Screen-captured movies are pixelated

I am capturing video from my screen as I navigate within a software application (we are making training videos). The Quicktime movie that is produced at the end of the capture is flawless, but when I bring it into Final Cut Express, the final movie is pixelated and un-readable. I am using an application called iShowU to do the capture and have the video set at MAX and 40 frames/sec.
Has anyone had success capturing video from the screen and incorporating that video into Final Cut Express? I am also having similar trouble with images exported from PowerPoint, even when they are exported at 1200DPI PNG.
Thanks for any help!
Michael

If you intend to output on video, like tape or DVD, then the way to do the screen capture is to rent a scan converter and record in a digital video medium, either on tape or directly to computer in a correct standard video format.
If you're going to deliver on the web then you can use computer resolution to scan your material. You would however then need to work with a resolution independent editing application that can work in different codecs that are suitable for this, like Final Cut Pro.
If you are only doing simple editing and trimming you might also be able to use the QuickTime Pro player to trim and assemble screen captures.

Similar Messages

Snapz Pro X screen capture Movies into FCEHD

I make educational tutorials for educators. I also created a weekly vodcast/show with a FCE HD intro. I wish to import the SnapzProX 2.0.3 (SP) vids into the FCEHD intro and export for vodcast for web streaming. My vodcast will premeir in the fall of 2007.
I found that SP seems to best export to FCEHD as an animated movie file. However, I am unsure of how to get the best quality mp4 when exporting from FCEHD. What are the best settings to get a 640 X 480 web video. I can go smaller, but in many cases my teachers wish to see a larger video so they can read the text on the screen. Am I stuck with a tiny 320 x 280 window for tutorials on the web?
I tried manually upping the size when exporting to mp4 and the video was extremely blurry.
File size is an issue... my tutorials are short (about 2-5 minutes) annd I wish to keep them under 20MB.
I watch Atomic learning vids (www.atomiclearning.com)that are fairly clear and can stream from the web. I called them and they also use Snapz ProX for screen capture.
Any ideas on how to export from FCEHD to the web and still have a fairly clear video?

The codec with the best quality to size ratio is H264. This is what the trailers on Apple's quicktime site are made with, and is capable of very high quality results with (relatively) small file sizes. However, it requires that people have Quicktime 7 installed in order to view it. To support older versions of Quicktime, I would next recommend the mpeg4 codec at around 300Kb/s. You might have some trouble staying under 20MBs at 640x480, though.
You mentioned blurry video when you uprezed to 640x480. You must remember to always convert from your highest resolution. If you converted a file from 320x240 to 640x480, it will get very distorted and pixelated. Also, if you're coming out of SP at a resolution smaller than 640x480, you will also get bad results. Remember to always record at the highest resolution/quality possible.
There is never any one size fits all here. It all depends on what the source material is (graphics and low movement always compress better than live action and high movement. Screen text tends to compress poorly), and what the needs of your viewers are (size vs bandwidth). So your best bet would be to run a lot of tests with a multitude of configurations on a short sample of your project. Then pick the one that seems most suitable.
Mac Pro 2.66Ghz - 3GBs RAM - X1900XT Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Importing Screen Capture Movies

Hi. I'm a very new user to Final Cut. I'm trying to make very simple 1 to 2 minute demos of how our company's software works. I've experimented with i show u and snapz pro for capturing screen activity. When I playback the captured .mov files w/ Quick Time they look great. As if I were actually looking at my monitor. When I import them into Final Cut Express, they look like *****! I've used files that were compressed with H.264, DVPRO NTSC and even uncompressed .mov files. Once I render them, they are not clear at all. What might I be doing wrong?

This is very difficult to do well with FCE. It's much better in FCP.
What size are you making the captures? FCE is resolution specific, so ideally you should make them at 1280x720 using the Apple Intermediate Codec.
When you import the files, what frame rate appears using iShowU and SnapzPro? Check item properties of the clips.

Advice on compressing screen capture movies for web ?

