Airplay Video quality and buffering

I'm new to apple TV and am trying to watch my home movies (holidays etc) over airpay. However, I've found that if I try to watch in Full HD there's a considerable amount of buffering (2-3 mins) before the movie will start to play, and if I skip if buffers again. Basically is seems any file over 1.2GB struggles. I can convert the video using a lower bitrate etc which reduces the file size, but then obviously you lose quality.
Is there a way of playing Full HD video of large file sizes without buffering, or a way of compressing the video files without losing picture quality? I've tried MP4 and .MOV but the file sizes are very large.
TIA

Thanks for the help, but this did not solve my problem. I have found a workaround though which is satisfactory.
What I've found that ideally the bitrate needs to be around 15, 20 and above it struggles regardless of file size. I tried converting with wondershare with a lower bitrate (eg original bitrate 23, converted 15) but the quality was noticeably worse. I tried passthrough using quicktime pro 7, but as you'd expect the bitrate didn't alter.
What I found by trial and error was to open the original .mov file using quicktime player 10 (10.2), go to file > Export and in the format dropdown select 1080p. The exported movie has a lower bitrate with no/VERY VERY little loss in video quality. These then play over airplay with no lag/buffering

Similar Messages

Best choices for optimizing video quality and playability

I'm shooting family videos with a Panasonic TM-900 camcorder. I absolutely love the look of video shot in 1080p 60fps, but I'm not sure of the best way to process this video in FCPX for output. I prefer playing back edited videos on a HTPC connected to a NTSC HDTV, but I also distribute videos to family members on DVD. So my questions are: what are the best settings for FCPX to achieve a good balance of video quality and playability. Best frame rate for output files? Best codec? Will H.264 compression compromise video quality? My experiments so far have yielded wildly different results. Depending on the codec used and output frame rate selected, file sizes can be huge or reasonable; playability (via home theater programs like Plex and XBMC) can be superb, jerky, or non-existent. And of course, quality seems to suffer when outputting these files to DVD. Please share your thoughts and experiences on the best way to approach this challenge.

Working with H.264 is probably not going to give the best results if outputting to DVD. If you optimize media and let FCP determine your clips project settings, that will set the stage for several successful workflows.
If you're OK with a basic menu, you could simply use Share DVD and let FCP do all the work. It will change the frame rate to 29.97, and the quality should be pretty decent.(If you want more control over the quality settings, Compressor can do a similar job; output a master file and bring that into Compressor.)
If you want a more complex DVD and menu, what Al said about Master File>iDVD.
Also as he indicated, you could also consider using either FCP or Compressor to create AVCHD disks if your movies are under about 40 minutes in length. Your family will need Blu Ray players of some sort to be able to view them.
You could make a true Blu Ray disk from FCP or Compressor if you have a Blu Ray burner. (There are also some third party solutions for BD.)
Russ

MacMini - LG 32" (32LB75) Problem - Poor video quality and now no picture.

