can run headless (no interface) for analysis tools. Integration with Net-X-Code suite provides quality control for IP based workflows. Each level of videoQC is designed to fill a particular level of the Quality Control workflow, from intern to master QC operators and even back end servers. The standard database format allows seamless and instant sharing of analysis results. Hot folders allow automation, optimizing those in the QC workflow.
Overview
- Play an unparalleled range of file formats, including everything from broadcast to post production and raw file formats
- View RTP, UDP, SRT, RTSP, and NDI streams
- Access Local, network (NFS, SMB, etc) and web/http(s) sources
- Automated metadata generation, and comparison to a master file or template
- Audio and video metric generation (levels, broadcast legal, sizes, types, rep, etc.)
- Real time video file playback to desktop, and optionally to SDI/HDMI
- Time code display and optional time code overlay in full screen mode
- 608/708/OP-47 Closed caption display
- Audio meter (RMS, EBU/r.128) display and overlays
- Audio routing, up to 16 x 16 channels
- Full set of scopes for analysis including:
- Video Scopes: Waveform (YCbCr and RGB), Vectorscope, Histogram, Chromaticity (601, 709, 2020)
- Audio Scopes: Vectorscope, Phase meter, Histogram, Waveform display
- Hue/Saturation Scope for ChromaDuMonde lighting calibration
- Real time Status display
- Graticules for video display: Action Safe, Title Safe, Graphic Safe, Picture Frame, Active Region
- Hex/Decimal video pixel video
- File clipping and export, wrapping or standard broadcast formats
- Display modes: Luma, R, G, B, Zebra Luma/Chroma, Clipping, Edge Difference, Focus assist, Flip/flop, False color, Luma key, Greenscreen/despill
- Compressed to original video comparison, including:
- Over under, side by side, difference with threshold, A-B, mirror butterfly, and more
- Flip sources, movable horizontal/vertical lines, alignment grid
- 3D viewing including interlaced, side by side, anaglyph
- For a full list of comparison types, see the Compare tab
* videoQC is offered at specific version levels to suit a range of workflows. To check which features are in each version, please see the comparison chart located at: https://www.drastic.tv/productsmenu-56/videoiosoftwarelist
Main Interface and Displays
Real Time Playback with optional SDI/HDMI
videoQC provides a full featured media player, capable of playing back almost any post production or broadcast file. Play files in the GUI with the computer's audio, or to SDI/HDMI via AJA, Bluefish444 or Blackmagic hardware. During playback, time code is displayed in real time, along with audio meters in RMS or EBU r.128 levels. Frame accurate seeking, by time code or absolute position, along with stepping, off speed play and forward/reverse play are all available via keyboard, mouse or external controller. Looping, palindrome and audio- or video- only playback are also available.
Zoom, Pan and Full Screen
Want to get a really good look at some details? Zoom and pan the video in pause or playback mode.
Using the scroll wheel of the mouse, the image can be zoomed out to cover a wider part of the screen, or zoomed in to closely check individual pixels. Left clicking and dragging will move the image to view different parts while zoomed in. Clicking the right mouse button will fill the application with video, and clicking the middle button will set the image to pixel for pixel (where every image pixel is exactly one screen pixel). Zoom is available in windowed or full screen mode. Changing the video background color is also available using <CTRL><SHIFT>-mouse wheel.
Time Code Display
A dedicated time code field displays the current time code location. The user may enter a known time code location within a selected clip, and press Enter to cue that frame. In Full Screen mode, an optional time code display may be overlaid. The user may select between available time code sources by clicking on the time code source field. Copy and pasting of time code is also available by using <CTRL>+C and <CTRL>+V.
Closed Captioning
videoQC supports closed caption display. The closed caption information will be displayed over the video frame when enabled. Supported sources include SMPTE 436, CEA-708, OP-47/RDD-08, CEA-608, MCC, AAF, SCC, STL, EBU, embedded and many other formats. See the CC section for more details.
Please note: The CC feature is only available when running under a temporary or permanent license, Pro version and above. Please contact Drastic for a license if you want to test this feature.
