I am having problems with Pixelated and Choppy Web Video, please help! at DVinfo.net

Paul Fletcher · June 4th, 2005, 12:05 PM

I have just produced 3 video segments for the apartment community I work for here in NC.

Intro Video= ~1 min.

1 Bedroom Apt~35 secs.

2 Bedroom~35 secs.

I edited everything in FCP3 and exported it 2 ways per the web company's specifications.

I exported 3 of the finished movies in MPEG-4 both audio and video were done this way.

I exported 3 more of the same movies in Quicktime/MPEG-4 with audio compressed and 3 other versions with just the video compressed.

The QTMPEG-4 looked alot better, but the file size is a lot bigger. [100 mb compared to 2.3 mb for straight mp4] I believe that the developers have converted it into a Flash File for viewing.

The result is that all three videos are pixelated and the transitions (simple dissolves) are really choppy and lag a bit.

Normally, I would not care, but the content is meant to show off the product which are the apartments themselves and our community.

Can someone please tell me how I can export these movies so they will not be so choppy and pixelated, and exhibit a higher quality? I am hoping that someone can tell me how to export the files out of FCP3 in a way that the quality is preserved for viewing on the internet.

Here is a link to the website if you want to see the video:

http://www.cranbrookbiltmore.com/www...new/index.html

The video tours can be accessed at the bottom and play automatically. The site is not "Live" yet as we have some tweaking to do.

Thanks for your help and suggestions in advance!

Dan Euritt · June 4th, 2005, 04:38 PM

the only video that i saw on your site was being played back via the embedded flash player... so it has to be flash video?

yes the video quality was horrible, if you are going to use flash or quicktime, you'll have to use the professional two-pass video encoders... sorenson is what i use, but it's far from perfect on the pc side of the fence.

what did seem to work quality-wise on your site was the still pics being rotated on the homepage... maybe a good idea for everything.

you absolutely do not want to put a 100mb "streaming" video file on the 'net... i can't see what bitrate the flash files are set at, but that is the info you need to make intelligent decisions... always think bitrate!

and oh yeah, discard the picture-in-picture stuff completely, it does not work on the web... the details are too small.

Lars Siden · June 5th, 2005, 04:52 AM

Paul,

I looked at the videos and they where not great, but not awful either. The most disturbing for me was the "whining" in the sound.

When you compress video, the key to a good result for a low bandwidth movie is to minimize movement. Because the compressor looks for frames with the same content as the frame before. In your videos the cameras is constantly panning - which gives you two problems:

* You'll need more bandwidth since no frame will match the other
* Camera focusing all the time

I would do like this:

1.If you need to have this small size video - then I'd "blur" the video abit and give the audio a go through a filter to get rid of the "whining".

2. Shoot again, this time with a fixed camera. Have multiple shots from every room, no Zooming and no panning

Good luck!

// Lazze

Paul Fletcher · June 5th, 2005, 10:30 PM

First of all, thank you for the responses, I really appreciate the help.

A friend suggested that I export the "movies" as mpeg-2 formats and that the file size should not be over 600k. The mpeg-4 versions were somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 mb.

The problem is, that FCP3 does not have option of exporting in mpeg-2. Instead I would have to use Cleaner 6 or Sorensen Squeeze to accomplish this. Besides getting rid of the pans and cam movement, would this be a possible solution to get better quality video that is web friendly?

Thanks,

Paul

PS: I delivered the video to the Web Company in MPEG-4 formats ~2.5mb and they converted them into Flash Files.

Paul Fletcher · June 6th, 2005, 10:14 PM

I think I may have solved my own problem.

Don't you just love how technology changes in the blink of an eye?

It turns out FCP HD just happens to have a little companion program called Compressor. It's amazing what happens when you install new software!

I will let you all know how it all turns out. Thanks for the advice.

Dan Euritt · June 7th, 2005, 08:06 PM

you can't ever get good quality by compressing footage into mpeg4 before encoding it into flash... if your web company was competent, they would have insisted on dv format source files only... i would send 'em your footage on a minidv tape, and make 'em encode it into flash for free... or give you a refund.

better yet, send your dv footage to a professional encoding house that has the proper tools... this job kinda seems too important to be half-assed like they did.

your compressor program most likely can't do two-pass encoding, so the quality will still be inferior... probably better than what you have, but you'll still have to cover it up with a higher bitrate.

