terrible quality mporting mini dv footage onto FCP

[Rob Grauert]

SD footage always looks like crap when viewing a Quicktime on a computer screen. This is because computer screens have square pixels and SD video footage uses non-square pixels.

Review your footage on a broadcast monitor or TV

Rob Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com

[Walter Soyka]

[Aubrey Fields] “I have tried every setting on both my camera and FCP, but when I export to QuickTime (as current settings) the .mov file I get looks terrible — like its really low res.”

By default, Quicktime plays back DV-encoded files at reduced quality. This might have made sense in 1999, but with today’s computers, realtime playback of DV material is not a problem.

In QuickTime Player > Preferences > General, make sure Use high-quality video settings when available is checked.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Bret Williams]

My DV work doesn’t have artifacts. What are you doing to your footage? Most likely he simply doesn’t have the high quality checkbox checked in QT. The file should look perfectly fine on a NTSC monitor.

[Bret Williams]

The footage might look distorted, but should still be sharp as a tack at 100% with the high quality check box on. Non-square pixels isn’t the culprit. If that were the case DVCPro would look like crap on a computer. Can’t get much more non-square than that.

[Walter Soyka]

All DV has artifacts. DV is heavily compressed (5:1) and uses 4:1:1 chroma sub-sampling (4:2:0 for PAL). It’s particularly tough on graphics, because fine edge detail causes ringing or mosquito noise with DCT-based compression.

When you’re cutting untouched camera originals, it doesn’t make any difference, but as soon as you add graphics or effects, you’ll notice a difference rendering to ProRes or uncompressed rather than DV. You’re better off using a mastering codec even if you’re going to the web, because the added DV artifacts decrease compression efficiency down the line.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Rob Grauert]

oops, sorry. The pixel thing is just what I was told in college.

Rob Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com

[Aubrey Fields]

Thank you Dave, Bret, Walter and Rob, your help was very much appreciated.

My footage looks a whole lot better now! Firstly, I didn’t have the QuickTime ‘use high quality video setting when available’ box checked… secondly, when I put the footage on a DVD a watched it on the TV it looked fine, and thirdly, I will definitely have a play around with the ProRes 422!

Thank again!

Aubrey.