File Trim And Export
videoQC supports trimming the current clip, or clip list, and exporting it to standard file formats including:
- MXF Sony XDCAM
- MXF DPP (AVCi)
- MXF HDF (XDCAM)
- MXF OP1a (DVHD, MPEG-2, h.264, AVCi, Uncompressed)
- MOV (DVHD, AVCi, ProRes, Uncompressed)
- MP4 (h.264/AVC1)
The export also allows for the closed captioning or audio files to be replaced during the creation of the new file.
Please note: The file clipping and export feature is only available when running under a temporary or permanent license, Inspect version and above. Please contact Drastic for a license if you want to test this feature.
Track Info
All versions of videoQC show basic track info on the main display, and provide a more detailed track info pop up. The track info includes the video parameters (width, height, bit depth, codec), the audio parameters (channels, bit size, frequency) and the basic metadata information (names, device names, aspect ratio, length, camera settings). For the more advanced versions, a separate comparison metadata window is available, and is described under the Analysis tab.
MaxCLL and MaxFALL
When reviewing High Dynamic Range content, videoQC lets you check the MaxCLL and MaxFALL levels for HDR content delivery workflows.
Audio Levels
In videoQC, all audio meters can be set for EBU9 or EBU18 loudness monitoring, as well as RMS/peak. The status window also supports loudness as a floating point value, and any excursions are automatically collected in the on disk error log.
Audio Meters Popup
videoQC provides an independent set of audio meters, which is larger, and may be moved onto a second monitor so you can view videoQC in full screen mode in the first monitor.
Audio Routing
videoQC has a full 16 by 16 audio routing panel. This allows audio signals to be routed or joined from any channel in the file to any channel on the output. Various audio routing configurations for typical workflows can be saved and recalled for later use.
Please note: Specific features mentioned above are only available when running under a temporary or permanent license. Please contact Drastic for a license to enable the full feature set for your demo.
videoQC includes two main areas of automated analysis: Metadata and Metric.
Metadata Analysis looks at the incoming file, and determines as many qualities as it can about it. This includes, but is not limited to, file container, channel type and number, frame rate, video height/width/codec/bit depth/aspect ratio/compression/color matrix, audio frequency/bit size/codec/channels/type, and embedded metadata like source/copyright/description/source device/camera settings/reel/take/scene/source/slate/comments. Any of these may be used to create a template to compare incoming files against. One or more templates may exist on a videoQC system, and they can be exported/imported and shared. As well as a go/no go return on this comparison, a visual table will highlight any differences between the file and the expected settings, for easy operator identification.
Metric Analysis - videoQC can also generate a full set of video metrics. These are stored in a SQLite database, so that other applications can access them, and do frame by frame checks including:
- Video size, and frame type (I, P or B)
- Luma, Chroma, Hue, Saturation Min, Max, High, Low, Average
- Vertical line repetition
- Broadcast legal
- Optional PSNR or MS-SSIM charting when pre-compressed source is available
- Audio loudness and RMS
The metric analysis can be manually or automatically started.
The parameters of the analysis can be customized, and the current setting is displayed.
Adjustable parameters include:
- Vertical Line Repitition: lines, frame duration
- Missing Lines: lines, frame duration
- Missing Edges: (example above) top, top maximum, top frame duration, bottom, bottom maximum, bottom frame duration, left, left maximum, left frame duration, right, right maximum, right frame duration
- Black and White: chroma maximum, frame duration
- Still Frames: limit, difference maximum, PSNR check Y (38.0), frame duration
- Broadcast Illegal: broadcast illegal, frame duration
- Over Saturation: maximum, frame duration
- Contrast Blacks: minimum, frame duration
- Gamut Over: maximum, frame duration
- Gamut Under: maximum, frame duration
- Loudness: LKFS (24.0)
- Silence: limit, frame duration
View Data
Once the analysis has completed, you can click a button to view the data.
Export Results
You can export the results for later review.
