Exporting Video without lossing quality. A Nightmare!

Hi all,
a recently bought a Sony Handycam HDR-CX160e, which records videos in HD, in AVCHD format (.MTS files). I cannot import / export a file using imovie without lossing quality. What I do is:
a) Record the video in HD Standard Quality. It saves the video in .MTS format, 1440x1080 (25i).
b) Import the video into iMovie
c) Without editing anything, i click Share->Quicktime, using this configuration:
   - Format: H.264
   - Data rate: 16500 kbps
   - Image resolution: 1920 x 1080 HD
   - Framerate: current
   - Key frame: auto
When I play the video in the mac the quality is more or less the same, but when i play it in the TV the movements arent as smooth as the original; also the original video is a little bit sharper (clear).
How do I have to export the video in order not to lose quality? Is posible in iMovie? Should I use another configuration (framerate, data rate or something) when exporting the video?
Thanks very much in advance,
--ugo

For one thing, when you record at 1440x1080, iMovie will automatically import it at 960x540. So you can export at Large (960x540) and that is about as good as you get. If you export at 1920x1080, it will double the 960x540 to create it.
If your camera has a 1920x1080 mode, use that. If it has multiple 1920x1080 modes, use the one with the highest bit rate.
If your camera offers a progressive mode, use that. 1080P will look better than 1080i in iMovie.

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Editing iPhone video without loss of quality

I've a stack of video clips taken from my iPhone 3GS which I want to simply stitch together and edit down a little WITHOUT loss of quality.
All I want to do is import, crop and stitch them together, thus create a single file *with no change in image quality*. (for smaller projects, I used to do this kind of thing in older versions of QuickTime Pro.)
What is the best procedure for this in iMovie 09? Indeed, can it be done?
My understanding is that ANY re-compression will result in artefacts and loss in quality.
Further info...
I've managed to import the clips ok (making sure any options to 'optimise' anything are turned off) and edit them together in iMovie. This way, the import is fast and the images seems untouched, so I assumed no conversion has been done on the video (I think I'm wrong here?)
(Setting the project aspect ratio to 4:3 was the other gotcha.)
Having sorted the above out, and done some editing, I now want to export to a single file. I understand the iPhone codec is H264. However, when I export (via quicktime) and select H264, it wants to re-compress. I worry this will loose quality.
When I export with lossless compression, of course I get a 150G file - owch. The sum total size of the originals are 2.63G
Any suggestions?

iMovie will re-compress. To me this is a small price to pay for having an edited movie. Personally, I would optimize, but if you keep your movies simple, you will be OK without. If you decide to apply image stabilization or speed changes, you will definitely need to optimize. Optimization resolves the highly compressed h.264 frames into full frames in Apple Intermediate Codec.
While the quality loss you may experience is not likely to be visible to the naked eye, if that is your only criterion, then avoid iMovie and follow QuickTime Kirk's advice.
Here is a [sample video|http://vimeo.com/7093442] that I made in a Dentist Office. You can see what the re-compression looks like. In this case, I did not optimize.
Editing in iMovie is non-destructive, so you can try it both ways (imovie and QuickTime Pro) and see if you can tell the difference.
Message was edited by: AppleMan1958

Exporting Video (No loss in quality)

What is the correct way to export a completed video from FCE 3.5 to iDVD6 without losing quality of the video? I'm having trouble understanding the specifics in the FCE dropdown menus and want to understand this process. Help menus are confusing. Terminology in the menus is difficult for me to understand. Where I am currently:
95 minues of completed video in FCE 3.5
Project saved in FCE 3.5
Thank you.

Export as Quicktime Movie NOT Quicktime Conversion
Checking Make Movie Self Contained gives you a large file that is independent of your project file; make it not self contained gives you a smaller reference file. They both work the same. Unless you are going to create the iDVD project on a separate computer not self contained works fine
In iDVD make sure your sequence is set for Best Quality; that is for movies longer than 60 minutes

How can I reduce a large podcast video without losing quality?

