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Problem with encoding for the web.
I am putting together web-based reels for actors. I receive clips in mpeg format and bring them into PP 2.0, add some titles and a few transitions and then export.
My problem is with the quality of the export. Since I’m working with clips from a number of sources they all tend to have different settings, but here is an example:
Source clip:
352 x 240
Pix. depth 32
aspect: 4:3
frame rate 29.97
avg data rate 170.241
pix. aspect: 1.0Ideally I’d like to export my timeline at exactly the same quality as the source clip and encode it through Discreet Cleaner (the only prog. I know of which does batch encoding, which I need).
I have tried duplicating the source clip’s settings and I have tried literally dozens of other combinations (including “uncompressed AVI”, the resulting video of which doesn’t play in either VLC or WM Player) and none of the exported files retain the quality of the original. I also tend to get a distorted image (aspect ratio-wise) but I assume this has to do with the various ratios one the different source clips.
What comes closest in quality to the source clip is actually an output from Windows Movie Maker. Of course MM feels a bit like typing with your elbows after you’ve grown accustomed to Premiere. But it does prove to me that it is at least possible to retain most of the quality.
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5 Replies
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There are 2 types of “uncompressed AVI” in Premiere. The one you picked will only be playable in Adobe applications or with an AJA card. You need to choose “Microsoft AVI” instead of “Uncompressed Microsoft AVI”, and in the video tab, set compressor to none, and uncheck “recompress” below.
Vince
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Thank you very much for your insight. I have done what you recommended and it did indeed make a difference. I think the reason that escaped me is that any videos I exported under those specs before didn’t play in my VideoLan player (which up until now seemed to play any file I threw at it). But it does play (jerkily) in Media Player and once I encode the file to WMV in Cleaner it looks and plays okay.
It’s still not quite up to the source clip’s quality, though: do you think this could have something to do with the change in frame size? As I said the source clip is 352 x 240 but the clip exported from Premiere is 720 x 480. If I try to plug in the original frame size it turns out looking really bad, so the default seems like the only way to go. Do you think this is causing the slight decrease in quality?
By the way, thanks for all your help. I’ve never used the Cow before and I am flabbergasted at the level of helpfulness I see here. It is very much appreciated.
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No problem 😉
Well, the quality will be affected at the new frame size if you try to view it at a larger size than 352 x 240 , but as long as the “recompress” box isn’t check, you will not get any quality loss. Another lossless export option is Quicktime, with the animation setting, which often leads to smaller file sizes than AVI.
Vince
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Again, thanks for your insight.
I tried exporting to Quicktime with the “animation” setting (under “compressor”). The result was similar to the .wmv file: very good but still showing a slight loss of clarity.
I have literally tried every setting in Premiere, including the encoding options in Adobe Encoder. Nothing seems to retain the original quality and I’m wondering if it’s even possible to do so since my source is itself an mpeg.
What I finally did was run the source file itself through Cleaner, using the elementary color and brightness controls to make the clip look somewhat okay. This has resulted in the best looking clip thus far. But it’s still annoying that I can’t get a completely lossless export because that means I can’t actually cut the clips together into a reel.
Anyway, thanks again for the help.
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Honestly, I would try exporting at 720×480 uncompressed and look at the result, if you do see any loss of quality at all, then there’s a problem ;).
Now, anytime you scale down, Premiere has to lose some pixels, and maybe it has an issue with that certain footage, although I haven’t experienced any issues myself.
You could also try exporting at the same frame size and let your other converter do the frame downsizing and see if that helps.
Cheers,
Vince
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