You can create a CSV, PDF, an XML, or an HTML document to have a look at the analysis in various MAM solutions. There is an option to create a proxy file from the original source or a portion thereof. Results can also be exported as markers to Adobe and Avid.
Full Reference Comparison
videoQC lets you load two files and compare them against each other for visual examination and measurement. When a compressed file is compared to its original, typically uncompressed source file, this is referred to as a full reference comparison.
You can visually confirm degradation, or other compression artifacts by playing the two files in various comparison modes to see any obvious differences. Here is an example of the 'mirror' comparison mode.
There are a wide variety of available comparison modes:
From the compare dialog, the user can also launch PSNR (Peak Signal to Noise Ratio), SSIM (Structured Similarity Indexing Method), and MS-SSIM (Multi-Scale Structured Similarity Indexing Method) analyses. Here are the steps to perform this analysis:
Open videoQC and load the compressed file.
Open the QC Analysis window and click full reference.
Open the Compare window and click the Disabled checkbox to enable Comparison mode. The checkbox will then display Enabled.
Use the Orig File button to browse to and select the full resolution source file that was used to create the deliverable content.
As described above, there are a number of visual comparison modes where you can show the two files side by side, over under, boxes mixed by size, and so on. The mixes can be adjusted to suit your workflow. Optionally a guide, or various grids may be overlaid. Flip modes are also available.
To perform PSNR, SSIM, and/or MS-SSIM analyses, click the checkbox(es) at the bottom of the Compare window and press the Launch Analysis button.
This launches the MRAnalyze exe, which performs the analysis. A percentage of completion is displayed.
Once the analysis has finished, videoQC will populate the database with the analysis data. At this point the user will be able to click on the full reference button in the QC Analysis window, and see the data in an intuitive graphical display.
Here is an example of a completed analysis:
videoQC Pro, videoQC Inspect, videoQC Workstation, and videoQC Server all feature a full set of scopes. They can be viewed as a single large scope, or up to 6 scopes at one time (a second monitor is recommended). The following scopes are provided:
The Picture view shows the video signal, to confirm the source is correct and to display time code location. Action Safe, Title Safe, Graphic Safe, Picture Frame, and Active Region graticules are optionally available. A number of display modes can be set using the Display Mode selector:
File Formats
Support is Windows + Mac unless otherwise indicated
| Extension | File Format | Codec | Read | Write |
| 3GP | 3GP 26x | h 264, 263, 261 | X | |
| 4224 | 4224 | YCbCr 4:2:2:4 | X | |
| AAF | Avid | AAF Masterclip locator files | X | |
| AIFF | Apple audio | 16/20/24/32 bit stereo pairs | X | |
| ARC | IFX Piranha | Audio/Video (YCbCr/RGB 8 only) | X | |
| ARI | Arri | Raw 12 bit bayer | X | |
| Audio: BWF, 8SVX, AU, AVR, GSM, HCOM, IFF, PCM, SF, SMP, SND, VOC, WVE |