I am in the process of putting online a podcast video, that I have exported for ipod with quicktime. However, the file is rather large (100MB) and it is complicate for me to break it into smaller files. As I start iWeb it warns me that the file is large and it would require long download times. I was wondering if there was a way to reduce the size of podcast/ipod files without compromising quality too much.
Thank you very much!

This thread might help
[http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6068995&#6068995]

How to export video without modification

So it appears that the new iPhoto 9.5 modifies video files when exporting, even when you choose "original." I like to backup my original files without any modification. Images don't seem to be modified, but videos are; the timestamp changes and the size is smaller. Has anyone figured out an easy way to export/backup without modifying the original video files?
I've tried going into the iPhoto library and just backing up manually from there, but Apple has once again modified the file structure of the library so it's hard to figure out if you're getting all the files, or even what date you're getting. It seems to separate it by month and date of import, but not the date the actual image/video was taken.
I liked the old version where you just select a range of images/videos in iPhoto and export the originals to a backup drive without any modification.
Here's a screenshot of how it organizes the files in the library. Kind of a mess.

With past versions, when you exported as "original," it wasn't actually exporting a new file; it was copying the original file to a new location. So you were getting a bit-for-bit copy of the original. It appears to still do that with images—the copied file has the same datestamp and size as the original. By "datestamp" I mean the date you see on the file in Finder, not the embedded Exif info.
But with videos, the new version is modifying the original, making it a smaller file size, and changing the file's datestamp. If I choose "original," I should be getting a direct copy of the original, but I'm not. Instead I'm getting a modified version of it. And given the filesize change, I'm assuming it's a compressed version.
I know direct access to the library isn't supported. It's the Apple way to keep stuff like that hidden. But in the past, if I wanted to, I could view package contents and get to files I needed much more easily than the new version allows.
I'm just trying to find an easy way to back up the original video file, not a modified version of it.

How do I crop out the pillarboxes in my video without losing quality?

Hello all.
I'm using Adobe Premiere CS6 right now to edit a promo video I did, but I have the problem of black boxes all around the video. I have tried to stretch it to fit but the quality suffered dramatically. I tried to crop it to 16:9 but the same thing happened with the quality. I'm okay with a little bit of letterboxing, but preferably I would like the video to fit the screen. I am trying to upload to Youtube.
I shot the video with a Canon EOS Rebel T3, which has an aspect ratio of 3:2. It records up to 720p. So Basically I'm just trying to get rid of the black borders while keeping the video at 720p quality.
I tried exporting in H.264, MPEG, MPEG-4, cropping, stretching, but something always either gets cut off or the quality suffers or both.
If you need more info I'll provide what I can, just ask. Thanks.

It seems that the Sequence doesn't match the footage, for instance editing SD footage in an HD sequence would exhibit the issue you describe. Is the footage 720p, which would be 1280x720? If so, and the Sequence is 1080p, that would also put black around the smaller video in the larger frame. They should match.
If you drag a clip from the Bin to the "New Item" button next to the Trash Can, that will create a Sequence matching your footage. In the current Sequence, Select All and Copy, then Paste everything into the New Sequence, that way you don't have to start over with editing.
Hope this gets you going
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

Exported video too large, quality poor

Hey guys. I'm starting with a 1440x1080 mts video, trimming it down (total trimmed length is about 7 minutes) and exporting it to a 1440x1080 mp4.
But sadly, I have to increase the bitrate very high in order to get quality that approaches the original, resulting in a much larger file size. I managed to get the size of the exported video (shown in the table below) to a reasonable size, but it was still lower quality than the original.. Can I get some help here? Essentially, I just want to export the video with the original resolution and around the same size but in something like .mp4 format.
PowerDirector11 achieved this with no fuss.
Starting File Info:
General
ID                                       : 0 (0x0)
Format                                   : BDAV
Format/Info                              : Blu-ray Video
File size                                : 287 MiB
Duration                                 : 7mn 22s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 5 439 Kbps
Maximum Overall bit rate                 : 13.7 Mbps
Video
ID                                       : 4113 (0x1011)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : [email protected]
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 2 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=3, N=15
Codec ID                                 : 27
Duration                                 : 7mn 22s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 4 959 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 12.0 Mbps
Width                                    : 1 440 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 29.970 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Interlaced
Scan order                               : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.106
Stream size                              : 261 MiB (91%)
Audio
ID                                       : 4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Codec ID                                 : 129
Duration                                 : 7mn 22s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 256 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Delay relative to video                  : -67ms
Stream size                              : 13.5 MiB (5%)
Ending File Info:
General
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID                                 : mp42
File size                                : 632 MiB
Duration                                 : 7mn 12s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 12.2 Mbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-05-24 22:15:10
Tagged date                              : UTC 2013-05-24 22:15:10
Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : [email protected]
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 3 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 7mn 12s
Bit rate                                 : 12.0 Mbps
Width                                    : 1 440 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Original display aspect ratio            : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 29.970 fps
Standard                                 : NTSC
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.257
Stream size                              : 619 MiB (98%)
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-05-24 22:15:10
Tagged date                              : UTC 2013-05-24 22:15:10
Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : LC
Codec ID                                 : 40
Duration                                 : 7mn 12s
Source duration                          : 7mn 13s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 253 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 320 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 13.1 MiB (2%)
Source stream size                       : 13.1 MiB (2%)
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-05-24 22:15:10
Tagged date                              : UTC 2013-05-24 22:15:10

clanderson00
The answers are in the details. But, from what you offered above, whether you have Premiere Elements 10 or 11 Windows, here is what I am suggesting that you try.
Import your 1440 x 1080 HD anamorphic 16:9 @ 29.97 interlaced frames per second into Premiere Elements, using the project preset of:
NTSC AVCHD HD1080i30.
If you are using version 10, you do that in the new project dialog yourself.
If you are using version 11, the program is supposed to do that setting automatically based on your first drag of the clip to the Timeline. Check Edit Menu/Projects Settings to make sure that the program has recognized your video properties correctly and assigned the appropriate project preset. If not, open a new project and go to File Menu/New/Project and set the project preset yourself, making sure to put a check mark next to Force Selected Project Settings on This Project. After OK'ing out of there, then bring in your video via Add Media/Project Assets/drag to Timeline.
When you get around to exporting, give the following a try (in looks like that was the area that you were exploring already)
If version 10, Share/Computer/AVCHD
If version 11, Publish+Share/Computer/AVCHD
use the preset = MP4-H264 1920 x 1080p30
That preset uses default bitrates of Target 32 Mbps and Maximum 40 Mbps. Go with that to get a baseline for your video which appears to have an overall bitrate of about 12 or lower Mbps. If necessary, redo, Lowering for file size requirements.
Then let us know what that looks like.
Can you shoot at 1920 x 1080 at a higher bitrate with your camera? And does your camera shoot progressive as well as interlaced video?
Thanks.
ATR

How to reduce size of image without loss quality

I am website developer design a website http://www.ritikakaur.com/ in wordpress php i am new in photoshop and i want to use some image plz suggest me how can i reduce size of image without loss of image quality.

Which file formats are eligible for your purposes?
non-destructive compression has limits, so you may have to compromise.

What's the best way of importing, editing, exporting and watching AVCHD videos without losing quality?

