PC Photoshop issue with HD PICT files (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

I am having a difficult time figuring this out...At work, we have an HD Final Cut Pro system and the editor exported PICT files for me. He used the 4:2:2 color (which I assume is 10-bit color) - The problem is, these pict files open up in Photoshop CS on the Mac, but they won't open in Photoshop CS on the PC.

The PC error message says: "Could not complete your request because the PICT is too complex to open on this computer. Photoshop Windows supports raster PICT files only."

Now, I assume this means that Photoshop on the PC can't handle the 10-bit color like the Mac? If I open them on the Mac and resave the PICT files, then they open on the PC. Am I correct in my assumption or is there something else at play here? I have NO idea what "raster PICT files" are....anyone? and what exactly is happening when I resave these PICT files on my Mac? Why do they work on the PC then?

Oh, by the way, the PICT files open in QuickTime on the PC, so it's definitely a Photoshop issue.

I've searched Apple's site and Adobe's site and even tried search engines, but I can't seem to find anything on this issue.

 

[Ken Chan]

First, whether it is 10-bit color and exactly which of the 4:x:x sampling is used are independent.

PICT actually "records" QuickDraw, which can include vector graphics, in addition to bitmaps (aka rasters). It's possible that the file exported from FCP has a vector graphics "section", even if that section is empty, or has a pointless no-op. So on Windows, Photoshop just gives up right away.

When you open the files on a Mac (with what?) and save them, it strips out the no-op part, and those files are now OK. Just a guess.

You might try other interchange formats, like PDF or TIFF.

 

[MarkHastings]

I opened them in Photoshop CS on the Mac and the PC. The Mac opened them up fine in Photoshop.

 

[Scott L]

Weird problem. Save as PNG or TIFF on mac, try on PC

 

[Ken Chan]

Right, because the Mac platform itself supports all varieties of PICTs natively. Then apparently, resaving from Photoshop/Mac, it's smart enough to avoid putting stuff that Photoshop/Windows (with its probably custom importer) doesn't support; whereas FCP isn't as careful.

BTW, if preserving the 10-bit or 4:2:2 nature of the frames is important, you have to be careful when exporting. For example, a PNG might be only 8-bit (24 bits total) and the color sampling "chunkiness" is lost.

 

[MarkHastings]

Do you mean Photoshop (on the Mac) or Mac in general? I ask because they opened with QuickTime on the PC.

I assume that's because Apple made the PC version of QuickTime to allow for these complex PICT files and Adobe didn't bother with the PC version of Photoshop?

 

[Ken Chan]

The Mac in general. PICTs record QuickDraw; QuickDraw is the Mac's original drawing API, now superseded by Quartz.

And yes, QuickTime for Windows works because its importer is better. Again, just an educated guess, but it makes sense.

 

[MarkHastings]

Just FYI, the original PICT file is approx. 8.3MB, but when I open it in PhotoShop and resave the PICT file, it becomes approx. 4.5MB.

It's possible that there is some raster info in there that isn't getting trasnferred into the new PICT file, but the file size drops practically in half.

I don't know if this has anything to do with anything, but when analyzing the file info (through Photoshop) there seems to be more info in the resaved file and all of the info in the original PICT is about the same in the newly resaved file.

Here is the info from the original PICT file:
and
Here is the info from the resaved PICT file:

Not sure if that means anything though.

 

[Ken Chan]

Probably not. Just a few more TIFF properties, mentioning Photoshop three separate times, and the EXIF properties, which doesn't necessarily mean it has any EXIF data.

The fact that the file is much smaller does point to an unsupported (by Photoshop/Windows) section that is thrown out on resave. That it was large doesn't mean that it wasn't mostly empty, or contained redundant data or something.