Video Quality deteriorates when saving to AVI

D

Doug Mc

In MM, the quality looks good.
However, when I save it to an AVI file the quality (sharpness, etc.)
deteriorates.

I'd like some ideas please.
Thanks,
Doug
 
G

Graham Hughes

What are you watching it on? and In? Standard MM dv-avi files are interlaced
and so won't look as good on a pc monitor as they will on a tv, so if you
have a camcorder save the movie back to tape adn then watch it on the tv, it
should be the same as the original mini-dv tape, if that's where it came
from.

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com
 
D

Doug Mc

I made a DVD and watched it on TV.
I then watched the AVI file from Movie Maker on my computer.

Both viewings are not nearly as good as the preview, etc. in Movie Maker nor
nearly as good as the AVI created from the Camcorder.

So something happened during the "Save Movie File" process.


..
 
D

Doug Mc

What is this for? Looks like a dvd burner or something.

I need a solution to produce a quality video from Movie Maker during the
"Save Movie File" process.
 
D

Doug Mc

Thanks Graham,
I only have an analog camcorder but I watched the AVI file (using Microsoft
Media Player) which I made from a DIGITAL camcorder and it looked great;
therefore I believe the problem is in the Save Movie File process out of
Movie Maker.

What do you think??

Doug
 
D

Doug Mc

I agree; there should be no quality loss - but there is - and I don't know
why.
What about codecs? I don't know how that works, but could there be a
problem there?

I used my son't digital cam to input the tape.
Again, that file looks great.
 
D

Doug Mc

Let me go back to the beginning and describe what I've done:
1. Using my son's digital cam I captured the tape in question - this went
directly into an AVI file.
2. I then used this AVI file as a Collection into Movie Maker. (Did this
multiple times - see step 3 below.)
3. I then did some separating of clips in MM. (In this process I separated
bits of the video into several clips to make the project easier to deal
with. I created a new MM project for each clip.)
4. I then did the Save Movie File using the DV-AVI (NTSC) option for each of
the MM projects I mentioned above..
5. I then created the DVD disc - using the several AVIs from step 4.
(Incidentally, the sound is fine.)

This is when I noticed that the video is not what it should be.
I played each of the AVIs with Windows Media player and each of them were of
low quality.
Using MM I then went back and looked at each of the clips created in Step 4
(small window, of course) and each of them looked fine.
I then went back an played the tape from step 1 above with Media Player and
it looks great.

So, I've concluded that the problem lies somewhere in Step 4.

I hope this brings you up to date.
Now, I'd like your ideas please.
Thanks again,

Doug
 
G

Graham Hughes

Still need a little more, see below.

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com

4. I then did the Save Movie File using the DV-AVI (NTSC) option for each
of the MM projects I mentioned above..
5. I then created the DVD disc - using the several AVIs from step 4.
(Incidentally, the sound is fine.)

This is when I noticed that the video is not what it should be.
Click to expand...

When you say this is when you noticed the video is not what it should be -
you have at this point made a dvd, so are you watching the dvd?

If so, you are not watching the avi any more, but a compressed Mpeg2. I can
talk more about this if I am right.

If not, please say which stage you are looking at the avi.
 
G

Graham Hughes

Sorry, I have work to do as well :)

DVDs are compressed files, it is no longer your avi and as such cannot be
compared to it identically.

There are so many probabilities here I'll run through the gist of what
happens and you can come back with answrs if you know them/appropiate.

Background reading, to save me lots of typing
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/Tutorials/Difference_betwwen_Mpeg_and_DVAVI_files.htm

Items which can make a difference to the final result.


The encoder, try a better one - here hollywood movies use encoders which
cost many £100,000's we use ones which cost just a few pounds, getting a
good encoder is probable the most important item. WHat did you use?

The setting used in the encoder would be next. For the best quality using a
medium encoder you won't get much more than one hour on a disc, the better
the encoder the more you can fit on but retaining quality. - What settings
did you use?

The authoring/buring programme, was this the same as the encoding programme?

The make of disc, try a better quality one.

Graham

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com
 
D

Doug Mc

Thanks Graham,
I've got to be away from the computer for a few hours. Then I'll come back
and read this important information.
Thanks again for your help.

Doug
 
D

Doug Mc

Thanks Graham, I'm back.

If I'm not mistaken, we are talking about two different things.
I think you're talking about the quality of the DVD.
I'm talking about the quality of the AVI produced in the "Save Movie File"
process of Movie Maker.
In other words, before I even make the DVD the AVIs that go into the DVD
look inferior.

OK?
Doug
 
G

Guest

I have a similar problem which might shed some light on this. My clips play
fine as long as they are in the collection window. As soon as I move them
into the timeline, the quality of both the sound and video degrades
considerably. This is before I've even saved the movie file. Doug Mc, is
this what happens with you?
 
W

Wojo

That actually sounds like a symptom of working with MPEG video files.
Is that the case?
 
D

Doug Mc

I don't know.
What would that have to do with the AVI CREATED BY MM not having close to
the same quality as the AVI that was INPUT to MM??

Doug
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

Recording quality issue 2
Problems with wmv files in Windows XP MovieMaker 1
Compression when saving in DV AVI format 2
avi file extension issue 2
Poor quality in DV-AVI format! 1
Changing Display Size when saving a movie 2
Import/Export Quality 1
MM poor quality 4

Top