Whenever I import AVCHD (.mts extension files) to Final Cut Pro X (via Import from camera), iMovie, Adobe Premiere Elements 10 or Adobe Premiere Pro CS4; when I later export those videos to any format I can imagine, I can't get the same quality than when I play them through the camera connected by HDMI to TV (the camera's movements are not any smooth).
How have you solved this problem? Is it just me?
By the way, maybe the problem is in watching: what apps do you use to play the exported media? Do you watch the final videos just on TV? Do you create blu-ray discs?
I was also wondering what would happen if I created a blu-ray image, have you tried this?
Thanks in advance,
Pol

My video was shot by a Canon HF100 at 1440x1080 25fps 1080i 25i (interlaced) and imported to Final Cut Pro X without transcoding to ProRes (1st time) and transcoding (2nd time).
The project settings are set to: set automatically based on 1st video clip (so they're 1440x1080 1080i 25i) and I used to leave Audio and Render to default settings (Surround, 48kHz, ProRes 422), but I have also done a few tests with ProRes 422 HQ and Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2. Should I try with ProRes 4444?
I usually export the project using Current settings (in video codec), and I've also burned an AVCHD DVD (I plybacked it on PlayStation 3 - also looked choppy). I've also exported to H.264 codec.
The video looks choppy on Mac played by Quicktime and VLC. The video I could export to MP4 also looked choppy on PlayStation 3 and Samsung LED TV.
Thanks for taking your time,
Pol

How to export videos in good quality?

hi,
this is my first post on this discussion board, so please be understanding.
ok, so i have to prepare lot of videos for web, in Final Cut Express. mainly interviews, which are about 3 minutes to 5 minutes long max. on the other hand, i have restriction, that this videos should have max. 10 mb weight.
and me questions is, how to make it? Of course i want good quality!
how to do export, which setting i should customize?
or maybe which another program i should use to convert it later?
i'll be very thankful if You will write a little explanation!

Generally, exporting to H.264 or MP4 will give you the smallest file sizes. Plus, most web videos are not full screen and are at slower frame rates than regular video. You will have to experiment with some of the settings.
Export to QuickTime Conversion, select the H.264 or MP4 codec, try a couple of different options. First, reduce the size to 320x240 or smaller. See if that gives you the target file size. If not, try a smaller size. Then, if you still need to reduce the file size, try reducing the frame rate. Only change one thing at a time until you get the file size you need.
This article from Ken Stone may help - QuickTime movies from FCP - For the Web.

Exporting Video at Full Quality

I made a short 2 minute film in iMovie and I would like to export it to Quicktime with the full quality option. For some reason, when i click it, the blue status bar shows up as if it is working, but the blue on the bar moves incredibly quickly and never reaches the end. Then when I open up the Quicktime file it created, the music from my movie plays, but just a still frame from the movie appears. Anyone know why this is happening? It lets me export it to quicktime in the other forms, just not at full quality.
Thanks!

Hi
*Not knowing the origin to Your problem - General approach when in trouble is as follows.*
• Free space on internal (start-up) hard disk if it is less than 10Gb should rather have 25Gb
• *Hard disk is untidy. Repair Permissions*, Repair Hard disk (Apple Disc Util tool)
• Garageband-fix. Start it, Play a note and Close it. Re-try (Corrects an audio problem that hinders iMovie)
• *Delete iMovie pref file* - or rather start a new user/account - log into this and re-try
iMovie pref file resides.
Mac Hard Disk (start-up HD)/Users/"Your account"/Library/Preferences and is named. com.apple.iMovie.plist
While iMovie is NOT RUNNING - move this file out to desk-top.
Now restart iMovie.
• Third party plug-ins that doesn't work OK (not relevant for iMovie’08 or 09)
• Program miss-match. iMovie 5.0.2, up to Mac OS X.4.11 AND QuickTime 7.4.1 - is OK
• Program miss-match. iMovie 6.0.3 or 6.0.4, Mac OS X.4.11 AND QuickTime 7.4.1 - is OK (might work under Leopard)
• Program miss-match. iMovie’08 v. 7.0.1, Mac OS X.4.11 AND QuickTime 7.4.1 - is OK (might work under Leopard)
• Screen must be set to Million-colors
From LKN 1935. (in this case = iMovie HD (5), I tried it all, but nothing worked.
Your answer (above) has been helpfull insofar as all the different trials led to the conclusion that
there was something wrong with my iMovie software. I therefore threw everything away and reinstalled
iMovie from the HD. After that the exportation of DV videos (there has not been any problem with HDV videos)
to my Sony camcorders worked properly as it did before.
Yours Bengt W

