I've noticed the same thing. Generated text looks like crap when rendered. I'll try the Gaussian Blur trick and see if that works. I used a very thick font and when rendered the text looks like it has the Measles. Is there a particular color that should be used to produce good results in general? or are they codec specific? Is there a particular filter (kind of like broadcast colors) that I could on the text events?

I have a basic understanding of what is going on here. I just don't know what I need to do to fix it.

Thanks,
Don Sanders

I am experiencing something similar; however, the unusual thing is that ANY format I render to produces this effect, even NON-COMPRESSED AVI.

I created a project in Adobe After Effects and rendered it from there to uncompressed AVI. The project consisted of JPEG images which are animated moving across the screen. I also animated white text which goes over the photos and the background, which is black. The rendered version coming from AE looks absolutely pristine. I brought it into Vegas Video to convert it to MPEG-2 to put it on DVD and SVCD. However, anything I try to render to; whether MPEG, QuickTime, or UNCOMPRESSED AVI (which I tried just as a test); causes the same problem. In fact, even the preview window shows the problem.

What I am finding is that certain parts of the project are looking pixelated, and other parts look very nice and crisp. It is especially noticable on certain portions of white text. However, the portions of the video in which the text is jagged, I am finding that the picture behind it appears pixelated as well. Like I said, though, this is not a consistent problem throughout the video. Only certain portions have this problem. But, these same portions consistenly look jagged in ANY format I render to from Vegas.

I tried the Gaussian Blur approach, but that is unacceptable for my situation. It does not mask the pixelation very well, and the video loses its clarity. This is for a professional application, so consumer-grade fixes will not be suitable. I desparately need to find a solution. Can anyone advise me on this?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

Jeremy

I think one of the problems is the nature of DV codec's whether they are from Microsoft, Mainconcept or Vegas. They don't seem to like sharp edges.

As far as AE is concerned if you want crystal clear animation go for a quicktime codec with no compression (comes up as animation in the option list). The file size is predictably huge and your PC and disks may have problems coping with the bandwidth at playback time. I use this followed by CCE to get the best quality MPEG2 files.

Another point worth noting is that DV type pixelation problems do seem to be less apparent when played back on a TV. After all DVcodec's use a interlaced lower field first standard and TV's are fundamentaly an interlaced technology.

PC monitors are not interlaced do some of what you are seeing may well be down to combing.

Some fonts, especially those with fine serifs or saturated colors, may not look good once they hit the destination playback device. Motion, framerate, compression, hardware filtering, line count, interlacing and other factors contribute to the changed look from the original. This is a fact of life with video. The skilled editor needs to understand the limitations, and deal with them rather than fight with them. What works in print may not work in video or vice-versa.

My advice for titles is to make tests based using the external monitor, preview in player, burn to disc if needed, before settling to a font/color/size. San-serifs, with low saturation foreground/background are the safest bet. Impact, Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, Verdana, Times (if big, bold) all work well in most video cases. A couple of different styles, with some artful kerning and placement will give great looking video static or animated titles. Fade in/outs rather than rolls are my personal preference for titles.

Thanks for the replies. I understand your points. However, I do find it strange that I do not get these types of problems when outputting to various formats from AE. Everything remains sharp and clear (unless using compression). Also, most of the video, both images and text, are coming out pristine. But certain spots are consistently appearing jagged (both images and text). We are only using one font throughout and only JPEGs were used originally. The JPEGs were saved using the highest quality setting allowable, so I'm sure their not the culprit either. This just seems strange to me.

Any other ideas/suggestions? I do thank you for your help.

Jeremy

Jeremy,
I am having the same problem .
Worked on my reel in AE for the most part with some edits in VV3.
I overlayed a bug and some text in vegas and one in AE , I have the exact same problem you mentioned, except that in my case it looks a little better on the computer than on my monitor .
I rendered uncompressed from After Effects , trie both AVI and Quicktime. No difference.
Surely there must be a way.I need to show this to someone in a few days and I would really like to find a solution.
Let me know if you come up with anything .
cheers
Myxo