Major quality loss after disc build/compile
All of my mpeg videos were hardware encoded on a Sonic SD-2000... looks great when i play it in quicktime and in the playback window of DVDSP, but after I build the disc and load it in Apple DVD player, there is a dramatic loss in quality. A lot of compression is visible with a strange pulsing to it. I know the compile shouldn't cause this to happen... but it is!
has anyone had any experience with this?
I'm playing it actual size. On a set top player/ntsc tv it looks great... but on my computer the image seems to be brighter & there is a lot of visible compression. I'd like to think it's just my computer, but when I software encode this doesn't happen. I've opened the hardware encoded mpegs in VLC, Mplayer & Quicktime & they look great. They also look good in the DVDSP simulator.
I've tried deleting my disc build files & parsing files & rebuilding with no luck.
Similar Messages
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HELP! iPhoto 08 Quality loss after edits
HELP! iPhoto 08 Quality loss after edit!
Any edited version, no matter how minor, causes the file size to be cut in half!
Original 3872 x 2592 is 3.1mb at 300dpi .
Edit version 3870x2590 becomes 1.5Mb at 72dpi.
B&W conversion 3872x2592 becomes 1.6mb at 72dpi.
Seems like a major degradation! iPhoto 6 wasn't this bad.
DPI change is not a problem but the file size change sure is!
PLEASE! any ideas before I upgrade all my files to 08. Please - don't say Aperture, it's still too slow and cumbersome. Trying to avoid Lightroom and stay within Apple sphere.It really isn't a big degradation. There is a jpg compression when you make any edit but you might be hard pressed to see the reduction unless you're enlarging/printing the file to very large sizes. The most critical part of an image file is the number of pixels in it.
The reduction in size depends on the image content of the photos. If there's a lot of the same color, i.e. like lots of blue sky or a same color wall, that type of image will see much more compression than a very intricate photo. Also when removing the color information for a B/W conversion reduces the file size considerably. Do a Google search for jpeg compression and you'll find some very informative descriptions on how the compression is performed and what part image detail plays in the resulting file size.
You would have to compress the file a number of additional times time before you'd see the change. And with iPhoto's Revert to Original capability, you can start a new edit fresh with the untouched digital negative.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file. -
Quality loss after exporting 1280 x 960 30fps footage
Hello everyone,
Everytime I edit and export footage shot with my GoPro camera (1280x960p, 30fps) the quality gets a little less. Very frustrating as I am clueless after a long time of looking for what I'm doing wrong..
I use Premiere Pro Version 4.2.1
Sequence presets:
General
Editing mode: Desktop
Timebase: 29,97fps
Video Settings
Frame size: 1280h 960v (1,0000)
Frame rate: 29,97 frames/second
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square Pixels (1.0)
Fields: No Fields (Progressive Scan)
Export settings:
Format: H.264
Preset: Custom
TV Standard: NTSC
Frame Width: 1280
Frame Height: 960
Frame Rate (fps) 29.97
Field Order: None (Progressive)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square Pixels.
Has anybody got an idea what could help here?Thanks for the replies guys, but unfortunately the problem isn't really solved yet..
I tried checking the maximum render quality, but that only resulted in my laptop not being able to smoothly play the exported video.
Filming with the 1280 x 720 setting is possible, but then the footage just doesn't look that sharp.. (as I can't film in 60fps, I got the first GoPro 960).
I installed Cineform and converted a little test video to AVI. This resulted in an export video without quality loss, but the conversion with Cineform took way too long for it to be a practical solution cause I edit a lot.
At last, Abhishek Kapoor, I couldn't find the video setting you're talking about to increase the maximum bitrate.
Any other ideas that might work? -
Major Quality loss when editing in Iphoto 09
Hi,
I am a new user to Imac and Iphoto and I saw that when I edit an Image in Iphoto, I loose a lot of my original data.
I have found that I can return to the original picture, but I wish to edit (especially using the CROP function) then print the Image on 20x30 cm size and therefore I need all the quality I can get.
When I Crop either JPEG or .RAW formatted images (for example 10 MBytes in size) even if I select the COMPLETE image, I am left with only 4 or 5 Mbytes of data.
It gets much worse when I really Crop a part of the picture.
A 12 Mega pixel photo should supply sufficient data to cover a complete wall, but for some reason a lot of quality is lost when I use any of the editing features.
Am I doing something wrong ?
Should I change any of the settings ?
Thanks for your adviceWelcome to the Apple Discussions.
the only difference is that Iphoto took my quality !!
