The File Import pane is used to import/ingest video sequences into ClearView. ClearView can open almost any file-based video sequence known to the video industry. While importing the file, ClearView will do the following steps:

• Convert the video to the chosen output format,
• Convert the video to the chosen image format,
• Store the uncompressed video sequence to the file system or to memory,
• Convert the audio to 48KHz (if possible),
• Store the uncompressed audio sequence to the file system or to memory,
• Create a .cvo (overlay) text file with the filename (this can be edited), and
• Update the catalog information about this file (sequences file).

ClearView not only imports A/V sequences; it also imports a list of video sequences, loads Objective Metric parameters, and creates a playlist of files already loaded into ClearView . 2 ways exist to import files – you can open them using the file import controls or you can drop a file directly onto the desktop (drag & drop).

If audio is turned on using the Configuration Settings pane and audio is included within the program wrapper, then ClearView will import the audio as well. Supported program wrappers include:

• MPEG-2 TS – with MPEG-2 Video and MPEG-1 Audio
• AVI
• WMV
• QuickTime
• MPEG-2 PS – with MPEG-2 Video and MPEG-1 Audio

Note: ClearView deciphers the file based on the file extension. You must use the correct extension. ClearView supports the extensions listed below.

Supported File Extensions

Extension	File
.264, .h4v	MPEG-4/AVC, H.264 video file
.avi	Video for Windows – any CODEC loaded
.bmp	Bitmap
.cin	Cineon
.cvp	ClearView auto play list
.dib	Device Independent Bitmap – MS Windows
.dif	DIF Stream
.dmos	MSSIM using the DMOS Scale parameters
.dps	DPS Velocity Video Editing Files
.dpx	DPX
.gen	AvidDS
.icb	TGA Still Image Variant
.jpg	JPEG Still Image
.jnd	Sarnoff's JND parameters
.js	Jaleo – SGI editor
.mpg. mpeg, .vob, .m1v, .m2v, .m2p, .m2t, .mpv	MPEG-2
.mpg, .mpeg, .m1v	MPEG-1
.m4v, .dat	MPEG-4 video part 2
.mov	QuickTime Video – any CODEC loaded
.mp4	MPEG-4 part 2 file; then H.264 file
.omf, .omfi	AVID file – any CODEC loaded
.pbm	Portable Bitmap
.pcx	Paintbrush Image
.pgm	Portable Gray map
.pic, .pct	Picture Still Image File
.pnm	Portable Any map Still Image
.ppm	Portable Pixel map Still Format
.psd	Photoshop
.psnr	ClearView PSNR parameters
.ras	Sun Microsystems Raster
.rgb	Raw RGB image file
.rgba	Raw RGB image with Alpha
.rtv	Video Toaster
.sgi	SGI still image
.spatial	ClearView SPATIAL parameters
.sun	Sun Raster Image
.temporal	ClearView TEMPORAL parameters
.tga	Targa Still
.tiff	Tagged Image Format
.txt	ClearView auto load list
.vda	TGA Image Variant
.vst	Targa Vista Image Format
.xmb, .xpm	X Windows
.yuv	Raw YUV image
.yuv10	Raw YUV 10-bit format

To import a file, either

• Browse to the file location using the Browse button in the File Import Pane
• Drag and Drop a file onto the ClearView GUI

