Ghosting in wmvhd files produced from AVCHD files

[spacem8n]

Dear all,

I have had the problem I am about to describe for a number of months now. I was hoping the recent patch for video studio would have fixed it but it appears not to have.

I have a panasonic hdc-sd1 video camera. I also have an xbox 360 which I use as a media centre, streaming my video content over a wired network. Due to the nightmare that is commonly known as 'codec hell' I am forced to use the wmvhd format so that the xbox 360 can see and play the files.

I can quite easily import the files from the panasonic hdc-sd1's sd card into video studio, edit / title as appropriate then output to wmvhd. These files play fine on the xbox 360.

The problem I have is that there is clear ghosting on the outputted files. As with all ghosting this is most prevalent in fast moving scenes e.g. pans.

I can play the video materials straight from the camera through HDMI to my TV and in this mode there is no ghosting i.e. if you pause a scene there is not the typical two versions of an image slightly offset by a few pixels. However, if you pause the wmvhd file at the same place there is the ghosting I describe.

I am convinced the problem lies with the ulead video studio import process, as when you import the clips and play them back they have this ghosting, even though conceptually they are in avchd format which indeed the clip properties window states they are.

I have even tried outputing the files to mpeg2 for a test and they still have this ghosting.

I had hoped the recent patch and power pack would fix this import problem but it hasn't.

Has anyone got the answer to this problem. Even if the answer is to use some other programme to import first I would welcome your collective experience and input - as this is a big problem for me.

Thanks in advance

Eddie Watkins

[Clevo]

Not sure if this will help but we will need to know a few other things.

The monitor you are using to view the video what kind is it?

Have you tested the video on a different monitor not going through the Xbox?

I have a feeling it's an interlacing issue.

what Project Settings do you use and how does this compare with your Video Properties when imported from the SD card?

Can you desribe your work flow from import to export please.

[spacem8n]

Thanks for your reply, sorry for my delay in getting back to you. To answer your questions.

I am using a Toshiba LCD television from the xbox 360 to view the videos. However, exactly the same effect is see from using the Philips 170X5 monitor connected to my computer and through a dell laptop I have got to. Remember the Toshiba television does not show this ghosting when the videos are played through hdmi directly from teh camera.

The important properties of each clip when imported into the software are

File format PAL HDMV
Video type H. 264 Video upper field first
Attibutes 24 bits 1440 x 1080 16:9
Frame rate 25.000 frames / sec
Data rate : Variable bit rate (Max 11800kbps)

Audio type Dolby Digital
Attributes 48000 Hz 5.1 Channels
Layer None
Bit rate 384 kbps

In terms of project I have never changed these. In fact I am not really sure what changing them would do, but looking at these settings by selecting file/project properties

Edit file format MPEG files
PAL 25fps
MPEG files
24bits 720 x 576, 25fps
Lower field first
DVD-PAL, 16:9

In terms of work flow this is as follows. I take the sdhc card out of the camera and put it into a sdhc usb reader. I attach this reader to the computer's usb port.

I choose the import from DVD/DVD-VR or AVCHD optoin in the capture tab.
I then choose the Import DVD folder on the dialog box
I choose the removable drive which is the usb reader
I then choose the Private / AVCHD folder and click OK
A dialog appears which shows the status of parsing content.
Then another dialog appears which lists the clips in the left hand window, and previews in the right.
I choose the clips I want to import by selecting the relevant checkbox
Click OK and slowly it will import the clips one by one into the video thumbnail viewer area. Please note that once this is complete if I the preview a clip from this area it has the ghosting effect in. If I right click the and get the properties they are those described above. If put the card back in the camera, and connect to my TV through HDMI and check the exact same clips there is NO ghosting.
I then put the clips in the timeline, add effects, fade titles etc.
To export I click the share tab choose the create video file option, I then choose a custom format I created to match my video datarate + dolby 5.1 etc then export. I have also tried the generic WMV HD 1080 25 ulead option. Both result in ghosting videos.

I hope from this workflow however, that you can see why I believe the problem is with the import as the ghosting is present immediately after clip importing.

I really hope this helps

regards

Eddie

[etech6355]

Ed,
Can you try this, reading the SD card directly if you navigate to the "STREAMS" folder which contains the video files they should have an extension of either MTS or M2TS. The large files are the videos, the smaller ones may be menu's, you don't need those.

Take these larger M2TS or MTS files and copy them to your local harddisk so they can be read by VS faster.
Then insert them and see if the ghosting is still in the video while on the timeline.

Almost sounds as if the fielding is reversed. You shouldn't see the ghosting on the VS timeline, playback may be choppy because it's avc/h264 video, but not true ghosting.