Import quality troubles..

I imported a tape from my minidv and it looks really grainy in imovie. It is a PAL tape...could it be I have settings wrong?

Hi
PAL = 25fps
NTSC = 29.97fps (or 30fps for most of us)
How does Your tape look - if You connect Camera (analog out) to a TV ?
Still grainy - or brilliant ?
Yours Bengt W

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Import quality issue with AVC/H.264 and workaround

When I import from my Sanyo Xacti HD700 using "Import from Camera..." the import quality has significant blocking / compression artifacts. However, if I copy the same file off the SD card from the camera and play it back in QTplayer it does not have this same blocking / compression artifacts.
The file is a .MP4 container using H.264 codec for video and AAC for audio. The resolution is 1280x720p and framerate 30fps.
After spending a significant portion of time messing around with iMovie 08 trying to get it to import without the quality loss I have discovered that "Import from Camera..." and "Import Movies..." have different behavior (in terms of video quality) on the SAME FILE.
*To reproduce*:
1) Record a video with Sanyo Xacti HD700 camera. (One with a nice color gradient is good because it will make the compression artifacts more obvious).
2) Import the video from the camera using "Import from Camera..." (Name the event "Import from Camera" so you can remember which is which)
3) Copy the .MP4 file from the mounted drive onto your local harddrive. (Not sure if this step is actually necessary, but haven't tried without)
4) Import the video from the .MP4 on your desktop using "Import Movies..." (Name the event "Import Movies") Notice that this completes much quicker than step 2.
5) Find the two imported movies in your "iMovie Events" folder. You will notice that both movies are different sizes when you would expect them to be identical. (In my case the movie from "Import from Camera" was 47.4MB while the movie from "import movies" was 33.1MB, and the file on the SD card was 33.1 MB)
6) At this point you will also notice that the movie imported from camera will have a custom name like clip-2007-12-26 14;41;44.mov while the movie from "import movies" will have the same filename as it did on the camera i.e SANY0025.MP4.
7) Now open both files in QTplayer and arrange them side by side showing the same frame. You will see that the quality is much worse in the file from "Import from Camera".
Hypothesis:
My guess is that when you select "Import from Camera" it does some transcoding on these files that it doesn't do when you select "Import Movies". (Maybe Import from Camera always transcodes, whereas Import Movies checks to see if it needs to transcode or not?) I believe this because it takes significantly longer using the "Import from Camera" during which time it would appear to be performing some type of transformation on the movie. Also, because the file name in the folder is different.
I believe that either this transcoding is flawed or of poor quality which leads to the poor quality video when importing.
*Work around*:
Use "Import Movies..." instead of "Import from Camera..."
Note that I have not yet taken this through the export process to know how this will impact the final output.
Finally, for the skeptics, here is a screengrab of the two movies side by side in QTplayer on the same frame. The one on the left was imported with "Import from Camera" and the one on the right with "Import Movies". Look at the right side of the yellow playset and also at the hair. In motion it looks quite bad.
Thoughts?

Really? You don't see the difference?
Ok, well here is it blown up to 2X to make it more obvious:
and here it is blown up to 2X and with the contrast increased to make it even more apparent:
I perhaps didn't pick the best frame as an example, but it is very obvious in motion. If necessary I suppose I could post a small movie clip to show.
Message was edited by: Richard_

FCE import quality vs. iMovie

Is FCE capable of capturing/importing video at an improved quality level than iMovie 6?
I understand the superior editing & functionality aspects of FCE, but am trying to see if using FCE also gives you the ability to produce a higher quality video. FYI, I will be working with a bunch of MiniDV tapes.

I went to FCE because I was disappointed with the DVD final results of iMovie 06 at its best setting (at least what I think is the best). Thinking Imovie was just a poor factory add-on program I got FCE and on my initial tests with the same footage imported then exported through their respective programs, I saw great differences in the picture. Viewed back on a good Panasonic Gaoo 37 inch TV.
Smoke or fog, trees, anything with a lot of detail seemed less vibrant with iMovie.
I am open to opposition on these findings as perhaps something wasn't set right, but to date I have not been able to encode a DVD from Imovie as well as that from FCE
I suppose this is off topic since the question was of import quality, not export.
Cheers

Help with photo import quality in iMovie!

The resolution of the iPhoto (5.0.2) pics once dragged into iMovie (5.0.4) severly deteriorates on my iMovie project. The photos are 21 inches widecrystal clear JPEGS in iPhoto, Preview and Photoshop, except once dragged onto iMovie they look blurry and pixely. My digital camera is a Sony 7.2 (shot pixs at 5M)
Playing project footage on full screen in iMovie looks this way as well. So it is not just the import still shot on the clipboard that looks bad.
How do I fix this problem to get clear quality ?

