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Poor quality rendering (and preview)
Hi,
I have a problem where I’m attempting to edit a HD screen-capture video for use on YouTube. The original AVI file looks fine…
but in Vegas the preview looks very poor…
and the final render looks like the preview…
The keyframes are set to one every 5 seconds but the screen itself doesn’t seem to correct itself for much longer – then degrades again.
I am trying to render from AVI original to WMV and getting the above results. The original AVI is in Xvid format so I’m not sure if this is part of the problem. Strange that the original screencapture video would be so clear though. But it does look like the problem is occurring when the raw file is brought into Vegas – rather than when Vegas tries to render it.
Hoping that someone can shed some light on this issue please.
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8 Replies
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[Darren Sprott] “The original AVI is in Xvid format so I’m not sure if this is part of the problem. “
That is exactly the problem. One because Xvid is a highly compressed format that is horrible for editing… and two because Vegas hates Xvid and DivX. So those formats should be avoided for editing if you plan to use Vegas.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Thankyou for the prompt response. Is there a suggested codec that would work best? I’m using Camstudio to capture the screen and they recommend their own lossless codec but it doesn’t seem to work on my 64bit system.
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[Darren Sprott] “I’m using Camstudio to capture the screen and they recommend their own lossless codec but it doesn’t seem to work on my 64bit system.”
It should still work even though your OS is 64-bit. Have you tried it? What error did you get? I assume CamStudio is a 32-bit program and so requires a 32-bit codec anyway.
I use Camtasia but that must be purchased. You might try a lossless codec like Lagarith or Huffyuv. Both should be good for screen captures.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
I tried Lagarith initially but my only concern was the file size was heaps larger than XVid. I might try again to get the CamStudio codec working and see if that reduces the size.
My ultimate goal though is to have a quick and easy way to produce tutorials for clients – so ideally the codec choice should be fairly standard. Should I even look at the Microsoft Video 1 codec?
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Lagarith and Huffyuv produce huge files, but you have to realise that they are lossless (or very nearly) and will retain the screen capture detail, whereas Xvid and the like have to throw away a lot of detail to keep the file sizes manageable.
The Camstudio codec is designed for screen capture and gives high quality video – again at huge file sizes. It’s most effective with solid colors rather than photographic type footage.
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Huffyuv, Lagarith and Camstudio codecs are no good for distributing your videos. The file sizes wil cause problems, and your users will need to install the appropriate codec.
These codecs should only be used for the actual capture and editing. You can render to formats like WMV or MPEG4/AVC, but you’ll probably have to keep the bitrates fairly high to retain detail.
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Just to reiterate what others have said. Don’t confuse your capture codec with your delivery codec. It is perfectly fine to use Xvid or DivX for delivery. You just don’t want to capture or edit with these codecs but it’s perfectly fine to render to them. I deliver my Camtasia tutorials as MPEG4 using the Sony AVC codec.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Thank you both for the advice. 🙂
I’ll take that on-board and do some more experimenting.
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