Trying to produce high quality m4v content

I'm trying to find that "magic sauce" to create a sharp m4v file from Final Cut Pro.
here's my predicament:
I've edited s series of sequences in FCP; combined them by nesting and then outputted that out to a QT.mov that has 'self contained' unchecked - a reference file.
Opening up Compressor I choose the setting for "h.264 for iPod video and iPhone 650x480".
The result is fuzzy and I think that is being charitable at this time.
Knowing I'm opening up a can of questions, I'm wiling to field any and all to get an answer because, frankly, if I can't get sharp crisp m4v's then I will change that to mp4's and that will be a shame, personally.
Help?
Lawrence

Have you looked at the file on an iphone? You might be surprised.
If still no love, try upping the bitrate and adding a little sharpening. But remember that pushing too far out of spec may choke the device.

Similar Messages

Does tweaking iPhoto prefs file produce higher quality?

I'm about to order some books & calendars. In older versions of iPhoto there was a simple hack that was recommended to produce higher quality products. It involved editing the iPhoto prefs file and changing the dpi settings.
Is this still recommended for iPhoto 08? If so, where can I find the instructions?
Any other tips for a first-time photo services customer?

Steve M:
It's no longer necessary as iPhoto 7 has set the resolution to 300 dpi for all book sizes.
Happy Holidays
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 created 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 and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Whch produces higher quality m2v- Quicktime or Compressor

I use Final Cut Express HD and export mpeg 2 videos for use in DVD Studio Pro. I have exported both - NTSC high quality, 2 pass vbr, 7 mps bitrate with both Compressor and Quicktime. Both files look good when previewed, yet my finished DVD video is not a clear. Is there a better way or different codec to use to get cleaner DVD end product?
Thanks

We get the qt movies out of Compressor, the look great in DVDSP, but DVDSP won't even recognize them when they make the DVD.
Please clarify that statement. If you're using Compressor to encode MPEG2 files from your animations, you should end up with files that DVDSP will import. What presets are you using, if any?
We are using standard compressor settings for "MPEG2 60mintes" coming out Compressor.
I realize that DVDSP should support them, its that it won't that is causing the problems... :-\
And, if we allow the DVDSP to do the conversion to DVD itself, the results look VERY bad.
What are your encoding settings from within DVDSP?
Settings? We are going to DVD... thought that needed no settings to be set? (I could be wrong, I'm only the wingman on this one...)
and it seems to have something to do with the resolution of the files, going from 720x486 to 720x480... maybe...
Compressor handles that properly (crops 6 pixels rather than scaling). Not sure about encoding from within DVDSP.
Ah... that makes a little sense... if there is a difference between Compressor and DVDSP handle compression. Does it take 4 from the top, 2 from the bottom to allow the fields to be handled correctly?
We are making an animated 3d video, so there are no frames or codecs (DV) on the video... The workflow is then into After Effects, FCP and then DVDSP
Are you exporting Targa frames from Lightwave and then importing the sequence into AE? Once you export from AE you're certainly attaching a codec. Are you using Animation? Then, when working in FCP, what codec are you using? And are you working in 720x486?
Actually, we are exporting RPF (Rich Pixel Format) files from Lightwave3D, going into AFX, taking an animation codec QT into FCP, outputting both to MPEG2 and QT Animation format to DVDSP... then to cr*p DVD or nothing...
LW_Will

.mov to high quality .avi

We need to convert a bunch of movies from .mov format to .avi (our organization is requiring all PowerPoint talks to be in Windows OS, not Mac- don't get me started...).
Can anyone provide specific setting to use when doing this conversion in QT Pro? With the settings that I am choosing now, the quality of the .avi movies are significantly worse than those of the original .mov movies. Size is not an issue- we can make the movies as big as we need, we just need to preserve the quality.
Thank you!

For people like me who are not too sophisticated regarding the ins and outs of digital video processing, here's a very useful answer posted on the MacFixIt Forums. I tried this program and it was incredibly easy to use and produced high quality .WMV files that play nicely with PowerPoint in a Windows OS world. Hope this helps.
... I suggest you don't bother with QT conversions. Instead
fork over the $23 for VisualHub:
http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/
It's free to try.
Al Bloom MDD G4 867DP, OSX 10.4.11, OS9.2.2

How do I export an iMovie to a high quality version that can be played on a pc

Ok here's the stitch- I made a short project (about 2:30) and exported it to a m4v high quality video. It was about 54 mb and the resolution was great on my pc. however, I edited the project and when I exported it again it ended up as a really low resolution mp4 video and was only 3.9 ish mb. How do I get convert my iMovie to a high quality m4v video or other high quality file for a pc?