Are you basing the "quality" loss on visual appearance of the photo or on the resulting size of the jpeg file? If it's the latter that is really not an accurate method. True, some information is lost with a jpeg edit and save (only the first edit in iPhoto results in additional jpeg compression) but, in my experience, you would have to print a VERY large print before seeing any noticeable image degradation. I've compressed jpegs as high as 60%, i.e. a quality setting of 40, and for most all uses up to 5x7 prints haven't seen noticeable image degradation. However, I realize image quality is subjective and open to individual interpretation.
So unless you are visibly seeing image degradation I wouldn't worry about the file size reduction, especially in iPhoto as it's compressed only once no matter how many edits are made and saved. Apple uses a compression algorithm that gives the best image quality for the amount of compression it uses.
The following is from the Usernet FAQ site article "JPEG image compression FAQ, part 1/2':
Subject: [4] How well does JPEG compress images?
Very well indeed, when working with its intended type of image (photographs and suchlike). For full-color images, the uncompressed data is normally 24 bits/pixel. The best known lossless compression methods can compress such data about 2:1 on average. JPEG can typically achieve 10:1 to 20:1 compression without visible loss, bringing the effective storage requirement down to 1 to 2 bits/pixel. 30:1 to 50:1 compression is possible with small to moderate defects, while for very-low-quality purposes such as previews or archive indexes, 100:1 compression is quite feasible. An image compressed 100:1 with JPEG takes up the same space as a full-color one-tenth-scale thumbnail image, yet it retains much more detail than such a thumbnail.
Read more: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/jpeg-faq/part1/#ixzz0UKB59gND
Message was edited by: Old Toad -
Major Quality Loss when rendered/exported
Hello,
I'm trying to export a video to upload on YouTube, but I am completely stumped.
Everything is crisp until I render. It's odd that I lose quality AFTER I render. Now to add on top of that, when I export, it loses even more quality. If someone can just tell me a few troubleshooting options and their preferred settings when exporting.
I am on a Mac by the way.That didn't seem to help. Picture one is how it looks BEFORE rendered.
Picture 2 is how it looks AFTER rendered. I don't get this phenomenon.
I'm not sure if you can see the difference, but a lot of quality was lost. -
Quality loss after exporting finished sequences.......
Hello,
I notice when I am working with the footage, it looks like great quality in the viewer, however when I export it out of the final cut express, I notice it does not look as clear as before. I am using final cut express. When I drop the raw footage into the time line, I notice that the blurb "match with clip settings" i always say yes.
Please let me know any and all input. Thanks!
Happy New Year!Hi Al,
Sequence Properties:
Tracks: 2V, 4A
Vid Rate: 29.97 fps
Frame Size: 720x480
Compressor: DV/DVCPRO-NTSC
Pixel Aspect: NTSC-CCIR 601
Anamorphic: it has a check mark
Field Dominance: Lower (even)
Everything else is blank
Clip properties:
Vid Rate: 29.97 fps
Frame Size: 720x480
Compressor: DV/DVCPRO-NTSC
Data Rate: 3.6 MB/sec
Pixel Aspect: NTSC-CCIR 601
Anamorphic: is not checked ( maybe this is the problem as in the sequence settings it is)
Field Dominance: Lower (Even)
Alpha: None/Ignore
Composite: Normal
Please let me know if this helps. I do not know how to do a screen shot, if you need just tell me how to do it and I will.
Thanks! -
Major Memory Loss after Yosemite 10.10.2
Greetings, all.
I've had Yosemite installed since the first day it was released, and have diligently (now regretfully) applied every update since. The only trouble I had to date was a very infrequent and intermittent WiFi disconnection. Up until last week, and according to Memory Clean, I consistently saw 11.5-12 GB of free memory with no apps running. Even when running VMWare (4 GB allocated) plus 6-8 others apps simultaneously, I would still see 3-4 GB of available memory. Performance has always been solid. However, since installing the latest Yosemite update just last week, I now see 8 GB of free memory with nothing running, and 1.5 GB of memory available when running VMWare (2 GB now allocated) and only 2 apps running (Chrome, Messages). Additionally, this usually drops into MB with fans running and sluggish performance.
What's happened?!? Really appreciate any expertise and guidance as this has significantly degraded performance on my MacBook (specs and report below).
Perhaps there's another thread I've missed. Do share if that's the case.
I followed steps in this article to no avail.
Guide: How to solve Yosemite memory leaks and CPU usage
I downloaded EtreCheck per this thread, but not certain if there is something standing out as the culprit.
Yosemite made my MacBook Pro so slow. Need help.
EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)
Report generated February 2, 2015 at 08:57:14 MST
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013) (Technical Specifications)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro10,1
1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core
16 GB RAM Not upgradeable
BANK 0/DIMM0
8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported
Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 191
Video Information: ℹ️
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - VRAM: 1024 MB
Color LCD spdisplays_2880x1800Retina
DELL 2009W 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz
DELL 2009W 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz
System Software: ℹ️
OS X 10.10.2 (14C109) - Time since boot: 0:26:29
Disk Information: ℹ️
APPLE SSD SD512E disk0 : (500.28 GB)
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 498.91 GB (204.25 GB free)
Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked
Core Storage: disk0s2 499.28 GB Online
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
Anywhere
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/Applications/SpaceMonkey.app
[not loaded] com.spacemonkey.filesystems.spacefuse (2.7.2 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]
/Applications/VMware Fusion.app
[loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmci (90.6.3) [Click for support]
[loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmioplug.14.1.3 (14.1.3) [Click for support]
[loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmnet (0231.47.74) [Click for support]
[loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmx86 (0231.47.74) [Click for support]
[loaded] com.vmware.kext.vsockets (90.6.0) [Click for support]
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.cisco.kext.acsock (1.1.0 - SDK 10.0) [Click for support]
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.it.idletime.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.cisco.anyconnect.gui.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.jamfsoftware.jamf.agent.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.mcafee.menulet.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.mcafee.reporter.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]
[running] net.culater.SIMBL.Agent.plist [Click for support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.cisco.anyconnect.vpnagentd.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.crashplan.engine.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.ea.origin.ESHelper.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.ipass.monitordaemon.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.jamfsoftware.jamf.daemon.plist [Click for support]
[not loaded] com.jamfsoftware.startupItem.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.jamfsoftware.task.1.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.mcafee.agent.cma.plist [Click for support]
[unknown] com.mcafee.ssm.Eupdate.plist [Click for support]
[unknown] com.mcafee.ssm.ScanFactory.plist [Click for support]
[unknown] com.mcafee.ssm.ScanManager.plist [Click for support]
[unknown] com.mcafee.virusscan.fmpd.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.spacemonkey.SpaceFSHelper.plist [Click for support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]
[failed] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support] [Click for details]
[running] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] net.infinite-labs.SIMBLEnablerForSandboxedApps.plist [Click for support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
HubStatus UNKNOWN (missing value)
Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector EX Application Hidden (/Applications/Canon Utilities/IJ Network Scanner Selector EX/Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector EX.app)
AdobeResourceSynchronizer Application Hidden (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat Beta/Adobe Acrobat.app/Contents/Helpers/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.38.6.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.296 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 12 . 001 . 10114 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.296 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.38.6.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.7 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 12 . 001 . 10114 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 71 Check version
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 [Click for support]
WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Akamai NetSession Preferences [Click for support]
Flash Player [Click for support]
Java [Click for support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
16% vmware-vmx
4% WindowServer
1% Google Chrome
1% Cisco Jabber
1% coreaudiod
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
2.37 GB vmware-vmx
258 MB Google Chrome
241 MB Dock
223 MB mds_stores
223 MB VMware Fusion
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
2.70 GB Free RAM
7.87 GB Active RAM
2.38 GB Inactive RAM
3.69 GB Wired RAM
6.46 GB Page-ins
28 MB Page-outs
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
Feb 2, 2015, 08:30:20 AM Self test - passed
Jan 31, 2015, 11:49:32 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Memory Clean_2015-01-31-114932_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]
Jan 31, 2015, 09:24:36 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Memory Clean_2015-01-31-092436_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]
Jan 31, 2015, 09:09:48 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/spindump_2015-01-31-090948_[redacted].crash
Jan 30, 2015, 04:51:46 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Memory Clean_2015-01-30-165146_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]
Jan 30, 2015, 10:00:46 AM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/adobeconnectaddin_2015-01-30-1 00046_[redacted].crashThanks, @OGELTHORPE.
I actually had skimmed that very article, and do see green in the memory pressure. Interesting. Perhaps the concern arose more so because of my fans kicking on more and the third-party app Memory Clean all of a sudden started showing lower figures. Correlating that with the fans raised the concern. Yes, it's green under Memory Pressure, but why would my fans be running more--especially with hardly any apps on? Are you saying then that Yosemite will apply all RAM available to what's running and as I run more and more apps it will gradually reallocate RAM across everything? Should the fans running more concern me? They do get quieter gradually; I guess with this gradual "reallocation".
Thanks for the tip about McAfee. I'm pretty sure that it's standard from IT at work, but I'll double-check. -
Quality loss after swf export problem
Dear all,
Thank you for reviewing this. First I would like to mention that I am a newbie with illustrator. So my knowledge is very limited. My problem is I have some vector files. they look like this
Now I need to export them in swf format. I am using the given presets.