Create your iMovie project in a high quality format (choose the highest one possible) and then the pics you import will be imported in a high quality. iMovie automatically adjusts the quality of your pics and movies based on the quality of the iMovie project you are creating.
I'm not sure what you mean by "a high quality format", hlokty. Are you referring to the iMovie Playback preference, which lets you pick one of three playback settings?
If so, note that preference does NOT affect the quality of the imported image. It has no affect on the quality of project clips like video, photos, or anything else. The preference only affects playback in iMovie itself. Low quality improves the playback smoothness. High quality improves the playback image.
If should be noted that iMovie NEVER shows us all the quality that's there, for either video or photos. That must be kept in mind when viewing photos imported to iMovie. It's important to not judge quality by what you see in iMovie. iMovie is a video editor, not a video player.
There are many Topics here discussing photo quality. To find them, search for words like "blurry" and "jaggies".
Here's one:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2105598&#2105598
Karl

Import Quality Question

Ok I don't know much about this but,
How much audio quality do you lose when you import from a CD? Also, if the answer is lots, then does iTunes use that lossless audio encoder called apple lossless and if not where can I get and what do I need to use it? kinda 3 questions in one there...

Choose iTunes > Preferences> General pane and click Import Settings.
Choose an encoder from the Import Using pop-up menu.
You can listen to songs encoded in AAC or Apple Lossless formats in iTunes and on iPod models that come with a dock connector. If you plan to listen to your music using a different program or MP3 player, choose MP3 Encoder.
If you want to burn high-quality audio CDs with the songs you’re importing, without losing quality, choose Apple Lossless or AIFF. (Keep in mind that songs imported using this format use much more disc space.)
If you’ll be playing your songs on a computer that does not have MP3 software, choose WAV.
Choose a bit rate from the Setting pop-up menu (not available with Apple Lossless Encoder). In most cases, the default selection works well.
Higher Quality: Choose if you chose MP3 Encoder and plan to create your own audio CDs or listen to your music with high-quality stereo speakers.
High Quality: Choose if you play music in a noisy environment. This setting creates files that are about 1 MB in size per minute of music.
Good Quality: Use to fit more songs on a portable MP3 player with limited storage capacity.
Custom: Choose for greater control over the file size and sound quality.
To choose AIFF and WAV import settings:
Choose iTunes > Preferences>General pane and click Import Settings.
Choose AIFF Encoder or WAV Encoder from the Import Using pop-up menu.
Choose Custom from the Setting pop-up menu.
In the dialog that appears, choose settings:
Sample Rate: The number of times per second the music waveforms are captured digitally. The higher the sample rate, the higher the quality and the larger the file size. Don't choose a sample rate higher than the rate used to store the music originally or you'll waste space. CD quality, for example, is 44.100 kHz, so choosing a higher rate when you're encoding from a CD is unnecessary. In general, the best choice is Auto, which uses the same rate as the original music.
Sample Size: The number of bits used to store each sample taken as the music is encoded. The higher the sample size, the better the quality and the larger the file size.
Channels: If you don't have stereo speakers or if your audio files are monaural (mono files are about half the size of stereo files), choose Mono. If you'll be listening through headphones or a stereo system, choose Stereo or Auto. Auto converts monaural tracks into mono files and stereo tracks into stereo files.

Importing Quality Issue

When I import movie files into iMovie 6 they don't go in at full quality, same in both Tiger and Leopard, same computer. Anyone know a fix to this?

Thank you for your quick response.
No I transferred the files from my Sony DCR-PC100E camcorder which is not a HD version, the video format is MiniDV. For the workflow, I transfer the video file via a firewire cable to iMovie. After I transferred it onto my Mac, I then move the video file into a new project and that's where the quality change happens. Because in the preview of your file the sharpness changes after moving it into a new project are right away visible.
If you need any additional info please let me know.

Import quality quandry

I have a Sony HDR-HC1 HDV cam. I have TONS of tape, that I am trying to render, get on an external HD, then make the move to an AVCHD cam (thoughts there?) like the Canon HFS100. My quandry is on the import. Should I be importing at Full or Large quality? The drive is a 1.5TB, and I know storage is cheap....but is there a big difference in the two qualities? What is the general consensus of best quality to import HDV footage into?
Thanks!