File Import Pane


File Import Descriptions

Filename	You can drop a file from the desktop, type in the full path and filename, or select Browse to find the file
Frames	Total number of still files found in folder or the total number of frames found in a streaming media file. This is automatically filled in after reading the header of the selected file.
Width	Width of the image (X-axis). This is automatically filled in after reading the header of the selected file.
Height	Height of the image (Y-axis). This is automatically filled in after reading the header of the selected file.
Bit depth	Depth of the image in bits (ex: BMP files are RGBA, but stored without the A so 24-bit depth). This is automatically filled in after reading the header of the selected file.
Codec	CODEC used to decipher this video sequence. Listed below under Color Format. This is automatically filled in after reading the header of the selected file.
Frame Rate	This is the frame rate of the video sequence if known (ex: if the frame rate is unknown, 0 is displayed). This is automatically filled in after reading the header of the selected file.
Bit Rate	This is the bit rate of the video sequence if known (ex: in the football sequence shown, the bit rate recorded was 1,194,393,600 / uncompressed HD). This is automatically filled in after reading the header of the selected file.
Sequence Name	This is the name of the video sequence that will appear in Play Mode and if a .CVO (ClearView Overlay) file does not already exist, it will be created with this text.
To Disk	When checked, import to the File System. When unchecked, import to Memory. Note: Audio is not current written to memory.
Fld Flip	Flip (swap) the top and bottom fields during import.
First	The first frame to be loaded from a sequence of files. You can use this to import part of the video sequence.
Last	The last frame to be loaded from a sequence of files. You can use this to import part of the video sequence.
Load	Initiates the load process. This converts the video sequence, and loads it to the file system or memory.
Abort	Aborts a load in process. You must re-browse after an abort. You cannot change parameters and then click Load again.

The procedure to import a file differs slightly depending on the source. The following are possible scenarios.

Auto Load a sequence of files from an external source

When ClearView sees .TXT, it knows that this is a tab-delimitated file which tells it to load many video sequences. Otherwise, it tries to figure out what type of video sequence is in the file. In this case the user is batch loading many video clips. The video clips may be stored in one or many directories, and this one file will go out and bring them all into ClearView . Each video clip might be MPEG, BMP, RAW, etc.

Note: There are many examples under www.videoclarity.com/support.html (Miscellaneous Support Files).

The fields in the .TXT file are as follows.

Auto Load Descriptions (.txt file)

Filename	You can drop a file from the desktop, type in the full path and filename, or select Browse to find the file
Sequence Name	This is the name of the sequence that will appear in Play Mode (up to 35 characters)
Image Type	Unused, but must be present
First	The first frame to be loaded from a sequence of files or the first frame to be loaded from a streaming media file. (-1: means first)
Last	The last frame to be loaded from a sequence of files or the last frame to be loaded from a streaming media file. (-1: means last)
To Disk	When 1, import to the File System. When 0, import to Memory. Note: Audio is not current written to memory.

Play a list of files for subjective testing

When ClearView sees the .CVP, it knows that this is a tab-delimitated file, which tells it how to playout many files.

Note: Please remember that to play files you must already have loaded the video sequences into ClearView .

The fields in the .CVP file are as follows. Play List Descriptions (.cvp file)

Sequence Name	This is the name of the sequence that will appear in Play Mode
First	The first frame to be loaded from a sequence of files or the first frame to be loaded from a streaming media file. (-1: means first)
Last	The last frame to be loaded from a sequence of files or the last frame to be loaded from a streaming media file. (-1: means last)
Repeat	Play this sequence X number of times.

Import Objective Metric Log File

The objective metric log file includes:

• Objective Metrics – DMOS, JND, PSNR, SPATIAL, or TEMPORAL
• Clip Alignment Parameters
• Image and Video formats
• Video Sequence names and Library locations

If the library, video sequences, etc. exist, then

• the video sequences will be loaded,
• the clip alignment will be set, and
• the objective metrics will be restored (no need to recalculate).

Note: We store the DMOS, JND, PSNR, SPATIAL, and TEMPORAL data in different files

The fields in the .DMOS, .JND, .PSNR, .SPATIAL, and .TEMPORAL files are as follows.