Hi there, apologies for the length of this post....
I purchased a mac mini 1.8Ghz with 2Gb RAM yesterday with a wireless keyboard and mouse and hooked it up to my 32" LG 32LB75 using VGA. On startup the display looked ok, I managed to click through the various Leopard initialisations. I bought the machine for use as a front room media player for mainly DivX movies and the occasional bit of music.
Once I had installed the DivX codec I opened a DivX file in Quicktime and selected "full screen mode." As soon as the movie started I became quite disappointed. The picture quality was quite pixelated ("noisy") and certainly not as good as when I play the same movie file from my old dell PC on the same LG tv (the dell PC has a 64Mb PCI radeon 7000 which connects to the tv using the same VGA port as the mac).
Anyway just to give the mac a fair go I thought I would try out some genuine quicktime video samples from the itunes store (this time viewed from front row)....again not brilliant.
So I thought I would investigate the screen resolution to see if I could improve things. It appeared the resolution was set to 1900 by 1200ish I say "ish" because I can't remember exactly. I then attempted to reduce the resolution and eventually I settled on one that looked quite clear with the font size big enough to be easily read. Again I tried the movie and there wasn't much (if any improvement). Whilst changing resolutions the screen would go blank for a few seconds but on one particular setting (can't remember exact numbers) the display went blank and never came back. The tv now just displays "no signal".
I despaired and connected the mac to a 17" Iiyama montior that I use with a PC and it worked ok. However each time I tried to "hot swap" back to the television I would end up with no picture.
I'm really disappointed because everything else about the mac I really like. Particularly the remote for frontrow which is precisely what I wanted it for. The problem is I've spent over £500 and now seem to have a lesser quality picture than I had to begin with (ignoring for the moment that I don't have any picture!!)
Anyway my questions are these, answers to any or all most appreciated.
1) what is the easiest way to get my mini to start displaying on my tv again?
2) what would the optimum resolution be? My television mentions 1366 x 768 in the manual
3) If the mini doesn't offer this resolution in the pick list is it advisable to "force it" using some alternative software (ie 3dexpress.de)?
4) Is the video quality affected by the software player? ie would VLC give better picture with DivX over quicktime/itunes/front row?
5) How likely is it that the video resolution of my new mac mini isn't "as good" as my old dell machine with its PCI graphics card?
6) Finally if I don't get results as good as my existing PC setup, how accomodating are apple with refunds? I bought it from a UK high-street apple store. The back of the receipt mentions a "14 day not satisfied" return policy but then goes on to say something about being "unopened"...which seems a little confusing. Ie how do you know if you're satisfied until you've actually used it?

Hi there
the solution was to remove the various display config files in leopard and then restart the machine, this got my display back on the tv (albeit off centre). To fix the "off centre issue" I used the LG "auto correct" feature from the remote control "menu > screen" options.
The apple support site describes how to remove the affected leopard display files here http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2213?viewlocale=en_US As you will see their resolution consists of 2 main steps, the first one involves starting your machine in safe mode, if this doesn't work then you proceed to the second step where you remove the files using a terminal prompt.
I didn't bother with the first step mainly because I don't think I can start my mac in safe mode since my only keyboard is wireless (bluetooth). So I connected the mac mini to a 17" LCD monitor (which thankfully did display the video signal ok) and removed all the listed files using terminal. I then shut the mac down, swapped the VGA cable back to the LCD tv restarted the mac and it detected the tv and set a resolution that worked. I then very carefully reduced the resolution down to one that was recommended by my tv (1300ish.. x 768ish??).
At this point I was back to having an acceptable signal but still a little off centre. So I used the TV remote, pressed menu, went into screen options and chose "auto correct". Picture then filled the screen perfectly.
The problem seems to be, leopard lists a bunch of resolutions that it believes your tv/display can handle but it would appear that in fact some of these resolutions are not supported by your TV and if you choose one of these your signal disappears and you can't get it back.
I would still say that I'm not 100% convinced with the mac mini's onboard graphics (I have a 1.8GHz version). I'm going to download some HD content and see if that improves things, but certainly my existing DivX collection looked a little sharper and clearer and better coloured using my old dell PC with its radeon PCI card. But the difference in picture quality is outweighed by the convenience of its size and the font row interface. I might tinker with putting Windows Media Center on it one day, perhaps that might improve things.

FCP Novice needs help with video quality and FCP 5!!

Hi,
I have a real problme that I cannot seem to fix. I think its because I am doing something really wrong!
I have a Sony HC42E MiniDV Camcorder which by default records video in full widescreen. I recorded several tapes this way and have now begun trying to edit them in FCP 5.04 (Tiger 10.4.6). Whenever I log and capture my clips they appear to be fuzzzy and unclear on the Mac monitor whilst being totally crisp and sharp on the camcorder viewfinder. I tried capturing using the DV PAL 48Khz Anamorphic Preset which keeps everything the right size (the final output needs to be true widescreen and not with black bars added) but the resulting video on screen is blurry and bitty. I then tried capturing using the DV PAL 720 x 576 normal preset and the video is a little clearer on the screen (for both presets I have chosen lower field dominance) but when I play back it plays back in widescreen on the mac canvas window but at 4:3 on the camera's viewfinder.
I then assumed that maybe this is just becuase the mac screen (CRT by the way) doesn't use fields. So I exported the sequence as a QT movie using DV PAL 16:9 and used quicktime (OS9 Classic - my compressor has never worked because of the dreaded "unable to connect to baackground process" problem which I've never managed to correct) to convert it to MPEG2. When I import this as an asset into DVD Studio pro 4 and set the track size to 16:9 it comes through at the right aspect ratio. However it looks blurry on screen. Thinking that this will be fine on a TV I burned the disc - inserted it into my DVD player (a good one!) and watched it on my new 32" widescreen TV (a good one!) and the picture qualitty is poor. Its so much blurrier and bittier than the original footage looks when played through the camcorder's viewfinder!
The final footaage looks like an old VHS recording that's a year or two old!
Does anyone know how I can capture my footage in FCP with the maximum quality, edit it without quality loss and the export it for DVD again without such significant quality loss whilst all the time keeping it at proper 16:9 widescreen?
Is there some presets I should be working to?
I'm tearing my hair out! Help!

