VSX7 time-lapse video mp4 quality issues

[the_hefay]

When making a time-lapse video from still images, the mpeg4 quality is horrific. It's very pixelated and the detail is completely gone. However, if I create a wmv or mpeg2 the quality is much better. The images were taken from a Sony a580 dslr. I first used the full size images and then also resized the images to 1920 wide and tried again. I changed the resampling quality to best in the preferences settings and still the mpeg4 quality is unusable. It's very jumpy, mushy, and painful to watch. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong. I can mix video and still images with transitions and come up with a nice mpeg4, but with the time-lapse something is going wrong.

[the_hefay]

hmmm, oh well.

[lata]

Hi

Welcome to the forums

Sorry for the delay in our reply, I guess nobody knows or does not use timelapse

When you say timelapse are you shooting multiple images at say 10 seconds between each.
A few hundred images will produce a sequence. If in the UK you will use 25fps,

Insert those images to Video Studio and set the image durations to 1, 2 or 3 frames.
(Alt + A should select all images, right click for Image Duration)

You need to experiment for the effect you require, If in the UK you will use 25fps,

If the image are not 16:9 then they will not fill the screen, but that should not be a problem. Resizing the images to 16:9 may cause problems, so maybe best using images as shot.

You should now be able to play the sequence to test quality.

When you create a video file use Frame Based not interlaced.

What you convert to depends on what you are intending to make, a DVD Disc requires Mpeg2
A video for the internet maybe Mpeg4
There are many options to choose, I would have thought most if not all will create good quality.

What is the actual Pixel sizes of your images, I assume above 1920 x 1080?

[skier-hughes]

What mp4 settings are you using?
How do they compare with the wmv and mpeg2 settings?
What is your final output going to be?

[the_hefay]

Hey thanks for the replies. I'm using the time-lapse/strobe feature. Basically I'm right-clicking on the timeline and adding the images for time-lapse/strobe. I then get the settings box for frame rate, drop frames, etc. I use all frames, drop zero frames, and duration is 1 frame. I used full size jpegs, resized smaller jpegs, and resized tiffs. I did not do any cropping. I resized to the width of 1920 in case my problems were resampling issues within VSX7. My goal is to create an acceptable mpeg4 for the web. However, if you can remember back to dial-up days and viewing videos online, then you know exactly what the mpeg4 I'm getting looks like. Mpeg2 files are better, and WMV actually quite good in HD quality. As far as settings go, I used the default settings for each of the file types. I'm in the USA so I assume 30 fps is correct. The settings are:

MPEG-4 Files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 30 fps
Frame-based
H.264 High Profile Video: 15000 Kbps
48000 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo
MPEG AAC Audio: 256 Kbps

Windows Media Video
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 29.97 fps
Frame-based
44.100 KHz, 16 bits, Stereo
Ulead - WMV (1920x1080,30p)

MPEG Transport-Stream Files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 29.97 fps
Upper Field First
(HDMV-NTSC), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 35000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio, 48 KHz, 2/0(L,R)


My goal is an HD 1920x1080 mpeg4 for upload to internet.

[lata]

Hi

I don’t understand why the quality would change so much when using those different format.

If you have taken a series of images with your camera then they should all be the same format Jpeg, Tiff, Bmp whatever,

So how are you able to mix jpegs and tiffs.?
You should not re-size the images but use directly from the camera.

What do the images look like when played from the timeline.

You can slow down playback by increasing the number of frames per image.

Are your project properties set for Mpeg4 1920 X 1080

[the_hefay]

I don’t understand why the quality would change so much when using those different format.

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

If you have taken a series of images with your camera then they should all be the same format Jpeg, Tiff, Bmp whatever,

My camera shoots in RAW+JPEG

So how are you able to mix jpegs and tiffs.?

I'm not mixing image types. I tried doing the time lapse using jpeg and then I redid the project with tiff files created from the raw files.

You should not re-size the images but use directly from the camera.

I understand that I shouldn't have to. I've tried creating the time-lapse using original size and when the quality failed I resized the images so that the resampling wouldn't be done in VSX7. However, there was no improvement.

What do the images look like when played from the timeline.

It doesn't play back smooth in the preview if that's what your talking about, but it is still sharper than the resulting mpeg4 file. If you're asking about when an individual file is selected, it looks nice and sharp.

You can slow down playback by increasing the number of frames per image.