Ps I have a toshiba laptop and I made the imovie on my Mac desktop at school (and I don't know which model/year iMovie and Mac I have)

How to make High Quality HD DVDs from iMovie11 Toast 10 Titanium Pro?

I was searching all over the net to find answers to a problem that I have with film making at home. I'm trying to become an Indie film maker on a small amount of money to start out, so to speak. I've asked Apple over and over for some help, but they say - we can't because we don't support third party solutions. I have iMovie 11 and iMovie HD 6. I use AVCHD 1080i camcorders and a GoPro HD Hero for time lapse shots. Toast 10 Titanium Pro and a external LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive also external hard drives. I'm trying to make high quality HD dvd's and then Blu-ray disks later also for my ( high elevation mountain video) demos. Codec/compression - bit rate/data rate - key frame - sample rate and what software to use or not is all confusing me. I've tried and I'm still not making video that looks as good as it did when first imported into iMovie. Can anyone please help me out with this mater. Thank You Good Day

Good FAQ type information [is at this link|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2424451]
In general, import to iMovie in FULL, not LARGE.
Export from iMovie using the SHARE menu. Use the 1080P Preset. You can SHARE/iTUNES, SHARE/MEDIA BROWSER, SHARE/MOVIE..., or FILE/FINALIZE PROJECT. All will use the 1080P preset.
You can also SHARE/EXPORT TO QUICKTIME, but I would not recommend it unless you know what you are doing.
Drag this file into TOAST 10 with BluRay plugin.
Check FILE/PROJECT PROPERTIES in TOAST to make sure you are burning at highest quality.

Reader won't allow me to print in "high quality" mode.

Hello. I am trying to print high quality, color brochures. Reader will print the brochure, but when I try to change the preferences to high quality and indicate that the file contains portraits, it doesn't save these preferences and instead, prints in normal quality.
Please advise.

Dave, thanks for the response. I'm trying to find a menu which allows for the options you have shown. All I'm able to access is the following and even then, I can't change any of the settings:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/afrodork/BrochureIssue.jpg
and
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/afrodork/BrochureIssue2.jpg
I have printed this particular brochure many times in high quality from this computer and others. However, now, the control menu that used to pop up after I sent a command to print has changed (an update?). Now, since the new control menu, I have this issue.
I hope that sheds some light on my issue...

Trying to get a high quality still image

Hi,
I am trying to get a high quality still image from a 16mm film I completed years ago. I have had it transfered to digital format and brought it in to Final Cut Pro Studio 2. The distributor (Canyon Cinema) wants a high resolution image for the website. 600-dpi or better. When I create a still it comes out 72. How can I increase the resolution of the image for distribution on their website? Thanks to anyone who get guide me to the 21st century...

DPI is essentially meaningless in the video world. DPI is a measurement for the print world only.
But since video resolution equates roughly to 72 DPI, that's the best you'll get. Best to go back to the original film and pull a still from there.
Or you could try one of those resolution enhancing plugins for Photoshop like Genuine Fractals.
-DH

When I move high quality clips into my timeline in Final Cut Express HD, they look and export low quality. I have tried converting the clips and de-interlacing them, but they always look the same, What is the problem? Thanks so much.

When I move high quality clips into my timeline in Final Cut Express HD, they look and export low quality. I have tried converting the clips and de-interlacing them, but they always look the same, What is the problem? Thanks so much.

You should check that the Project settings match the clip settings before editing them to the Timeline.
Only newly created Projects will change not existing ones by adjusting the Project settings.
If, for example, you have a Project set to NTSC DV you can only end up in trouble if the clips are PAL 1920 x 1080i.
Al

I've reduced my project size to "high quality," with a resulting 2.42GB size and 78 minutes project time. With my 4.7GB dvd, I should now have more than sufficient space, but I still get 'Your project exceeds the maximum content duration."

