[Ivan Myles]

Please provide some information regarding the following:

Source footage: codec, wrapper, bit rate, frame rate, resolution
Editing sequence: frame rate, resolution, and any effects applied
Output file: codec, wrapper, frame rate, resolution, quality settings, bit rate, etc.

Video can lose sharpness as a result of over-compression and trans-coding from one codec to another. Try to export the edited sequence using fairly light compression settings including a moderate to high target bit rate, 2-pass encoding (if available), moderate key frame distance (2-4 seconds), and the same codec as the source footage, if possible.

I tend to treat encoding as an iterative process. Try taking a few short clips (5-10 frames each) that include the fuzzy footage, copy the clips onto a new sequence, and export several test files using different codecs and output settings. Generate 3-4 files for each codec using a range from low-quality, low-bit-rate to high-quality, high-bit-rate. Import the test files and stack them on top of the original footage. Turn each track on and off to compare the same frame on the different files. After viewing a few frames you should get a clear direction on which settings work best for your footage.

[Ivan Myles]

The best method will depend on how much time you can devote to it, how many clips need to be adjusted, and whether the audio should be sped up or played at normal speed. If you have the time, I suggest adjusting each clip and reorganizing the 25fps timeline. In this way, you can decide on a clip-by-clip basis whether to speed up the footage, or just repeat every 24th frame (usually OK with low motion shots, and perfectly fine with non-scrolling titles). The down side is the time required, especially if dealing with hundreds of clips.

You could also try a hybrid solution: use the method outlined in my previous post, and then combine the new file with some of the original footage (titles, for example) on a new 25fps timeline. That way you can pick and choose the places where you want to revert back to the original footage without having to speed up all of the other clips individually.

[Ivan Myles]

Please clarify which version of Premiere Pro, and whether you are exporting from Premiere Pro, Adobe Media Encoder, or After Effects. If you are using Premiere Pro CS6, the MPEG2-DVD codec allows frame rate to be set automatically based on source.

In response to the question in your post, one method to reinterpret all footage simultaneously is to:

– export the original sequence at 24fps, preferably with Key Frame Distance = 1; use either a lossless intermediate codec, or MPEG2 at equivalent settings to the final output
– import the new file
– interpret the new footage at 25fps
– insert onto a 25fps timeline
– export the new sequence at 25fps

The other method was mentioned in the post: change the speed of each clip and adjust on a 25fps timeline accordingly. This is more work, but it allows other adjustments (e.g. extending clips or adding footage to fill the extra frames, and re-synchronizing the audio to play at normal speed).

[Ivan Myles]

Will there be external storage (NAS, eSATA, etc) for the source files? If not, consider adding another disk volume; during rendering the system can read source files from one disk volume and write the output files to another volume. This minimizes read/write processing delays.

– Samsung, Intel, and Crucial/Micron are reputable SSD brands. It is a good idea to format the SSD with additional spare area.

– Depending on work load, 1TB might be too small for the RAID drives. Performance drops after reaching 50-60% capacity, and will become noticeably slower beyond 70% (about 650GB).

– If network attached storage will be used (or files will frequently be transferred among other computers), consider a PCIe ethernet card(s) with 2-4 ports. The ports can be teamed together for higher throughput and data transfer redundancy. Intel offers a variety of good options. Note, however, that the network switch and other computers/NAS will need a similar setup to achieve maximum throughput.

– Depending on I/O requirements, an external sound card and video capture card might also be useful. They are easy enough to add in the future.

– I like having a 3.5″ snap-in mobile rack in one of the 5″ optical drive slots. It allows easy swapping of drives for project-specific files and periodic system back-ups. A mobile rack is fairly inexpensive ($25-$30).

Good luck with the purchase.

[Ivan Myles]

Premiere Pro tends to struggle when applying effects to highly compressed footage. If there are any MP3 audio files in the timeline, convert these files to uncompressed wav format. If the problem persists, look at the video files.