That's a really good question. I don't think that there is on answer to it. All depends what are you going to do with those files DVD or Blu-ray.
I used to import and store on an external HD (2TB) in large quality, but I just got a La Cie external Blu-ray burner so now Im importing full since now I'm burning blu-rays so I want no loss of video and full 1080p........If you can see a difference between an upscaled DVD and a Blu-ray then there is a difference.

Can you help, please? Time sensitive question about import quality.

Hi,
Didn't get an answer the first time, so with a little more research on my part I discovered that:
Video clips shot with my S95 Powershot, imported automatically into iPhoto then into iMovie, are 1280x720 H.264, Linear PCM, and look fantastic. Same scene clips shot with a Canon Vixea videocam, are imported automatically into iMovie and become 960x540, Apple Intermediate Codec, Linear PCM, and look pretty bad. Is there any way to get the video camera clips to import as H.264 quality files? Is it something to do with how the still camera imports first into iPhoto, or is it just that the still camera is much better than the videocam? Sorry I'm a newbie to all of this.
The thing is, if it's the camera'a fault, I still have a week to return it and get my money back.
thanks very much!
Josh

When you have your ipod plugged in select it from the source list (on the left where the songs are). The first item should be 'launch itunes when...[you plug it in]' turn that off.
Not sure..looking at the mac version.
Good Luck,
-j

Import/Export troubles

Hi,
I'm testing import/export scripts to export components
and pagegroups from a 10g (9.0.4.0.99) Portal (upgraded from 3.0.9.8.5), and import them into a fresh installed 10g
Portal instance.
I have some troubles with privileges on the components after the import: every component which had specific privileges (not inherited from DB provider)in the origin portal, seems to be imported with no privilege at all (only 'export' link is displayed) in the the new one.
Any idea?
I also have troubles importing pagegroups, export works bu no Pagegroup is created during import.
Any help would be great (before I log a Tar).
Thanks.
Christophe.

i'm also new to export/import portal, so i can reply just with a question.....where are the transport sets saved ???
I might also guess a solution at your problem:
did you placed a tick on the "Export Access Control List" option ??
bye

Poor import quality??

I've been using FCPX for my past few projects & only just now realized that it's not my camera / lens making my videos look blurry, it's Final Cut! I'm using a Canon T3i, which records in H264 at 1080p, 24fps. If I play the videos back via HDMI onto a monitor from the camera, they look great. If I play them in the Finder, they look great. As soon as they come into FC, they are ruined & I cannot figure out why. I'm running version 10.1.2 on OS 10.9.4.
- I don't have any of the transcoding boxes checked on import
- Under "Quality", I have Better Quality selected
- Under "Media", I have Optimized/Original selected
- Even after exporting as H264, 1080, it looks equally as bad if not worse.
I also just did a short screen capture video of my entire Thunderbolt Display screen. When played back in the FC project, it looks blurry & terrible.
Anyone have any ideas??

silence2-38554 wrote:
As soon as they come into FC, they are ruined & I cannot figure out why. I'm running version 10.1.2 on OS 10.9.4.
Right click on one of your clips and choose Reveal in Finder. If you copied the media to your library, it should take you to the Original Media folder. Open that clip in Quicktime player. How does it look?
If it looks OK, create a new test project. Choose automatic for project settings – so that your clip determines project settings. Edit the clip to the timeline. Export that clip as a Pro Res 422 master file. How does that look?
Russ

Video import quality poor on iMovie 4.0.1

Hi-
I've not imported video from my miniDV camera for awhile and I seem to have a serious reduction in quality from previous projects. The images on the LCD of the camera are nice and bright and crisp but the images in iMovie are dark and grainy. I've played with all camera settings that I think might be at fault but there really isn't much to adjust in that regard. I'm wondering if it might be a QT compatibility issue. Here are the details:
MDD G4 1.25ghz MP
OS 10.4.8
QT 7.1.5
iMovie 4.0.1
Sony DCR-TRV11
Thanks - JAY

Lennart Thelander wrote:
The LCD in the camera is designed to be used outdoors, so it's naturally much brighter than any computer.
Yes, but that wouldn't explain the difference between this and material imported into previous projects.
Calibrate your monitor:
http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6008.shtml
Actually, that made it worse, unfortunately.
Any specific reason you are using an old QT version?
I use a professional audio recording software and the QT upgrades are continuously giving it fits. I wait until I get the "all clear" signal from others on my list.

Import quality worse with Full rather than Large

I'm shooting on a Canon HG10 using HPX mode.
If I import using large, the quality is very good. If I use "full", then the quality is worse. A bit blurrier with thin horizontal lines (interlacing?).
Can anyone help please?