The problem is I am getting output something like this. not sure where I am taking the wrong turn. Anyone can help will be forever grateful!!You'll need to do some research and try out the possiblities to get the long shadows into Flash
I think that Flash should be able to have a transparent gradient and Multiply blend mode.
In case you created the shadow using a blend or the transform effect, you might be out of luck and need to recreate it.
Try the plugin opo.
opo - Quick Start Guide -
Quality loss in Imovie after finalizing
Having read alot about codecs and converting i'm still not able to figure out why there's quality loss after finalizing my project in Imovie. In the original .MTS files I can see, when played with the VLC player there's a little noise in the grey and dark area's but it's more then acceptable. After converting and finalizing it's a horror to watch. The weird thing is that the converted .MTS into .MOV files look better when played in Miro then in Quicktime.
What advice can you give me on reducing the noise and making sure the movie looks best when played from a DVD on flatscreen? I want to do the editing in the higest possible quality because in the future I want to burn to BluRay aswell (I know that full HD is only possible when you burn to BluRay)
Here are the details:
1. I imported the material, filmed in 25P (so I don't have to interlace) directly from my canon HF200 into Imovie. I can choose between 960X540 or original size.
2. I choose original size and receive a warning that this can cause a negative effect on the quality. So maybe the problem is caused by my old and small laptop, see specifications underneath my questions.
3. The converted mov. files in Imovie appear to have more noise then the original and after finalizing to HD 1080p the noise in the grey and black areas is almost unwatchable.
Is there anything I can do besides buy a new laptop?
Thank you for your help!
Specs Mac
Modelnaam: MacBook
Modelaanduiding: MacBook4,1
Processornaam: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processorsnelheid: 2,1 GHz
Aantal processors: 1
Totaal aantal cores: 2
L2-cache: 3 MB
Geheugen: 4 GB
Bussnelheid: 800 MHz
Opstart-ROM-versie: MB41.00C1.B00
SMC-versie (systeem): 1.31f1
Intel GMA X3100:
Chipsetmodel: GMA X3100
Type: GPU
Bus: Ingebouwd
VRAM (totaal): 144 MB
Fabrikant: Intel (0x8086)
Apparaatcode: 0x2a02
Revisiecode: 0x0003
Beeldschermen:
Kleuren-LCD:
Resolutie: 1280 x 800
Pixeldiepte: 32-bits kleur (ARGB8888)
Hoofdbeeldscherm: Ja
Synchrone weergave: Uit
Online: Ja
Ingebouwd: JaNo worries Still your remark about the external drive is someting to take in to account, i have mine hooked on most of the time.
-
IMovie HD6: HDV to AIC to HDV... quality loss?
Hi All,
I'm curious, when I use my normal workflow (HDV to AIC (imovie 6) to HDV), does it lose quality?
If so:
* Is there a way to avoid this?
* How much quality is lost? Is there a visual comparison available?
Thanks for any input!Dear catspaw,
Here are my thoughts, based on my experiences, and what I think I understand of all this..
1. Standard-definition DV (those little tapes, or the larger 'broadcast' tapes) is pretty much compression-free ..we-ell, strictly speaking there's some, but relatively little, compression used in DV. It looks perfect, although it is slightly compressed. The material recorded onto tape - and imported into iMovie - contains every frame which the camcorder optics see. So editing it is simple: all the frames get copied into iMovie, and you can chop out, or insert, anything you want. Using iMovie HD 6, or earlier, you can then copy the edited material back to a DV camcorder ..all the frames get shuffled out of the computer and back onto tape again. (You can't do that with iMovie '08, as it has no option to Export to Camcorder.) What you see in iMovie - after importing from a DV camcorder - isn't exactly the same as what you've imported, because iMovie runs on a computer, and uses a computer display, and that generally shows complete "progressive" frames of video, whereas a TV ..or TVs with cathode ray tubes; precursors to the latest LCD or DLP or plasma TVs.. will generally show interlaced 'half-frames' one after the other, each comprising half the TV picture, but shown in such rapid succession that they blur into each other, and our brains see a succession of complete frames.
(..Here's a good visual representation from one of Adam Wilt's pages:
..There are two 'fields' of video, each made of half the entire number of lines down the screen, superimposed on each other, and blending into a full frame of video comprised of all the lines. That's what happens on a TV screen when the interlaced 'fields' of video blend together..)
So standard-def DV is really plain and simple, and there should be no quality loss after shooting, importing, editing, exporting.
