What hapenned to the MJPEG codec in Vision 2012 SP1?

[josborne]

NOTE:  This discussion is about the 64 bit version of the Vision toolkit!

NI has re-vamped its AVI functions in the latest Vision toolkit (2012 SP1).  At first glance, the new AVI functions work fine.  At least the 64 bit version now has a wider selection of codecs to choose from (see this old bug that caused issues with codecs in prior versions).  However, something strange has hapenned to the codecs!!!

Prior to SP1, I used the "MJPEG Compressor" codec.  Honestly, I know nothing about this codec except that it provided the best compression.  I don't even know if its a Microsoft codec, or is provided by NI.  But with that codec, I could get a smaller AVI file without compromising too much on image quality.  I typically used Quality=700. 

However, with SP1, that codec is gone!  It appears to have been replaced with a codec named "Motion JPEG (NI Vision)".  And now I can't specify the quality!  Apparently, none of the "NI Vision" codecs allow you to specify the quality. Wow, what a pain! 

After reviewing all the available codecs, "Motion JPEG (NI Vision)" is still the best option compared to the others.  But now I can't change the Quality!  This basicaly means that its actually BETTER for me to use older version of the Vision Toolkit.

Can I get a response from NI on this issue?  Assuming that is the same old MJPEG codec as before, why was the "Quality" parameter removed for it? 

[Simon-P]

Greetings, Josborne;

While I do not know whether the MJPEG Compressor or the Motion JPEG (NI Vision) codecs are actually the same, it would seem that the 2012 SP1 readme does mention the fact that the compression inputs in Codecs installed by the Vision Development Module will not have that Quality input (under the Known Issues section)

http://download.ni.com/support/softlib//vision/Vision%20Development%20Module/2012SP1/readme.html

I will thus inform myself as to what might be going on there and as to whether that might or not be changing.

Cordially;

Simon P.

[josborne]

Thanks, Simon.  To sum up my question:

Is the new "Motion JPEG (NI Vision)" the same as the old "MJPEG Compressor" codec?

     If so, why was the Quality parameter removed?

     If not, what hapenned to it, and why was it removed?

[Simon-P]

Greetings, Josborne;

After having done some research on the matter, the MJPEG and Motion JPEG will be the same. What changed is not the codec / filter, but the implementation that is being used in the back end. I am not aware as to whether I can, at this time, discuss what exactly changed, however.

Thus we would have two options. While we could look for a Windows codec that would enable the Quality input required, we might also use the older AVI Functions by opening the LLB file found here (or equivalent path depending on installation):

C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2012\vi.lib\vision\Avi1.llb\

I wish you a great day;

Cordially;

Simon P.

[josborne]

Wow.  Sorry to complain, but as a software developer myself, I am kind of shocked.

So NI released an update, and that update actually removed valuable functionality that was previously in the product.

Makes me wish I didn't install the update!

[josborne]

Sorry.  The functionality technically wasn't removed (because we can still call the older VIs) ... but the functionality is being deprecated and is now hidden from new users.