Very choppy video

Question

When using QuickTime Conversion to output to 1920 x 1080 and/or 1280x720 using the default settings within Options --> Settings (save for changing the quality to 'High) the output of the finished video is very choppy. Now using an Intel-based iMac with Leopard, I hadn't seen this before with my old (R.I.P.) G5 and Tiger. What changes should be made within 'Settings'?
Perhaps while not relevant, the settings within Easy Setup are as follows:
Use: Apple Intermediate Codec;
Rates: All Rates;
HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60.
This is frustrating to say the least. The video as input from the source camera is fine. I.e., no frame drops, etc. The source clip plays fine in QuickTime.
Many thanks.
Message was edited by: lgldsr712
Message was edited by: lgldsr712

Answer 1

Tom,
When viewing the video it appears that it's skipping frames; the video is not smooth or 'fluid' if you will. These are of Diesel Freights being taped with the train moving perpendicular to the shooter and one can see them 'skip' or 'jerk' when viewing the video.
The computer is an 20" iMac, 2.66GHz CPU (Intel Dual Core) and was purchased in January, 2009. (Right before, for the same money, one can get a 24" screen, 4GB RAM, and 2x the hard disk, standard. Of course. Anyway...). There is >135GB of available disk space on this systems 300GB Disk, which is formatted OS-X Extended (Journaled).
Noteworthy is that Videos that were exported on the G5 I had are not showing this problem when played on this iMac. Only those that were exported from this iMac. Also, when the video is viewed within the canvas it's very smooth. So I wonder if there is something awry with the export process?
Is it worth reinstalling FCE? I ask this also because you had mentioned not seeing multiple choices for output formats such as I see and had provided the link for. E.g., the ability to export at both "HD 1280x720" and "1280x720 16:9.".
Thanks for your patience; I know this isn't easy to diagnose without having it in front of you.