Hi Guys,
thanx for your replies.
here's the latest:
Brian, I followed your instructions and the DVD burned successfully. However the video quality of the dvd when viewed on my TV ('ve tried on all 3 of my tvs now) is still a lot poorer than the quicktime movie that was imported into DVDSP4. When I play the original QT Movie on my Mac CRT monitor it looks a little blurry and grainy because I guess its non interlaced however when viewed on an external Video monitor it looks great - very sharp.
When I view the burned DVD on my television the picture quality looks like the non interlaced version of the original QT Movie that appeared on my Mac CRT and not the sharp interlaced (lower field) version that appeared on my external video monitor.
Its almost like taking a sharp jpeg into Photoshop and applying a gaussian blur of about 0.3 followed by jepg compression compressing it down to 5% quality!
I'm totally mystified. Can the conversion to Mpeg2 be removing all interlacing so that you get the less sharp computer monitor look? I just want the video on my final DVDs to be as good as the original source footage! I appreciate that along the way there might be loss of some quality but surely not that much?
Does this make sense to you guys or am I still doing something very wrong?
Robert: I have tried setting all manner of drives including a fresh external firewire HD with nothing on it (clean out of the box) but it doesn't seem to help.
Brian: I tried the no network suggestion a few months back but I'm not sure if I got it right. At the moment I have broadband through an external speedtouch usb modem and am also connected (occasionally although not for the last 3 months) via a crossover cable to my PCs ethernet card. When I last tried the No Network solution I had immense trouble getting my internet to work again! Can you please help me by directing me to the best ay to do this while protecting my internet settings?
any more help guys would be greatfully appreciated.

Video quality and dimension always smaller than i make it

every time that i set the quality and dimensions in the media encoder it look great. i make sure the preview is set to output but when it finishes no matter what the video is always very smal compared to what i put in. when i put the file in after fx it is also less quality then what it was in adobe premiere. any help would be awesome!!!

You have Zoom on... double tap with three fingers to turn it off. Go into Settings > General > Accessibility to disable it.
See p. 243... http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iPhone_iOS4_User_Guide.pdf

2 questions: Video quality and another...

Hey everyone! Newbie to the forum but I have two questions
1.) I decrypted DVD and converted them (along with other videos) to .MP4 files using Videora iPod Converter. Yet the video quality when connected to the TV is not as good... is there a way I could change this? Perhaps a different program?
2.) I was also wondering, since you can see the video playing on TV, is there a way you could show the menus and everthing else (games, notes, etc.)??? I have iQuiz and that'd be fun to do on the TV!
Thanks much. Love the products Apple!!!
KennyG

In general, the only thing you can get to appear on a television screen is video content. There are a couple of third party docks that will show some menus (Griffin, DLO). But currently, not notes or games.

Matched presets-but poor video quality and audio-PE9

I have posted a few threads like this before, but the problem has not been resolved. I have matched my 1920x1080 24p (Panasonic HDC-TM900) footage to the correct presets when I start a new project. When I play the clips in the timeline the quality is variable and often poor, but when I pause the video the still frame normally has high quality. Audio also sometimes cuts out. I have the MPEG2 codec installed so I really do not know what the problem is. Any help would be appreciated

Which project settings did you select, L3?
And which format did you shoot your video in? That cam shoots in several modes.
If you selected the correct project settings, there should not be a red line above your clips on your timeline? Is this the case in your situation?
If you are seeing a red line, then your video needs to be rendered. (Press Enter. When the rendering is done, the red line will be green and your video will play much more smoothly.)
However, if your project settings match your video specs, there will not be a red line above the clips until you add effects or transitions to them.
If you are shooting in 24p, that could be your problem. As you've seen, there is no project setting for 1920x1080 24p. Or for 50p or 60p, for that matter.
You must shoot your video in 50i (PAL) or 60i (NTSC) in order to successfully edit this video in Premiere Elements 9.

