-
Why is this video “flashing” pixelation?
Hi CC, newbie here..
So, when I export sequences containing any type of text or titles, whether it’s in FCP 9, FCPX, iMovie, or Premiere, I always run into glitchy problems. The text in the exported video is always fuzzed out to a degree, more so with particular colors or gradients. Also, the text colors/strokes/shadows are always significantly dimmed/dulled. And finally, the images behind the titles are doing some kind of nonstop glitchy pulsation, where they look fine for a moment, then blur out/pixelate for a moment, and then return to normal (if there is a term for this, I don’t know what it is). The video playback within the sequencers always looks fine, but I can’t seem to get a clean export, no matter what settings I use. I’ve been trying to figure this out for months, to no avail.. 🙁 Does anybody have any suggestions? Thanks very much! (SEE ATTACHED VID)
Dan
-
8 Replies
-
[Dan Miraie] “I can’t seem to get a clean export,”
There’s no simple way to diagnose this. It could be as easy as the correct export preferences, or as complicated as bad gpu.
So what exact export settings are you using?
-
Hi Richard, thanks for the response..
The best export setting I’ve been able to find so far is “H.264 HD 1080p 29.97.” There is still a slight fuzziness in the export and notable differences in coloration between Premiere/Quicktime/RealPlayer -though I’m not seeing anymore “flickering pixelation.” I guess the main issue with this setting is that the export comes out to about 1MB per second.. which is much larger than I was aiming for. Any thoughts?
-
See the advanced settings? Click the checkbox and set it to 15.
They call it keyframes in compression, but it’s not like keyframes in animation.
In compression you have a series of Intraframes that sets where all the color data are. Following the intraframe are the B-frames and P-frames. Long story short: these are the data that changed from frame to frame. So…
The closer the key frame distance the “more better” the compression but the higher the file size and bit rate.
MPEG2–the old school DVD setting is 15 (or 1/2-second).
That’s the first thing I change when the compression looks wonky. If the file size is too big then I move the target bitrate and max bitrate.
When you find a special sauce that you like, be sure to save it as a preset!
EDIT: Be sure to search help for compression markers also. Here’s why: you can force an I-frame. That’s important because when clips are next to eachother they may interfere with the I-frame to B-frame scheme. Maybe an example is easier: I cut a short film that took place at the beach. The characters did their thing, and then it cut to a shot of the ocean receding, but that receding shot always looked bad, until I put a chapter marker (actually it was Final Cut from a compression break, but same thing I believe), and since it added the I-frame data at the begining of the receding ocean all of the gloppy-chunky gunk was fixed.
-
Hey, much thanks for the info, I think it’s helped!!
I’ll post back with my findings or any more questions..
again, much thanks sir!!
dan
-
Hi Dan,
A good question would be – what is the intended purpose/destination for the export – how/where will the clip be used? You might need entirely different export settings.
Regarding titles, best to avoid thin lines (serif fonts). Also, avoid using over-saturated “neon” colors for titles and graphics. This can come back and bite you later, especially if the video ends up broadcast or put on DVD. Some colors are “illegal” and exceed NTSC specs.
Meaning, if you want a blue title, don’t set color to 0, 0, 255. Use something like 20, 20, 235 for instance and you may find that the color looks about the same, but will behave much better later on. Just stay away from the “neon” colors that look great on the computer – they won’t look so good as video, or especially if they end up as NTSC DVD.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Hey Jeff, much thanks for the response!
My final destination for the vid is Youtube.. my last vid looked rather obliterated after all was said and done and uploaded to the net.. And yes, a lot of it was based around maxed out neon red and greens with drop-shadows/gradients.. it was a mess!
As an update, now I’m finding that my vids look dimmer/duller in Quicktime, brighter/harsher in RealPlayer, and ACCURATE (in comparison to the Premiere preview display) after uploaded to Youtube.. Hmm.. so I’m not sure how to make sense of this..!
-
Dan,
Just use the H.264 > YouTube preset for export and that should work well.
As for playback issues, QT player is known to have a gamma-shift issue, Google it.
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Hi everybody..
So.. quick update..
I tried a bunch of different things to nix my flickering pixelation glitches, and the one thing I’ve found to work is, when exporting, changing the “bitrate encoding settings” to “VBR, 2 pass.” Can anybody tell me what this means, or why it has seemingly solved my odd issue?
Much thanks!!
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up