Video in Premiere slightly lossy? at DVinfo.net

Aviv Hallale · May 17th, 2006, 11:07 AM

I'm editing on Premiere 2, the program monitor video quality is set to highest quality and while it is excellent quality, I've noticed that the final exported file (that's the same format as the source footage) played in Windows Media Player just looks slightly, but noticeably better. It's obviously better to have the final video look better than the one that's being edited and not the other way around, but I'm just wondering if Premiere does slightly water down the video quality in order to be able to render things faster and in real time, or if there is no difference at all. All DV AVI played in Windows Media Player just looks a tad better than the same video played in Premiere....I'm on a dual monitor system, so video from both software is displayed in full screen on my second monitor.

Chris Barcellos · May 17th, 2006, 01:26 PM

I've been struck by the same thing. Then I am not sure Premiere claims to be real time without one of the plug in systems. When I preview HDV files, the resolution is not quite as good as a render completed file, and its a bit choppy.

Aviv Hallale · May 18th, 2006, 04:04 AM

What kind of plugin would I use for SD DV in Premiere, it's quite weird that a highish-end NLE can't playback video files at the same quality as something like Windows Media Player... A bit annoying too

Jean-Francois Robichaud · May 18th, 2006, 08:21 AM

I might depend on the resolution displayed in Premiere. If it's not 100%, the scaling might be the overhead that keeps Premiere from displaying the best quality.

Webb Pickersgill · May 18th, 2006, 10:23 AM

I thought I've read somewhere before that Premiere's program window is actually displayed at half-resolution, and can actually be cut to quarter resolution during playback if needed. This is what allows it to playback realtime with transitions without additional hardware.

Additionally, if you use an external monitor you will see FULL resolution when paused but resolution will be cut during playback, once again to ensure realtime playback without special hardware.

I hope that helps, and I hope someone else can jump in here and confirm this with an actual written reference or something.

Aviv Hallale · May 18th, 2006, 12:43 PM

I'm not so sure of what the DVCPRO decks hooked up to our Black Magic capture cards at school do on our Premiere suites, but I do know that the resolution is upped to the point where any video with an effect on it HAS to be rendered to be played.

Is there no way to set Premiere to display in full res if I've got a fast enough PC? It's not soooo neccasary, like I said, I 'd rather have the final output looking better than the actual edit, but it would be nicer to see precicesly what the edited program will look like without having to render each time.

May 17th, 2006, 11:07 AM	#1
Aviv Hallale Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Posts: 276	Video in Premiere slightly lossy? I'm editing on Premiere 2, the program monitor video quality is set to highest quality and while it is excellent quality, I've noticed that the final exported file (that's the same format as the source footage) played in Windows Media Player just looks slightly, but noticeably better. It's obviously better to have the final video look better than the one that's being edited and not the other way around, but I'm just wondering if Premiere does slightly water down the video quality in order to be able to render things faster and in real time, or if there is no difference at all. All DV AVI played in Windows Media Player just looks a tad better than the same video played in Premiere....I'm on a dual monitor system, so video from both software is displayed in full screen on my second monitor.

May 17th, 2006, 01:26 PM	#2
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	I've been struck by the same thing. Then I am not sure Premiere claims to be real time without one of the plug in systems. When I preview HDV files, the resolution is not quite as good as a render completed file, and its a bit choppy. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

May 18th, 2006, 08:21 AM	#4
Jean-Francois Robichaud Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 142	I might depend on the resolution displayed in Premiere. If it's not 100%, the scaling might be the overhead that keeps Premiere from displaying the best quality. __________________ JF Robichaud

May 18th, 2006, 10:23 AM	#5
Webb Pickersgill Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Louisville, CO Posts: 204	I thought I've read somewhere before that Premiere's program window is actually displayed at half-resolution, and can actually be cut to quarter resolution during playback if needed. This is what allows it to playback realtime with transitions without additional hardware. Additionally, if you use an external monitor you will see FULL resolution when paused but resolution will be cut during playback, once again to ensure realtime playback without special hardware. I hope that helps, and I hope someone else can jump in here and confirm this with an actual written reference or something. __________________ Webb Pickersgill Bassline Digital, LLC

May 18th, 2006, 04:04 AM	#3
Aviv Hallale Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Posts: 276	What kind of plugin would I use for SD DV in Premiere, it's quite weird that a highish-end NLE can't playback video files at the same quality as something like Windows Media Player... A bit annoying too

May 18th, 2006, 12:43 PM	#6
Aviv Hallale Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Posts: 276	I'm not so sure of what the DVCPRO decks hooked up to our Black Magic capture cards at school do on our Premiere suites, but I do know that the resolution is upped to the point where any video with an effect on it HAS to be rendered to be played. Is there no way to set Premiere to display in full res if I've got a fast enough PC? It's not soooo neccasary, like I said, I 'd rather have the final output looking better than the actual edit, but it would be nicer to see precicesly what the edited program will look like without having to render each time.