Thank you for your video. I have watched it and I'll give it a try.
It is very dissapointing that this can't be done properly by exporting directly from Movie Studio.

I've chosen those high bitrates to make sure no artifacts appear on my screen, the footage is very motion intensive and some of my videos were of poor quality on lower settings. It is an overkill but I don't have to worry about low quality caused by insuficient bitrate.

I am pasting the information from MediaInfo:

First video - created by Movie Studio Platinum 12:

General
Complete name : D:\Vegas Projects\Ready\Test03.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42
File size : 5.68 MiB
Duration : 2s 867ms
Overall bit rate : 16.6 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-04 22:08:16
Tagged date : UTC 2013-05-04 22:08:16

Video
ID : 2
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 2s 867ms
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 16.5 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.265
Stream size : 5.63 MiB (99%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-04 22:08:16
Tagged date : UTC 2013-05-04 22:08:16
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : 40
Duration : 2s 833ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 44.2 KiB (1%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-04 22:08:16
Tagged date : UTC 2013-05-04 22:08:16


Here is the one created by Windows Live Movie Maker:

General
Complete name : D:\Vegas Projects\Ready\Test04.wmv
Format : Windows Media
File size : 26.5 MiB
Duration : 10s 430ms
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 21.3 Mbps
Maximum Overall bit rate : 20.5 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-04 22:24:45.268

Video
ID : 1
Format : VC-1
Format profile : MP@HL
Codec ID : WMV3
Codec ID/Info : Windows Media Video 9
Codec ID/Hint : WMV3
Description of the codec : Windows Media Video 9 - Professional
Duration : 10s 433ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 20.0 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 30.000 fps
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.322
Stream size : 24.9 MiB (94%)
Language : English (GB)

Audio
ID : 2
Format : WMA
Format profile : Pro
Codec ID : 162
Codec ID/Info : Windows Media Audio
Description of the codec : Windows Media Audio 10 Professional - 384 kbps, 48 kHz, 2 channel 24 bit (A/V) 1-pass CBR
Duration : 10s 430ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Stream size : 489 KiB (2%)
Language : English (GB)



And lastly, one from After Effects:

General
Complete name : D:\Vegas Projects\Ready\130504_sPvP_Gameplay.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42
File size : 2.29 GiB
Duration : 52mn 53s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 6 192 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-04 23:56:42
Tagged date : UTC 2013-05-04 23:56:42

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L5.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 52mn 53s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 5 998 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 8 000 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : PAL
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.097
Stream size : 2.22 GiB (97%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-04 23:56:42
Tagged date : UTC 2013-05-04 23:56:42
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : 40
Duration : 52mn 53s
Source duration : 52mn 53s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 293 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 33ms
Stream size : 71.6 MiB (3%)
Source stream size : 71.6 MiB (3%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-04 23:56:42
Tagged date : UTC 2013-05-04 23:56:42



I will also check FRAPS forums.

You see, you are trying to re-encode CG animation in an environment that was optimized for noisy camera video. Same with Youtube. AVC in Vegas Movie Studio doesn't offer the level of control for optimizing animation. Higher bitrates only help up to a point, that you have already passed. You are welcome to make a feature request for an animation preset in Movie Studio through the links above.

That's why we (an fraps) like Handbrake. Once you are comfortable with the basics, there are x264 animation presets and controls available that will do a great job for you without excessively high bitrates.

There is a new release of Handbrake 0.9.9 that has the latest x264 version, due out any day now.

As pointed out, Youtube reduces your video bitrate to 2-3 Mbps, so don't expect any miracles on their end. We've tested this, and there is no logical point in giving Youtube anything greater than about 8 Mbps ABR.

It would help if you would also post your captured video properties. That affects how downstream encoders will react. Depending on the capture frame rate, there is one setting in Vegas that "could" make a huge, immediate difference.

Here are properties of the source file:

General
Complete name : D:\FrapsVid\Gw2 2013-05-05 20-29-59-73.avi
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
File size : 794 MiB
Duration : 19s 633ms
Overall bit rate : 339 Mbps

Video
ID : 0
Format : Fraps
Codec ID : FPS1
Duration : 19s 633ms
Bit rate : 338 Mbps
Width : 1 680 pixels
Height : 1 050 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 1.600
Frame rate : 30.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Bit depth : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 6.381
Stream size : 790 MiB (100%)

Audio
ID : 1
Format : PCM
Format settings, Endianness : Little
Format settings, Sign : Signed
Codec ID : 1
Duration : 19s 633ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 3.59 MiB (0%)
Alignment : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration : 982 ms (29.45 video frames)

I will try to set the ABR to 8 Mbps. Thank you for tip.

