Poor Video quality when importing from SONY DCR-SR100

I am brand new to Mac and iMovie and FCE. One of the reasons I switched to Mac was frustration over poor video output from Windows based video editing programs. When importing video from the SR100 into iMovie and then iDVD, the DVD quality is noticeably poorer than when the camera is connected directly to the Plasma TV. I have been reading these forums and loaded MPEG Streamclip and purchased the Quicktime MPEG2 Download, but I still can't get the video output to look as good as the camera. I obviously have some learning to do, but is there any hope of achieving equal quality output from a DVD as straight from the camera? Is there a good source of information/textbook on this topic? The biggest improvement comes from using the "de-interlace" option in MPEG Streamclip, but the overall quality of the video appears washed out and somewhat blotchy compared to the direct camera footage.

Welcome to the macworld! What imovie does incredibly well is make it easy to create fun and interesting movies. I have used both for several years and only recently with some packages such as adobe premiere elements has the windows world kept up with the mac with respect to ease of use! And even know the packages are still not as easy as imovie. Anyway, with respect to your post and getting the video quality to the best possible output quality using DV material, you are on the right path. The best workflow is to use streamclip and de-interlace prior to editing in imovie. I am not sure if you are doing that yet with your workflow. Yes, its an extra step, but it is well worth it to avoid imovie dropping a field upon export. You can play around with the adjustments to increase contrast, color and et al on the adjustment button. Another option is shooting progressive.
To set expectations, it is second generation footage the minute its imported. However, you should be still getting very good results. FCE gets footage closer to the original footage since it is a true DV editor and uses both fields, but imovie is still preferred by me because of how easy it is to skim, tag and find the material you want then easily do transitions and ken burns for photo's. Fantastic. The way i look at it....watching footage straight from the camera is the worst quality you can get -- It's like listening to your spouse talk and talk and talk and never get to the point until you forget what that point was....editing gets the footage straight to the point....thats quality!
Sheryl
Message was edited by: Sheryl Kingstone

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