Am I simply out of luck? The video itself is 65 minutes with pretty simple music and photos in the themes with no scene selection option.
Thanks.

iDVD is not concerned with size, just length.
iDVD encoding settings:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1502?viewlocale=en_US
Short version:
Best Performance is for videos of up to 60 minutes
Best Quality is for videos of up to 120 minutes
Professional Quality is also for up to 120 minutes but even higher quality (and takes much longer)
That was for single-layer DVDs. Double these numbers for dual-layer DVDs.
Professional Quality: The Professional Quality option uses advanced two-pass technology to encode your video (The first pass determines which parts of the movie can be given greater compresson without quality loss and which parts can’t. The second pass then encodes those different parts accordingly) , resulting in the best quality of video possible on your burned DVD. You can select this option regardless of your project’s duration (up to 2 hours of video for a single-layer disc and 4 hours for a double-layer disc). Because Professional Quality encoding is time-consuming (requiring about twice as much time to encode a project as the High Quality option, for example) choose it only if you are not concerned about the time taken.
In both cases the maximum length includes titles, transitions and effects etc. Allow about 15 minutes for these.
You can use the amount of video in your project as a rough determination of which method to choose. If your project has an hour or less of video (for a single-layer disc), choose Best Performance. If it has between 1 and 2 hours of video (for a single-layer disc), choose High Quality. If you want the best possible encoding quality for projects that are up to 2 hours (for a single-layer disc), choose Professional Quality. This option takes about twice as long as the High Quality option, so select it only if time is not an issue for you.
Use the Capacity meter in the Project Info window (choose Project > Project Info) to determine how many minutes of video your project contains.
NOTE: With the Best Performance setting, you can turn background encoding off by choosing Advanced > “Encode in Background.” The checkmark is removed to show it’s no longer selected. Turning off background encoding can help performance if your system seems sluggish.
And whilst checking these settings in iDVD Preferences, make sure that the settings for NTSC/PAL and DV/DV Widescreen are also what you want.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1502?viewlocale=en_US

How do I achieve a high quality PAL SD DVD from Final Cut Pro?

From a PMW-EX1 camera file edited in Final Cut Pro I am unable to produce a high quality PAL SD DVD using compressor and DVD Studio Pro (tried multiple combinations).
Using Final cut pro and Magic iDVD I can achieve a high quality SD DVD with no changes in export.But am limited to the iDVD restrictions.
From discussions it appears using compressor and DVD Studio pro it is not achievable, it is very frustrating that the Apple product you have to buy is not as efficient as the free one?
If not possible then how do I access the encoded file from IDVD?
My Final cut pro sequence settings:
General - Aspect ratio: HDTV 1080i (16:9) 1920x1080, square and upper(Odd)
Quicktime video settings compressor: xdcam ex 1080i50 (35 mb/s vbr)
I

iDVD does everything automatically for you. With DVDSP and Compressor, all steps must be done correctly. The trade off is that you achieve better quality using Compressor over iDVD.
1. First thing to do is export your sequence as an uncompressed interlaced 25i 720 x 576 16x9 Anamorphic QT.
2. Determine your optimal bitrate by using a bitrate calculator. Here's a good one. Remember you need to account for all video on the disc, including motion menus.
http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm
3. Bring your down converted QT into Compressor and use the manual settings set your bitrate. Also encode out a Dolby digital AC3 file. These files take up less bandwidth than uncompressed audio. Also remember to match your upper fiiled dominate filed order as well in Compressor. This must be consistent throughout the export and encoding stages.
4. bring your encoded video and audio files into DVDSP and author

Looking for composers for high quality original music. Needed Urgently!!!

Hi Everyone
I am looking for music composers to make high quality original pieces of music. If you are interested in making some extra cash, i am setting up an online business and will be selling this music over the internet. It is all legit and the site will be up and running by the end of September. I already have a large database of original music that i have produced my self and from other musicians that have seen the great opportunities ahead. I am just missing a few genres of music that i need to fill up my database with, such as alternative, ambient, children's, classical, country, rock and world.
I will not disclose too many details of the business as i am not trying to advertise it, but i do want to give you guys a chance to show the world your talents and hopefully make you some money at the same time.
So if you are interested and have music to suit the above genres please send me a reply to :
and i will send you more details about the my business and how it can be beneficial for you.
Thank you for your time
Stephane Albert
Message was edited by: Host (to remove email address per Terms of Use)

icompositions
macidol
macband
macjams
garageband
All are .com (MacBand.com seems to be out of commission)

Help! Integrating high quality images and video.

