A few days back I wrote about how I was having trouble with capturing video from my hi-8 camera. I was told to use firewire rather than USB to get the quality I wanted. So, I ordered a firewire card for 10 dollars and I could not be happier with the quality it produced! Wow! It looks nearly perfect. I say nearly perfect because I've noticed it tends to be quite blurry when the video moves. Is this normal or is there something I can do about it. Obviously almost any video blurs if it moves too fast, but this blur is much more than how it appears on the tape. Any help is appreciated. Other than that though, I haven't had any problems. So for those who helped me out, if you're reading this, thank you!
Dann
capturing hi 8 through firewire
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stannmaple
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Ron P.
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Hi Dann,
Great to see you got a firewire...
When you are seeing the blurring, are you viewing this in the Preview Window, rendered video file, or on a DVD? As you are probably aware, the Preview window produces an average to poor representation of your video, since it puts everything together "on the fly".
While you are correct that fast camera pans will obviously produce blurring, if the pan is not overly fast there should not be exaggerated blurring in your video.
Are capturing to Upper Field First? This is digital video, and not anologue, so you would need to capture to Lower Field First.
You might post your capture, and project properties so we can have a look at them.
Thank You..
Ron P.
Great to see you got a firewire...
When you are seeing the blurring, are you viewing this in the Preview Window, rendered video file, or on a DVD? As you are probably aware, the Preview window produces an average to poor representation of your video, since it puts everything together "on the fly".
While you are correct that fast camera pans will obviously produce blurring, if the pan is not overly fast there should not be exaggerated blurring in your video.
Are capturing to Upper Field First? This is digital video, and not anologue, so you would need to capture to Lower Field First.
You might post your capture, and project properties so we can have a look at them.
Thank You..
Ron P.
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stannmaple
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It was on the DVD that it looked blury when moving. What does lower field first mean? I see it in the options, but I wasn't sure what it meant. I'll have to go back and check my project settings to see how I saved it. I have gotten rid of the raw video to save space (this was just a practice project to try out the firewire) so I'm not able to send it, unless I can load it from the DVD. Anyway, I'll check and see what my settings were. Thanks.
Dann
Dann
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stannmaple
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Yeah, it looks liked I got rid of the project completely. The default settings, however are on lower field first, and I didn't change anything, so i assume how it was saved. Oh, also, I captured this particular video in Windows Movie Maker (DV-AVI) because for one reason or another, I was not able to capture it in video studio. It will play, but not capture... so I captured it in movie maker and saved it as an AVI. I kept all the defaults as is and burned to DVD. I may have changed the quality to 100% instead of 70 which is what it is at. If you want me to try extracting this video from the DVD, I'm sure there is a way to do that, and I can upload it unto my website. It will take some time though, I have dial-up 
Thanks for the help.
Dann
Thanks for the help.
Dann
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Ron P.
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Dann,
For a detailed description on this I'll leave it to the pros. I know the difference but trying to explain it, I'll end up confusing you and me...
You can also go to this site and read about it and more..
http://www.ardenwoodsnd-dvd.com/glossar ... nterlacing
Ron P.
For a detailed description on this I'll leave it to the pros. I know the difference but trying to explain it, I'll end up confusing you and me...
You can also go to this site and read about it and more..
http://www.ardenwoodsnd-dvd.com/glossar ... nterlacing
Ron P.
Ron Petersen, Web Board Administrator
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THoff
Unlike computer monitors, TVs are interlaced, as is broadcast TV and DVD video. Every picture consists of two half-frames, one half-frame displaying on odd scan lines, and one on even ones. The half-frames are displayed in alternating order at a rate that depends on your local TV standard (NTSC/PAL/SECAM).
It is crucial to preserve the correct order of the two half-frames while editing video, or the result will be fuzzy edges and/or jumpy video, especially during horizontal movement (cars driving through the scene, or camera pans).
Analog capture devices generally use upper-field first, whereas digital devices such as DV camcorders connected using IEEE 1394/Firewire are lower-field first. If you take lower-field first digital video from a camcorder and create a upper-field first MPEG2 file for your DVD, the aforementioned problem will occur.
It is crucial to preserve the correct order of the two half-frames while editing video, or the result will be fuzzy edges and/or jumpy video, especially during horizontal movement (cars driving through the scene, or camera pans).
Analog capture devices generally use upper-field first, whereas digital devices such as DV camcorders connected using IEEE 1394/Firewire are lower-field first. If you take lower-field first digital video from a camcorder and create a upper-field first MPEG2 file for your DVD, the aforementioned problem will occur.
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Black Lab
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Then, in this instance, it doesn't matter that VideoStudio is set to capture Lower Field First. You need to check the Windows Movie Maker settings.stannmaple wrote:Oh, also, I captured this particular video in Windows Movie Maker (DV-AVI) because for one reason or another, I was not able to capture it in video studio.
Jeff
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THoff
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stannmaple
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hmmm
hmmm... I wonder what the problem is then. Is it normal for the video to be a bit blurry when panning? It's not terrible, but it is noticable. There are not visible lines in it like I think you're talking about, just a bit more blurry than the original tape. Thanks again for all the input.
Dann
Dann
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THoff
Are you evaluating this on your PC or a TV? The TV should look somewhat better than what you see on your computer monitor.