2. Hi-def. A can of worms. There are several different varieties of "hi-def". What we're working with in our 'amateur' movie program, iMovie, is generally the HDV version of hi-def, or the AVCHD version. (And a few people may be working with JVC's version of 'progressive' frames, but with a lower total number of lines down the screen: 720p, instead of 1080i. 720p has 720 pixels down the screen, and records and presents an entire 'progressive' ..one-line-after-the-other.. frame of video at a time, whereas 1080i shows 1080 pixels down the screen, consisting of half that number, 540; all the 'odd-numbered' lines.. at a time, immediately followed by the other half ..the even-numbered lines.. slotting in-between the previous lot. That repeating pair of 540 'interleaved' lines gives a total of 1080 interlaced lines in every frame. Movement appears smoother using 1080i (..after all, the picture is refreshed twice as often as with single-complete-frame 'progessive' video..) but may not look as super-sharp as progressive video, because at any moment there's only half the total information of a frame onscreen. 'Interlaced' video is smoother, and any action flows more "creamily", whereas 'progressive' may be considered 'sharper' (..it is if you freeze a frame..) but more jerky.)
So our 'amateur' hi-def movies may be recorded as HDV, AVCHD or some other similar format. 'Professional', or broadcast-intended, hi-def may consist of several other non-amateur formats, some of which are completely uncompressed and require extremely fast links between the cameras and recording equipment, and massive-capacity hard discs to capture and edit the huge quantity of data which such cameras..
..deliver ..for $150,000. Or here's a remote-control broadcast hi-def camera for (only) $7,995..
(..Tell me if I'm boring you..)
The hi-def cameras which we're more likely to be using..
..record compressed video in MPEG-2 format, or H.264, or some similar codec. The idea behind HDV was that the companies which make 'consumer-grade' (amateur) camcorders wanted a method to record hi-def - with about 4x the data of standard-def - onto the little miniDV tapes which we were all familiar with. So a method was found to squeeze 4x the data onto a tape which normally records standard-def DV data at 25 megabits per second. The method decided upon was MPEG-2 ..the same codec which is used to squeeze a two-hour Hollywood film onto a little 4.7GB capacity DVD. (Bollywood movies, as distinct from Hollywood movies, tend to be three hours long!)
If MPEG-2 was good enough for the latest cinema releases, in nice, sharp, sharper-than Super-VHS form, then it was thought to be good enough for 'domestic' hi-def recordings. The only awkward thing about that - from an editing point of view.. (..but which of the camcorder manufacturers are seriously interested in editing..? ..they primarily want to sell 'product' which - according to their advertising - is terrific at simply recording and playing-back video. Like car advertising shows you how wonderful cars are to sit in and for travelling to places, but the adverts don't tell you about how tricky it may be to get into the rear sidelights and replace a blown bulb..) ..is that in HDV there's only one 'real' frame for every 15 frames recorded on the tape. The other 14 are just indications of what's different between the various frames. Therefore, for editing, the 'missing' frames must be rebuilt during import into iMovie.
Steve Jobs heralded 2005 - at MacWorld, you may remember - as the "Year of HD!" ..It became possible to import and edit hi-def in iMovie ..that is, the HDV version of hi-def, not the uncompressed 'professional' broadcast version of hi-def, of course.. but ONLY with a fast enough computer ..and many weren't fast enough to import and convert HDV to editable-format in real-time (..no mention of it being the year you would import at half, or a quarter, or an eighth, real-time ..ugh-ugh).
So HDV gets converted to AIC to make it editable ..and then what d'you do with it? ..Few (none of them?) HDV camcorders let you import HDV back to tape from iMovie. No Macs had/have Blu-Ray burners ..although you can burn about 20 mins of hi-def onto normal DVDs with a Mac's normal inbuilt SuperDrive DVD burner with the appropriate software ..DVD Studio Pro, or Toast, etc.
(..Once again, there was some omission from the hoopla ..yes; you can import HDV! ..yes; you can edit HDV! ..er, no, sorry; no mention that you can't burn a 1 hour hi-def home video onto a hi-def DVD with a Mac ..iDVD would/will only burn in standard-def, and there are no Blu-Ray burners built into Macs..)
Then came AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec; High Definition). This compresses video even more than HDV (whose compression is pretty much invisible, and is in regular use for broadcast material) by using a different method. And along came progressive hi-def recording, trying to supersede HDV's generally 'interlaced' 1080i hi-def.
But the problem with progressive, non-interlaced AVCHD is that if there's rapid movement in a scene - if you move the camera, or something rapidly crosses the picture - instead of the "creamy flow" of interlaced video, there's a jerky lurch from one frame to the next. And with the added extra compression of AVCHD this jerkiness can be (..to my mind..) even more horribly evident.
Anyway, unscrambling ..and then re-assembling.. hi-def interlaced MPEG-2 HDV is pretty much invisible - to me, anyway. The video looks sharp, moves smoothly, looks 'true-to-life' and doesn't have terrible artifacts and jerks.
