Web Video Flicker Help

akearns wrote on 5/17/2007, 10:16 AM
I’m hoping someone can help me solve a problem with a web video. I have shot DV and I’m reducing the frame size to 320 x 240. After I produce the output in Vegas, I’m converting to Flash. My problem is two-fold - I can export the video as 720 x 480 and convert the size in Flash, but the title and text are a bit fuzzy. However, if I render in Vegas to 320 x 240 the text is really crisp, but now the pattern in the talent’s suit coat causes some funny lines (I’m not sure if the term is interlace flicker, but it’s similar). Is there a way that I can get sharp text and no flicker from a 320 x 240 video? I’ve tried a number of formats that are compressed and uncompressed, but I can’t seem to get things to work. The ideal is to render at 320 x 240 in Vegas and convert Flash, but I can’t get Vegas to stop the interlace flicker. Any help you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

Comments

Former user wrote on 5/17/2007, 10:32 AM
Does the suit coat have thin stripes? If so, that is not interlace flicker, that is moire. It is a problem for any TV especially when you are reducing the size.

Dave T2
akearns wrote on 5/17/2007, 10:49 AM
Dave,

The suit coat has a plaid pattern with thin vertical lines. Is this a common problem when you reduce to this size? The original looks fine fine at 720 x 480. Thanks for your response.

Andy
rs170a wrote on 5/17/2007, 11:10 AM
That kind of pattern will always be a problem.
The reason it looks OK full size is partially because you're watching it on a computer monitor (i.e. progressive scan).
I guarantee that if you were to watch it on a TV, you'd see the same thing.
The only thing I can suggest is to apply a VERY slight (0.001) gaussian blur (try Horiz. & Vert. separately and see if one is better than the other) to the event with him in it. Don't do it to the master track or this will affect the text and you've already said that it's OK.

Mike
Former user wrote on 5/17/2007, 11:37 AM
I was going to suggest the same thing than Mike suggested. There are not many other things you can do. That is one of the problems with TV scan and thin lines.

Dave T2
jaegersing wrote on 5/17/2007, 6:29 PM
My wife makes 3D animated videos, and they always flicker like hell so I've spent ages trying to improve the situation.

I find Gaussian blur doesn't really work unless you add so much that you lose all the details. Motion blur on the other hand, seems to work really well, but I have to keyframe it from scene to scene where the amount of detail and movement changes.

rs170a wrote on 5/18/2007, 4:13 AM
I find Gaussian blur doesn't really work unless you add so much that you lose all the details.

jaegersing, thanks for pointing that out.
Do you find that the render times are a lot longer with motion blur instead of gaussian blur?

Mike
jaegersing wrote on 5/18/2007, 7:57 AM
"Do you find that the render times are a lot longer with motion blur instead of gaussian blur?"

The short answer is yes, but in comparison to the render times for the 3D animation styuff, it's like the blink of an eye.

I suggest you try it out on a short section and see if the results are worth the render time.


Grazie wrote on 5/18/2007, 8:16 AM
Maybe a fine touch of motion blur - this ways the stuff that is "still" won't blur-up? Dunno.