Objective Metric Log File Description

Log File Type	This says whether the file has DMOS, PSNR, SPATIAL or TEMPORAL data in it.
Library A Library B	These are the locations where the Video Sequences are stored Note: if the Library does not exist, then an error message will be posted
Sequence A Sequence B	These are the Video Sequences to load. Note: if they are not in the Library, then an error message will be posted
First Frame A, Last Frame A, Speed A, First Frame B, Last Frame B, Speed B	These are the Clip Alignment Parameters for each sequence. Note: if the first and last frame are not within the range, then an error message will be posted
Frame, Y, Chroma, Fail Y, Fail C	This is the header for the DMOS & JND data. The data for each frame is recorded as Y values and the Chroma (CbCr combined) values. The last 2 columns are pass/fail against the threshold.
Frame, Y/G, Cb/B, Cr/R, Y/G, Cb/B, Cr/R, Y/G, Cb/B, Cr/R, Fail Y, Fail Cb, Fail Cr	This is the header for everything that is not DMOS & JND. It consists of the frame number and 12 more columns. The first set of 3 values are for Viewport A (if the data is No Reference), the second set of 3 values are for Viewport B (if the data is No Reference), the third set of 3 values are for the results (in No Reference this would be the subtraction; in PSNR, this would be the data), the fourth set of 3 values are pass/fail against a threshold.

Load a series of files with the same extension.

Browse to the folder, select the first file, and click Open. ClearView will search the folder for all files with sequential file names.

Choose the first of a sequence of BMP files


Note: the File Import pane will display information about the file or files that have been selected. In this example, .bmp files are imported. However, this behavior is the same for any file type.

Load Headerless files

Load a Raw File


ClearView needs to know more about these files to load them correctly. Two header files have been defined to help ClearView to understand this data, in either case the description of the file is defined in Raw File Import Descriptions below

• .stills or .xml – this is used when the headerless data is 1 frame per file
• .hdr – this is used when all of the headerless data is in 1 file

Note 1: Many RAW formats can be loaded directly by ClearView . If ClearView cannot load the file properly, then you will need to create a .hdr, .stills, or .xml.

Note 2: By definition, .YUV, .RAW, .RGB mean that no header was put on the file to describe its format. Examples of video sequences with headers include .AVI, .JPG, .MOV, .BMP, etc. There is a defined way to load these.

Note 3: If you have many .YUV files with the same header description, place them in 1 directory. Create a default.hdr, which will be used for all .YUV files in the directory. The Video Name should be omitted.

Note 4: You can either double click (or drag & drop) the headerless file, the .hdr or the .stills. In the case of default.hdr, you can only load the headerless file.

The .stills or .hdr file contains the following data. Some of the data is marked as Optional, and can be omitted. Regardless, you must start with % and the name. The .XML is bad from the .still data or by estimating the file size of the YUV/RAW.

Note: There are many examples under www.videoclarity.com/support.html (Miscellaneous Support Files).