This is true, but not what I'm concerned about.

Are your project properties set for Mpeg4 1920 X 1080

MPEG Transport-Stream Files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 29.97 fps
Upper Field First
(HDMV-NTSC), 16:9
H.264 Video
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 18000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio, 48 KHz, 2/0(L,R)

[the_hefay]

Here's some screenshots of each video.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc19 ... enshot.jpg

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc19 ... enshot.jpg

[lata]

Hi the_hefayac

What are you actually taking, I assume the cloud movement?

The playback from the timeline should be good, there may be a stutter but should be even throughout. How much stutter depends on the period between each shot.

Taking a lot of shots at 1 second intervals will produce smoother video than taking shots at 20 second intervals.

Cropping the images is not an option, the two images you show above are cropped differently, you can see movement when switching between each view.

1 / How many images did you take in your sequence.?
2 / What was the timing between each shot?
3 / Timings should be accurate, was that done in camera or do you have an auto shutter release attachment.?
4 / Jpeg images are suitable for time-lapse, no point in using Raw.

As I say project playback from the timelines should be good, the quality of the final video depends on that.


Camera settings are important, you may have to set metering and white balance to manual, this will help in retaining similar light and colour levels, the camera may change settings a little when auto metering each shot.

If you wish to zoom into the scene then that should have been done when taking the images, otherwise create the video then zoom in to the video to create another clip. (quality will be affected)

This will be my last reply for a week, we are on vacation from today.
Hopefully someone else will help…….

[the_hefay]

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong in explaining my issue. I really appreciate your patience and responses. However, I feel that you do not understand at all what I'm saying my problem is.

Yes the two crops are cropped different. They are are however, 100% crops of a screen shot. One is of the wmv playback and one is of the mp4 playback. The video itself is not cropped like that. To see the actual screenshot click on the links above the cropped pictures.

You are correct in assuming I am taking video of cloud movement. Any stutter I see is not due to the frequency of the picture. There is no stutter in the wmv file I create. It's smooth and sharp. Please refer to the 100% crops I attached in my previous post. You will see that one is much sharper than the other. That is my issue. I want the mp4 file to be sharp on every frame and I want it to flow smoothly. It does neither while the wmv does both.

Project playback is horrible but the wmv file is still great. The images are nice and sharp when stepping from frame to frame in the project playback.

1 the project consists of 212 images.
2 the timing between each shot was 20 seconds.
3 I use a remote shutter timer
4 I used jpeg. When that didn't work I used tiff. When that didn't work, I started this thread.

I manually set the camera exposure settings.

On a side note, cropping or resizing images prior to inserting them into a timelapse should not degrade the quality as long as all images are cropped/resized the same and that all image sizes are equal to or greater than the video output resolution. In fact it's quite probable that if the images are resized to the dimensions of the video output, then the quality might even be better. This is because a good photo program will resample at least as good as CSVX7 if not better.

My problem actually has nothing to do with how to set up my camera for time-lapse. I am much more familiar with photography than I am with CSVX7. I just need to know how to get the mp4 quality to match that of the wmv.

[rwernyei]

Have you thought about rendering your time lapse project in CVSPX7 to an uncompressed avi or an avi using HuffYUV 2.11 codec? Then use an external encoder to create your mp4 file. Personally, I use Quicktime Pro to create mov and mp4 files. Or you could try freeware like Super, HandBrake, etc. It's worth a try to get the desired mp4 quality you seek.

Hope this helps.
Robert

[the_hefay]

No I hadn't considered that. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give that a try.

[the_hefay]

I downloaded the HuffYUV 2.11 codec and installed as per the readme.txt but it doesn't show up in CSVX7. Is there a place I need to copy the .dll file into for it to show up?

[rwernyei]

I just installed by default and the HUFFYUV.DLL resides on C:\WINDOWS\system32.

Mind you, I am using CVSPX6 and the way to get to the Huffy codec is to Share>Create Video File>Custom>Save as type: Microsoft AVI files (*avi)>Options>Under AVI tab Compression: Use dropdown and select Huffyuv v2.1.1. Also, make sure under the General tab Frame type: Frame-based and Frame size User-defined to set desired Width and Height. That's it.

[canuck]

the_hefay,

would it be possible for you to create a SmartPackage and upload it to some website so that we can download it and try some tests? Perhaps 30 or so pictures should be enough I would think.