washed out video /studio RGB issues on playback

Mindmatter wrote on 9/16/2020, 2:51 AM

Hi all

I thought I had gotten a grip on the issue thanks to several good advice on this forun the last time I ran into it, but here I go again.

So I render this footage that really looks good in vegas, making sure I operate in legal levels already on the timeline with the help of the color curves, which I set to 16-235 in my FX chain and use to add some contrast etc.

I render with my usual routine, Vegas levels computer RGP to studio RGB in the output FX.

As usual , footage looks washed out, and is supposed to be reset to fullrange in playback, but not this time.

Both VLC and Win MP seem to display it halfway between full range and studio RGB. Contrasts are wrong, colors slightly paleish. Same in Youtube. To make sure, I exported full range to see, with the typical result, crushed blacks etc. So I guess the range IS being expanded on playback, but apparently not fully?

In the jpg below, the left side is the VLC playback of the rendered studio RGB video, the right side is the Vegas preview window at best/full, as it is supposed to look.

Footage is 8 bit XAVC-S from my sony A7S, like most of my past footage. Render is Magix AVC 16 mb/s.VBR.

So I'm a bit stuck here, any advice is very much appreciated!

thanks!

Comments

Marco. wrote on 9/16/2020, 4:22 AM

According to your description you flattened your levels twice – once with the use of Color Curves and once again with the Output FX you use. If you use Vegas Pro 18 it would have been flattened a third time while rendering. This would be twice or at least once too much.

Mindmatter wrote on 9/16/2020, 5:51 AM

Thanks Marco, again you saved the day!
I replaced the CC with brightness and contrast. Now all is good.

It makes me wonder though why previous renders were fine with the same settings, and why the footage looked good in the preview, but that much off in the played render.

Anyhow, it's all good now. Thanks again.