Raw File Import Descriptions

%Color Format	YUV420 – Planar YCbCr in IYUV/I420 order (ST/Thompson/MPEG Groups) YV12 – Planar YCbCr in YV12 order YUV422P – Planar YCbCr with 4:2:2 sub sampling (Sony) YVU422P – Planar YCbCr with 4:2:2 sub sampling (chroma inverted) YUV422_10 – Interleaved 10 Bit YCbCr v210 format (standard Quick Clip 10 Bit YCbCr) YUV4224_10 – Interleaved 10 Bit YCbCr v210 format with alpha/key channel YUV4224 – Interleaved 8 Bit YCbCr yuv2/UYVY format with alpha/key channel YUV422_fields – Separate fields of 4:2:2 YCbCr (Crescent) YUV422 – Interleaved 8 Bit YCbCr UYVY format (standard Quick Clip 8 Bit YCbCr) UYVY422 - YUV 4:2:2 interleaved 8 bit packed as U Y V Y U Y V Y ... YUY2 - YUV 4:2:2 interleaved 8 bit packed as Y U Y V Y U Y V ... DPXRGBLEFILL - DPX 10 bit RGB, little endian, filled DPXRGBLE - DPX 10 bit RGB, little endian, padded DPXRGBFILL - DPX 10 bit RGB, big endian, filled DPXRGB - DPX 10 bit RGB, big endian, padded DPXABGRLEFILL - DPX 10 bit ABGR, little endian, filled DPXABGRLE - DPX 10 bit ABGR, little endian, padded DPXABGRFILL - DPX 10 bit ABGR, big endian, filled DPXABGR - DPX 10 bit ABGR, big endian, padded RGBA – 32 Bit Interleaved RGB (TIFF) ARGB – 32 Bit Interleaved RGB (Mac) BGRA – 32 Bit Interleaved RGB (Windows BMP/TGA) BGR – 24 Bit Interleaved RGB (Windows BMP/TGA) TIFF24 - 24 Bit Interleaved RGB TIFF ordering TIFF32 - 32 Bit TIFF (same as RGBA) PRGB - 8 bit x 3 Planar RGB PRGBA - 8 bit x 4 Planar RGBA PBGR - 8 bit x 3 Planar BGR PABGR - 8 bit x 4 Planar ABGR PBGRA - 8 bit x 4 Planar BGRA PARGB - 8 bit x 4 Planar ARGB FULLDUAL - 10 bit dual frame YCbCr (stereo) STEREO8 - Dual 8 bit YCbCr interleaved streams (one after another) STEREO10 - Dual 10 bit YCbCr interleaved streams (one after another) DV25 - DV25 'dv/dif' stream 4:2:0 or 4:1:1 8 bit SD DV50 - DVCPro 50 stream 4:2:2 8 bit SD DV100 - DVCPro HD/DV-100 stream 4:2:2 8 bit HD IMX30 - Sony IMX MPEG 30 Mbit stream 4:2:2 8 bit IMX40 - Sony IMX MPEG 40 Mbit stream 4:2:2 8 bit IMX50 - Sony IMX MPEG 50 Mbit stream 4:2:2 8 bit ARRIBAYERDLRAW12 - ARRI dual link raw 12 bit bayer packed into YCbCr 10
%Image Size	"Number of Rows" "Number of Columns" (ex: 486 720; note the 'x' cannot be used)
%Number of Fields per Image	This should be ‘1’ unless you want us to take 2 images and interlace them together.
%Number of Images	This number is calculated based on the number of video sequences within the folder. If you use a small number, then less will be read into memory, so set this number high. (Optional).
%Frames per second	23 (23.98), 24 (Standard film ), 25 (PAL/25p/50i), 29 (29.97 -NTSC/29.97p/59.94i), 30 (NTSC NDF/30p/60i), 50 (50p), 59 (59.94p - for 720p), 60 (60p - for 720p)
%Header Size	If there is a header on the file, then place the size of it in bytes here. (Optional)
%Video Offset	If there is an additional offset before the start of the video that is not a header, then place the size of it in bytes here. (Optional)
%Video Alignment	To speed up disk access, the files are padded to the nearest block size. This is normally set to 512 for Windows. (Optional)
%Video Name	This is the name of the first still image. The 000 must be present. If an extension is not named, then it will search for .raw, .yuv, and .bin, in that order, before returning an error. (Optional) Note: The name of the first frame must contain "000" (e.g., VideoSequence000) and the second frame "001" (e.g., VideoSequence001), etc. This is because the software sorts the frames before loading them, and in Windows, the ordering would be 000, 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010 (in other words "1" would actually be loaded as frame 100). Of course, you could use 0000 (4 zeros) if you have more than 999 frames.
%Audio Name	This is the name of the .wav or .aiff file associated with the video.
%Timecode	This is the time code for the first video frame. It will run continuously from here. Given as hrs:min:sec;frames (Optional)
%Userbits	A query of the value of the user bits will return this value for all frames. (Optional; ClearView does< not currently extract the user bits.)
%Start Frame	This indicates the frame number of the first frame in the video file. It is normally 0, unless you are using some type of circular file as input. (Optional) CAUTION: If you were writing the file when you asked ClearView to start importing it, then you may create a situation where the pointers formed a circle (used the same disk space over and over). This is very dangerous, as ClearView may read too fast or too slow, and it is asynchronous.