Need your advice on making family videos without losing quality

I need your advice. I don't know where to put my question because I don't know which piece of software I need (so I am posting this in a few places on the forum: sorry). That is exactly the question, I guess.
I have a couple of digital cameras that I use to make family videos. They both produce .avi files. Sometimes I use an iPhone that produces .mov files. So after my children and grandchildren visit, I end up with a bunch of these little videos. I want to combine them into longer videos that I can watch more conveniently on my Apple TV 2 or put on a DVD to send my kids or to my elderly mother-in-law to watch. I know how to combine them using iMovie HD, but that process seems to radically degrade the resolution and/or image quality. The original .avi files are 1024x768 and are very clear and sharp. I can't watch these .avi files on my ATV2 so I've been using Quicktime Player 10.0 to open them and then save them as .mov files. Once I import these files into iTunes, I can watch them on my ATV2 and they too look great on my tv (since they have the same resolution as the original .avi files): sharp and clear. But after I use iMovie HD to combine them (the .avi files) into an .m4v file, they're down to 640x480, and don't look near as good. And the DVD made from this file using iDVD looks equally bad and blocky.
I think what I want to know is, can I change some parameters on iMovie HD to produce files that are as high quality as the original .avi and .mov files? Or if not, what software do I need to accomplish this? I'm not interested in "fancy" movies. These are just home movies, but they are important to us. Should I upgrade my iMovie to do this? Or get Quicktime Pro? Or what? I'd appreciate your advice. I'd like to keep the process as simple as possible.

This is my workflow. I'm sure you will get a variety of opinions, but all I can say for my AVI clips, I've had excellent results for viewing on AppleTV.
I use iMovie HD 6 for organizing the clips into short movies, 15 minutes +/-. Clips are imported into iMovie as DV files. Once the movies are completed, I Export from iMovie as Full Quality, which results in a my-movie.dv file.
I then open the dv file in MPEG Streamclip. There I use the MP4 and iTunes settings for screen ratio and bit rate. 4:3 for Standard Def and 16:9 for High Def. Sounds complicated, but once you open MPEG Streamclip, the settings are simple to figure out.
The main thing to remember about quality is not to upscale your video. If the resolution is 640x480 SD, do not export higher than 640x480.
Here are a couple of screenshots using MPEG Streamclips "Export to MP4" setting:

How can I export video without broken color gradient?

I recently use iMovie alot to AVCHD videos taken by my Panasonic GF2. The original video quality is really good. The gradient is smooth and beautiful. When it comes to export from iMovie. I always got broken gradient in dark area.
Can somebody tell me how to deal with this?
Thanks

Kabaism wrote:
... When it comes to export from iMovie. I always got broken gradient in dark area....
gradients, shades of greys, plain colors show the limits of video-encoding.
try a diff. Export with Quicktime optional setting, esp. raise the bit-rate ...-

How do I export video without a black border?

Hi everybody,
Hope there are a few altruistic users of Motion out there who can put me on the right track!
I have just bought Motion 5 - I have used Motion in the past and videos exported perfectly, with no issues, but now even if I create a custom preset which is simply 1920 x 1080 and 25fps the resulting video has a thick black border and doesn't fill the screen - I'm trying to create backgrounds for titles and need the resotution to match HD video footage. At the moment i have a small area of vidieo in a black space.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks!
John

Sounds like you need to scale up the video you have. It's not a border. It's just the background; and your video isn't filling the frame.
Click in the viewer window and hit Shift-Z, to make sure you're seeing the whole canvas frame. Then it should be evident whether your video is filling the frame or not.

After exporting video project the quality is poor

Why is this? When I used to use Windows Movie Maker the quality was outstanding. I would think iMovie would be a lot better than Windows Movie Maker? Any help would be appreciated.

I figured it out. I had to reduce the size of the exported file. It looks a lot better now.

Exporting Video without lossing quality. A Nightmare!

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