Improve video quality and flip video

hello-
Here is my issue - I am taking video from an iphone app and I need to put it into another software package - the video is not high enough quality for the analysis I need to do and when it goes in the software it is turned 90 degrees.
questions
1) can I use compressor to sharpen the video and decrease the blur? The clips are short about 3-5sec but they are sports clips with quick action hence my blur.
2) If yes to question 1 - any suggestions on settings?
3) Any suggestions on how to get the video turned 90 degrees and not decrease quality?
Thank you

Kgwydir wrote:
Ok but I have heard if software with "frame interpolation" algorithms that can improve quality after it is shot - I understand I will not get high speed video just want some improvement. Increase sharpness - things like that.
You are mistaking marketing hype for reality. There are no miracles in video, only hacks that lead inexorably to lowered expectations.
Your following post is a quote from the marketing hype for Apple's particular flavor of a standard creative analysis tool, "optical flow." The video must be good before it can be improved. Your video can be run through this tool, give it a try and let us know what happens.
You should look up the definitions of the terms is the product description that you do not understand clearly. Optical flow is available in Motion, too.
bogiesan

Sky Go image quality and buffering

Anyone else use Sky Go on the 360 or IPads and have any problems on Infinity 2. I have just started using the service on a wired 360 and last night the quality was all over the place and it also had the occasional buffer. My connection is always around 73Mbps down and 16Mbps up when running speed tests and downloads so what is the issue?

I did have a lot of buffering issues a while back, but it has resolved itself over time.
I would advise contacting the moderators, they normally reply within 3 days but can be longer depending how busy they are.
They will take personal ownership over your case until it's resolved, you can contact them here.
If this helped you please click the Star beside my name.
If this answered your question please click "Mark as Accepted Solution" below.

Video quality and size difference between clip preview and project view

Hey, Just want the video to look the same in project view as it does in clip preview. Video in project view is in widescreen mode and quality isn't as good. When i use the effects tool to fit the video to the screen the quality looks horrible.
Clip is 1920x1080
Thank you

http://forums.adobe.com/message/3804341#3804341

Video Quality and Photo Quality HORRIBLE

I've looked all over the forums here and the only problem people seem to consistently harp on is the sluggishness/bugginess of the App. OK. I agree... BUT...
HAS ANYONE NOTICED THE QUALITY OF YOUR iMovie's IS NOW WORSE THAN 5?!
This is ridiculous! I cut two IDENTICAL movies and showed my friends and they could see it clear as daylight. One of them asked me if I encoded it using Real PLayer, posted it on a website, downloaded it, opened it in Mindows Media because THAT'S HOW AWFUL IT LOOKED.
A sluggish program is one thing, BUT MESSING WITH THE QUALITY OF MY MOVIE IS ANOTHER. This is the same kind of crap they did with lowering the resolution on iPhoto BOOKS that you order. WHAT?!
You get a little market share, Apple, and suddenly I'm chopped liver?!
GET TO WORK. THIS APP IS AWFUL.
My question: is anyone else having this "quality" issue? NOT the sluggishness, whatever, that is a problem, BUT MESSING WITH THE REZ OF MY PROJECTS?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I don't understand how you are importing your photos
into iMovie. Are you selecting File>Import? Because
I don't see where you can select any photo settings
related to KB when the import is done that way.
The solution isn't obvious, but it's pretty simple after you've discovered it.
When using the File > Import command to import a photo, you want to first configure the settings in the Photo Settings window. Do it before importing the image. Normally it is done by selecting a photo in the Media > Photos tab, pressing Show Photo Settings and configuring the import settings. Then import the photo(s) you want using one of the many import methods supported by iMovie.
(If you have no photo in iPhoto to click on in the Photos tab, first import any photo to the Timeline, select the imported clip, open the Media>Photos tab, open the Photo Settings window, configure new settings, then Update the clip. The updated settings will become the default import settings for your next import(s).)
Note that the current settings of the Photo Settings window apply to all future imports until you change the settings or click on a clip imported with different settings.
One of iMovie's most convenient features is that clicking on a previously-imported photo clip automatically applies its import settings to subsequent imports — it configures the Photo Settings window. This allows you to select any clip that has the settings you want to apply those settings to subsequent imports. In fact, you can create a "stable" of clips that use a variety of import settings, then click on the clip you want to be the pattern for your upcoming photo imports.
I have yet to be asked about rendering.
iMovie will ask when you share the project with iDVD or other destination, not before. That's when you need to refuse permission to render. It only asks if photos were previously imported with the Ken Burns checkbox off.
Karl

