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Typo quality once outputted from AE7 – Any Suggestions?
Hi
I am reasonably new to After Effects and have been working on a decent size project which is near completion.
The final project will be on DVD.
I was running some render tests the other day and have found that the text used (News Gothic) degrades badly once the piece is rendered out.
Text that is white looks like it is turning grey in places.
Text that is black looks as though it has white spots on it.
I don’t need it to do anything special either just fade on screen, but it needs to be readable.
I have tried what seems like all kinds of options but to no avail.
On the computer all appears well but then running it on my TV/DVD it’s a different story.
At certain sizes the text reads just great but once it goes smaller it looks terrible.
Is there any way to get sharp text without compromsing other design elements?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as this is driving me mad.
Thanks
Frazer -
3 Replies
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DVD’s and NTSC/PAL TV’s are interlaced displays, with 480 or 576 lines. When using small type sizes, fine detail lines (such as the horizontal lines in T, F, H, L, E and others will tend to disappear/reappear as they may be only one pixel thick. If the text is animated with movement it becomes even more noticeable.
AE does a certain amount of anti-aliasing to smooth out edges on the text as well, which might account for the grey you are seeing.
Picking the right font, typeface and size and still meeting your design goals is the tricky part. Most folks tend to stick to bold typefaces and fonts without too much detail at larger sizes. There is no surefire solution since every design calls for different things. Experiment like you have been until you find a good mix.Erik
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Hey Frazer,
From my experience, you should also consider the thickest of the horizontal lines in your fonts, like capital ‘A’s, ‘E’s etc. If the horizontal line is less then 2 pixels in the font, it may cause a flicking effect (move waveringly) on the TV screen.
[quote]Text that is white looks like it is turning grey in places. [/quote]
Make sure the colour levels are within the broadcast range from 15 to 235 on all colour channels. (RGB) If it’s lower then 15 or higher then 235, it will burn the screen on some older TV, if the image doesn’t move like your DVD menus. Some encoding programs with automatically adjust the levels… Hence having your white looking a little grey.
Last thought of wisdom, remember that the standard TV screens (not talking about HD) have a less quality of image compared to the computer monitor. In the designing stage, make regularly checks on a TV screen which is hooked up to the computer, to see any early problems.
Good luck with it all!
Adam -
Hi
Many thanks for your response.
I will keep trying different settings as you suggest.
As with most things relating to AE its a learning curve and I will chalk this up to experience.
Thanks again.
Frazer
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