Web camera video quality in Flex

Question

Hi, I have a flex app which turns on a web camera and shows
the video from the camera. The problem is that the video resolution
is a bit choppy or pixilated. I know it’s not because of the
quality of the webcam since the video is very clear on other
players. Anyone have an idea how to make the resolution clearer?
Here is a test app you can try yourself.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="
http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
creationComplete="initApplication()" fontFamily="Arial" width="925"
height="1100" layout="horizontal"
verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:Canvas id="videoContainer" width="330" height="250"
borderStyle="solid" borderColor="#000000" cornerRadius="10"
borderThickness="5" x="-167" y="42">
</mx:Canvas>
<mx:Script>
<![CDATA[
import mx.core.UIComponent;
public var camera : Camera ;
public var video : Video;
public var currentShot : BitmapData = new
BitmapData(320,240); // video.width,video.height);
public var matrix : Matrix = new Matrix();
public var mybitmapdata : BitmapData = new
BitmapData(320,240); // (video.width,video.height);
public var mybitmap : Bitmap ;
public var uploadbmd:BitmapData ;
public var flag:Boolean = true;
public var loader: URLLoader = new URLLoader();
public function initApplication()
camera = Camera.getCamera();
video = new Video(camera.width*2, camera.height*2);
video.attachCamera(camera);
mybitmap = new Bitmap(mybitmapdata);
var ref : UIComponent = new UIComponent();
setInterval(snapShot, 100);
public function snapShot() : void
currentShot.draw(video, matrix);
mybitmapdata = currentShot.clone();
mybitmap = new Bitmap(mybitmapdata);
var ref : UIComponent = new UIComponent();
ref.addChild( mybitmap );
videoContainer.addChild( ref );
]]>
</mx:Script>
</mx:Application>

Answer 1

Hi John
Sorry i don't have the answer, but i'm interested in your question because i have the same kind of issue when i import in iMovie 08, 09 and iMovie HD from my Sony SR10 AVCDH camera.
I just can say that when i export directly from iMovie to iDVD the quality is bad; this seems to be a well known problem and it is recommended to export video using the Quicktime with H264. With that method, i can obtain good quality in the STATIC images, but during the panoramic movements of the camera the final result (i mean a DVD on my cathodic TV) is disappointing, with a "jerky" rendering.
You can download on my iDisk an exemple of it at: http://public.me.com/leclercqpascal
When i compare with the same sequence treated on the PC Sony's software, i find in the latter case a perfectly smooth result.
The problem is the same when i import from the camera to FCE.
Help welcome, because i would be disappointed to resort to a PC software!