Audio files | 44.1/48/96 kHz 16, 20, 24 and 32 bit | X | |
| AVC, AVCHD, MTS | AVC-HD | MPEG-2 camera media | X | |
| AVI | Windows | DVSD, DV25, DV50, DVHD, CineForm*, CineForm3D*, YCbCr 8 & 10 SD/HD, standard codecs | X | |
| AVS | AVS | Video redirection (Windows only) | X | |
| BRAW | Blackmagic BRAW | BRAW 12 bit, 3:1, 5:1, 8:1 and 12:1 | X | |
| CDX | Codex | Codec raw bayer stills | X | |
| CINE | Phantom | Phantom 10, 12 and 14 bit bayer | X | |
| CRW | Canon | Canon camera raw stream | X | |
| DASH | h.264 | DASH Fragmented MP4 and Smooth Streaming | X | |
| DNG | CinemaDNG | 10, 12 and 16 bit bayer | X | |
| DPX | Cineon | RGB 8, RGB 10, YCbCr 4:2:2 | X | |
| DPX | CineForm | CineForm*, CineForm3D* | X | |
| DT3D | DT3D | XML 3D redirector | X | |
| DV/DIF | DV/DIF | Raw DV files | X | |
| DVS | DVS | Uncompressed YCbCr and RGB files | X | |
| EXR | OpenEXR | High dynamic range float stills | X | |
| fhgDI, fhgDP, fhgAP | fhgDI, fhgDP, fhgAP | Weisscam digimag format | X | |
| FLM | FLM | Adobe FilmStrip | X | |
| FLV/SWV | FLV/SWV | Flash/Shockwave video h.263/264 | X | |
| GEN | GEN | 4:2:2 YCbCr (Avid DSHD) | X | |
| GV | XML/N0/T/I/A | Grass Valley disk record native (K2) | X | |
| GXF | GXF SMPTE 360 | MPEG-2, DV25, DV50, DVHD | X | |
| H264 | h.264 | 4:2:0 SD/HD up to 80 mbits/sec | X | |
| HDR | YUV | DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100, RGB, Uncompressed YCbCr 8 & 10 SD/HD | X | |
| HDR | YUV | YCbCr10, YCbCr16, DPX RGB, DNxHD* | X | |
| HDV | HDV | MPEG-2 camera files | X | |
| HLS | h.264 | HLS TS MultiRate | X | |
| IHSS | Iridas | RGB | X | |
| ISMV ISMA | Smooth Streaming | h.264, AAC, WMV | X | |
| JP2 | JPEG-2000 | Series of JPEG-2000 stills | X | |
| JS | Jaleo/Mistika | Sgo native 4:2:2 YCbCr | X | |
| KRW | Kinefinity | KineRAW Compressed Raw Stills and Stream | X | |
| LUMA RMY BMY | LUMA RMY BMY | Uncompressed YCbCr | X | |
| LXF | Leitch/Harris | DVSD, DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi50, AVCi100, MPEG-2, h.264 | X | |
| M3U8 | HLS | h264, h265, TS or MP4 | X | |
| MKV | MKV | Matroska audio video, VPx, h.26x | X | |
| MLV | Magic Lantern | Raw 14 bit bayer with PCM audio | X | |
| MOV | QuickTime | DVSD, DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100, DNxHD*, CineForm*, CineForm3D*, RGBA, RGB-10 (DPX), YCbCr 8 & 10 SD/HD, standard codecs | X | X |
| MOV | QuickTime | ProRes, h264, AVCi, MPEG-2, XDCam | X | X |
| MOV | Reference File | MOV reference file pointing at h264, ProRes, DV, AVCI | X | |
| MP1/MP2/MP3 | MP1/MP2/MP3 | MPEG audio | X | |
| MP4 | AVC1,h.264 | Apple h.264, h.264 AVC | X | X |
| MP4 | HEVC, h.264 | HEVC/265 | X | |
| MP4 | XAVC-S | Sony XAVC-S HD/4K Cameras | X | |
| MP4 | MPEG-2 | Sony/Canon camera | X | |
| MPEG | MPEG-1 | 4:2:0 up to 15 mbits/sec | X | |
| MPEG | MPEG-2 | 4:2:0/4:2:2 SD/HD up to 80 mbits/sec | X | |
| MPEG | MPEG-4 | 4:2:0 up to 50 mbits/sec | X | |
| MTS, M2TS | M2TS | AVC-HD camera files | X | |
| MXF | AMT3 | Avid Interplay/ISIS/Media Central | X | |
| MXF | AS-02 | AVCi, DNxHD*, DVHD, JPEG-2000 | X | |
| MXF | AS-11 DPP UK | AVCi100, IMX 50 | X | X |
| MXF | Avid | DV25, DV50, DVHD, DNxHD*, Uncompressed | X | |