June 4th, 2005, 12:05 PM	#1
Paul Fletcher Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 25	I am having problems with Pixelated and Choppy Web Video, please help! I have just produced 3 video segments for the apartment community I work for here in NC. Intro Video= ~1 min. 1 Bedroom Apt~35 secs. 2 Bedroom~35 secs. I edited everything in FCP3 and exported it 2 ways per the web company's specifications. I exported 3 of the finished movies in MPEG-4 both audio and video were done this way. I exported 3 more of the same movies in Quicktime/MPEG-4 with audio compressed and 3 other versions with just the video compressed. The QTMPEG-4 looked alot better, but the file size is a lot bigger. [100 mb compared to 2.3 mb for straight mp4] I believe that the developers have converted it into a Flash File for viewing. The result is that all three videos are pixelated and the transitions (simple dissolves) are really choppy and lag a bit. Normally, I would not care, but the content is meant to show off the product which are the apartments themselves and our community. Can someone please tell me how I can export these movies so they will not be so choppy and pixelated, and exhibit a higher quality? I am hoping that someone can tell me how to export the files out of FCP3 in a way that the quality is preserved for viewing on the internet. Here is a link to the website if you want to see the video: http://www.cranbrookbiltmore.com/www...new/index.html The video tours can be accessed at the bottom and play automatically. The site is not "Live" yet as we have some tweaking to do. Thanks for your help and suggestions in advance!

June 5th, 2005, 04:52 AM	#3
Lars Siden Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sweden, Stockholm Posts: 469	Paul, I looked at the videos and they where not great, but not awful either. The most disturbing for me was the "whining" in the sound. When you compress video, the key to a good result for a low bandwidth movie is to minimize movement. Because the compressor looks for frames with the same content as the frame before. In your videos the cameras is constantly panning - which gives you two problems: * You'll need more bandwidth since no frame will match the other * Camera focusing all the time I would do like this: 1.If you need to have this small size video - then I'd "blur" the video abit and give the audio a go through a filter to get rid of the "whining". 2. Shoot again, this time with a fixed camera. Have multiple shots from every room, no Zooming and no panning Good luck! // Lazze __________________ Sony HDR-CX130,Canon 5DMKII,i7 930@4.0, 12gb memory, 3x SSD + 2x1Tb(stripe), Geforce 480, Dual 24", Win 7 x64

June 4th, 2005, 04:38 PM	#2
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	the only video that i saw on your site was being played back via the embedded flash player... so it has to be flash video? yes the video quality was horrible, if you are going to use flash or quicktime, you'll have to use the professional two-pass video encoders... sorenson is what i use, but it's far from perfect on the pc side of the fence. what did seem to work quality-wise on your site was the still pics being rotated on the homepage... maybe a good idea for everything. you absolutely do not want to put a 100mb "streaming" video file on the 'net... i can't see what bitrate the flash files are set at, but that is the info you need to make intelligent decisions... always think bitrate! and oh yeah, discard the picture-in-picture stuff completely, it does not work on the web... the details are too small.

June 5th, 2005, 10:30 PM	#4
Paul Fletcher Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 25	First of all, thank you for the responses, I really appreciate the help. A friend suggested that I export the "movies" as mpeg-2 formats and that the file size should not be over 600k. The mpeg-4 versions were somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 mb. The problem is, that FCP3 does not have option of exporting in mpeg-2. Instead I would have to use Cleaner 6 or Sorensen Squeeze to accomplish this. Besides getting rid of the pans and cam movement, would this be a possible solution to get better quality video that is web friendly? Thanks, Paul PS: I delivered the video to the Web Company in MPEG-4 formats ~2.5mb and they converted them into Flash Files.

June 6th, 2005, 10:14 PM	#5
Paul Fletcher Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 25	I think I may have solved my own problem. Don't you just love how technology changes in the blink of an eye? It turns out FCP HD just happens to have a little companion program called Compressor. It's amazing what happens when you install new software! I will let you all know how it all turns out. Thanks for the advice.

June 7th, 2005, 08:06 PM	#6
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	you can't ever get good quality by compressing footage into mpeg4 before encoding it into flash... if your web company was competent, they would have insisted on dv format source files only... i would send 'em your footage on a minidv tape, and make 'em encode it into flash for free... or give you a refund. better yet, send your dv footage to a professional encoding house that has the proper tools... this job kinda seems too important to be half-assed like they did. your compressor program most likely can't do two-pass encoding, so the quality will still be inferior... probably better than what you have, but you'll still have to cover it up with a higher bitrate.