PNG codec in Quicktime missing (Mountain Lion)

I would like to know why Apple decided to omit the PNG codec from Quicktime under (Mountain) Lion.

They didn't. (Can you capture a still image from your display screen? If so, in what compression format is the image stored?)

There are lots of people in the video industry who use this codec for its lossless quality, AND even more important for its possibility to include an alpha channel.

This codec is hypervaluable to VJ's who need a fast decompressing codec while retaining a transparency in their clips.

Yes, there is the ANIMATION codec, which will also give you lossless quality with transparency, but for fast playback purposes this codec is way too processor-intensive and the filesizes are astronomical in comparison with what PNG used to offer.

On my system the Animation codec is faster than PNG (i.e., processes more than twice as much data as PNG per unit time) but, as you noted, its greater use of available data bandwith does create much larger target files.

Apple now decided to remove the PNG option.

Even worse: clips encoded with PNG will no longer play!

While I am not a "VJ" nor do I normally use PNG to create motion clips, a quick check (created a 26.70 sec PNG test clip using QT 7 Pro) produced a PNG/AAC MOV file that plays in both QT X and QT 7 players. If you are having problems, perhaps you need to provide more information about your workflow to better understand what is going on.

Can someone tell me:

A. What was Apple's motivation for removing this?

B. Will it be available in an update of Compressor (which would effectively re-install the codec)?
C. Is there a possibility to install the codec as a third party product?

As previously indicated, the PNG compressor/decompressor is alive and well on my system. And even if it wasn't, you whould have to ask Apple regarding motivation issues as this is a peer-to-peer forum and anything said here would be pure speculation. As to a third-party PNG codec component, since it is alreldy built into the QT current default codec component configuration, I know of none nor does a quick Google check seem to reveal any (that are actually for the Mac).

Too many developers, not enough people with practical knowledge?

(Chuckling and shaking head) I am sometimes forced to agree with these sentiments.

On a clean system, the PNG codec (for video purposes) is NOT available.

Believe me, I used to be an Apple Tech Support Engineer, I've checked.
Installing Compressor (although it adds several extra codecs) does not solve the problem.

The PNG codec is part of the basic system component package. As such it is installed when the initial major release was installed. (Or should have been.) In any case, as previously mentioned, you can confirm the presence or absence of the codec by simply attempting to capture a screen image. If it captures an image in PNG, then the codec is present—probably included in the "QuickTimeComponents.component" package. (Or, you can probably load a video file in the QT 7 Pro app and select the "Export > Movie to Image Sequence > Options" window to see if the codec was loaded when the app opened." In any case, if the codec is not installed/available, you probably need to completely reinstall the Mountain Lion OS. Since the PNG codec is natively required by the system OS and is included with it, it is not included in the "Pro" codec component package.

ANIMATION codec is NOT an option for VJ's.

Your reasons for using or not using the Animation codec are of no consequence here.

If you have the PNG codec on your system, it means you have installed a program that included the codec in its installation files.

It is however not part of the standard installation.

Incorrect. The only extra codecs installed on my system are the ones included in the Flip4Mac, Perian, and QT MPEG-2 Playback component packages. As previously stated, to my knowledge, the codec is not available as an independent Mac installation package.

Unfortunately, since you have not provided any details about your work flow, the results of a test for the the presence of the codec on your system, or how you have determined that the codec is missing, it is impossible to tell if your problem is linked to the version of QT you are using (i.e., a lack of active access) or a corrupted OS.

The PNG format for STILL images is there; it's the codec for VIDEO that's missing.

Two different things.

While it can be used to create image sequences, PNG itself does not support animation at all. Are you perhaps referring to MNG or APNG codecs which are based on/share the same basic structure?

Of course I can make screenshots, and yes, they ARE in PNG format, but that says NOTHING about the ability to export in PNG VIDEO format. I'm under the impression you seem to think they are both the same.

They are the same codec. What you don't seem to understand is the fact the PNG compression can be used to export a sequence of images which can then be opened as an image sequece MOV file. This workflow has been available in QT Pro for years for supported image codecs (including PNG) and is still supported under Lion and Mountain Lion. Unfortunately, I suspect you are likely referring to the single step export only available in the Snow Leopard OS and about which you refused give any details as requested. This option automatically creates a PNG image seguence file (with audio if included) instead of having to perform each of the steps manually, including the manual conversion and merging of audio if included/desired.