| MXF | Canon | MPEG-2 | X | |
| MXF | Digital Cinema | DCI JPEG-2000 Unencrypted, Uncompressed Audio | X | |
| MXF | EditCam | DV25, DV50, DVHD, DNxHD* | X | |
| MXF | Grass Valley | Grass Valley iCR | X | |
| MXF | Harmonic | MPEG-2 | X | |
| MXF | h.264/AVC | MPEG-2 | X | |
| MXF | IMF | IMF JPEG-2000 YCbCr, Uncompressed Audio | X | |
| MXF | JPEG-2000*** | Grass Valley Infinity | X | |
| MXF | OP1a | AmberFin, EVS, MainConcept, MOG, OpenCube, Rovi | X | |
| MXF | OP1a/Omneon | DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100, Uncompressed | X | X |
| MXF | OP1b | Panasonic AVCi 4K | X | |
| MXF | Panasonic-P2 | DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100 | X | |
| MXF | Pinnacle | MPEG-2 SD/HD | X | |
| MXF | Snell & Wilcox | MPEG-2, IMX | X | |
| MXF | Sony | MPEG IMX | X | |
| MXF | Sony | XDCamHD, XDCamEX 4:2:0/4:2:2 | X | X |
| MXF | Sony | HDCam SR 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 | X | |
| MXF | Sony | F65 raw bayer | X | |
| MXF | Sony | F5, F700 raw bayer | X | |
| MXF | XAVC | XAVC HD and 4K | X | |
| OGG | OGG | OGG audio video | X | |
| OMF | OMF | DV25, JPEG, Meridien, AVBV, CamCutter | X | |
| OMV | OMV | Uncompressed capture format | X | |
| QNT | Quantel | Raw uncompressed YCbCr images | X | |
| R3D | RED | Red camera files | X | |
| RAW | ML/IOI | Magic Lantern RAW, IOIndustries RAW bayer | X | |
| RBG | RED BLU GRN | Uncompressed RGB | X | |
| RMF | RMF | Canon C500 raw 10 bit bayer files | X | |
| RTIN | RTINDEX | Real time replay of CBR and VBR records while still recording | X | |
| RTV | RTV | Uncompressed Video Toaster files (Windows only) | X | |
| SEQ | Bayer | Raw camera seq bayer files | X | |
| SIV | Bayer | Raw camera siv bayer files | X | |
| Stills | Series of stills | BMP, SGI, PSD, RAW, YUV10, YUV16, VSR, RAS, RAW, JP2, JPG - Series of stills (many others) | X | |
| TGA | Targa | RGB, RGBA (RLE Play Only) | X | |
| TIFF | TIFF | RGB, RGBA | X | |
| TR-01 | TS J2K | JPEG-2000, AES3 | X | |
| TS | Transport stream | MPEG-2, h.264, h.265/HEVC, JPEG-2000, AAC, AC-3, AES3 | X | |
| V210 | V210 | 4:2:2 10 bit YCbCr image sequence | X | |
| VC1 | VC-1 | WMV of raw wrapper | X | |
| VOB | VOB | Unencrypted | X | |
| VPB/QTL | Quantel | Quantel uncompressed YCbCr images | X | |
| VRW | Varicam Raw | Panasonic Varicam Raw | X | |
| WAV | Wave audio | 16/20/24/32 bit mono/stereo pairs/extensible | X | |
| WEBM | WEBM | YouTube format | X | |
| WMV/ASF | WMV/ASF | Unencrypted/DRM Free only | X | |
| XAVC | X-AVC HD/4K | X-AVC 264 in MXF | X | |
| Y4M | Y4M | YCbCr raw stream | X | |
| YUV | YUV | 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 YCbCr image sequence | X | |
| Y U V | YUV | Multi file component YCbCr files | X |
Closed Captions
videoQC (Pro level and above) supports detection and display of a wide range of embedded/internal closed caption formats as well as external closed caption formats and subtitle formats. If any of these caption types are found in the same directory as the main file, with the same file name, they will automatically be loaded and displayed. An existing closed caption file can also be loaded and displayed over the video.
