Why do QT videos look so low contrast? at DVinfo.net

Benjamin Eckstein · June 11th, 2008, 09:38 AM

When I look at a video file in FCP and then view it straight in Quicktime, the QT viewer looks very low contrast and low saturation. This is on my newer Mac Pro on Dell monitors. On my MacBook Pro, I do not get this effect. I have noticed this on other Mac desktops too. I find the change to be huge, to the point that I think it looks bad. Does anybody know why this is happening?

Thanks,
Benjamin

Robert Lane · June 11th, 2008, 09:56 AM

No doubt, it is weird behavior but the fix is easy. In your prefs for QT you'll note a checkbox at the bottom that enables color-matching to FCP; turn this on and things will look better.

David Scattergood · June 11th, 2008, 10:35 AM

Good tip Robert - I'd ordinarily alter the contrast/brightness and colour (and aspect ratio) via QT's movie properties - it almost always looks washed out.
Mind you, I receive different images for each codec setting...some of the lower web codecs have better colour but awful/stuttering movement.

David Scattergood · June 11th, 2008, 10:39 AM

^^ By the way - is that a recent amendment to QT? I don't seem to have that option on 7.4.5...little wary of updating Qt at the moment also.

Liam Hall · June 11th, 2008, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Scattergood

^^ By the way - is that a recent amendment to QT? I don't seem to have that option on 7.4.5...little wary of updating Qt at the moment also.

You'll find it in QT 7.4 in QuickTime Player>Preferences... or by hitting 'cmd ,'

David Scattergood · June 11th, 2008, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liam Hall

You'll find it in QT 7.4 in QuickTime Player>Preferences... or by hitting 'cmd ,'

I feel a little neglected here Liam...it's a hiding from me?!?

Mark Keck · June 11th, 2008, 11:45 AM

If memory serves me, you must have FCP6 installed to get this option

David Scattergood · June 11th, 2008, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Keck

If memory serves me, you must have FCP6 installed to get this option

^^ That will explain it - i have version 5.

Cheers Mark.

Liam Hall · June 11th, 2008, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Scattergood

^^ That will explain it - i have version 5.

Cheers Mark.

Sorry David, bowled you a wrongen' there!

Have a look in System Preferences, I seem to remember an option for color mapping there, though I could be wrong (as proved above).

Benjamin Eckstein · June 11th, 2008, 02:52 PM

Robert,
You are a genius. Thanks.

If I am playing a QT file on a computer that does not have FCP will it look washed out?

B

David Scattergood · June 11th, 2008, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liam Hall

Sorry David, bowled you a wrongen' there!

Have a look in System Preferences, I seem to remember an option for color mapping there, though I could be wrong (as proved above).

No probs ol bean. I'll dig around, otherwise I'll stick with adjusting contrast/colour via Movie Props.

Quote:

If I am playing a QT file on a computer that does not have FCP will it look washed out?

When I adjust contrast and aspect ratio I'll save the file (in the same location) keeping the new adjustments permanent. I suspect that the same will apply with colour matching.

Robert Lane · June 11th, 2008, 04:19 PM

The main issue, of why QT desaturates colors during output from a FCP sequence is an odd one. Telestream's Episode Pro does not alter gamma/saturation and the original color space is retained. I've not ever seen an explanation as to why this behavior in QT exists and it's highly annoying.

I have verified however, that this lackluster de-saturated look does in fact port over the PC QT players; when booted in XP (bootcamp) the same QT video exhibits the same desaturated look.

I don't know of an all-encompassing workaround for this other than manually compensating (which absolutely shouldn't be required) or, using another encoder for the job.

At some point I'd like Apple to wake up from it's iPhone hang-over and get back to work on better supporting their pro-apps and figure out all these annoying and sometimes crippling behaviors.

Bill Ravens · June 11th, 2008, 08:56 PM

washed out looking images are so so typically the result of adding setup once in the render, then the player adds setup again. Jeez, there's so many apportunities in the render process to screw up the pedestal/setup, it could be a million things. Best of luck, but, I would sure like to know if you added setup/pedestal in the basic render.

Robert Lane · June 11th, 2008, 11:31 PM

Unless you manually change the rendering codec for the timeline from it's default setting (which would be the editing codec) I don't see how setup could be introduced during the render process. Most people don't even know about being able to change the render to a completely different codec than the timeline. It's most certainly a QT engine issue because as I say, Episode Pro does not change the color rendition at final output.

Liam Hall · June 12th, 2008, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Lane

Most people don't even know about being able to change the render to a completely different codec than the timeline. I

I think most people know that. I think most people struggle with color management and by most people I include software and hardware designers not just the great unwashed.

June 11th, 2008, 09:38 AM	#1
Benjamin Eckstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 380 Images: 1	Why do QT videos look so low contrast? When I look at a video file in FCP and then view it straight in Quicktime, the QT viewer looks very low contrast and low saturation. This is on my newer Mac Pro on Dell monitors. On my MacBook Pro, I do not get this effect. I have noticed this on other Mac desktops too. I find the change to be huge, to the point that I think it looks bad. Does anybody know why this is happening? Thanks, Benjamin

June 11th, 2008, 09:56 AM	#2
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,823 Images: 15	No doubt, it is weird behavior but the fix is easy. In your prefs for QT you'll note a checkbox at the bottom that enables color-matching to FCP; turn this on and things will look better. Attached Thumbnails

June 11th, 2008, 10:35 AM	#3
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	Good tip Robert - I'd ordinarily alter the contrast/brightness and colour (and aspect ratio) via QT's movie properties - it almost always looks washed out. Mind you, I receive different images for each codec setting...some of the lower web codecs have better colour but awful/stuttering movement.

June 11th, 2008, 10:39 AM	#4
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	^^ By the way - is that a recent amendment to QT? I don't seem to have that option on 7.4.5...little wary of updating Qt at the moment also.

June 11th, 2008, 11:45 AM	#7
Mark Keck Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Penang, Malaysia Posts: 123	If memory serves me, you must have FCP6 installed to get this option

June 11th, 2008, 02:52 PM	#10
Benjamin Eckstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 380 Images: 1	Robert, You are a genius. Thanks. If I am playing a QT file on a computer that does not have FCP will it look washed out? B

June 11th, 2008, 04:19 PM	#12
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,823 Images: 15	The main issue, of why QT desaturates colors during output from a FCP sequence is an odd one. Telestream's Episode Pro does not alter gamma/saturation and the original color space is retained. I've not ever seen an explanation as to why this behavior in QT exists and it's highly annoying. I have verified however, that this lackluster de-saturated look does in fact port over the PC QT players; when booted in XP (bootcamp) the same QT video exhibits the same desaturated look. I don't know of an all-encompassing workaround for this other than manually compensating (which absolutely shouldn't be required) or, using another encoder for the job. At some point I'd like Apple to wake up from it's iPhone hang-over and get back to work on better supporting their pro-apps and figure out all these annoying and sometimes crippling behaviors.

June 11th, 2008, 08:56 PM	#13
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	washed out looking images are so so typically the result of adding setup once in the render, then the player adds setup again. Jeez, there's so many apportunities in the render process to screw up the pedestal/setup, it could be a million things. Best of luck, but, I would sure like to know if you added setup/pedestal in the basic render.

June 11th, 2008, 11:31 PM	#14
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,823 Images: 15	Unless you manually change the rendering codec for the timeline from it's default setting (which would be the editing codec) I don't see how setup could be introduced during the render process. Most people don't even know about being able to change the render to a completely different codec than the timeline. It's most certainly a QT engine issue because as I say, Episode Pro does not change the color rendition at final output.