Hello everyone,
I just am curious about what is the best way to go for compressing screen captures so that they maintain the best clarity for text. I've gone back and forth between MP4 (improved) and quicktime movies set to h.264... I am just curious what the general opinion here of what is best to use? It seems that MP4 improved produces larger files with less quality... Also it was a little confusing to see that compressor's h264 option is for "apple devices" or "dvd studio pro" and thus doesn't offer streaming as an option as it does with mp4-- so the only way to properly produce h264 files for web is to use the quicktime option and select h264 as it's compression type? Is this correct?
-patrick

What is the frame size of your source clip, and what frame size have you chosen for your output?
Exactly what settings have you tried so far? Please share some details
I would recommend using the Apple > Other Workflows > Web > Download > QuickTime 7 compatible > H.264 LAN as a starting point.
Set a frame size (i.e. 1280x800, 1024x768 or 768x480, if you have a widescreen computer display) and adjust the video bitrate accordingly. The frame size you choose, should be divisible by 16, 8 or 4, for best quality. Have a look at this article for more info on that: http://www.flashsupport.com/books/fvst/files/tools/video_sizes.html
For more info about H.246 and macroblocks, have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264
For more details on getting the most out of H.264, have a look at the Apple tutorial Creating Amazing Video Content with H.264.
1. Find the frame size you would like to end up with
2. Adjust the video bitrate accordingly (set the keyframe interval to automatic)
3. Enable Frame Controls in the Inspector window, and set the Resize Filter to Better or Best (gives you much better quality on downscaling, than without frame controls - do a test and see for your self)
An other good tip, is to set an in/out point in the Preview window in Compressor, with a duration of maybe about 10 secs. That way you do not need to encode the whole clip just to test your settings. Add multiple settings, before you submit the batch. When it is done, see which one you think looks the best compared to file size.

Screen Capture files are corrupted

I use the built-in Screen Capture all the time....Command-Shift-3 and Command-Shift-4.
As recently as two days ago, it worked beautifully.
Today, it's not working correctly. The files get saved to the desktop, but they are corrupted. I can make out the image that I captured, but it looks like the horizontal setting on old cathode ray TVs is waaay out of sync.
I've tried a different user on the machine. I've tried changing the format from png to jpeg to pdf and back to png. Same result.
This is weird.
Any ideas?

OK, weird. The problem has 'gone away' without doing anything specific. I didn't even realize it - I just did a screen shot because I needed it and then sent it to the person who needed it. Only later, did I realize that I had had problems just yesterday.
I didn't even get a chance to try the suggestions listed above.
By the way, all three versions of the file were corrupted: the desktop icon, the Quick Look version and the actual file as seen in Preview.
If it happens again, I'll be back.
Thanks for the help people. I hope to return the favor.
Message was edited by: Zonker in Russia

AE CS 5.5 Mac OS 10.7, Imported screen captured .mov file is low quality

Hello
I'm importing a few screen grabs that I made using Snapz Pro video. The quality of the original file is great. But when I import it into AE CS 5.5, and then zoom in and animate it, it looks really, really bad ONLY when I render at 1/2 resolution.
If I did the same thing to images, they would look fine. But this movie asset (h264) looks horrible unless it's rendered at exactly 100%.
To be clear, this only happens at render, and in the preview pane when the pane or render are set to less than 100%. If I view or render at 100%, it looks fine.

Seriously?!?!
What version of After Effects? Include the minor version number (e.g., After Effects CS5.5 with the 10.5.1 update).
10.5.1
Have you installed the recent updates? (If not, you should. They fix a lot of problems.)
Yes
What operating system? This should include specific minor version numbers, like "Mac OSX v10.6.8"---not just "Mac".
Os X 10.7.3
What kind(s) of source footage? When telling about your source footage, tell us about the codecs, not just the container types. For example, "H.264 in a .mov container", not just "QuickTime".
H264 .mov captured with Snapz Pro Video
If you are getting error message(s), what is the full text of the error message(s)?
None
What were you doing when the problem occurred?
Rendering at half resolution, or previewing at half-resolution (also happens at other resolutiosn below 100%)
Has this ever worked before?
Huh?
What other software are you running?
Chrome
Do you have any third-party effects or codecs installed?
Surprisingly, no.
Tell us about your computer hardware. Include CPU type and number of processor cores, amount of RAM installed, GPU, number of disk drives, and how any external drives are connected.
Mac Pro 12-core 2.93, 24GB RAM, Radeon HD 5870, 4 internal drives (7TB total), about 10 external drives (RAID and separate other drives)
Do you have any third-party I/O hardware (e.g., AJA, Matrox, Blackmagic, MOTU)?
No
Are you using OpenGL features in After Effects?
Yes
Does the problem only happen with your final output, RAM preview, or both?
Both
Are you using Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing?
Yes

