Video quality loss ?

FoskeyMedia wrote on 10/14/2017, 10:48 PM

This feels like a stupid question....but does Vegas (13) lose some video quality right out of the box? When I look at raw footage in Media Player-Classic Home Cinema it looks sharp and clear. I load it into Vegas and even when the preview window is set to Best Full it still seems to lose some clarity. Not a lot... but I need all the help I can get.

Comments

Grazie wrote on 10/15/2017, 12:06 AM

Your two Previewing/Reviewing circumstances need to be fully analysed. Also, what do you mean by “clarity”? Is it more contrast? More saturation? It could be your footage is being “helped” by the Player? Do you have any Studio to Computer Levels in play?

OK, is it possible for us to see what you’re seeing? What ever you’re doing do use the Scopes to give you/us evidence based results.

FoskeyMedia wrote on 10/15/2017, 1:01 AM

ummm.. good questions. When I say clarity I guess it's more contrast...brighter. I don't use scopes.. I've been trying to read up on them and it does sound like this would be a good place to start using them. I'll try and see if I can figure them out. Any particular scope you recommend?

NickHope wrote on 10/15/2017, 1:39 AM

What you're seeing may be just the normal reduced contrast in the Vegas Preview window when Vegas reads many formats. Try one of 3 things:

  1. Monitor on a secondary monitor with "Adjust levels from studio RGB to computer RGB" checked in Options > Preferences > Preferences.
  2. Install SeMW Extensions, enable Tools > SeMW Extensions > Preview levels, then set it to "PC" in the drop-down menu above the Video Preview window.
  3. Add a Levels FX and set it to the "Studio RGB to Computer RGB" from the Preset drop-down menu. Remember to disable it when you render.


This is a subject that has been covered over and again in great detail in the past. I did write a related FAQ post about it, but I approached it from the viewpoint of someone who is getting more contrast than they expect when they view their finished production on the web, TV etc.. Nevertheless it might help you understand the issue.

Regarding scopes, I usually have them in "all" view. If I'm dealing with just luminance (not color balance), then I'll look at both the histograms and the waveform. This comment and my next one 2 comments later explain how to adjust levels with Color Curves FX, but the theory applies to adjusting levels in other ways too.