Why is the picture SO DARK? PLEASE HELP!!

Dave Largent · December 2nd, 2003, 08:43 PM

Alex, that's normal what's happening. All pictures look two stops darker on a monitor. That's why when you're doing your editing you need to check exposure on a television. Do a test to see how much you have to turn the brightness up in your NLE to match your TV. (You should do a basic calibration of your TV first.) Then, next time you're using your NLE, turn up your brightness by that same amount to get an approximation of the way it *really* looks. You can't judge exposure on a computer monitor.

Mike Rehmus · December 2nd, 2003, 09:29 PM

The simple test is to import the video and then export it again and see what that looks when your camera drives a television.

I think you are going to find that it is your computer monitor that is the problem.

That's why I use a NTSC monitor connected directly to my Editing BOB. One cannot judge video properly on a computer monitor.

Alex Adhami · December 3rd, 2003, 01:14 AM

i think i may know whats wrong here!

It IS the monitor! After burning a DVD of the "dark" video footage that i had previously downloaded on my computer and playing it on my DVD player on the TV the picture had "returned" to normal!!! :)

So that whole dark picture business only occurred on my monitor.

aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! WHAT relief!!!

Ok but a problem remains......ALL of these videos will be used on the WEB!! lol so that means they gotta be bright enough to display correctly on viewer's computer monitors.

So i guess all i have to do is edit the videos in Premier so that they would have the correct brightness on my monitor and i should be set right?

guys, i can't begin to tell you guys how much i appreciate each and every one of your comments. thanks for taking the time. :)

Mike Rehmus · December 3rd, 2003, 02:06 AM

Yup, you gotta adjust the video for every type of medum on which it will be seen.

LCD projectors/CRTs/NTSC Monitors are all different. In fact, with LCD projectors and LCD screens, each one has different display characteristics.

It pays to make a final rendered AVI file that you bring back into your editing software and then create and save setups that will modify the resulting video according to the target medium. Then that set of setups will allow you to adjust future projects.

December 2nd, 2003, 09:29 PM	#17
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	The simple test is to import the video and then export it again and see what that looks when your camera drives a television. I think you are going to find that it is your computer monitor that is the problem. That's why I use a NTSC monitor connected directly to my Editing BOB. One cannot judge video properly on a computer monitor. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

December 3rd, 2003, 01:14 AM	#18
Alex Adhami Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Toronto Posts: 35	AHAAAAAAA i think i may know whats wrong here! It IS the monitor! After burning a DVD of the "dark" video footage that i had previously downloaded on my computer and playing it on my DVD player on the TV the picture had "returned" to normal!!! :) So that whole dark picture business only occurred on my monitor. aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! WHAT relief!!! Ok but a problem remains......ALL of these videos will be used on the WEB!! lol so that means they gotta be bright enough to display correctly on viewer's computer monitors. So i guess all i have to do is edit the videos in Premier so that they would have the correct brightness on my monitor and i should be set right? guys, i can't begin to tell you guys how much i appreciate each and every one of your comments. thanks for taking the time. :)

December 3rd, 2003, 02:06 AM	#19
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Yup, you gotta adjust the video for every type of medum on which it will be seen. LCD projectors/CRTs/NTSC Monitors are all different. In fact, with LCD projectors and LCD screens, each one has different display characteristics. It pays to make a final rendered AVI file that you bring back into your editing software and then create and save setups that will modify the resulting video according to the target medium. Then that set of setups will allow you to adjust future projects. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

December 2nd, 2003, 08:43 PM	#16
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Alex, that's normal what's happening. All pictures look two stops darker on a monitor. That's why when you're doing your editing you need to check exposure on a television. Do a test to see how much you have to turn the brightness up in your NLE to match your TV. (You should do a basic calibration of your TV first.) Then, next time you're using your NLE, turn up your brightness by that same amount to get an approximation of the way it really looks. You can't judge exposure on a computer monitor.