Capturing Screen to Movie is slow when capturing Poser

Hi, i use Poser for 3d graphics. I want to do screen capture movie using ScreenFlick, a program that captures the screen to a movie.
And the problem is I want to capture Poser while i use tools to move around my 3D World. The poser display uses Open GL.
I notice that it moves nice and smooth when i dont have the ScreenCapture recorder( tcapture to movie) ON. But as soon as i turn it on, i move around my scene zoom in, rotate etc and it gets slow and choppy.
I guess it's cause the Sc reen Capture program uses processor power and then Poser also takes a chunk of it.
But in anycase, i would like to know .. is it just impossible to have smooth moving graphics in my Poser preview mode when i use screen capture utilities?
I use ScreenFlick but i heard there is a new program for OS X 10.5 that claims to capture totally smooth(http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/screenflow.html). I dont use 10.5
I have a basic Mac G5 1.8Gzh, single processor and with 2GB RAM.
Macos X 10.411

I'd open Activity Monitor in Utilities & see what CPU usage is, what Disk Activity is, Memory Uasage and such.
How much free disk space do you have on what size/speed drive?
Also, Thousands of Colors may be faster than Millions of colors if that suffices.

Poor quality export from imported mp4 screen capture

My video source is an mp4 file created from a screen capture of a unix app running on a PC. Quicktime plays the mp4 file fine (lots of detail, dark blacks, ...), but the resulting movie (Share > Export Movie > HD 720p) is faded. When shown on a large screen, the movie is pixelated and faded (grey blacks, etc.).
I imported the mp4 file into iMovie (File > Import > Movies) with Fit in Frame, Optimize video unchecked, Widescreen (16/9), and 30 fps NTSC.
I have tried various combinations of import and export settings and the above is the best I get.
I'm guessing the import is throwing half the information away (hence the faded appearance). Whatever the cause, is there a way to import mp4 files into iMovie and get the same quality on the export? I tried exporting the entire import and got a file about half the size.

Your description of the problem - a 'comb' effect - sounds as if the "fields" which make up the resultant picture have been put together in reverse.
(..You don't normally see 'interlaced' video in iMovie's playback window - you normally see just a single field of the two, to make the picture clearer and simpler to display..)
[..A video picture's generally made up of two "fields" which each comprise half the number of lines down the screen: one field comprises the odd-numbered lines, and the other the even-numbered ones. Your exported video should be encoded with the lower (2nd) field first ..as described in this Apple document ..and the problem's mentioned here as well..]
However ..you said in your first post that "..I am using a Sony HDR-HC1 and trying to export at the highest possible settings.."
This is an HDV camcorder, and you didn't say if the original footage which you shot was HDV or normal DV. (HDV is recorded differently from normal DV, as it's recorded in a more compressed format, and it has to be automatically 'unscrambled' by Apple's Intermediate Codec while you're importing it into iMovie HD.)
It seems as if somewhere along the chain of importing>editing>exporting, the fields are being reversed, so that you get this jumpiness on replay when QuickTime tries to deliver a "highest quality" interleaved replay of both fields:
Ah ..sudden thought: you mentioned that you exported thro' iDVD: "..I have used iDVD by dropping it into a DVD theme and it seems to work ok, although the playback is a little jumpy, not quite as good I would have expected.."
You may have left the iDVD settings at their default 'NTSC' instead of switching them to PAL.
Check your iDVD Preferences ..that may be the problem.