Video quality and Projector

This is not FCP related but thought this might be a good place to ask. I have a Toshiba HD projector and when I connect up direct TV or a dvd player, it gets a line that runs up the screen. The line is like if you would lighten or darken a strip of the picture and slowly track it up the screen. My old projector did the same thing. When I connect up to an apple computer, no line. So FCP and running DVDs through the computer has no effect. Anyone know the cure for this?

I didnt think of that at all. It is on the oppisite side of the room so that very well could be. I also read something saying if the resolution of the player does not match the projectors setting then it could "affect image quality". Ill have to try changeing the settings and also try what you mentioned with the outlet.
Thanks for the help though. I would have never thought of that.

IPad 2 slow and choppy video streaming and buffering- help!

My new iPad 2 is taking forever to play videos on you tube, email, anywhere. Unusable basically. I changed the DNS to 208 but that didn't help. Every other Mac device works fine, including my iPad 1- I have a 64 wi-fi + AT & T 3G original and 2-is this a lemon machine or is Apple doing something about this because it's happening to many? Any solutions or input appreciated.

Hi Joni S,
how do I find out what version of Adobe Flash Player I have?
To find the version double click your HD icon. When it opens select your HD and then in the resulting finder window search for "flash" (no quotes). In the resulting list look for FlashPlayer.plugin. Click on it once to highlight and then do a Get Info command + i or from the File Menu>Get Info. In the resulting pane look for the version. The latest for 10.3.9 is Adobe Flash Player 9.0.
hope that helps,
littleshoulders

How to manage itunes video HD and SD versions ?

I'd like to figure this out...
When buying itunes movies that come in HD, both the HD and SD (for iphones) versions are downloaded. Both versions are located in the itunes media folder under that movies title/name. In the itunes movies list, only one icon is displayed. That one icon represents two movie versions, HD and SD in the one folder. When you play on the computer or appletv, the HD version is played. When syncing the movie to an iphone, the SD version is copied.
I'd like to know the trick to managing two different versions of a movie, the same movie, in itunes. One high quality and a second lower quality for iphone compatibility. And have both versions represented by only one movie icon in the itunes movies list.
Purchased HD movies from itunes already somehow manages this itself.
When I add my own video to my itunes library, I add one higher quality for appletv, and a lower quality of the same for the iphone.
Iphone will not accept higher quality appletv video. I can create a lower quality version, but when added to the library, it shows as a second listing in the itunes movies list.
I end up with two duplicated icons for those two movies. One higher quality I added to the library, and a second icon for the iphone version I added to the library.
I would like to package the two versions together under one icon. Like itunes HD purchases are managed.
I'd like to know the trick to change that to one icon representing the two versions, if possible. So that I could "package" two versions of the same movie and have only one movie icon displayed in the movies list.
Trying to figure out the trick itunes uses to package different versions, when purchasing movies that automatically come in two versions.
I know..i know, i could make one "universal" quality movie of that one movie, playable on both appletv and iphones, but I prefer manually creating two quality versions to retain the best video quality AND fit the big screen tv properly for the higher version. Universal quality movies work fine for the iphone, but look bad when played using appletv on a big screen.

