Quality of video when saved as WMP file.

[SleepySam]

I've recorded some videos on my digital camera, and put them together on WMM.
Problem is, when I save it as a Windows Movie Maker file, I watch it as a
..wmv file, or whatever, and the quality is really poor. The colour is
distorted and you can't really make anything out. Why is this? Is it because
I recorded the clips on a digital camera? Or am I doing something wrong?

 

[John Inzer]

I've recorded some videos on my digital camera, and put them together
on WMM. Problem is, when I save it as a Windows Movie Maker file, I
watch it as a .wmv file, or whatever, and the quality is really poor.
The colour is distorted and you can't really make anything out. Why
is this? Is it because I recorded the clips on a digital camera? Or
am I doing something wrong?

=======================
There are several options when saving.

To save as an .avi movie file...
(and several other options)
Type...Ctrl+P to open the Save Movie Wizard /
Choose...My Computer /
Next /
Enter a Name and a Save Location /
Next /
Show More Choices /
Other Settings /
Open the drop window and choose...DV-AVI /
Next /
Wait while the movie is saved /
Finish...

To save as a .wmv movie file...
Type...Ctrl+P to open the Save Movie Wizard /
Choose...My Computer /
Next /
Enter a Name and a Save Location /
Next /
Tick...'Best Quality For My Computer'
Next/
Wait while the movie is saved /
Finish...

Also, you may find it useful to use
a custom profile:

Movie Maker 2 - Saving
Movies - Custom WMV Profiles
http://tinyurl.com/s2vgu
or...
http://www.papajohn.org/MM2-SavingMovies-CustomProfiles.html

Creating Custom Profiles
for Windows Movie Maker 2
http://tinyurl.com/cuny7
or...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/expert/customprofile.mspx

--

John Inzer MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[SleepySam]

I know how to save it as different types, but my point was that whatever type
I save it as, it always turns out rubbish.

 

[John Inzer]

I know how to save it as different types, but my point was that
whatever type I save it as, it always turns out rubbish.

==========================
Maybe your clips are low resolution.
Do they look sharp if you play them in
Windows Media Player full screen?

Did you try using a custom profile?

--

John Inzer MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[SleepySam]

It's the same in full screen. Red is very vivid while nearly every other
colour is duller than it should be.

I have no idea about custom profiles, and I don't understand anything on
that tinyurl. I feel stupid.

 

[John Inzer]

It's the same in full screen. Red is very vivid while nearly every
other colour is duller than it should be.

I have no idea about custom profiles, and I don't understand anything
on that tinyurl. I feel stupid.

===================================
If it looks the same when played in Windows
Media Player...Movie Maker is not the problem.

Are you running XP or Vista?

Maybe you have an issue with your video driver.

--

John Inzer MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[SleepySam]

In Movie Maker it's fine when it's played in full screen, but when saved as a
movie file, the quality is messed up. Even when I go back onto the Movie
Maker file the quality is fine in the preview box thing. But I can't seem to
save it as a video with the colours right.
I have XP.

 

[John Inzer]

In Movie Maker it's fine when it's played in full screen, but when
saved as a movie file, the quality is messed up. Even when I go back
onto the Movie Maker file the quality is fine in the preview box
thing. But I can't seem to save it as a video with the colours right.
I have XP.

===================================
I guess your source files could have a compatiblity issue:

Maybe the following links will offer some ideas:

File type compatibility with Movie Maker
http://tinyurl.com/v8tee
or...
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/Tutorials/MovieMaker/File_type_compatibility.htm

Which file type should I use in Movie Maker?
http://tinyurl.com/6n66g3
or...
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/Tutorials/MovieMaker/WhichFileTypeInMovieMaker.htm

Also:

How do I convert an mpeg to WMV
with Windows Media Encoder?
http://tinyurl.com/2m4gob
or...
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/Tutorials/ConvertMpeg2wmv.html



--

John Inzer MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[SleepySam]

I don't know what the problem was, but I uploaded it to Youtube and the
quality is how it should be. It'll be something to do with my computer, I
suppose.
But it's fine when uploaded to Youtube, so I don't really mind.
Thanks for replying.

 

[John Inzer]

I don't know what the problem was, but I uploaded it to Youtube and
the quality is how it should be. It'll be something to do with my
computer, I suppose.
But it's fine when uploaded to Youtube, so I don't really mind.
Thanks for replying.

=============================
Maybe you have a issue with your video driver.

At least the file is playing on YouTube.

--

John Inzer MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk