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Anyone using FastChannel?
I just started delivering my commercials via FastChannel. And I’ve been very pleased, impressed!
Great service.But I have some questions/concerns about the quality of my mpg files i’m sending… They look like “boof” (my special term for–not so good) when i check it on PowerDVD (the only software i own that will play back mpg files). Colors look over-saturated, crunched black levels, i see “chunky” or stair-stepping on white text edges.
I encode at 15mbs and all the other specs that FastChannel stipulates, but i’m worried that my commercials look bad on air (most are airing outside my home market so i can’t see the final broadcast). I’ve asked my clients in the airing market how the spots look on broadcast… they always say good things… but clients don’t always notice things like “chunky” or stair-stepping graphic edges, and banding, etc.
Should I be worried based on my PowerDVD playback quality of the mpg2 files i’m sending to FastChannel (and then to stations)???
Cody Baker
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4 Replies
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Are you viewing your PowerDVD playback on a COMPUTER screen?
Nearly all NTSC video plays with visible artifacts on a computer screen.
I don’t know if this is the TOTAL reason your MPEGs look bad, but it may be a major factor.
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I do Master Control, I enter about 99% of our spots into the playback system, and I receive spots via FastChannel. I have not noticed any of the artifacts you describe on anything we get from FC. Of course I’m probably not seeing your specific spots in my market, and for the sake of your clients you’re probably not willing to say who they are, but I imagine if you were having problems others would be as well. I doubt you have much to worry about. BTW, I thought FC specified 18 Mbps, not 15.
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Good point… Nope, i’m not viewing the output of my PowerDVD on an NTSC vid mon. Just my computer CRT.
Thanks. -
I finish all my projects in After Effects–export QT animation, then encode that file to mpg2 using Sorenson Squeeze. As far as i can tell, Sorenson Squeeze can only do 15mbps. So i called the good folks at Fast Channel and asked if 15 is ok, and their production tech said it’s ok, but don’t go below 12mbps. They check and approve all my spots. Sooo….? But, as i said earlier, i’m nervous because my mpg’s look highly compressed on my end. Do you think 15mbps is making the difference? is there something else in my settings that perhaps I’m overlooking??? (i’m new at mpg encoding–still learning)
I’m thinking about posting two stills. one still image of my original QT animation file and then one from the mpg file that i’m seeing the chunky compression–so you all can see what i’m refering to. Would that help?
Also, do you know of a better workflow from AE to mpg2 (at 18mbps)???
Thanks for the response.cody
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