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Why is my screen output blurry?

This is probably going to sound like a slightly convoluted process, but it's the best I've been able to come up with, given the task and the time/money constraints (no budget for Final Cut Pro, so I somehow have to work with Final Cut Express).

I am attempting to create instructional video demos that I can stream from a Web site. The actual application I'm recording is a 1024x768 Windows app, which I'm using Adobe Captivate 4 to capture and then output to an AVI file. I'm currently using the Cinepak Radius codec for that (mostly because it was included with Captivate). I get a pretty nice looking AVI file, which I intend to place a front and back live recorded pair of bumpers and a voiceover throughout.

But I'm having problems once I load the AVI into Final Cut Express 4. I've been trying to experiment with the output to get good clarity of the screen text, but no matter what settings I seem to put in, I get blurry screen text. The best way I'd describe it is if you look at a newspaper which has been registered incorrectly and the different colors aren't lining up exactly - it's just off enough to make you scream.

Interestingly enough, and frustratingly enough, if I have focus on the Viewer and go to export using QuickTime Conversion, the clip will come out crystal clear. If the timeline or the Canvas has focus, it will be... well, out of focus. So basically I can hack away at the original AVI and turn it into smaller clear MOV files, but not have any additional video/voiceover/etc.

I've also tried exporting from Captivate as an uncompressed file (2.5 mins = 10GB), but with the same result. I was hoping that it might be the original codec getting encoded again that was degrading the output, but apparently not.

I feel like I'm just missing something here... anyone have any suggestions?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6), FCE 4

Posted on Apr 19, 2009 1:44 PM

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5 replies

Apr 19, 2009 6:53 PM in response to writenow

+"I get a pretty nice looking AVI file... But I'm having problems once I load the AVI into Final Cut Express 4"+

You should not be using AVI files with FCE. You should first convert it something FCE can work with well like a .mov file. You can do this conversion with [MPEG Streamclip|www.squared5.com].

+"I'm recording... a 1024x768 Windows app"+

FCE doesn't work with that frame size. When placed in FCE the app will scale the image down or up to fit the sequence, which could cause it to become blurry.

+"if I have focus on the Viewer and go to export using QuickTime Conversion, the clip will come out crystal clear. If the timeline or the Canvas has focus, it will be... well, out of focus"+

I believe that's because when the viewer is in focus you are simply exporting the original file. When the canvas or timeline is in focus, you are exporting the sequence, with the clip already scaled and "blurrified," thus your exported file does not look good.

What is your final destination for the clip? Quicktime Movie would give you the best quality. Quicktime Conversion compresses the media again, which is definitely not what you want with such a sensitive file.

Message was edited by: skalicki`

Apr 20, 2009 7:19 AM in response to skalicki

Thanks for the tips. I am going to try to get the AVI into a MOV file; my output from Captivate is limited (either AVI or SWF), so it's just another hoop I guess I have to jump through to create my files.

The app I'm recording is 1024x768; I am aware that isn't that frame size, but the application requires the full screen, so I'm at a loss at how to reduce it to a size that FCE will play nice with without degrading the video.

Thanks for the clarification on the viewer/sequence/canvas problem. After 50+ test exports, I was beginning to suspect either it was something like that or I was going mad.

The final destination for these clips is the Web - but the people watching these will all be PC users. I'm trying to balance the need for clear screen text vs. file size. My users tend to skew a little to the older side, so making sure the video isn't microscopic is a concern.

Apr 20, 2009 7:45 AM in response to writenow

I see your problem. FCE isn't very good for working with files like these, because you can't manually change your sequence presets to match the file. I'd suggest using Streamclip to convert into a MOV file, maybe experimenting with changing the frame size to something more editable (you can change the frame size in Streamclip) and seeing what the quality's like.

If you are exporting for the web, you should use Quicktime Conversion as you were doing. Maybe experimenting a little more with the export settings would give you a better result. Sorry if I was not of much help... generally these types of projects are better off done in FCP but I understand where you are coming from with the budget restraints.

Apr 20, 2009 8:12 AM in response to writenow

Hi(Bonjour)! Welcome to the forum.

First, you have to know that FCE is a fixed format application. You can output only DV-NTSC, DV-PAL and some HD formats converted to Apple Intermediate Codec. It is designed to output a final sequence on TV monitors (as interlaced material is not deplayed properly on computer screen).

Those formats have fixed dimension frame size and specific CODEC to encode video and audio info(like 720X480 for NTSC, 1920X1080 dfor HDV and so on..).

When starting a new project, editors choose between a small frame size (standard def DV) or High def frame size (HD flavors). So the output will have a standard def or high def format.
Standard def formats are not intended to display small titles or fine lines like those we found on a recorded computer screen.

Secondly, when you insert footage in a +fixed frame size sequence+, the inserted clip is scaled to fit that frame size. This process can degrade the image quality if the video is upscaled from standard def to high def (because encoded pixels are enlarged, giving the block look). Scale down video may present a blurring effect depending of the video codec used in the source footage.

As posted earlier, your original material doesn't have the correct frame size nor the correct codec (remember that FCE use only some video/audio codecs).

So using an utility like MPEG streamclip to convert footage to the correct format and codec for using it natively in FCE is a must.

Considering your original dimension I would use the AIC 720p30 setup for a new sequence in FCE. Convert your original footage in MPEG streamclip to Apple Intermediate Codec 720 X 1280 pixels progessive 30 FPS.

The resulting output will have a larger frame size the standard def and will be sharper on computer screen once converted to quicktime movie, using the codec h.264 or MPEG.

Michel Boissonneault

Why is my screen output blurry?

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