I came across this guide:
http://www.m4.com/blog/noteworthy-geek-stuff/how-to-create-and-tag-hd-sd-dual-ve rsions-of-a-movie-for-itunes/
I found that you can skip the MetaX section completely, and still have success.
And as to "STEP 3: Adding the ContentID tag", in the guide... way too messy.
You DO need to add a number (the "ContentID" tag), so I made up a little trick.
To keep all ContentID tags in my video different from others, I simply use the alphabet
where the number 1 is the first letter A, and 2 is B, 3 is C, and so on.
Then for the two movie formats in the two open SUBLER windows, after adding the same ContentID tag
to both windows, I entered the same number for the first 4 titles letters using the alphabet trick.
Example, the movie THE SHINNING, I used only the first four letters in the name "SHIN" then subsituted
the numbers 19 for S, 8 for H, 9 for I, 14 for N to end up with the ContentID tag of 198914.
Enter this same number in the ContentID tag space for "BOTH" SUBLER windows.
They must be the same for the two movie versions.
So basically for the movie THE SHINNING (ripped from my DVD movie catalog),
I ripped first to appleTV file format. Then converted that to iphone format.
Ending up with two file formats of the same movie.
Then used SUBLER to open both files in separate SUBLER windows.
Then I needed to add the "NAME" tag and enter the movie title in both SUBLER windows.
I then added the ContentID tag in both SUBLER windows and entered my title number schemed 198914 for both versions.
PS.. Also be sure to add the same movie picture icon to both files in SUBLER.
If you need a icon picture for your movie, try searchig:
http://www.albumart.org/index.php?srchkey=Girl+Group+Anthology&itempage=1&newsea rch=1&searchindex=Music
Then I followed the guide to mark the appletv version format as "HD" (check box under OTHER SETTINGS in SUBLER window) and make sure both are selected as "MOVIE" in the drop down.
In other words, BOTH movie versions in the two SUBLER windows MUST contain the same
tag, picture icon, all info duplicated exactly, EXCEPT... for check mark the appleTV version box as "HD".
Then save the two files (see the guide on how to save the file).
Last, add the two video files to your itunes library.
Both files should end up listed under ONE movie icon in your itunes movie library.
And display "HD SD" under the one single movie icon in itunes for your movie.
Keeping it simple, minimal tags, i.e. "NAME" , "ContentID" , "picture icon", and then
creating your own simple ContentID number, seems to do the job for basic DUAL
video listing in the itunes movie library.
When you then add video to your iphone, itunes knows to add the SD compatible version.
And your itunes movie library isn't all messy with duplicate listings for the same movie.

Poor video quality, pixelation, flickering on moving subjects in frame

I made a quicktime movie using File>Export>Quicktime Conversion... in FCP using H.264 compression codec with best video quality and 16-bit audio. video was originally captured in miniDV. Self contianed movie was made and looked pretty good in Quicktime, though the edges of moving subjects in frame did have small wavy lines (I assume from interpolation of DV?). Anyway it was acceptable to me (but if there is a fix please advise as I figured this was endemic to miniDV itself.)
Then I created a DVD in iDVD 6.0.3 with several slide shows and two relatively short movies (12-14 minutes in length each). The edges of moving subjects in frame (i.e. persons walking into the frame) now have large square pixelations sort of like this --->( |-|_|-|). At anyrate, the fine wavy lines from the QT movie have become much worse when there is movement, and I'm not talking speed, just any movement like a hand moving in the frame, etc. Otherwise the quality of the video is comparible to the exported movie from FCP.
Does anyone have suggestions for how to eliminate this problem?
thanks!
imac intel core duo 2.16GHz, Superdrive 8x Mac OS X (10.4.9) 3 GB ram

the edges of moving subjects in frame did have small wavy lines
That's normal interlacing. You usually want to preserve those comb lines if your target is TV display which will hide them and use them to make smoother motion.
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_aMacintosh.html#interlacing
But if your target is a computer display, then you usually want to deinterlace them off because they look ugly on a PC monitor.
originally captured in miniDV ... H.264 ... Then I created a DVD in iDVD 6.0.3
No! You should not convert the original DV to H.264 if your final target is a video-DVD!
Just keep it as DV. And take care that your FCP export to DV is bottom field first field dominance because otherwise you get terrible zigzag movement artifacts! ...I don't have FCP so I can't give you more advice on that (mini-DV ->iMovie ->iDVD handle all this automatically).

Airplay Video quality and buffering

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for