image looks soft when applying a widescreen filter 1.70:1 in FCP 4.5 at DVinfo.net

Bob Diffenderfer · September 5th, 2006, 12:40 PM

Video image looks soft (after render) when I apply the widescreen filter 1.70:1 in FCP 4.5. Sometimes it looks fine, and sometimes it looks soft. I also offset the image as well. The image looks fine otherwise! Any suggestions.

Thanks,

Cale Rogers · September 5th, 2006, 04:07 PM

Hello,

Does the video look soft when you play it back in the timeline or after compression as well? Sometimes during playback in FCP the sequence window can display the timeline as soft (RT). Try exporting the sequence to check to see if the softness continues outside the application. Also, are you using any hardware for output? Good hardware and an output monitor helps you accurately reference video in FCP before export/compression.

Hope that helps,

CJ Rogers

Bob Diffenderfer · September 6th, 2006, 08:50 AM

[QUOTE=Cale Rogers]Hello,

Does the video look soft when you play it back in the timeline or after compression as well? Sometimes during playback in FCP the sequence window can display the timeline as soft (RT). Try exporting the sequence to check to see if the softness continues outside the application. Also, are you using any hardware for output? Good hardware and an output monitor helps you accurately reference video in FCP before export/compression.

Hope that helps,

I have rendered and it still seems soft. But here is the wierd thing, some clips look fine, and some soft. I will export a clip and see how it looks outside of FCP.

Cale Rogers · September 7th, 2006, 09:23 AM

Are all of your clips in the timeline of the same compression format as the sequence compression setting? Also, have you applied any effects to the clips in question? What about other setting options and presets? Those could all be contributing factors in the problem as well. Most of those questions can be answered once you've exported the timeline.

CJ Rogers

Bob Diffenderfer · September 8th, 2006, 08:58 AM

some of the clips were recorded in 24p advanced on a DVX100. I rendered them on the 29.97 NTSC timeline. The clips that look soft were recorded on 24p regular mode on a DVX100. The only effect is the letter box (to match the 24p A footage). I did adjust the positioning of the clips to better frame them when the letterbox filter was applied.

So yes its a 29.97 FPS timeline and the source is 29.97 FPS.

Cale Rogers · September 8th, 2006, 10:31 AM

Different frames rates could be the cause of the blur. It's difficult to preview video in FCP without the use of a capture card or output device (AJA, Decklink, Matrox). Rendering the sequence won't change the results of the preview either. Have any of your compressions turned out?

CJ Rogers

Nate Schmidt · September 8th, 2006, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cale Rogers

Different frames rates could be the cause of the blur. It's difficult to preview video in FCP without the use of a capture card or output device (AJA, Decklink, Matrox). CJ Rogers

If you're editing dv you can, just go to the view menu and choose apple firewire ntsc (or pal) and then you cal play the video out through firewire to your camera or deck and then from there to a tv monitor.

Cale Rogers · September 8th, 2006, 04:40 PM

That's true, inexpensive and convenient. Although, I recommend using a third party hardware device for playback because the firewire option is processor intensive. I'd rather have the extra ponies for rendering and compression. It's just a preference.

CJ Rogers

Bob Diffenderfer · September 10th, 2006, 09:34 AM

I have checked this on a video monitor and the image is soft. I have rendered out to a full rez QT movie and it still looks soft. Most people would not recognize it, but it bothers me.

Bob Diffenderfer · September 21st, 2006, 07:21 AM

so this is what I did. The image only looked soft when I adjusted the frame to fit the letterbox filter better. I couldn't fix this, so I created a letterbox matte in Photoshop, and this seems to be working better. A little more time consuming but it gets the job done. Thanks for all the help!

Cale Rogers · September 21st, 2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Diffenderfer

so this is what I did. The image only looked soft when I adjusted the frame to fit the letterbox filter better. I couldn't fix this, so I created a letterbox matte in Photoshop, and this seems to be working better. A little more time consuming but it gets the job done. Thanks for all the help!

