my flv files are uuuuuuugly...help!

[Ryan Morey]

Hi Guys,

Could someone please guide me in the right direction.I'm using FCP studio 2 and I need to get a good quality flv. file to put up on my site.It has to be no larger then 10mb.Does anyone have any suggestions.I'm not sure how to accomplish this without ending up with a really horrible quality flv. file.I tried playing with different codecs in compressor with no real success.Any help would be woderful.

Thanks!
Ryan

[Justin Hewitt]

For FLV
I use Adobe Premier
Export the select (Adobe Media Encoder)
* Don't use RAW export to FLV
Use On2 Vp6 Codec
590 x 472
High bitrate 1500 or greater
I generally select CBR over VBR (my pref)
I don't deinterlace when I cut down the H & V size. (for some reason i don't need too)

On the second issue, of trying to fit under 10 MB, I would first ask why... FLV is streaming format .. but if it is a hard limit then 2 pass Vp6 will give you the best quality, it just a matter of reducing footage or reducing bitrate quality to get it under the limit ....

OT:
For testing always just load one short clip (lt 60 sec), play around with different settings , rendering out each time until you get the best balance quality... then edit your full timeline and use those same export settings ....
Remember to save your settings....

[Ryan Morey]

Thanks a lot Justin! I just ran out of hard drive space again so video editing is on hold until my drobo get here.I think is the answer to hd video storage......I hope...lol.I'll play around with those setting that you suggested.Hopefully I'll get it right soon.

Thanks again!
Ryan

[Ervin Farkas]

Try using mp4/h.264 instead of flash - significantly higher quality at the same bitrate (and file size).

The Flash Player will play it just as it plays flash. See In Contact to get an idea of the quality - it's mp4 @ 500Kbps total (audio + video).

[Paul Chiu]

Originally Posted by Ryan Morey

Hi Guys,
Could someone please guide me in the right direction.I'm using FCP studio 2 and I need to get a good quality flv. file to put up on my site.It has to be no larger then 10mb.Does anyone have any suggestions.I'm not sure how to accomplish this without ending up with a really horrible quality flv. file.I tried playing with different codecs in compressor with no real success.Any help would be woderful.

I have used FCP 6+ for over a year. Unless the job is commercial, I'd rather use iMovie. This year, with iMovie 09 out, iMovie09 has made importing different sources; like from a consumer Canon HG10 and a pro Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1 easy and pretty problem free.

In your case, flv really does not have good resolution even at the highest allowed under FCP.
As Ervin already suggested, H264 is the way to go and iMovie09 gets you there with Quicktime using H264.

Here are some samples I posted recently with iMovie09 using Quicktime under H264 at 6000kbs/29.97fps and 8000kbs/29.92fps settings. Anything between 5000kbs and 8000kbs looks great posted to YouTube.com with the HD 720p feature they have currently.

1st sample has the Canon 1080/60i in the front which has encoding issues.
the PMW-EX1 1080/30p main footage clearly excels with iMovie09

YouTube - William Chiu plays Chopin Nocturne Op 9 No 2 (Lyrical poetry to Madame Camille Pleyel)

With iMovie 09, you also have easy to use cropping tools. Such as one used here:

YouTube - PS196 does Rumba and the Waltz - Ball Room Dancing by Larocca 5th Graders in HD 720p (Sony PMW-EX1)

paul