Unscrambling ..and then re-assembling.. hi-def interlaced or progressive AVCHD (..which is sometimes described as MPEG-4 or H.264..) - I know that you know this, but I'm also writing for others here - isn't quite as simple as doing the same for tape-based MPEG-2 hi-def HDV. Here's all the gobbledegook about what AVCHD can consist of.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_AVC
..Oh, and here's a bit about the "usability" of AVCHD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVCHD
There are many more 'varieties' of encoding in AVCHD than in 'simpler' hi-def, such as HDV. There's less data sent in an AVCHD data stream than HDV (..AVCHD has jumped from 17MBits/sec to 24MBits/sec ..just below HDV's 25MBits/sec..) so the video is more compressed than HDV. And there are all sorts of video formats (interlaced, progressive, HD, 'Full' HD) which are recorded by different cameras under the all-embracing 'AVCHD' label. iMovie - or a Mac - has to work much harder to unscramble and convert the more-compressed AVCHD format(s) than uncompressing HDV. And has to work harder to compress the output of iMovie to H.264 (an AVCHD codec) than when re-compressing to MPEG-2 (the codec for standard-def DVDs and hi-def HDV).
To - finally! - come back to your question "..is there therefore no advantage in using DV tape-based vidcams for editing purposes.." I'd say that there ARE advantages in using tape-based vidcams for editing purposes ..using your two categories:
1. Non-hi-def tape-based DV is ..to all intents and purposes.. lossless. And the material can be imported in real-time, and be output - with no loss - in real-time, too, using any Mac from an old G3 onwards. Importing non-tape material into iMovie ..e.g; miniDVDs, or chip-based, more compressed video.. is more long-winded, and generally has to go through various external bits of software (..e.g; MPEG Streamclip or somesuch..) to put it into a format that's editable in iMovie. AVCHD can, theoretically - as 'AVC', without the 'HD' - be used for recording in standard-def, but there are currently few AVCHD camcorders which are built to record standard-def video as well ..there is the Sony HDR-SR12. But only iMovie running on an Intel-powered Mac will decode AVCHD, apart from separate standalone Mac software such as 'Voltaic'.
2. Hi-def tape-based recording IS an advantage on anything that's less than the fastest, or highest-powered, of Macs, because it needs less "horsepower" to "unpack" the compressed data and to get it into an editable format through recovering, or rebuilding, the necessary individual frames. I think it's an advantage in every case, as not only can tape-based hi-def be edited on older, slower Macs (including pre-Intel Macs) but also:
(a) HDV data's less compressed, and so motion is generally expressed - currently - more "fluidly" than with the more compressed hard-disc or chip-stored AVCHD,
(b) HDV original material is "self-archived" onto its tapes ..you don't have to "empty" a camcorder's hard disc or memory chips onto something else - such as a separate hard drive - in order to re-use, or continue using, the camcorder: you just drop in another cheap 1-hour tape,
(c) Tape-containing camcorders tend to be heavier, less lightweight, than fewer-moving-parts chip-based AVCHD camcorders. They're therefore inherently less "wobbly" and don't tremble so much in your hand ..that gives smoother, less "jiggled-about" recordings ..even taking into account the stabilisation built into most camcorders,
(d) Tape-based camcorders are less likely to lose an entire 'shoot' by being dropped or mis-treated. Material already recorded onto a tape will not be damaged if you drop the camera and its tape-heads thereby become misaligned. The data can be recovered by simply ejecting the tape and popping it into another camcorder. If a hard-disc camcorder is dropped, subsequent head misalignment may mean that all data already on the hard disc is irrecoverable. If a memory chip becomes corrupted, all data may similarly become irrecoverable. If a tape becomes damaged, it's usually only a few seconds' worth which be lost. (..I dropped a tape-based camcorder in the sea when I was trying to get shots of waves coming in onto the beach from an offshore viewpoint, and a wave washed right over me and knocked me down. The camcorder was a write-off, but I managed to prise the tape out, and recover the 30 minutes of movie I'd already recorded. I don't really want to test it, but I have doubts about whether I'd have been able to recover my video from a similarly-drowned hard-disc based camcorder ..maybe, in the interests of factual objectivity I'll try it some day with an old, no-longer-used 2.5" hard disc..)
(e) AVCHD camcorders - unless you're looking at 'semi-pro' or professional 'cost-a-plenty' record-to-chip camcorders, or that Sony HD12..
