Video Image Distortion

[TAMc]

For several years I've had excellent results with VideoStudio 9 & my trusty old Sony Digital 8 Handycam. But not so with my most recent project, where the rendered image has vertical distortions resembling pixelation. The film is watchable but disappointingly irritating! Raw footage played directly from the camera onto the TV/into the computer is crisp. I re-processed the footage through Windows Movie Maker, importing the .wvm into VS9 to burn the disk, with the same outcome. A knowledgeable friend suggested that .mpeg drivers in VS9 might have been overwritten/corrupted by another programme so I reinstalled & went through the full process for the 3rd time, again with the same result. The only hardware/other known changes have been a new flat/widescreen TV and computer monitor. Struggling to find anything in other posts resembling this, but perhaps not using the right keywords? Might this be 'ringing a bell' with anyone, please? This is a very special project with my very young (first) grandson & I'd really like to get it right.

[Ron P.]

Are you editing WMV file? If so that's what's causing your degraded quality. WMV is a highly compressed format, and is suppose to be used for distribution, even though we edit it too. Anytime you edit a higher compressed video file format, you will take a quality hit. This is because it must be decompressed to be edited, then when you create your finished product, it must be re compressed to some format.

The reason it looks clean and crisp coming directly from your camcorder, is you're viewing the original data, which is DV. You need to transfer your footage to your PC using Firewire. If your camcorder is a Digital-8 or Mini-DV it should have a Firewire port. Sony calls it i-Link. VS 9 should have no problem with this. Edit your DV footage, and when finished editing, go to the Share step, select Create Video File NTSC or PAL, DVD, and the proper aspect ratio for your video. Once you've created your video file, clear the timeline by starting a new project (FIle>New), the go directly to the Share step, and this time choose Create Disc. This will open the burn module, where you will select Add Video. Navigate to the newly created Video file from your project, insert it and continue on to build your menus, add chapters, and then finally burn your disc.

[TAMc]

Thanks, Ron, but doing all of that ...................

[Black Lab]

Thanks, Ron, but doing all of that ...................

We can't read minds.

[Ron P.]

You're doing all of what???

What I read in your post you are:
1. Capturing the video from your camcorder, using Windows Movie Maker, therefore creating a WMV (windows media video) file. Which is not the thing to do.
2. You insert your WMV file into VS to edit.
3. Burn a DVD, that your source video file was WMV.

Like I said that is why you have such a poor quality video. If your camcorder is a digital-8, then it records to tape in the DV (avi) format. That is one of the best quality Standard Definition formats around to edit. So this is what you should be doing, and you'll end up with a very good quality DVD.

1. Connect your camcorder to your PC using Firewire. Launch VS, go to the Capture step. Make sure your camcorder is recognized. In the capture step, set your capture format to DV.

capture_DV-1.jpg (17.73 KiB) Viewed 3528 times

Also check to see what type of DV, I always use Type-1.

capture_DV type.jpg (10.56 KiB) Viewed 3528 times

After you have transferred your video and completed editing it, go to the Share step, select Create Video File, DVD NTSC..

share_cvf_DVD.jpg (36.16 KiB) Viewed 3528 times

Now you will have a DVD Compliant MPEG-2 video file to use in the Burn module.

[TAMc]

HI Ron. That's very helpful, & much appreciated, thanks so much.

Just to clarify, I'm not firewiring into Movie Maker, that's just something I tried to see if I could narrow down or eliminate the problem. The VS9 process you've outlined is how I've coventionally gone about things, but with a couple of variations on settings:
1) I've been using the MPEG format setting rather than the DV-1 you've recommended, and
2) Being in the UK I have PAL rather than NTSC options, & I've been using MPEG2 rather than the 4:3 you've recommended.

I've been through the full process again from start to finish (without full editing), using DV-1 format & PAL 4:3. I'm really pleased to say that there's a marked improvement, but I want to put more time into it before I'm sure I'm getting the best I can.

Am I right in assuming that once the video file has been created & saved to hard disk, the footage which is automatically transferred across into 'create disk' is the rendered/saved version compliant with all the earlier settings & not requiring any further adjustment? If that's the case then - all other things being equal - the saved video file viewed on the computer in Media Player is ok then a DVD created & viewed on the TV should also be good??

