Difference in Quality on 2 Video Files

Ponderer · Post by **Ponderer** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:08 pm

Guys, I need your help. I made a short project for work and when I went to create my video files, I accidentally choose the MPEG2 choice for the format to save the video in. When I burned it to disk, it looked and sounded great, but it had that kind of "narrowing" effect where everyone looks a little stretched vertically. So, I went back in and saved the video files as NTSC DVD. So, the proportions are all correct but there is a difference in the quality. I can't say that it's "bad" quality. It's crisp and clear, but it doesn't have that kind of "film" quality that it had with the save to MPEG2. The original video was captured in .AVI format. Does anyone have some info to share about regaining that "Film" quality look without losing the proportions in the video?

Ponderer · Post by **Ponderer** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:18 pm

Here are my capture settings:

NTSC drop frame (29.97 fps)
Microsoft AVI files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 4:3, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
Panasonic DV CODEC -- type 2
PCM, 32.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo

I don't know how I got the Panasonic codec loaded in there. The audio isn't that big of a deal since most of this is dubbed over with music.

jchunter_2 · Post by **jchunter_2** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:36 pm

I recommend always setting properties individually at each stage of the process. Don't ever select these "one-size-fits-all" choices that are served up by Video Studio because you can find them set to just about anything (e.g., your Panasonic codec). It is an understement to say that property management in Video Studio is a train wreck.

When making a video file from a project with AVI clips you have to take charge of every single one of your properties because you must convert to Mpeg2. Select Share/Create Video File/Custom/Options/ and now set up every property in the three Tabs.