[Ivan Myles]

I just viewed over twenty H.264 test files that looked washed out on my video production computers, and all files looked great when played in QuickTime on a Windows computer without Adobe Creative Suite (including H.264 files exported directly from Premiere Pro).

Until recently I used different computers for video production and encoding. The QT gamma/contrast issue became significantly worse shortly after loading Creative Suite onto my encoding rig.

[Ivan Myles]

After further assessment it appears the process described in my previous post no longer works; H.264 files exhibit significant gamma shifts when viewed in QuickTime.

I was able to resolve the issue temporarily using either of the following methods:

a) Change QuickTime Visual Settings to Transparency: Blend-100%, and then Straight Alpha. The new settings cannot be saved in MP4 files, but can be saved in MOV format (although QT sometimes has trouble playing these altered MOV files).

b) Position the QuickTime window on the desktop so that part of it appears on two different monitors simultaneously (i.e. straddle the two monitors). The H.264 file will look fine when the QT window sits partly on each monitor. The video returns to looking washed-out once the QT player is moved entirely to either monitor.

For reference, here are the steps that were taken to troubleshoot the issue:

– exported NLE output files from Pr-CS6 using the following codecs: AVI-None (RGB-8bit), AVI-V210-422-10bit, AVI-UYVY-422-8bit, AVI-BlackMagic-444-10bit, QT-None (RGBA-8bit), QT-JPEG2000, QT-422-10bit, QT-422-8bit, QT-BlackMagic-RGB-10bit, QT-H.264

– encoded the NLE intermediate files into H.264 MP4 and MOV formats using QuickTime Pro

– opened the H.264 files in QuickTime and took TIFF screen captures of select frames; also opened a few of the files in VLC player 2.0.4 and Windows Media Player 12

– compared the NLE output files, encoded H.264 videos, and TIFF screen captures to the source video using the color scopes/waveform analysis tools in Pr-CS6

– tried four different versions of QuickTime Pro for Windows (7.7.3, 7.7.2, 7.6, 7.5.5)

– uninstalled VLC media player and FFD Show video codecs from the computer

– lastly, uninstalled all CS6 applications

For the most part there is relatively little difference between each NLE output file and the source video. The encoded H.264 files look OK in Premiere Pro and non-Apple media players, but appear washed out when viewed in QuickTime.

[Ivan Myles]

A couple of years ago I spent an extended period of time trying to resolve this problem. I ultimately concluded that the issue is caused by QuickTime color management. Trying to compensate by adjusting gamma or RGB output levels in Premiere Pro creates new problems when the output file is viewed in other video players.

Going back to the original post, instead of exporting an H.264 file directly from Premiere Pro, create an intermediate file using a non-Apple uncompressed codec. Then use QuickTime Pro to encode the intermediate file to H.264.

Of the standard Premiere Pro CS6 codecs, AVI None seems to produce the least washed-out colors in QuickTime. The video might look a little different in other players, though. Also try AVI V210 10-bit YUV or Uncompressed UYVY 422 8bit.

[Ivan Myles]

MPEG2-DVD is a subset of MPEG-2 and has fewer options available. What were your MPEG-2 settings for the parameters that do not appear under MPEG2-DVD?

I just encoded a test clip to see if I could replicate the issue. The resulting videos were nearly identical with only faint differences between them.

– What version of Pr/AME are you using?
– How did you create and animate the credits (Title Designer with motion effect, imported file, rolling/crawling text, other)?
– Is there another clip playing under the credits or does the text appear against a transparent background?

[Ivan Myles]

Have you selected or tried any hardware yet? I’m currently spec’ing an external RAID array for direct-to-disk capture and editing. I plan to use a DeckLink HD Extreme 2 capture card, RocketRAID 2314 PCIe controller, and an Addonics storage tower rack with four 3.0 gbps SATA II hard drives. Can anyone comment as to whether this would be a good set-up? Where’s the bottleneck in this system? (I’m guessing it’s the number of data lanes between the motherboard and the PCIe card.)