Do you have FinalCutStudio installed on your machine by any chance, and if so, which version?

That could be the difference between your specs and mine.

It isn't. Final Cut Studio, at least my current v6.0.6 version, only supports the image sequencing work flow option which is the same as the QT 7 Pro image sequencing workflow described above and Compressor does not support the creation of images sequence files at all.

If you want to complain to Apple about the removal of the direct PNG image sequence export option, then send QT product feedback regarding this issue. However, I suspect it will not be a hot issue since the Motion JPEG (a long-suppoerted auto image sequence export option) was also dropped with the release Lion and remains absent under Mountain Lion—much to the dismay of AVI digital camera users.

Even worse: clips encoded with PNG will no longer play!

FOLLOW-UP:

Just switched to a Snow Leopard platform and encoded a test file using the Mac OS X v10.6.8 "one step" QT 7 Pro export option. When transferred to a Mountain Lion platform, this file, like the previously mentioned image sequece created PNG file, also plays in both the QT X and QT 7 player apps using the standard system installed PNG image codec. Unfortumately, since you did not provide any specific information regarding your workflow, my workflow/export settings may or may not duplicate yours.

While working on the system still having the "one-step" PNG export option, I captured images of my global QT codec component configuration in case you do not still have access your pre-Mountain Lion Mac OS QT codec component configuration.

As you can see, there is no dedicated "Video PNG" or "Motion PNG" standalone codec component installed on this system that can be moved to other Mac OS X systems.

ANOTHER FOLLOW-UP:

For those interested, another poster to this forum (klod) has come up with what I suspect is what allowed the PNG image codec to be used as a "video codec" in the Snow Leopard release. Simply open the Terminal app found in your "~/Applications/Utilities" folder and enter the following command:

qtdefaults write LegacyVideoCodecs ApplePNG enabled

This will then enable the PNG image codec already installed on the system to be selected as a video compression option when using the "Movie to QuickTime Movie" export option in the QT 7 Pro or other QT-based apps that can similarly access the QT structure embedded in the Mac OS.

QT 7 Pro "Movie to QT Movie" video export option window under Mountain Lion with PNG image codec enabled as a "Legacy Video Codec"

Once again, thanks for this "fix" goes out to QT forum poster "klod" and his Terminal app expertise.

This is a disgrace.... I can't even run After Effects 11 CS6 for projects I created earlier...

It seems to me that apple is now only good at making phones... time for pros to jump ship... I'm so ****** right now.. I feel like throwing my 6 cores mac pro out of the window... Apple u should be ashemed... Wozniak is right, you have lost your core followers and your innovation.

Apple u should be ashemed... Wozniak is right, you have lost your core followers and your innovation.

This is a user-to-user forum. If you want to complain or rant to Apple, please use the QT Feedback form to be sure your comments reach Apple.

This is a disgrace.... I can't even run After Effects 11 CS6 for projects I created earlier...

It seems to me that apple is now only good at making phones... time for pros to jump ship... I'm so ****** right now.. I feel like throwing my 6 cores mac pro out of the window...

May I assume you did read this forum topic, understand that the PNG codec is still available in QT but that like all other "lagacy" codecs is now disable by default when you install Mountain Lion, and that if you wish to re-enable the PNG codec for video use you can still do so at any time using the Terminal utility as described above?

If so, then I fail to understand your problem since you can correct the problem at any time. If you don't like the fact that "legacy" codecs are disable by default under Mountain Lion installation, then by all means bring your displeasure to Apple's attention via QT Feedback and if enough people do so, then maybe Apple will re-enable these codecs for those of us who still use them. By remaining silent regarding this matter, you are, by your failure to act, giving tacit approval to Apple's continuing move a modernized version of QT and the demise of QT 7 Pro support.

Thanks to klod for the clear and correct answer to this! Some of the other responses and suggestions were quite silly.

I'm a VJ too and rely on Quicktime PNG heavily. Now I'm sorted, thanks :-)

Here's klod's original thread:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3503820?start=0&tstart=0

Heres the solution to turn on QT png in terminal

http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/335/61592