Eric, an easy test to perform - excellent, well done, good spot.

I've done this test. I have reported the matter to the Head of RD at CyberLink, referencing this posting.

Dafydd
[Moderator]

Thank you for the answer Dafydd.

I noticed the blur right away when I tested my own videos in the PiP track. If I want a high quality video then the PiP tracks become useless.

I made other tests and it seems the resize algorithm and/or the aspect ratio have something to do with the blur in the PiP track.

By the way do you have a tip to make the PiP image size the same as the 1st track?

I hope they will work on the blur problem and come up with a patch.

Eric,

Click and drag two opposite corners to the corners of the full frame on the first track. You may have to click and drag on the top and bottom to the topmost and bottom most part of the first track frame if a small band of the first track still shows. Same with the ends.

The video on that second track will play instead of the video on the first (I use this for "cutaways" or to hide awkward jump cuts), however you will hear audio from both tracks so you usually want to lower the volume of the audio on your PiP track to zero.

I'm using AVCHD and so far have not noticed any blurring on the PiP track. I'll go back and check that out.

Thanks Bif,

Your tip works but the position is not perfect. Try playing the same video in the 1st track and in the PiP (enlarged to match the 1st track image). Then cut parts of the PiP track so it alternates with the 1st track. You will see that it is almost impossible to have an exact match plus the image quality is different.

For my part I made several tests and I always see a difference between 1st track quality and PiP. The blur in PiP is less noticeable depending of the quality setting and the codec used (mpg, avi, wmv, mov).

But it is still obvious to me that this is a problem.

How did your quality test turned out?

Quote: Thanks Bif,

Your tip works but the position is not perfect. Try playing the same video in the 1st track and in the PiP (enlarged to match the 1st track image). Then cut parts of the PiP track so it alternates with the 1st track. You will see that it is almost impossible to have an exact match plus the image quality is different.

It just occurred to me that you are probably basing your judgment on what you are seeing in edit mode in the edit window. You cannot judge sharpness in that edit window in ANY of the editing packages I've tinkered with. You will always be dealing with a lo res image to start with.

I'm in the middle of learning PowerDirector by editing a project I couldn't work on in May so I'm doing my trials and experiments on the material I'm working with. The point is I made my judgment from a hi def render of part of the project (I frequently do test renders of part of a project to see what the finished version might look like). While the PiP cutaway is not the same image as is on the main track, I have reviewed the video clips enough so that I know about what their sharpness and image tone is like.

So when I say I see no degradation on the PiP track I am judging the clips performance from a hi def rendered version.

Exact positioning doesn't matter to me so long as I can completely cover the image on the main track. If running that kind of test is important to you, setup a small segment and go to PRODUCE and render it out to an AVI if you're working in standard def DV, or even to a 1280x720 or 1280x1080 WMV file just to see for yourself.

But beware of the "overfocus" syndrome where you study and study so much your eye starts seeing everything as not quite fully sharp.

My advice is don't worry about any "blurriness" you see in the edit window.

What kind of file format are you working from?

Eric
Did you try positioning using GRID lines PC specs :
OS Windows 10.0 Pro
MB - AS rock Z77 extreme 11
Intel 3770K @ 4.0 Ghz OC
Gskill 32 GB RAM 1800 Mhz
6 TB HDD, SSD bootable
nVidia ASUS GTX 660 Ti
BenQ 22" LCD monitor 1920x1080

Bif: I'm not talking about the edit window, I'm looking at the finished rendered video. I've tried using many formats but I can still see it somehow. I had posted an example on seemyworldonvideo.com but they deleted my video!

Babdi: The grid lines are useless when trying to match full screen.

It is not often that one needs to match 1st track and PiP perfectly but if you need it, good luck. Try it for yourself and post your video.

Hi Eric,

I deleted the video from SMWOV.com only after I confirmed the loss of quality issue. Yours was a simple test - as you described - easy for others to replicate.

I didn't see the point in retaining a video of a confirmed problem and one I have reported to CyberLink.

Don't worry Eric... I don't delete video often (except to keep the site fresh with new video), just I thought the test display had served it's purpose.

Dafydd
[Moderator]