Great idea using Photoshop. I'm glad you found a solution that works for your project.

September 5th, 2006, 12:40 PM	#1
Bob Diffenderfer Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 39	image looks soft when applying a widescreen filter 1.70:1 in FCP 4.5 Video image looks soft (after render) when I apply the widescreen filter 1.70:1 in FCP 4.5. Sometimes it looks fine, and sometimes it looks soft. I also offset the image as well. The image looks fine otherwise! Any suggestions. Thanks, __________________ Bob Diffenderfer http://www.digitalcinema.tv

September 6th, 2006, 08:50 AM	#3
Bob Diffenderfer Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 39	[QUOTE=Cale Rogers]Hello, Does the video look soft when you play it back in the timeline or after compression as well? Sometimes during playback in FCP the sequence window can display the timeline as soft (RT). Try exporting the sequence to check to see if the softness continues outside the application. Also, are you using any hardware for output? Good hardware and an output monitor helps you accurately reference video in FCP before export/compression. Hope that helps, I have rendered and it still seems soft. But here is the wierd thing, some clips look fine, and some soft. I will export a clip and see how it looks outside of FCP. __________________ Bob Diffenderfer http://www.digitalcinema.tv

September 8th, 2006, 08:58 AM	#5
Bob Diffenderfer Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 39	some of the clips were recorded in 24p advanced on a DVX100. I rendered them on the 29.97 NTSC timeline. The clips that look soft were recorded on 24p regular mode on a DVX100. The only effect is the letter box (to match the 24p A footage). I did adjust the positioning of the clips to better frame them when the letterbox filter was applied. So yes its a 29.97 FPS timeline and the source is 29.97 FPS. __________________ Bob Diffenderfer http://www.digitalcinema.tv

September 10th, 2006, 09:34 AM	#9
Bob Diffenderfer Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 39	I have checked this on a video monitor and the image is soft. I have rendered out to a full rez QT movie and it still looks soft. Most people would not recognize it, but it bothers me. __________________ Bob Diffenderfer http://www.digitalcinema.tv

September 21st, 2006, 07:21 AM	#10
Bob Diffenderfer Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 39	so this is what I did. The image only looked soft when I adjusted the frame to fit the letterbox filter better. I couldn't fix this, so I created a letterbox matte in Photoshop, and this seems to be working better. A little more time consuming but it gets the job done. Thanks for all the help! __________________ Bob Diffenderfer http://www.digitalcinema.tv

September 5th, 2006, 04:07 PM	#2
Cale Rogers Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greeley, CO Posts: 63	Hello, Does the video look soft when you play it back in the timeline or after compression as well? Sometimes during playback in FCP the sequence window can display the timeline as soft (RT). Try exporting the sequence to check to see if the softness continues outside the application. Also, are you using any hardware for output? Good hardware and an output monitor helps you accurately reference video in FCP before export/compression. Hope that helps, CJ Rogers

September 7th, 2006, 09:23 AM	#4
Cale Rogers Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greeley, CO Posts: 63	Are all of your clips in the timeline of the same compression format as the sequence compression setting? Also, have you applied any effects to the clips in question? What about other setting options and presets? Those could all be contributing factors in the problem as well. Most of those questions can be answered once you've exported the timeline. CJ Rogers

September 8th, 2006, 10:31 AM	#6
Cale Rogers Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greeley, CO Posts: 63	Different frames rates could be the cause of the blur. It's difficult to preview video in FCP without the use of a capture card or output device (AJA, Decklink, Matrox). Rendering the sequence won't change the results of the preview either. Have any of your compressions turned out? CJ Rogers

September 8th, 2006, 04:40 PM	#8
Cale Rogers Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greeley, CO Posts: 63	That's true, inexpensive and convenient. Although, I recommend using a third party hardware device for playback because the firewire option is processor intensive. I'd rather have the extra ponies for rendering and compression. It's just a preference. CJ Rogers