Other things that will affect the quality are the encoding method (CBR vs. VBR), bitrate, and the Quality slider when you modify the MPEG settings (Options -> Compression when you use Share -> Create Video File).
Other things that will affect the quality are the encoding method (CBR vs. VBR), bitrate, and the Quality slider when you modify the MPEG settings (Options -> Compression when you use Share -> Create Video File).
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stannmaple
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Like I said, I'm new at all this, so please bear with me on the questions...
What is CBR and VBR and what is the ideal bitrate? I don't really know what to put the settings to here. What are the ideal settings to get a great quality DVD? Thanks again for the help. If I have this problem again, I'll be sure to keep my project and take note of the settings...
Dann
What is CBR and VBR and what is the ideal bitrate? I don't really know what to put the settings to here. What are the ideal settings to get a great quality DVD? Thanks again for the help. If I have this problem again, I'll be sure to keep my project and take note of the settings...
Dann
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THoff
CBR = Constant Bitrate, VBR = Variable Bitrate
The former is easier and faster to encode, but the latter can produce better quality when using low bitrates by reallocating the available data bandwidth between simple and complex frames -- a frame with a scene that is complex can borrow bitrate from a nearby frame that is simple.
The best bitrate is generally the one that allows the video to fill the available space on the CD or DVD exactly. The higher the bitrate, the better the quality. But there is a point of diminuishing returns, so if a 8000Kbps encoding only fills up 2/3 of the disk, there is no point in trying to raise the bitrate any further. Likewise, it doesn't make sense to perform a 2-pass VBR encoding if you can do a 7000Kbps or higher CBR encoding instead -- you'll save alot of time.
There are tools available to help you calculate a suitable bitrate for your project, such as this one.
Also, Videostudio has a "Fit to disk" option that lets it perform all the heavy lifting, but some people have reported problems with it (the project not fitting anyway for instance), and regardless, you are much better off calculating the proper bitrate BEFORE you start, so you don't have to do another lengthy and possibly quality-compromising re-encoding at the end.
The former is easier and faster to encode, but the latter can produce better quality when using low bitrates by reallocating the available data bandwidth between simple and complex frames -- a frame with a scene that is complex can borrow bitrate from a nearby frame that is simple.
The best bitrate is generally the one that allows the video to fill the available space on the CD or DVD exactly. The higher the bitrate, the better the quality. But there is a point of diminuishing returns, so if a 8000Kbps encoding only fills up 2/3 of the disk, there is no point in trying to raise the bitrate any further. Likewise, it doesn't make sense to perform a 2-pass VBR encoding if you can do a 7000Kbps or higher CBR encoding instead -- you'll save alot of time.
There are tools available to help you calculate a suitable bitrate for your project, such as this one.
Also, Videostudio has a "Fit to disk" option that lets it perform all the heavy lifting, but some people have reported problems with it (the project not fitting anyway for instance), and regardless, you are much better off calculating the proper bitrate BEFORE you start, so you don't have to do another lengthy and possibly quality-compromising re-encoding at the end.
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stannmaple
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wow
Wow! I have a lot to learn! It all sounds very confusing to me. Video Studio doesn't seem to have the functionality of DVD workshop which I currently use to author DVDs. It would be nice if workshop had the "fit to disk" option though. I've never had a problem before, but I've never dealt with very long video before. I'm working on a project right now and I have no idea how to be sure it fits to the disk. Is there an easy way? The web tool you linked me to looks like it might do the trick, but it looks complicated to me. Maybe I'll mess with it and try it out. Thanks
Dann
Dann
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Ken Berry
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Video Studio doesn't have the functionality of Workshop for two main reasons: 1) VS is primarily an editing program, whereas Workshop is almost exclusively an authoring program and a sophisticated one at that; 2) Workshop is at the upper end of the market in terms of sophisticateion, price and intended market (prosumers -- though a lot of us ordinary users also have it). It is the authoring pair of the up-market editing program Media Studio Pro (now in version 
. Video Studio is at the lower end of the market, and is the pair of the mainly authoring program Movie Factory (now in v.5).
Moreover, Workshop has now been on the market for a considerable time -- well over one year and probably closer to two, IIRC. I would not be surprised if it had a shrink to fit option included in the next version. However, Ulead will need to work on this because, as Torsten has already said, the shrink to fit module in VS9 and 10 leaves a lot to be desired and only seems to work if the project is only a very small amount over the limit.
Personally, if I run over the limit by some mischance, I prefer to use the dedicated shrink program DVDShrink or else the Nero suite module ReCode which has been redeveloped by the same guy who developed DVDShrink in the first place (though Recode, unlike Shrink cannot handle copyright protected discs).
. Video Studio is at the lower end of the market, and is the pair of the mainly authoring program Movie Factory (now in v.5).Moreover, Workshop has now been on the market for a considerable time -- well over one year and probably closer to two, IIRC. I would not be surprised if it had a shrink to fit option included in the next version. However, Ulead will need to work on this because, as Torsten has already said, the shrink to fit module in VS9 and 10 leaves a lot to be desired and only seems to work if the project is only a very small amount over the limit.
Personally, if I run over the limit by some mischance, I prefer to use the dedicated shrink program DVDShrink or else the Nero suite module ReCode which has been redeveloped by the same guy who developed DVDShrink in the first place (though Recode, unlike Shrink cannot handle copyright protected discs).
Ken Berry