Now that both my TV & computer monitor (1360 x 768) are flat/widescreen (& I've been wondering whether this might be the source of my problems?) how critical are the picture profile settings? Should I be using, say, 16:9 rather than 4:3, and/or (assuming I can) changing the camera settings?

Thanks so much again for all your help.

[Ron P.]

I overlooked your location in your profile, and you should be using PAL. Now the problem with MPEG-2, is you're now setting yourself up right away for loosing quality. MPEG-2 is alright, so long as you don't plan on doing a bunch of editing to it. MPEG-2 is a lossy format, where DV (avi) is considered a non-lossy format. So in order to have the best quality at the end it's always better to start with the best quality.

As far as the ratio 4:3 or 16:9, that depends on what your video was recorded in. If your original video was recorded using 4:3, then stick with it. You can during the editing stage use some tricks, having your project be 16:9 for widescreen, however your video clips are 4:3. This may involve cropping your clips, and you'll lose some video on the top and bottom. Jeff, (Black Lab) used the ESPN side-bar technique in one of his videos. He wrote a tutorial about it, which you can read about HERE.

I would suggest from now on, when shooting footage with your camcorder, if it's capable of doing so, use 16:9, since you do have a widescreen TV. Depending on how your DVD player and/or TV handles the signal, it may show it pillered (black bars on both sides), or it may stretch it to fit the screen, which is not good, cause everyone looks short and fat.

One thing that I love about DV is that the date/time information that is transferred with the video, and that VS sees this, and can display it in clip mode. It's not burned to the video though. I've had a clip or two that I forgot when the footage was shot, looking for a time period to include in a project, and by playing the clips in clip mode I was able to determine the exact date and time that I shot the footage. VS does not do the same with MPEG, even though with some camcorders that information is included.

One last little thing, the bitrate ultimately determines the quality. The higher the bitrate used, the better the quality. However there's a trade-off with file size. High bitrates mean larger file sizes, and therefore you can not put as long a video onto a disc. If I'm producing a video that is no greater than 1hr, I will use a bitrate of around 8000kbps. The max allowable for DVD standards is around 10,000kbps which is the combined audio and video bitrate. Pushing the envelope, you run the risk of your DVD not playing back on some players.

For a workflow I transfer my video to my PC, to DV, type-1. I then do all my editing, and then create a DVD compliant MPEG-2 video file from my project. Then I use that MPEG-2 video file in my DVD authoring program or the burn module of VS versions pre-x3. Before burning a disc, I will create DVD folders, then view that using one of my media players. If everything is how I wanted it, I will then burn a disc.

Am I right in assuming that once the video file has been created & saved to hard disk, the footage which is automatically transferred across into 'create disk' is the rendered/saved version compliant with all the earlier settings & not requiring any further adjustment? If that's the case then - all other things being equal - the saved video file viewed on the computer in Media Player is ok then a DVD created & viewed on the TV should also be good??

I think I answered part of your question with my workflow description. VS is a non-destructive program, meaning you're editing virtual clips. They are just links to your original source files. You can jump straight into the burn module, using your project file (VSP), however we've recommended for years now, to first create a new video file from your project, which should be a DVD Compliant file. By that I mean that it meets the International DVD Standards, of Frame sizes, bitrates, file type, ect. Then you use that file in the burn module to build your DVD.

[TAMc]

Excellent, Ron, thanks so much. I'll reflect on all that & take things forward. Thanks & best wishes.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

When you capture video to DV the actual process transfers the video to the pc without re-coding.
There are no settings to change, only the DV Type as 1.
What you have is what you get DV-Avi (13 Gb per hour)
This is the best option you have to get your video from your camera to pc.
If your camera recorded in 4:3 then your capture will be 4:3.

I have a quick guide that lists the process My Quick Guide Dv-Avi

Hope this Helps

[TAMc]

From one Trevor to another - that's really helpful & very much appreciated, thanks.

[Ken Berry]

And just to flog a potentially dead horse, to transfer DV format from your camcorder, you absolutely MUST use firewire/i-Link... And if your computer doesn't have a firewire port, install one or have one installed. They are very cheap these days.

[TAMc]

Thanks Ken. Probably one of the best investments I've made.