Embedded Caption Formats
- MXF SMPTE 436 and Avid embedded
- CEA 608, CEA 708, OP-47/RDD-08
- MPEG-2, h.264, MPEG-4, AVC1 user space
- TS/MTS CC in separate PID
- GXF SMPTE 360
- LXF Leitch/Harris
- MOV CC Tracks
External Broadcast Caption Formats
- SCC Scenarist SD Captions
- MCC MacCaption Format 708 Captions
- AAF Avid Format 708 Captions
- STL EBU Broadcast Captions
Subtitle Caption Formats
- Avid Caption - txt
- Belle Nuit - stp
- Comma Separated - csv
- Digital Cinema 2007/2010 - xml
- EBU Subtitles - stl
- Final Cut Pro - xml
- Final Cut Pro X - xml
- Flash - xml
- iTunes Timed Text - txt
- JSON (various) - json
- QuickTime Text - txt
- SAMI - smi
- SoftNI - sub
- Sony DVD Architect - sub
- Sony DVD - txt
- SubRip - srt
- SubStation Alpha - ssa
- Swift - sif
- Timed Text - dxfp, ttml, xml
- WebVTT - vtt
- YouTube Annotations - xml
- YouTube - sbv
- YouTube Transcript - txt
90 Seconds With videoQC
Full videoQC demo / walkthrough
videoQC Full Reference Tutorial
videoQC Versions |
The following levels are available:
And for the enterprise, videoQC Server - A back end server for automated QC with unlimited analysis (includes two separate videoQC licenses) plus player, SDI I/O, scopes.
View a feature by feature comparison of the different versions of videoQC: Feature Comparison Chart
|
Recommended Hardware Environment |
ST-2110
- Matrox: ST 2110 Network Adapters - AJA: Kona IP - Mellanox NVIDIA Bluefield-2 or Connect-X 6: (requires Rivermax license) HD 1080p60 4K/QHD |
SDK and APIs
videoQC Server can be run remotely, by script or using watch folders. videoQC also supports copy/cut/paste, keyboard/mouse and a full RESTful HTTP API. There is more information available on these control systems available here:
https://www.drastic.tv/support-59/supporttipstechnical/26-controlling-videoqc
and a sample web page that uses the REST API is included in the installer:
The analysis results are output as a standard SQLite database, PDF, and application return.
videoQC on a workstation can be loaded by command line/script, controlled by video keyboard or remote control, and cut/paste time code and can save uncompressed images as well as JPG grabs of the video. The workstation version also supports the REST API.
videoQC is also based on the DTMediaRead API, available to third party developers:
- DTMediaRead SDK - Integrate all the file types we read into your own application. Read uncompressed audio and compressed or uncompressed YCbCr 10, YCbCr 10, RGBA or RGB 10 frames. More information is available here.
Download videoQC 7.0
End User License Agreement: International Canadian
Available for Windows 7 or greater, CentOS/RedHat 7.4-7.8, or macOS Version 10.14 Mojave and greater. Please note, Apple's M1 devices are not currently supported.
Note: ST-2110 support requires Matrox ST 2110 Network Adapters, AJA Kona IP, or Mellanox NVIDIA Bluefield-2 (+ Rivermax license) hardware.
To ensure optimal hardware support, please make sure your drivers are up to date:
Blackmagic Design drivers (12.x)
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/ca/support/family/capture-and-playback
AJA drivers (16.x) [UVC/U-Tap drivers are in OS]
https://www.aja.com/support
Bluefish444 drivers
https://bluefish444.com/support/downloads.html
Download the manual: videoQC version 7 manual
Download the API docs: videoQC REST API
Contour Designs Shuttle Window: Shuttle Pro, Pro2, Xpress
Contour Designs Shuttle Pro2 macOS: Shuttle Pro2
More great products from Drastic
Use www.flowcaster.live for real time group review of edit sessions anywhere in the world, with no render or upload required! Share audio/video/captions/time code from the editor's output in real time...
Net-X-Code Server provides a comprehensive and scalable set of tools for multichannel media ingest, clip/PFR/transcode, and output, and supports a wide range of industry standard file and IP stream formats.
4KScope software provides real time, professional quality signal analysis for on set, production, post production, and research and development environments. 4KScope is designed to...