I'm trying to create a relatively short slideshow with high resolution images (~3MB) and a couple of short video clips.
iMovie 6.0.3 ruins my pictures. They're blurry and pixelated. Is there a new version of iMovie that can help me import high quality pictures?
I don't need to create a DVD per se. I could just hook up my computer to a TV screen or use my laptop screen for presentation purposes.
What should I do?
Any help would be appreciated!

brichly wrote:
.. Any help would be appreciated!
avoid using iMovieHD6, which is mainly meant to deliver content to TV = low res, low color profile, low framerate, interlacing..
use any specialized tool as PhotoMagico or Photo2movie..
you can slightly improve slideshow's quality, by setting up a HiDef project (720p/1080i), export as h264 and set the QTplayer app to 'high' ..
aside: the Preview in iM shows a reduced quality of projects .. never judge pic quality of iM on a computer..
and, don't hesitate to make use of the forum's Search feature.. we have approx. 5000 threads concerning pic quality..

High Quality Wide Screen for YouTube - PLEASE HELP!

I am using a Panasonic PV-GS400 camera in wide-screen mode (this is another topic, but the camera still outputs 720 x 480 video, my understanding is that it is called "anamorphic wide screen"). I had figured out some settings to get my videos to appear in "High Quality" mode, wide screen (16:9) in YouTube, but the last couple of times I have tried these settings, they didn't work. Here's what I used:
- Windows Media 856 x 480 frame size
- Frame rate 29.97kbps
- Pixel aspect ratio - square (1.0)
- 2 encoding passes
I got the 856 x 480 ratio from another website. I don't really understand why the pixel aspect ratio needs to be square, but when I tried 16:9 aspect ratio, the video is letterboxed. I also don't understand the two different project modes for PE7 (when creating a new project you can choose the format 4:3 or 16:9). Maybe someone can explain how the widescreen project setting works. Perhaps it is something similar to how my camera does widescreen but the videos are still 720 x 480.
At any rate, if someone has settings that will reliably produce wide screen videos that appear in YouTube's "high quality" mode, I'd appreciate it! Thanks.

As we often say on this forum, the biggest challenge with working with YouTube is that, as soon as someone figures it out, YouTube changes the rules again.
Here's what we've posted to the FAQs at the top of this forum.
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b6efbd/1

Imovie burn high quality??

Hi,
I've exported an iDVD 720p movie to my hard drive. I found an old version of iDVD and have been able to get it on the comp and play around. The challenge is, any time I try to burn a higher quality version (the video file is 10GB) to a dual layer DVD to maintain as much quality as possible, iDVD gives me an encoding error. I've also tried Roxio Toast - I can get it to burn to dual layer DVD, but it's so grainy it's terrible - worse than pulling it up on Youtube. On the mac, the video is beautiful. Crisp, good colors.
I'm needing suggestions. What I'm needing to do is very basic and I'm very good with computers, but this is frustrating not only me, but my parents, who purchased the computer for their business to be able to archive high quality recordings of their shows. It's been a nightmare telling them that the $1,200 computer they bought can't seem to do this VERY BASIC task.
We have an Apple iMac purchased in May 2013 - so as new as can be basically. Standard iMac, no upgrades.
HELP?!?!

DVDs are by standards just 720x480 in resolution… about a quarter of your actual footage.
And playback a DVD 'full screen' on an iMac zooms-in again, blowing up the few pixels, about by factor 6x.
keep this in mind, when judging 'quality'.-
To get max possible quality, stay under 60min of content on SL dvd-r, 120min on DL dvd-r
Putting <60min on DL has no effect, just draining your wallet …
In iMovie, choose Export using Quicktime, in the many options, select AppleIntermediateCodec, which will export the internal timeline of your project without any un-neccessary transcoding. File is huge, don't worry, it's all about length. not size.
Drag resulting mov into iDVD. Works perfectly here…
Worked, to be precise. Haven't done a disk for years now

Trying to produce high quality m4v content

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for