..are generally built for "point-and-shoot" amateurs. This means that AVCHD camcorders generally do not have the assortment of manual controls which you find on most tape-based HDV camcorders (..because the camcorder makers also aim, or aimed, HDV at low-cost broadcast users, too). There's usually far greater flexibility and more shooting options (shutter speeds, exposure, audio handling) on tape-based HDV camcorders than can be found on AVCHD camcorders. If you're just pointing and shooting, that doesn't matter ..but if you want to shoot good-looking video, there are generally - and it is a generalisation - more adjustment options to be found on a tape-based camcorder than on a chip-based or hard-disc AVCHD camcorder. In my experience - yours may be different - people tempted by AVCHD camcorders tend to buy (..and manufacturers tend to publicise..) high pixel counts (like "Full HD 1920x1080") and that magic word "progressive" (perhaps because it has the flavour, in English, of "futuristic" or "more advanced") rather than their being concerned with choices of apertures or shutter speeds and the clearest representation of what the camcorder's pointing at.
In summary ..at last!.. "..is there therefore no advantage in using DV tape-based vidcams for editing purposes.." Yes; the advantages, I believe, are that HDV converts fast into AIC for editing; my perception is that HDV delivers smoother action (onscreen movement) than AVCHD; and with a suitable deck..
..HDV can be returned back to tape, whereas it's more long-winded and needs more subterfuge to export AVCHD back to a chip, or a camcorder's hard disc, for in-camera replay ..and thence out to an HDTV.
As always, these are simply my opinions ..others may disagree. -
Huge quality loss in iMove '11
Hello fellow iMovie users.
Yesterday I upgraded to iLife 11 to get the new iMovie and its "new" audio editing capabilities. I could ofcourse just buy it from Mac App Store, but I am principally against App Store and its strict rules, so I choosed to get it the old way.
Anyway, I liked what i saw. Finally the new iMovie was about as good as the five year old one, and had some neat features like chroma key and cropping.
So I decided to start practicing and create a short video based on some old DV-videos filmed with my Canon MV950 DV-PAL camera.
I imported the footage into iMovie, and noticed some significant quality loss after the import.
And it get worse. After I exported the video, it seems like it is heavily compressed, even if I'm exporting to QuickTime and selects the highest quality possible.
I have some screenshots to show you the differences.
This is the original DV-footage.
The imported video. Notice the higher compression and the choppy edges.
And this is the exported video. Notice the insanely bad quality, especially in dark areas.
Is there any way to fix this, or do I have go back to iMovie HD?
PS. Sorry if my post is a bit unreadable. I'm from Norway.Steve,
While I agree everyone should have owned a HD camera by now, there are a lot of low-end SD cameras that are still being sold today. In this era of our economy, consumers are sensitive to prices; especially low or lower prices.
And unlike the video camcorder boom of the 80s with Sony introducing the Video8 handycam (shoulder mounted camcorder), people today do not video using traditional camcorders. Most either do it through a digital camera, DSLR, iPhone or blogger cameras and are already mostly in an acceptable progressive format. There is nothing wrong with DV style cam. Canon GL-2 and the Panasonic DVX-100 are still commanding such a very high price tag for cameras of older technology and still being repaired goes to show that there are people out there still using it.
If one can convert quality interlaced footage into quality progressive footage, you can use that footage and create good results using iMovie 11. I agree with you and Tom that iMovie 11 captures interlaced footage in full. But what's the use if it can't make a good product in the end that looks like what iMovie 6HD can do and when there are PC software out there including the free Windows Movie Maker that can do this with no problem.
Consumers, unlike some of us, only relate to past software used and are usually benign to the fact of progressive vs interlaced. I have dealt with some mis-informed customers that they believed FULL HD only means 1080p at 60fps; anything else is not. I digress.
With Mac users, they don't necessarily follow the same upgrade frequency as PC users either. Macs generally last a lot longer between upgrades compared to a PC because they don't have to run a barage of virus/spam/anti-malware growing definition files which ultimately slow an otherwise healthy PC down. Macs do not have to worry about this. -
.MTS encode to .MPG Quality Loss
Hi, I have a Panasonic ADVHD camera that records .MTS files. I edit the videos in Premiere Pro and I export them as a .mpg (mpeg2). I've noticed that I lose a lot of quality of the file when I export. I am using Windows 7 quad core 4gb of ram. Is there any way to avoid this major quality loss? I've been reading forums and I haven't been able to find anyone else having this problem. Thanks.
First off.. your files are HDV anamorphic, not HD:
1440x1080 (1.3333)
You need to be sure your sequence settings match your media:
1440x1080 (1.3333)
With your media file, using proper (matching) sequence settings,
I exported from Premiere using these default settings:
Comparison of my encoded .mpg file (middle), with yours (edges):
How to easily create a sequence that matches your media:
Also... what is that thing?