Really? You don't see the difference?
Ok, well here is it blown up to 2X to make it more obvious:
and here it is blown up to 2X and with the contrast increased to make it even more apparent:
I perhaps didn't pick the best frame as an example, but it is very obvious in motion. If necessary I suppose I could post a small movie clip to show.
Message was edited by: Richard_

Video Import Quality

I'm importing video into Powerpoint with Presenter. Is FLV files the only file type I can import without losing quality? I've tried importing with a couple of different video file types (avi, mp4) and the quality decreases a lot.

Lennart Thelander wrote:
The LCD in the camera is designed to be used outdoors, so it's naturally much brighter than any computer.
Yes, but that wouldn't explain the difference between this and material imported into previous projects.
Calibrate your monitor:
http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6008.shtml
Actually, that made it worse, unfortunately.
Any specific reason you are using an old QT version?
I use a professional audio recording software and the QT upgrades are continuously giving it fits. I wait until I get the "all clear" signal from others on my list.

Importing Quality--NEED SOLVED FAST!!!--

Hello,
I am in need of some help with FCE. I am making a small student video and need to turn it in, in a day. I am trying to add credits to the end, they are exported from *After Effects* in very high quality. But as soon as I import the MOV file, it turns into cruddy quality. When I open the MOV file out of the finder, the quality is very high.
Any ideas?
Thanks

Keep in mind that FCE is designed to work with DV and Apple Intermediate Codec video. If your MOV file from After Effects is not in one of those codecs, it might play fine in QuickTime by itself but when you import it into FCE it has to be rendered into DV or AIC. That may be one of the causes of the loss of clarity. How did you export your credits from After Effects? Can you export from After Effects into DV NTSC or Apple Intermediate Codec?
I don't know how complicated the credits are that you are doing in After Effects but you can acheive very nice text credits with the Text or Title 3D generators right in FCE.

IMovie 11 DV video import quality

I have a lot of VHS and mini DV tapes I want to convert to digital to preserve them. I have been frustrated with PC issues for the past 15 years and I just made the switch from PC to Mac. All I have ever heard about is the quality of video editing capabilities of a Mac! So I bought a new Mac mini and was planning to get the Elgato video capture cable for the VHS tapes, but thought I would try the DV tapes first. I Hooked the firewire up to my JVC mini DV camera and was anticipating a great import into IMovie only to be sooo disappointed by the grainy dingy results. The transfer quality is better in my dinosaur HP using Arcsoft Showbiz! From what I have been reading this may be a problem with the new IMovie version. Mine is a new Mac Mini so I believe it is IMovie 11. I was hoping someone could tell me how to change some settings but I think I may have made a mistake switching to a Mac! Can anyone help me here???
Signed, very disappointed and frustrated New Mac User

but I think I may have made a mistake switching to a Mac!
You did not.
and was planning to get the Elgato video capture cable for the VHS tapes
A USB device (like Elgato) can't "keep up" with a video stream, unless it uses single-field processing. This means every other horizontal line of the video is thrown out, which reduces the sharpness of the footage.
I have done LOTS of this. Here is how to do it.
To get your VHS video into iMovie, look at the Grassvally ADVC300. Audio and Video go in, FireWire comes out. It also comes with a nice Macintosh application that works flawlessly with iMovie 06 and iDVD 09/11 (I have used it a few times with iMovie 09 and 11).
The program that comes with the ADVC300 has some nice filters that can improve video and audio of the source material. The ADVC300 will take Audio and Video from any source (VCR, Tivo, Satellite Receiver) and convert it to FireWire (iMovie will treat it like a camera).
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc300
I would use iMovie 06 with iDVD 09/11, why?
iMovie 09/11 uses 'single field processing' meaning every other horizontal line of the video is thrown out, which reduces the sharpness of the footage. iMovie 06 uses ALL of the image to form the video.
If your primary workflow is editing DV clips and making DVDs, iMovie '06 is better suited. Your movie will arrive at iDVD in DV format, which is an ideal match for making a DVD: same resolution, same pixels aspect ratio, and original quality. If you share your movie from iMovie 09/11, it gets re-rendered at 640x480 or less, and then iDVD upscales it back to 720x480. The end result is obviously not as good.
iMovie 06 and iDVD 09/11 is a "lossless" combination. My movies are diamond sharp, with the same quality you get from Hollywood.
You can get iMovie 06 in a number of ways. You cannot download it FROM APPLE any longer (it was free for a time). You can also find iMovie 06 on the iLife 06 install disc. You can buy iLife 06 on Amazon or eBay.

Import quality troubles..

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