Please give me some tips!
 

Hey there. I'm pretty new to using my XL-1s camera and i've noticed during some filming that after I capture the film to my PC via firewire, and edit it in a program like Pinnacle Studio 8, that the output (mpeg-2) video has a tendency to look a bit "liney" and "blocky" from time to time.

I set Pinnacle's project mode for NTSC-DVD production and the Mpeg-2 output isn't anywhere near as crisp and clean as the original footage. I'm noticing a lot of resolution "lines" (for lack of a better term) in the finished movies and "blocky-ness," especially in motion shots, where the camera itself is in motion.

I'm trying to put together a highlight reel for some film stock on the camera and edit it in pinnacle studio. I'm not sure if i'm doing it right or if the PC's monitor resolution has anything to do with it (PC resolution better than NTSC) but the finished product looks "lossy" to me when I compare it to direct signal output from the camera itself.

I'm not previewing the finished mpegs on an actual TV monitor (this could be the problem) but just using Windows media player.

I'd like to be able to preserve the clear, crisp images the camera can produce, and i'd like some tips on how the camera should be set up and how I should master the video in Pinnacle to preserve the video so that it remains broadcast quality.

How should I set up the camera for shooting in most daylight and/or low light situations for optimal broadcast resolutions?

Which capture mode(s) and/or project modes should I use within Pinnacle Studio 8 to do the mastering for the cleanest looking finished product?

Is it possible that the line and blocky problems are caused by the rendered video's NTSC resolution being drastically different from an 800x600 monitor with millions color depth?

I need help. Any tips you can give to me would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

I encountered the same problems with MPEG2 playback on PCs
when using Windows Media player. I noticed MAJOR lines during any areas of motion. The problem was not Pinnacle Studio8's MPEG2 encoding. Rather, the problem was Window's playback mechanism. You can verify this by burning a DVD and checking the results on your TV.

My problems were:
1) My 700 MHz PC was too slow to do proper MPEG2 software decoding. I had lot of problems on a 700 MHZ P4. Now that I'm on an Athlon XP 1800+, all is better.
2) You don't have a proper MPEG2 codec installed.

I solved this problem by installing nvdvd, nVidia's DVD playback software. Other software DVD players install their own MPEG2 codecs.

I figured that might be the case. I just wanted some feedback so I wouldn't have to waste a DV/R just to test the theory.

The computer i'm using is a 2.4 GHZ machine with 512m of memory. It should be adequate for this type of non-linear editing.

I guess i'll burn off a two or three minute clip and see what it does in my DVD player.

Yeah, your computer is fast enough. Just to let you know,
I've produced over a dozen DVDs of martial arts events, so Pinnacle Studio8 is totally adequate for MPEG2 encoding of
motion.

As for your deinterlacing problem, what's your GFX card?
If you're using an nVidia or ATI card, you shouldn't be seeing this
problem. The nVidia cards (especially GeForce4 and later) have hardware acceleration of the deinterlacing. Even on such a system, I noticed the deinterlacing issues. The problem was that
I had installed another "free" MPEG2 codec package, and Windows Media Player was referencing that codec instead of that
from nVidia.

Gints,

I did a test burn (frankly, i'm a cheapskate and didn't want to waste a DVD+R) of some stock footage and it plays nice and clean on the set top DVD player.

I think you're right. The Windows MPEG-2 codec is for crap for playback. I find it a little frustrating to look at your rendered work on the PC and it looks so bad and then you end up questioning yourself after the fact.

But, since it plays back neat and clean on the set top DVD player on a digital tv, it's all good. I'll make sure that I download another playback codec before too long.

And the graphics card is an ATI, with 8 meg on board and full hardware exceleration (don't know the true specs).