Why does Premiere suck so bad??

[Fernando Mol]

I found that instead of the TSCC (the codec from Camtasia) you can use uncompressed full frames for the AVI file.

I just made a test and guess what? Works smootly.

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[Zack Yoshyaro]

What frame size are you outputting too?
I assume the file is 640×480 square pixel capture?
Give us some more information and less hyperbole.

What more information do you need? I’m pretty sure I’ve outlined all of my settings previously (asside form pixels. You’re right on the square pixel guess). 640×480.

No hyperbole. I stand by my current description of AME’s amount of sucking.

I found that instead of the TSCC (the codec from Camtasia) you can use uncompressed full frames for the AVI file.

I just made a test and guess what? Works smootly.

Interesting. I’ll check this out. I’d hate to record slide transitions uncompressed and end up with a massive file.. but if that’s what has to be done.. I’ll test all of the available codecs and see if any of the others make a difference. Thanks for the tip!!

Likewise. I am not really a fan of Camtasia. It’s useful enough for what it does – sort of. The real problem is, better solutions cost more.

I’m not super opposed to spending more if it will make my life easier. Camtasia was just the first program we found that was actually semi-usable. Do you have any suggestions for other programs?

[Alan Lloyd]

[Zack Yoshyaro] “No hyperbole. I stand by my current description of AME’s amount of sucking.”

As I – and others – have already told you, if you start with a higher quality file, and use somewhat more forgiving settings, you’ll end up with higher quality output. Your bitrate settings are simply too low for decent quality. I think at this point it’s a management problem – as in, your management. From your description, they could use a bit of education on quality.

[Zack Yoshyaro] ”
Interesting. I’ll check this out. I’d hate to record slide transitions uncompressed and end up with a massive file.. but if that’s what has to be done.. I’ll test all of the available codecs and see if any of the others make a difference. Thanks for the tip!!”

If you’re then encoding from that to a Flash file what’s the difference?

[Zack Yoshyaro] “I’m not super opposed to spending more if it will make my life easier. Camtasia was just the first program we found that was actually semi-usable. Do you have any suggestions for other programs?”

The really expensive way would involve a high-quality scan converter recording to a digital tape or DDR, then using that file. Something tells me you’re not eager to do that.

[Zack Yoshyaro]

[Guy who looks kind of like Harvey Feirstein in his pic]“As I – and others – have already told you, if you start with a higher quality file, and use somewhat more forgiving settings, you’ll end up with higher quality output. Your bitrate settings are simply too low for decent quality. I think at this point it’s a management problem – as in, your management. From your description, they could use a bit of education on quality.

Sigh. I hear what your saying. I do. What I’m trying to communicate is that the quality of the file that AME is outputting at the client specified settings is simply shit. Using these same settings while going through camtasia’s encoder, OR even flash 8’s media encoder, the results are perfectly acceptable. My frustration and confusion stems from this.

[Guy who looks kind of like Harvey Feirstein in his pic] “If you’re then encoding from that to a Flash file what’s the difference?”

Well, we tend to do all day sessions. All day being 10+ hours in certain cases. All that uncompressed data quickly starts to add up. So really it’s just matter of convenience/laziness. Smaller files take less time to back up/move around.

Anyway, I’ll hopefully be able to run some uncompressed tests tomorrow. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Thank you to everyone for their input!

[Fernando Mol]

This are the Codecs Camtasia works with when creating AVI files:

Microsoft Video 1
Intel IYUV
Cinepak
TSCC
DivX 6.8
Uncompressed

As you can see, most of them are very old (the 90’s).

I made some tests again with the TSCC and worked OK. I tested adding 1 keyframe every 30 frames and every 1 frame. Both worked, but I used short recordings at 15 fps.

Don’t capture 24fps if you are going to use 15fps as a final. Capture either 15 or 30 fps. Also, flash projectors can play a variety of formats, h.264 too. No harm in make a version with it and send it to the guys are going to use it so they can do their own test.

One last thing. I have received request from clients giving very specific instructions on the compression they need. I always give a call to the person that actually is going to transmit the video (not the office guy that has troubles sending an attachment). You’ll find that the request most of the time is not written in stone.

Maybe you can use a variable bit rate to improve your image quality without compromising file size. And I can tell you: the 13kbps are probably a misspelling. The first modem I had was 28kbps!

I have being using AME for a long time. It’s not as complete as Squeeze, but if you know how to tweak the options it will never let you down.

Good luck with your tests.

*Always share a link to your site and rate the posts. This is a free service for you and for us.

[Alan Lloyd]

I’m sure you think you’re being witty and clever.

You’re not.

Inflammatory and insulting, yes. Where a whole lot of people have tried to assist you.

You must be a regular peach to work with.