Trying to increase the sound of recorded screen captures

Hi. I'm making screen capture movies with Snapz PRo 2 and they are being saved as QT movies on my desktop. When I open them in QT and try to increase the sound volume, the setting don't stick if I try to raise the volume over 0db. I read somewhere that QT won't let you save volume over 0db, is that true?
If so, does anyone know how I can increase the gain on the movies without having to load them into Final Cut or iMovie? Is there some program that will let me just edit the sound of a QT movie?
Thanks in advance.
Antonio

Hey, thanks for the tips. But... I don't think I'm making myself clear here.
I don't want to spend ANY time in post with these tutorial screencasts that I'm making. If I did, I'd just whip out my Sennheiser and my mixer and take the whole shebang into FCP and cut it and sweeten audio there.
What I'm doing is using Snapz to capture screen actions that I'm recording as tutorials for my students. I'm using either a Blue Snowball USB mic or my Logitech 250 USB headset with mic to record my voice as I demo apps on the Mac. Snapz is using the Apple animation codec to make the movies. But, what Snapz is not doing and cannot do is help me boost the audio a bit. If it did, then I'd have a finished movie right there. As it is, I have to wait a long time for Snapz to finalize the flick. What I don't want to do is load the film up in FCP (takes time) and then export it (also takes time) and be done. I want to package these things up fast. All I need to do is boost the audio a little and everything would be great. If Quicktime Pro allowed me to do that, that would be great because it would not have to re-encode the movie again.
Maybe there is no way to do what I'm asking without doing it in FCP. If that's the case then that's what I'll do.
THe whole point of this is that I want to keep it as simple and as past as possible because I am not making any money doing this (but I am teaching for money). I offer it to my students as a value added addition to their classes.
Thanks,
Antonio

Screen Captures Look Terrible

I am working on a video which includes screen captures (.mov's) the videos look great when viewed in the viewer but when i put them into a sequence they look awful. I know that the canvas is not full quality, but when i put the video on a dvd (compressor:best quality) you cannot harldy understand the screen shots.I really need help. **also this video is mostly intended for viewing on a computer. thanks

i need to put it on dvd. which format would best suit. i need the least compression, it is intended mostly for viewing on a computer. thnaks i alot you guys are helping the new guy out A LOT! < </div>
Yeah, Shane's great at this stuff.
You don't need Compressor, just export a reference movie (or a self-contained movie using your current sequence settings) and drop the movie into DVDSP or iDVD and let the DVD app handle the encoding to MPEG2.
There are many things that can still go wrong or mess up your stuff. Give yourself a few practice burns and be ready to tell us what goes wrong. the first thing you may have to deal with is interlacing. Since your primary viewing will be on a computer's DVD playing application, you want to remove interlacing. There are a few different places you can do that and, frankly, you should read up on them carefully while you have the manual for DVDSP open. There is no best practice for every situation.
bogiesan

Pb G4 1.67Ghz running OS 10.4, right side of the screen 2, pixel wide vertical lines, a few days later colors posterized on pics and vid. Vertical lines don't show screen capture, but pics still posterized. Hardware test from disk shows ok.

Right side of screen started showing 2, pixel wide vertical lines. A few day later colors in pics and vid posterized. Vertical lines don't show in screen capture but pics still bad. Ran hardware test from disk, ok, adjusted color in sys prefs, new profiles a bit better but still bad, mpeg worse, jpeg bad. No better in new user account. Now a month later, right side has 8 vert lines and occasionally a slightly darker area in bottom corners for a few seconds. Reset pram, battery plugged into adaptor 99%. I can notice, for a slit second, when the screen saver is on, when I move cursor to get back to desktop, true color of image can be seen for a flash of a second.

sorry, was in a rush, any suggestions to fix or ideas of what has gone wrong

Can Captivate make a movie like this? (Video, Audio, Screen Capture at once)