Hi Edward,

There are a few reasons this is happening:

One is, that Vegas has always been finicky with resizing/framerate/etc. It is very exacting in how you must set things, in order to get high-quality output. There are a few places where you might want to tell Vegas to just 'back off' a little bit and let you size things how you want, effectively telling the application that 'you know what you are doing, don't attempt to correct anything'.

For instance, you seem to be recording at 1050p at a 1.6 Aspect Ratio, then upsizing to a 1080p 1.778 AR. That's not a problem at all, but it will result in some skewing/dropping of detail as it resizes (Vegas has a somewhat 'cheap' resizing method it seems). Since you are Rendering and Uploading at a 1.778 (16:9) AR, your recordings will stay a lot 'cleaner' if you record at that setting (if you don't mind), say playing at 1920x1080. If you are like I was, with my old monitor I could not play at that setting, and my maximum resolution was 1680x1050. I did a bunch of tests and found that resizing up to 1728x1050 kept the Aspect Ratio the same and then uploaded that to YouTube. What resulted was crisp and clean.

It's too bad, but YouTube re-compresses many things. I understand, they cannot keep all video in 'native uploaded' format (no doubt many people upload raw capture 300Mbps+ data clips from FRAPS, etc). So, rendering out to a very high bitrate makes no difference. Only a Maximum of around 15Mbps is suggested (lower than 8Mbps Average starts to not look very good at 1080p, especially if the source is a high-motion video).

There are pluses and minuses to using WMV versus MPEG-4 Part 10, but for game recordings and using Vegas we can at least do some things, like increasing our Reference Frames and setting a high ceiling (if using Mainconcept's VBR) like 15Mbps up to 25Mbps, with an average of 8Mbps, things will look nice. Vegas has some basics like 'enabling Deblocking' but doesn't seem to allow adjustments of Quantization and many other great things found in AVC encoding. For this reason, you may even want to render out to a high-bitrate file after editing in Vegas, then throw THAT file into an application that allows all of these adjustments (a higher-end editing app, or there are free ones, like Avidemux which allow adjustments of all of these aspects), but this is of course only if you have the time/inclination.

Anyway, back to Resizing and Aspect Ratio. In your first video, the text shows evidence of resizing, it almost looks like a de/interlacing artifact, doesn't it? That is probably the result of resizing/rescaling. If you don't want to play at 1280x720 or other lower available resolutions (1366x768, etc), try taking a 1680x1050 recording and upsizing to 1728x1080, or try cropping it to a 16:9 AR to see if you lose anything you want to keep on the screen (taking a 1680x1050 and cropping it to 1680x944). These are ways to avoid rescaling the frame, if you cannot currently play at 1080p (YouTube uses a 16:9 aspect player).

Back to Vegas: places to tell Vegas not to mess with your source material are:
- in the Project Properties (UNCHECK Adjust Source Media...)
- right-click your clips in the Timeline and choose the Disable Resample radio button
- in the Render As, when customizing the template, UNCHECK the Allow Source to Adjust Framerate, and plug in the framerate you are recording at (eg. 30fps)
It's not that Vegas is doing anything wrong, it's just that if we turn all these things off, it will more plainly deal with the material it is given and not mess with it near as much.
Most of the presets in Vegas are meant for TV/Movie production and not the much cleaner 30fps PC/game sources. Hence, we can try to use many MPEG-4/AVC advancements (more reference frames, Deblocking, etc), but there is a limit of what Vegas allows you to adjust, when it comes to the MPEG-4 Part 10 / Advanced Video Coding capabilities. Hopefully these ideas will at least get you started trying things out of what you CAN do...

Good luck trying them out and have fun with it!

[i]"
Width : 1 680 pixels
Height : 1 050 pixels"

Resizing, especially upscaling to 1920x1080 in Vegas is not recommended.

If you'll upload the original fraps clip somewhere, I'll take it and come up with a workflow for you to get it to Handbrake untouched (time permitting). It could be left at native resolution in a 1920x1080 canvas, or downsized to 1280x720p, we'll have to see.

Thank you both for taking your time to answer me. You have helped me a lot and I've learned quite a bit.

Good news is that I have been able to upload the footage in good HD quality (Could you please check if the letters look OK on Youtube on 1920x1080?)


Is seems the problem was - and I deeply apologize for that - that contrary to my belief I really did upscale the video. I wouldn't bother you with such trivia if I knew...

The whole issue started when I noticed on Youtube that my 1680x1050 footage does not show in 1080p quality. So I have decided to put the video as it is (1680x1050) on 1920x1080 canvas and upload it with black borders. When I checked it on my computer, the footage had black borders so I assume everything was all right - 1680 footage on 1920 canvas. The reason I saw the black borders is my different aspect ratio - the 1920 video can't fit on 1680 screen so I saw black borders.