Is it a bell tower clock? -
Anyone has print out the iPhoto album book by apple after finish editing? May I check is the quality good? I have compiled my photo album book , choosen hard cover option , 100 pages , estimated cost is US150. Not sure worth to print out or not?
All I can say is the books I've created as gifts to my children for their children were received with absolute joy and appreciation (each book chronicled in pictures the first year of each grandchild's life). Granted the sentimental factor had a lot to do with the recipient's enjoyment of the book but they were spetacular. The book with its glossy dust cover is a very impressinve way to present your photos.
As Larry has pointed out so many have posted here that they were very satisfried with their book and Apple is very good about correcting problems.
To make sure there are no errors in the book before you order preview the book as described in this Apple document: iPhoto '11: Preview a book, card, or calendar before you order or print it. If the PDF file shows no errors, either in text typos (my biggest problem) or in missing photos, etc., the printed book will be error free.
OT -
After Effect to Final Cut (Quality Loss)
Does anyone know what's the best codec (besides Animation) and setting in After Effects?
I captured a bunch of footage using Final Cut Pro. I imported them to AE for some special effects and it went very well. Then, I exported them to my macbook and imported them back to Final Cut Pro. The result was kind of bad.
The quality wasn't t as good as the original (quality loss). Is there anything I can do to change this?
I tried to use the plugin from popcornisland (FCP2AE), but it didn't work for me because it brought the whole sequence from Final Cut Pro to After Effects ... while I just needed some certain footage to be edited in After Effects.Joe Biscuit wrote:
Does anyone know what's the best codec (besides Animation) and setting in After Effects?
Animation is "the best." You're asking for our advice on a compromise, not the best. But you haven't told us why you refuse to use Animation. Most such complaints are based on the fact that Animation files are large. Of course they are, they're lossless. when you render them in your timeline, they are converted to your sequence settings and get very compact. But the original file is always available at the best possible rez. This is an excellent and efficient use of space and resources.
I captured a bunch of footage using Final Cut Pro. I imported them to AE for some special effects and it went very well. Then, I exported them to my macbook and imported them back to Final Cut Pro. The result was kind of bad.
You have not bothered to tell us what format you're working in and "bad" is so totally subjective as to be meaningless.
The quality wasn't t as good as the original (quality loss). Is there anything I can do to change this?
Yes.
I tried to use the plugin from popcornisland (FCP2AE), but it didn't work for me because it brought the whole sequence from Final Cut Pro to After Effects ... while I just needed some certain footage to be edited in After Effects.
Never heard of popcorn, thanks for the tip, I'll have to look it up.
If this popcorn thingy of yours only moves entire sequences to AE then just think about how you can make it for you. You can easily make a copy of your sequence, call it :Move tHis to AE,"use the blade to delete all of the the material you do not need to move to AE.
bogiesan -
DOH! Poor quality output after 4 days trying to perfect the DVD
Hi guys
I have been trying to burn a 1hr 27min .avi file (700MB) for 4 days now. Ive tried a few ways but each time the DVD has poorer quality video than the original file.
I tried:
- opening .avi file in ImovieHD and then sharing it with iDVD (it refused to burn it, after going thru the whole rendering encoding process mind you)
- going straight to iDVD (definitely it would not burn)
- opening in QT Pro and then 'stream as DV'. which i opened in iDVD and saved as disc image with menus etc. burnt using toast titanium - probably the best result so far i think)
however the dv file was worse than an mp4 file i created using iSquint from the .avi.
- have also tried just opening the avi in toast and burning from there. worse product than the previous one.
So, any suggestions? The main problem is things look quite jagged and a bit pixelated if you know what i mean. Where as the mp4 file, which ive played using iTunes and VLC, is quite smooth (but you can see there's still a bit of quality loss when sharp movements are made by the actors.(expected).
So I've lost lots of time on this stupid thing, but I just really want to sort out how to do it well once and for all.
Any help would be most appreciated.
ThanksG'day Looneysbin
Sounds like a hardware problem. Is your drive under warranty?
For a start, try rendering your iDVD project to a disk image, instead of burning straight to disk.
Then, create a new Burn Folder on your desktop, and drag the VIDEO.TS file from the opened disk image to the burn folder (note that only an alias actually gets put in the folder).
Next, use Control-click on the Burn Folder to get the contextual menu, and select 'Burn Disc'. Follow the prompts, but burn at the minimum speed available.
This way, your apparent hardware problem won't mean re-rendering the iDVD file each time you try and burn a disc.
You can also keep the .img file on your hard drive as a backup of the disc.
You might also be having a problem with quality of the actual discs themselves. What brand are you using?
Regards
Santa
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