HDV looks good on Mac bad on PC? at DVinfo.net

Glynn Morgan · August 8th, 2009, 06:57 AM

I was editing a project on final cut pro one day and noticed that the HDV (it was definately HDV) footage looked considerably sharper than any HDV footage I have ever seen on my own laptop. It looked crisp, without much artefacting. On my laptop however, I can clearly see encoding artifacts on this sort of footage. My screen resolution is 1400X 900 is it possible that a 20inch mac moniter has a lower resolution than that?

Or is it because we captured in FCP and not Premiere?

Aric Mannion · August 10th, 2009, 09:53 AM

It depends on what you are looking at it in. If it's quicktime, then you want to go to the preferences to select high quality playback.
On my computer I have high quality OFF intentionally. So when I make a quicktime I can go into the quicktime properties and select video and check high quality -then save. That way when I give it to PC users who rarely have their quicktime preferences set to high quality, it will still playback in full quality.
Also on my machine HDV looks absolutely awful in Final Cut, but fine in After Effects... I don't know what you are using to playback, but I suppose it's possible for you to have captured low quality.
In Final Cut you should change your sequence settings to ProRes after editing.

Glynn Morgan · August 11th, 2009, 03:52 AM

Definately captured in high Quality HDV. On FCP it looked great, Premiere However...

David W. Jones · August 11th, 2009, 05:57 AM

Are you viewing the footage on a broadcast monitor or on the little viewer within the app?

Andrew Smith · August 11th, 2009, 06:07 AM

I expect that Davd is right on the money with his line of enquiry as the gamma between Mac and PC displays is different.

This can mean that footage / images that look good on your Mac screen will be too dark on a PC screen .... which is what your clients and the rest of the world will be watching with.

This is also true for web site work (which you may or may not be targeting for reproduction).

Andrew

August 8th, 2009, 06:57 AM	#1
Glynn Morgan Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 119	HDV looks good on Mac bad on PC? I was editing a project on final cut pro one day and noticed that the HDV (it was definately HDV) footage looked considerably sharper than any HDV footage I have ever seen on my own laptop. It looked crisp, without much artefacting. On my laptop however, I can clearly see encoding artifacts on this sort of footage. My screen resolution is 1400X 900 is it possible that a 20inch mac moniter has a lower resolution than that? Or is it because we captured in FCP and not Premiere?

August 10th, 2009, 09:53 AM	#2
Aric Mannion Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 616	It depends on what you are looking at it in. If it's quicktime, then you want to go to the preferences to select high quality playback. On my computer I have high quality OFF intentionally. So when I make a quicktime I can go into the quicktime properties and select video and check high quality -then save. That way when I give it to PC users who rarely have their quicktime preferences set to high quality, it will still playback in full quality. Also on my machine HDV looks absolutely awful in Final Cut, but fine in After Effects... I don't know what you are using to playback, but I suppose it's possible for you to have captured low quality. In Final Cut you should change your sequence settings to ProRes after editing.

August 11th, 2009, 03:52 AM	#3
Glynn Morgan Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 119	Definately captured in high Quality HDV. On FCP it looked great, Premiere However...

August 11th, 2009, 05:57 AM	#4
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	Are you viewing the footage on a broadcast monitor or on the little viewer within the app?

August 11th, 2009, 06:07 AM	#5
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,068	I expect that Davd is right on the money with his line of enquiry as the gamma between Mac and PC displays is different. This can mean that footage / images that look good on your Mac screen will be too dark on a PC screen .... which is what your clients and the rest of the world will be watching with. This is also true for web site work (which you may or may not be targeting for reproduction). Andrew