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I am using VS 11.5+ and am having some quality issues. The camera I use, Panasonic SDR-H200, looks really good on a tv when it gets hooked up. But after editing, the quality doesn't look all that great on a computer monitor. When I save a file, I use:
-custom
-go with MPEG2 with file compression quality at 100 (9696 kb/s (max.))
-16x9
-where it says "lower field first or upper field first" I save as Frame Based

Any help or hints??

Thanks

...where is the quality lost?

Usually during re-compression. But, I'm not sure what's going on here... You are already using high-quality settings that should minimize this.

When you edit video, it has to be de-compressed and re-compressed. Most video formats (including MPEG) use lossy compression, so the quality theoretically deteriorates every time you encode. Some formats are more lossy than others, and depending on many factors, you may, (or may not) notice the quality loss.

However, if you enable SmartRender, the video will only be re-encoded where needed (i.e. during transitions), and the remaining video won't be affected. Of course, this requires that your output format be the same as your original format. And, if you do something like apply color adjustment to the entire video, the entire video will be re-coded.

Your camera records to MPEG-2 (same as DVDs), so if you're making a DVD, you should be able to use SmartRender. Or, try making an unedited DVD. (I'm not sure if your camera is DVD-compatible MPEG-2, but I assume so.)

If you must re-encode, it's best to re-encode/render once to your final format. Using a high bitrate (which you are already doing) and/or a less-compressed format will minimize the quality loss.

The camera I use, Panasonic SDR-H200, looks really good on a tv when it gets hooked up. But after editing, the quality doesn't look all that great on a computer monitor.

How does it look on the computer before editing? Maybe it's your computer monitor??? (Colors on computer monitors are generated differently from NTSC/PAL colors, monitor refresh rates are different than video framerates, etc.)

-where it says "lower field first or upper field first" I save as Frame Based

If you're making a DVD, you should leave the field order unchanged. Frame based is probably best if you're making a file to play on the computer.

Hi kidchico

When you first insert the video to the timeline the project properties should be changed to match the videos properties.(compare the project properties against the video properties)
Complete the editing.

When you go Share Create Video File use the Same as First Clip option.
This will use the original video¡¦s properties to create the new file.
Otherwise use the Same as Project settings, again these should be the same as the original.

Any of the above suggestions are applicable. But since your camera is a hard disc model, just be aware that it uses Upper Field First, and you must maintain that throughout your editing and in your final burn. Choosing 'same as first clip' should work, as should 'same as project settings' as long as those indeed match the clips from the camera, particularly using Upper Field First...