I'm looking to create software product demonstrations (web
sites and PC applications) that are engaging and easy to follow. I
found this video on YouTube that has features that I really like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgWTFYKv0U0
Video (face shot, talking)
Video shrinks & moves out of the way (see 2:03 in the
link above)
Demo a full size webpage while video running (see 2:46)
Zoom in to a portion of the page while video running (see
4:13)
Some folks have told me I need a Mac with ScreenFlow. Only
problem is, the application doesn't run on a Mac.
Others have said use a PC with Camtasia. Still others have
suggested Captivate. No one can give me a firm "Yes! You can do
that - use this combination of software/hardware."
If you can help, I would really appreciate it!
Joe
Joseph Rotella, SPHR
Chief Technical Officer
Delphia Consulting, LLC
445 King Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201-2631
Tel: 614.754.4326
Fax: 614.421.1400
Cell: 614.537.7077
Email: [email protected]
http://www.delphiaconsulting.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/joerotella
Follow me on Twitter too! (joerotella)

It sounds like you want to take a collection of different
types of clips (screen captures, Camtasia, video) and make these
custom edits and transitions. Adobe After Effects is what we use.
Amazingly powerful.
Go to
Lynda.com and watch some training
video previews of what you can do with various video editing
programs.

Quicktime screen capture area size limit?

I really like the video screen capture capability of Quicktime, and especially the selectable area in the new OS. BUT, when I try to use it, and try to drag out a small capture area (a couple of hundred pixels), as soon as I complete the drag, the box suddenly gets bigger. As if there is a minimum size for the capture box, and I'm trying to command a smaller capture box than that. It won't let me do that, but defaults to a larger box. I can't make the box any smaller. I've never heard about this. Is this really true? If so, why would there be a minimum size of the box??

So if I want to capture a smaller piece of screen video, I have to capture 240x480, and then go into another application to crop it. Just doesn't make any sense.
You can do that if you want.
You can also update your system to Mavericks which I am using and which does not seem to have this limitation. Here is the QT 7 inspector window for a 72x34 pixel screen capture I just made:
And here is how the clip displays in the QT 7 player:
Here is the QT X v10.3 "Inspector" window:
And here is how the clip looks in the QT X v10.3 player:
As a fellow user, I have no idea as to why there are recording/playback limitations. If you feel so strongly about the matter, then you should send product feedback regarding the matter.
If upgrading your OS is out of the question, then a third possible workflow option would be to purchase a commercial screen capture utility having the capabilities and features you require.
When I try to select a smaller box, the capture box snaps out to 240x480. I can't capture a frame smaller than that. It simply won't let me. All those numbers sound pretty arbitrary, BTW. Whyever are there these 350/240/480 limits? One might think that if the playback limit was an arbitrary 350 pixels for some reason, the capture limit would be the same. But no.
Once again I have no knowledge as to the significance of the recording and/or playback limitations or why they vary between your system and mine. Unfortunately, Apple is not known for providing such information to users regarding the technical specifications, why they were implemented, and/or why they change.

I just updated my iPhone 4 to iOS 7.1. The apps I had previously installed are not showing on the screen. They are located in App Store icon. How do I move the icons so they are showing on the screen.

I just updated my iPhone 4 to iOS 7.1. The apps I had previously installed are not showing on the screen. They are located in App Store icon. How do I move the icons so they are showing on the screen.

You can move apps around in iOS 7 the same as iOS 6. Press an app icon until you see it wiggle; then drag it to where ever you want it to be. Drag it onto another app to create a folder with the two apps. Tap the Home button to stop the wiggle.

How do I limit what movies are displayed at the top on the main screen

Is there any way to limit what movies are displayed at the top on the main screen when menu Computers are selected?
Currently it shows ALL of the content in the Movies folder in iTunes, but I would like to not show my 1 million 5-second videoclips and only the "real" movies.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Bjoern Dirchsen

I think you are right. It's the latest videos added that are displayed first. Makes sense.
I'm using a PC so it's a bit hard to work with iPhoto . However, your comment did give me a hint to how to solve the problem.
I moved all my video-clips out of my Movies folder and into my Pictures folder.
Then I changed Photo Sharing in Itunes to include Videos
And voila! The main screen now shows only my "real" movies. Sorted by latest added - but I guess that's the best we can do.
Thanks for a super-fast answer.

Screen-captured movies are pixelated

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for