Get the free plugin for Adobe Creative Cloud, enabling NotchLC support in After Effects, Premiere and Media Encoder. Windows & macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon) supported.
The version of Hellboy: The Crooked Man is often the first "high-quality" version to hit the digital market. Because the film relies heavily on shadows, muted earth tones, and a gritty, grainy aesthetic to sell its folk-horror vibe, the WEB-DL format is superior to "Cam" versions or low-bitrate rips. It preserves the intentional darkness of the Appalachian woods without the "pixel blockiness" often seen in lower-quality files. The Reception of the 2024 Reboot
The string represents more than just a sequence of characters; it is a specific technical "release tag" used in the digital world to identify a high-definition copy of the 2024 film Hellboy: The Crooked Man . hellboythecrookedman2024720pwebdlx264
This is the codec used to compress the video. H.264 (or x264) is the most universally compatible video compression standard in the world. It ensures that the movie can play on almost any device, from a decade-old laptop to a modern smart TV, without stuttering or requiring specialized software. Why This Specific Format Matters The version of Hellboy: The Crooked Man is
Critics have noted that the 720p and 1080p digital releases highlight the film’s practical effects and creature designs, which lean into the "gross-out" horror elements that Mike Mignola’s original comics are famous for. The Reception of the 2024 Reboot The string
This stands for "Web Download." It indicates that the source of the file was a legitimate streaming service (like Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or Vudu). Unlike a "WebRip," which is recorded while the movie is playing, a WEB-DL is a direct extraction of the file from the server, meaning there is no loss in visual or audio quality from the original stream.
This refers to the resolution. While 1080p and 4K are the current standards for home theaters, 720p (1280x720 pixels) remains a popular "sweet spot" for mobile devices and tablets. It offers high-definition clarity without the massive file sizes associated with higher resolutions.
Detail when you need it. Unlike other mainstream GPU codecs, NotchLC uses variable block size and variable control point bit levels to provide extra detail while allowing greater compression in areas of flatter colours.
NotchLC breaks colour data down into luma and chroma (YUV). 12bits of depth are assigned to luma data, as in many scenarios this is where bit depth is most perceivable. 8bits are assigned to each of the U & V channels.
Rather than specify target bitrates and end up with undetermined quality outcomes, NotchLC takes the reverse approach: during encoding you set a quality level, and the encoder uses the most compression it can while preserving it.
Utilising the modern SSIM measurement method, NotchLC delivers the high-quality results that are needed to be qualified as an intermediary codec. Don’t take our word for it though — read what dandelion + burdock writes in their big, independent 10bit codec test.
See how NotchLC stacks up with with another popular GPU powered codec.
Talk to any content creator about codecs and you’ll find encoding times, right at the top of the list of concerns. NotchLC utilises the full power of the GPU to massively accelerate the encoding process.
NotchLC utilises the full power of the GPU to massively accelerate the encoding process. On a consumer PC, encoding can be up to 5.7x faster than realtime at 1080p24. As an example, we encoded the Open Source movie “Big Buck Bunny” (duration 09:57) in just 1 min and 44 secs.
In a CPU codec, the CPU decodes the image and sends the huge raw frames up to the GPU. The secret sauce of a GPU codec is that compressed frames are uploaded and the GPU does the decode. The compressed frames are much smaller in size allowing vastly more video to be passed through the PCI-e bus.
Typically you will see compression ratios of around 5:1 on motion graphics content when compared to raw video. You’ll be able to dial in your final file size by using the encoder’s Quality Level (see the manual).
NotchLC can be integrated into your software or product. We have a fully documented SDK available under a commercial license. Contact us to discuss licensing options and pricing.
See the manual, or talk to other users on our community Discord.