Low output quality VS9 DVD - Vertical Watery Lines and blurr

[EdWalicki]

I have been building a huge collection of drink coasters this evening trying to output my projects to DVD in VS 9. Now 8 hours later have decided to take up drinking and get some use out of these new coasters.

I have tried every output setting and still I get poor video quality. I have to be missing something in the set up. If you can offer any advice I would sure appreciate it.

I am running a Dell XPS 400 w/dual 500 gig harddrives, a Legacy Video Capture Card and all the upgrades.

Using VS9

Camcorder is a Cannon Optura 30 Mini DV

Settings I have tried
All the HQ Field Based presets in 4:3 and 16:9 as well as custom....and

Single pass encoded.
NTSC -
Aspect Ratio = 4:3
Fielding = LFF (Lower_Field_First)
FrameSize = 720x480
FrameRate 29.97
Compression = 100%
Varibale Bit Rate = 9000
Audio = Dobly 2/0 @ 256kbs.

My Project Settings are:
NTSC drop frame (29.97 fps)
Microsoft AVI files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 4:3, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
DV Video Encoder -- type 1

Video was shot in 4:3 mode and 16 bit audio mode
Capture was in DV mode

Video Filters used - Pan and Zoom (but image problems are also on clips without filter.)
Range 100-140 %

Problem - When I view the dvd's burned the video quality is poor at best. I get these thin fixed transparent lines running vertical on the TV screen giving the image a faint water glass type look. And nothing is in sharp focus and movement is blurred. Yet when I play it back on the computer the picture is better and when I play the clips alone from the library the quality is perfect. Something is going south in the conversion process I believe. And I cant figure out what that would be and how to prevent it. I even burned just a disc image file and replayed the file on the computer just to rule out the dvd's and it plays the same as on the dvd copies - poor.

Any idea what I would be missing or I should try next.

Thanks again for help you can offer!
Ed

[Ron P.]

Hi Ed,

Your settings all look good.. So since the problem surfaces on the burned discs and not when playing back on your computer, I would look at either the brand of discs you are using, the batch or the burn speed.

It is not uncommon to get a bad disc or an entire spindle. However with the results you are getting, generally bad discs just don't play or they play with jerkiness. Does any of your "coasters" behave this way?

What speed are you burning the discs? Try not to burn any faster then 4x. This allows the signal to burn deep enough so that most players can read them.

Finally do you check the box apply antiflicker filter?

Ron P.

[EdWalicki]

I thought about the disks first off. So I tried several brands I had in the office all with the same exact results. As did the image file alone. I have been burning at 8x though. So I will burn one right now on the slowest speed and see what that does. And no, I dont use the anti flicker filter....should I? I will give it a try. I was worried about using too many filters and altering the original avi file. So I didnt use as many as I would have liked to in editing. IS that a valid concern. Can you over filter and degrade the quality or does the filters use have little effect on the file quality?

Thanks,
Ed

[EdWalicki]

I just tried to burn one at a slower speed and it made no difference. I created a new project with the same settings and this time used the same clips with no pan and zoom filter on any of the clips and the dvd played just fine. One the other dvd's earlier, only 4 of the 15 clips on the dvd had the zoom filter but all of the video was effected. On the latest video no filter was used and all look good. So it has to be something to do with the filter use. I really need to use that filter to so I can correct for some ill centered shots. Any ideas around it or to correct it.

Thanks,
Ed

[Ron P.]

Ed,

Since you are editing DV (AVI), you shouldn't have much concern on applying filters. That format was designed to compress AVI, to a useable level and with little or no loss in quality. The anti-flickering filter is there to use when images are being used in your projects. You should be able to use pan and zooms on your images.

When you create your video files, and/or burn to disc, try checking the anti-flicker filter box. There is also the option to Perform non-square pixel rendering. Be sure to check that also.

Ron P.

[EdWalicki]

Ron, since the only filter I really need is the pan and zoom for my projects and when I need it I REALLY do need it....would I be better off to upgrade to MSP8 instead of trying to push VS9 ? I see you use both. Is MSP8 better suited for high end results? I do alot of two camera video projects and I am not always good about getting the second camera shots lined up as I would like to see in editing. My fix it in post attitude needs good software. I dont mind spending the extra money in the least bit, if there really is a difference. I bought VS9 because I didnt need all the fancy effects for doing how to videos. Now I am starting to get concerned that I have invested a week of time into a 40 hour video project and now am having quality problems in the first 6 hours of final cuts. Maybe VS9 isnt the better choice in the Ulead line for my needs. Any advice?

Thanks,
Ed

[Black Lab]

Yes, MSP is a more professional program, but VideoStudio should still give you an excellant picture. Please fill in your system specs, and outline the exact steps you are taking: from capturing your video all the way through burning the disc. The more detail you give the better we can help you.

[Ron P.]

Ed,

VS 10 Plus is close to MSP, in that it offers 6 overlay tracks, for a total of 7 video tracks, the ability to encode Dolby 5.1, HD and some others.

MSP 8 of course gives you unlimited (ok up to 99) video and audio tracks. You do have more control over things like multi-camera editing. It has a slight learning curve to it. However really not bad.

The difference $200 for MSP upgrade vs $60 for the upgrade to VS10 Plus. You can d/l the trial versions to see. Both are fully functional, minus the Dolby.

If you go the MSP route, get Charlie Hill's book, Getting Results with MSP8. It is dirt cheap and will get you going fast. http://www.getting-results.com/
Ron P.

[EdWalicki]

I am heading over to their site to look at it now.

I bought Charlie Hills book for VS9 and loved it. I like his writing stlye and learned enough about the program to get me going in a weekend. Learning curves are what I do best, so I am not worried about the homework involved switching over. So if I go the MSP route his site will be my next stop.

I hate to just dump all the work I have into this project already in VS9. Can I import the file into MSP and keep going? I am sure I can with VS10 since I was able to with 7,8 and now 9.

Well just burned one with anti-flicker and will try it out before I hit the sack for some sleep. Been up all night trying to resolve this problem searching the forums and trying different settings.

Thanks again Ron for all your help.

Ed

I see now Ulead has PI 11 out!! I swear everytime I upgrade that program they come out with an another upgrade a few weeks later. I grew up with Photoshop and switched over years ago to PI and now I no longer need Photoshop. The ease of use PI offers is what sold me on Ulead in the first place and led me to trusting their video editing line without question.

[EdWalicki]

Well I called into Ulead Tech Support about the watery lines....an hour later no results. Burning coasters was more productive. I gave up and decided to download a trial copy of VS10 to see if it helped and it did. All of the lines are gone, my zoom and pan clips are pixel free out to 280%! So I went out today and bought a retail copy from Comp USA. Now life is good again. 10 must have a better render engine than the early version of VS9.

Thanks for your help!

Ed