Q: built in isight camera not lip-synching properly

Hi,

In the iMovie settings what Frame rate are you using to record ?

Also what rates are you using for the Audio ?

EZ Jim is more experienced in the newer iMovie (The one with the {"Hollywood Star" icon) than I am (I Prefer iMovie 6).

But I have read there can be issues with some frame rates and the Audio Data collection rate.



9:16 PM Tuesday; February 8, 2011

Hi,

Now you have me.

I know enough to go looking around iMovie 6 but the newer version I would be stuck with.

In iMovie 6 you could go the to Preferences and set the Format (Mine was set to PAL for exporting to iDVD ready for the TV format we use over here)

I am sure there was also sample rates and stuff as well.

iMovie has it's own set of forums http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=141
The Link is to the Category level and you have to choose the forum you want.
The '08, '09 and '11 etc refer to the iLife version it tended to some with.

EZ Jim may pop in here later as well.



9:53 PM Tuesday; February 8, 2011

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Welcome to Discussions, brassybroad

brassybroad wrote:
Hi! I'm new to this forum and need to be treated like a 5 year old when it comes to computer issues. I have a Macbook PRO 5 and have been using my built in isight camera and imovie to tape auditions. I am having a problem with the audio and video not synching properly. There is always a slight delay in the audio after I record. I have tried restarting and resetting the PMU and have no apps running at start up. I have been manually separating the audio and making it fit, but that gets really frustrating and time consuming. Any ideas? Thanks!

From this and your other posts to date, I infer that you know how to synchronizing video with audio in iMovie, but you want to try to find a way to avoid the need to do so.

I can offer a few ideas for your consideration:

(0) If a lower frame rate is acceptable, use QuickTime to record your movie clips. You can import saved clips into iMovie for editing if necessary.

If you can accept lower quality, change the "Quality" setting to less than Maximum and test the results.

 

Understand that using "Medium" quality will result in a smaller size video that will look blurry when you import it into iMovie or try to increase the size of its window when you view the saved clip. Therefore, before you decide to use "Medium" quality, be sure to make and critically view some test videos to determine whether it is suitable for the intended use for your finished videos.

(1) It sounds like your Mac's processor may be working near its limit with iMovie.
 
You have done well not to run other apps while you are using iMovie, and restarting your Mac ensures you will not have interference from multiple user accounts or widgets (unless they are included as  > System Preferences... > Account > Login iTems.
 
Remember that things like widgets and automatic checks for Mail, TimeMachine backups, iCal alarms, etc., and other background activities also add to your Mac's workload. The actions for the apps mentioned (and for most other such apps) can be disabled in "Preferences" for the apps that control them.

Disconnect all peripherals while you are recording video, and make your iMovie window as small as possible. These suggestions help reduce processor power requirements while recording.

(2) Installing the maximum amount of RAM your MBP can use may help you. Your retailer can help you check what you have and install more if necessary.

(3) Be sure you have LOTS of room (I keep 75% of my disk space free when recording video) on your MBP's disk, and capture your movie clips on your MBP's startup disk rather than on a slower external drive.

(4) Finally, the 25FPS PAL setting is for European television. If you might eventually want to create DVD-Videos or show your work some other way on American television, you should not be using PAL for your iMovie projects.

EZ Jim


Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.6); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.6)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.2.1

Hi,

As EZ Jim is sort of saying it about the way the Mac Processes Audio and Video somewhat separately before adding them together for the final file.

Once you know where all the settings are it is a question of practice.
If separating Audio in iMovie rather than trying to match the whole Movie, divide the Audio and match speech to the natural breaks.



7:11 PM Wednesday; February 9, 2011

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OK,

I must admit I am not in a position to test on my MacBook Pro version 1,1 (Playing CIV 4)

If I get a moment I will test both Quicktime and iMovie.



8:51 PM Wednesday; February 9, 2011

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brassybroad wrote:
Thanks Jim! I will try everything you suggested.

Good. You will see some improvement. Only you can decide if it is enough.

As far as the 25 fps goes, will changing it back to NCSP 30fps...

I don't know about NCSP. For American TV compatibility, you should use NTSC.

... cause synch problems?

The only way to know is to change a short clip back and test to see if it does what you want.

Depending on what you are trying to do and which iMovie version you are using,

(a) You select the frame rate for each iMovie project when you create it:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/9.0/en/mova719fa33.html

(b) After you set the frame rate for an iMovie project, you can’t change it:

  http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/9.0/en/mov39f84c7b.html

(c) However, you can import either PAL or NTSC format video into iMovie:

  http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/8.0/en/14131.html

(d) Each iMovie version has a Help item on the above topics with specifics for that version if applicable.

Also, I just tried recording in Quicktime and still have a synch problem...the video is still a fraction behind the audio. I'm afraid to go below Maximum for quality issues. I have tried to close all hidden running programs and startup apps and know I have 108 GB of free space on my computer. Would adding more RAM really help?

If the fraction is tiny, perhaps you can live with the synch quality you see. If not, you will need to explore other choices.

Adding RAM will make some difference. The only way to know whether the difference is enough for you to justify the cost of the RAM is to spend the money for more RAM and test it. If your Mac's apps cannot sync audio and video close enough for your needs with maximum RAM installed, you will either need to keep editing to attain better sync or use a camcorder to record your videos.

Depending on cost considerations and your quality needs, you might decide to test separate camcorders. A mid-priced unit (a few hundred USDollars) will give better quality than any webcam. For even more video quality, you will need to spend several hundred to a thousand USD or more. The low cost compact video cams for uploading to social web sites are likely no better than your iSight.

*If you consider camcorders, be sure they are compatible with your iMovie version and ask to test them in the store so you can decide which one's synch level meets your needs.*

Even professional level video camcorders costing thousands of dollars synch video with audio this way, and none can do it perfectly. The question is merely *how close* synching must be for your purpose. Therefore, you should evaluate your real needs carefully and then test to find what approach meets your technical and budget needs.

These are decisions only you can make based on how much quality you need and how much of your money you are willing to trade for less editing time.

Is the problem my built in camera,

No. Unless something in this link helps you, your iSight is working as expected:

  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090

... or do all isight cameras have a lag problem?

No. None do. Your real concern is the quality level of synching the audio with the video. This is not "lag," and it is a function of the processor and software rather than the iSight camera.

No built-in iSight has a microphone. Therefore, the audio part of your movies is not from iSight and cannot "lag."

Your Mac is recording audio and video separately and combining them in software. Because even QuickTime is not synched as well as you like, more processor intensive apps such as iMovie may never be able to synch to your liking without editing. Adding RAM may help. However, based on your posts, your expectations for your finished movie clips seem so high that you will likely need to use a high-quality camcorder in order to capture clips that will not require extensive manual synching.

I'm not sure how to record on my startup disc...

Unless you have connected an external hard drive and are saving your movie clips to that drive, you are recording on your startup disk.

...,why would that help?

"That" (recording on your built-in or startup disk) is almost always better than recording to an external disk because an external disk and its interface electronics is unlikely to be as fast as your startup disk. Thus, less processor activity is required to write the large video data stream to your internal disk.

Am I driving you crazy with questions?!!

Nope. That drive was made long ago.



Thanks, Kathy

You're welcome.

EZ Jim


Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.6); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.6)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.2.1