I am still a bit confused how it's possible that in VLC player the exported video looks crisp sharp and on Youtube it's just plain terrible. I assume it's somewhere in settings and/or Youtube compression. The important thing for me is that I can upload it in good quality now. :)

I have tried to upload the FRAPS file on filedropper.com, but it... ...dropped the file. I am trying to upload it to another webshare server. It probably makes no sense to post it now, that the issue is solved, but the upload is in progress so I'll post it anyway. Mybe you'll notice something I can do way better. :)

Unfortunately I can't switch my monitor (which would be the best solution). I bought it with 3D glasses that need 120 hz.

Once again, thank you.

EDIT:
Link on Fraps original:
https://webshare.cz/file/15jDc4k63F/gw2-2013-05-05-20-29-59-73-avi

EDIT:

Actually I after checking the videos several times again, I have noticed the real difference is when I set the reference frames to 5 and check Deblocking (ofc this is subject to fine tuning).

No upscaling with 2 reference frames and no deblocking (original bad quality):


No upscaling with 5 reference frames and deblocking (good quality):


Upscaling with 5 reference frames and deblocking (surpisingly, good quality again):


This is even better. I can upscale it and still get the good quality. :)

Increasing the number of reference frames "shouldn't" affect Youtube quality directly, but I'll be checking out your observations next month to see what I can learn from them.

In the meantime, if you're pleased with the quality, then mission accomplished.

The file you uploaded is 800MB and downloads at only 10KB/s from that strange site, so I guess I won't be doing that.

If you want to upload a 60 second fraps file on Dropbox, MediaFire, or Google Drive, I'll have a go at it and show you what "can" be done with Handbrake and fraps. If it's not important, NP.

I have uploaded the file to Google drive
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_d2wL5pprPiR256d0N1cE9ZUEk/edit
I hope the priviledges are set properly so that you can download it.

I can do with current settings but I surely am interested in seeing a better way (quality).

Google Drive is downloading at 785 KB/s
Confidence is high.

I've uploaded a version to Youtube, using our "best practices" with the Vegas->Handbrake method. What I am most interested in is your impressions relative to the clips you recently uploaded. I confess, I haven't looked at them, but do compare your text in my 1080p version, since that is what you seemed most concerned with.

Also, you can get close to my version inside Vegas; the possible differences "might" include color purity, sharpness, and motion detail.

Also note that my upload will probably appear "less contrasty" than yours. That is because I have restored the full range of highlight and shadow detail that is in your original AVI. Detail and color saturation improvements should more than make up for a slightly flatter picture.

Awaiting your reactions; time permitting, I will detail the full workflow, that will involve a learning curve on your part.
This video is your "intellectual property," so I'll take it down any time you wish. The link is Unlisted.

Best ;?)

@TroyTheTech,
We'd love to see what you've actually uploaded to Youtube. Where can we find your channel?

I can't see much difference in text quality, which is good since it suggests Vegas alone can do well. :) Color in your video is better, as you say both highlights and shadows are preserved. On the sharpness end I'd say that video from Vegas fares better - you footage seems to have more graphical artifacts (the difference is not noticable until under close scrutiny though). Suprisingly, nameplates above characters seems unaffected and they look better in your video.

How did you do that your video is in 1680 and still there is 1080p option? :O You have changed the resolution? That would be the best option for me - to upload it in 1680 and be able to play it with 1080 option.

As for video quality I am happy with what I can get from Vegas, but I would still like to try Handbrake workflow. I am also interested in color adjustment and and that magic you did on Youtube.

I would appriciate if you could post your workflow. I would like to compare results in more than one video.

This is the video I have compared it to. I know my color conversion is reversed, I was experimenting. :)


EDIT:
I have played around with resolution changes suggested by TroyTheTech and I have come up with a method that seems to work best for me.
Uncheck "Adjusts". Set project properties to 1728x1080. Go to Pan/Crop, change size to 1728x1080 to make sure no upscaling is going on. Apply color correction(levels Computer to Studio RGB). Set render to 1728x1080, 5 frames, Deblocking on, 10/25 bitrate, uncheck "Adjust".
(I will fine tune it in time)

Program resolution is the original, 1680x1050, but delivered on a 1920x1080 canvas.
Video is clearer at this end.
Start with the tutorial; when you've mastered that, we'll explore some of the finer points.

Best.

I uploaded an improved version (above).
Seems like Youtube was doing some cropping and resizing on its own (hate that).
Take another look, and see how they compare.

The difference is huge. The version with blue background is much sharper. I have also noticed that in Youtube options the "Original" size has dissapeared (I assume that's also because Youtube resized it before).

I will post here what I was able to produce using provided tutorials. I have copied all the settings as best as possible (some dialogues vary from videos). Source is 1680x1050, output is to 1728x1080 without upscaling.

Video created by Good Method


Video created by Better Method


Video created by Best Method


Video created by Best Method, increased Deblocking strength to -2 and thershold to -1


I am very happy with results, thank you, mission accomplished. :)