Did you try an use SVRT (so PD can match the output format) to the source format?
If the source is much higher quality then then your settings you choose in Produce - then you would get loss of quality.
Win8.1 Pro x64 / Dual x5670 / 24GB / GTX960 4GB / 240GB SSD + 640GB HDD / PD13 Ultimate

Hi Squeaky77 -

EKSVid - there are no SVRT profiles - variable bitrate. I've attached the MediaInfo report.

I took the original clip & produced to AVC H.264 M2TS 1920x1080 25fps @ 25MBps and the results are pretty good. It's hard to tell them apart except when you xoom in on a screenshot where you can see a loss of detail in the produced file.

Squeaky - getting a good render out of shimmering water has its challenges!

This is a partial screenshot (not resized) showing the original beside the produced version. Screenshot at 18 minute mark.



I haven't checked out your produced file yet.

Cheers - Tony
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One thing that I haven't investigated is if mov files can be converted to mp4 without quality loss. See this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuickTime_File_Format .See the paragraph 'Relation to MP4' 5th line down. It implies that it can be done if Quicktime Pro is used. PD13 has QT installed but not QT Pro. I am wondering that if purchasing QT Pro allows the conversion with no re encoding of video to mp4 and then svrt can be used in PD13.

There is no audio stream on the original. The produced file is at 15mbps, lower bitrate than the original which mean some loss in detail compared to the original mov file.

tomasc -

I'm just trying that now with QT Pro, though I don't think it applies in this case because of the variable bitrate. I could find no "pass through" option. Screenshot attached of video options.

It's painfully slow - I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers - Tony
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Thanks for checking it out. Do notice a couple of things in the screenshot:

1. Frame Rate 30 instead of 25 for pal based on the mediainfo.


2. Key Frame 24 instead of auto.


3. Maybe only the Mac versions have passthru. I don't know.

Variable bit rate is not a problem in order to use svrt. I used to shoot Panasonic version of avchd at 60i (m2ts) with variable bit rate as reprted by mediainfo. Able to use svrt with no problem to produce BD's. I shoot at 1080/60p now and svrt is available in produce. The bitrate is: variable, overall 24.5 Mbps, Max 28.0 Mbps as reprted by mediainfo.

I'll look into converting mov files to mp4 as my Nikon camera does 1080/30p and post if I find it is possible on a Windows pc.

Tony -Found it. Here is the link to use pass through in QT Pro. Pass Through is selected under Video Format. See step 3. in this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-MOV-to-MP4-and-HD-MP4-With-Quicktime-Pro-7 . Hope this helps. I will buy QT Pro if you find that it works.

Yes - I fixed the frame rate after I'd done the screenshot... but neglected to change the keyframe setting to auto before I exported.

I think that pass through option is only in the Mac version (they're Mac screenshots)

The conversion went well &, aside from a little darkening thoughout, the quality & detail was maintained. Hard to spot any difference.

Not sure what I was thinking when I stated the screenshot was taken at 18 seconds, then changed it to minutes. It was actually at 03:25:14. My late father used to affectiontely call me "bird brain" - I'm starting to see why.



Side by side MediaInfo reports attached - it's OK - they're not contagious

Cheers - Tony

P.S. Without QT Pro, the QT Player is a waste of space, in my view.
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Quote:

I took the original clip & produced to AVC H.264 M2TS 1920x1080 25fps @ 25MBps and the results are pretty good. It's hard to tell them apart except when you xoom in on a screenshot where you can see a loss of detail in the produced file.

Tony,

Thanks for your input and research.

Couple questions.

1. The output method mentioned above. What led you to select that as an option? One problem I have being new to video editing is understanding what the right output option would be.


2. I don't seem to have the option you stated above as an output option (or I am not looking in the right spot)
   See the screenshot below showing my 1920x1080 options
   

Thanks for all your help

Change the tab below in your dialog to PAL, your viewing NTSC profiles.

Jeff

Quote: Change the tab below in your dialog to PAL, your viewing NTSC profiles.

Jeff

I don't think I see that option after selecting PAL?

Your drop down box window is covering the dialog box in both screenshots. You do see 2 down pointing arrow heads to the right. One is Profile type: set to Default. The other one is the one to change it from ntsc to pal with another drop down window. Close the drop down box for Profile name/Quality and you should see it where Jeff told you.

Quote: Your drop down box window is covering the dialog box in both screenshots. You do see 2 down pointing arrow heads to the right. One is Profile type: set to Default. The other one is the one to change it from ntsc to pal with another drop down window. Close the drop down box for Profile name/Quality and you should see it where Jeff told you.

In the second screen shot I had select PAL (but obviously you can't see that)

Here are two new screenshots showing the steps I did

1) Selected PAL



2) Options I have



Thanks again

Your camera settings are pal 25fps while your PD13 is set to ntsc. You could change the camera settings to ntsc or change PD13 to pal 25 fps in Peferences/General if you live in a pal country. Not in your profile. The produce and create disc settings will be correct without you haveing to change them later with drop down boxes.

Sorry about that. Tony created a custom profile for it that is why it is not shown in the drop box window.

Hi Squeaky77 -

You sound like you're getting your head around the various production options, with some help from other forum members. It usually takes a bit of trial & error to find the format & profile to get the most from your original clips, especially when SVRT doesn't offer any help.

I chose M2TS because I could easily customise the profile to fairly closely match your original MOV clip. Customiing bitrate in MOV profiles in PDR reqiuires a bit of "back room" stuff, editing the Profile.ini

This screen capture shows the steps I took in producing the clip from your DJI Phantom.



Cheers - Tony
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Quote: Variable bit rate is not a problem in order to use svrt.

tomasc - I read that before and forgot to respond. I guess I made an incorrect assumption on the basis that PDR doesn't produce videos with variable bitrate.

So - it must be something else about the clip.

Cheers - Tony
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Squeaky, tomasc & all -

I realise this is completely invalid, but thought you might be interested in comparing PDR's rendering of Squeaky's DJ1 clip with the export version from QT Pro. It's invalid in that the "original" clip isn't! It's now been rendered in PDR & processed by YouTube.

Here, on UHD TV, it's hard to spot any difference in detail between the QT export & the PDR produced version. Of course, there's the darkening in the QT version which adds a little more contrast.

This is just a 1 minute segment - https://youtu.be/DkbKJQTr9VQ

Cheers - Tony
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I have found an explanation on why the QT Pro video conversion is darker on the pc. Macs use 1.8 while pc uses 2.2 for display gamma. See this link for an explanation: http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/43733.page . QT player display gamma is incorrectly set at 1.8.

Have tried Avidemux but unable to do a lossless mp4 conversion on the pc. Still working with it.

Thanks tomasc - good hunting. I haven't quite got all that into my head in a meaningful, "makes- sense" form yet but I will.

Squeaky? Are you there? Have you been able to produce your clips into a format you're happy with yet?

Cheers - Tony
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