Compressed mov appears dark on a Windows computer

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Compressed mov appears dark on a Windows computer

I am using Qt 7.0.4 on Macintosh OS 10.3.9

When I export a movie using any compression (even the slightest) it appears dark on a Windows computer (much more so than the gamma difference between Mac and PC monitors) but it appears normal on the Macintosh. If I export the movie with no compression it appears the same on the Mac and the PC.

Please see this example: http://www.sketchpad.net/quarkmulti_bg_image384.htm

I really need to compress the movie for bandwidth reasons, but all the compression settings I have tested gives the same result - dark movie in Windows.

Does anyone have any ideas? If I use QT Pro for Windows, will the results be different?

TIA

G5 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

G5 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Apr 3, 2006 8:36 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 3, 2006 8:50 AM in response to penmaster

Oddly, these threads are about the movies being too light on Windows:

Inconsistent colors on Windows + Mac
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1958994

How can i embed gamma settings into a quicktime file?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1845540

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Answer 2

Apr 3, 2006 9:07 AM in response to penmaster

Export to MPEG-4. It is supposed to automatically adjust for the gamma differences between Mac's and PC's.
You can still use the H.264 codec.
I suspect that H.264 should also adjust. Have you tested the file on a different Windows machine? Is the monitor calibrated?

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Answer 3

penmaster Author

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Apr 4, 2006 6:09 AM in response to QuickTimeKirk

Thank you for your reply. I have tried MPEG-4 and H.264. I have the 23 in Apple Cinema HD display on both the Mac and PC computers. Both the Mac and PC monitors are calibrated. I calibrated the Mac monitor using the 2.2 Television Gamma to minimize the difference between the Mac and PC displays.

But there is a definite difference when I export with no compression. The movie comes out perfect. But there is a very noticeable difference when compressed. I have seen the gamma difference before using OS 9 and with my older monitors and this does not look the same.

I just wanted to know if this was a problem for others or only a problem with my setup. I suppose I could try it on a different monitor somewhere else.

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Answer 4

Apr 4, 2006 6:21 AM in response to penmaster

Odd. Maybe the 2.2 calibration is the issue.
I don't know how the magic happens but QuickTime will adjust (MPEG-4 exports) so that they appear slightly different when viewed on a PC. Older settings (Sorenson, H.263 and image formats) would need some adjustment prior to export. I always used the HSL filter when exporting these codecs.
Can you try a one minute export with the monitor set at 1.8 and see if it adjusts for the PC?

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Answer 5

penmaster Author

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Apr 4, 2006 6:24 AM in response to JulieJulieJulie

Thank you for your reply. I read some of your posts you referred and it is encouraging that you have no trouble with your H.264 files (Mac or PC viewers).

It seems to be something about my system ...

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Answer 6

penmaster Author

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Apr 4, 2006 6:53 AM in response to QuickTimeKirk

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried the 1.8 gamma and get the same results. This has me thinking (plus other posts on this thread) that maybe this has to do with the fact that I am using an Apple display on a PC. I think I will try viewing the movie on an older CRT monitor.

Also, I tried making a test movie on my older Mac using QT 6 and it is dark on the PC also ... makes me think the problem is on the PC side where it is being viewed

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Answer 7

justinL

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Apr 24, 2006 8:22 PM in response to penmaster

I found the same issue today- creating .mov files out of After Effects and viewing on PC using QT 7.0- white background in all compressed files go 5-10% grey. They view fine on Mac QT, dark on PC QT. Too dark for a gamma shift...

Uncompressed files view same on both platforms; I'm assuming the compression on the PC QT is making the shift.

Searched all postings here and it seems to be a common issue. I need a fix!

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