Corel VideoStudio 4 - poor render quality problem

[saperos]

Hello everyone,

Im using trial version of VideoStudio (version 14.1.0.150) I faced a big problem with render quality. For testing purposes I took small video recorded by Panasonic SD90 camera - pies.m2ts - (link to samples at the end of this post) As you can see, original raw file has perfect quality everything is sharp and no pixels can be spotted)

My changes done in VideoStudio are simple. I just divided video into two parts and added simple transition effect between them. Finally I created video using "same as in first video" preferences. I turned off smart rendering. In main VideoStudio option I just disabled color filter. Final video (pies_corel.m2ts) quality is poor, pixels are everywhere, its maily visible on grass...

Am i doing something wrong? I thought setting "same as in first video" will use parameters equal to original file... I really like VideoStudio, but render quality is non acceptable :( Can I do something about it?

Samples can be downloaded here:
filmy.zip (38,80 MB) - uploaded.to

Regards,
Kuba

PS:
When Im using "HD writer" - software added to camera, render quality is awesome, It's same as original even with transition effects.
But I prefer VideoStudio and its features... please help me with this issue.

[Midnight Blue]

Have you changed the bit rate too low, this can be why you get pixelation. Have you reduced the resolution (size) from the original. I haven't had chance to see what the footage looks like, as the download is quite slow.

I can see that there is a slight pixelation in the dark areas but it's not too bad. The bit rate has been reduced but not by much. Have you altered from interlaced to progressive or vice versa. The best way to keep the best quality is to keep things as close to the original as possible in all ways.

[saperos]

Hello,

Faster mirror for movies:
filmy.zip - 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download

Basically option I used should copy all properties from original movie.

Ill paste media info logs.

Original:

GeneralID                                       : 0 (0x0)
Complete name                            : C:\Users\Kuba\Desktop\pies.m2ts
Format                                   : BDAV
Format/Info                              : Blu-ray Video
File size                                : 21.6 MiB
Duration                                 : 10s 709ms
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 16.9 Mbps
Maximum Overall bit rate                 : 18.0 Mbps


Video
ID                                       : 4113 (0x1011)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 4 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=3, N=12
Codec ID                                 : 27
Duration                                 : 10s 280ms
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 16.0 Mbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 16.8 Mbps
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 25.000 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Interlaced
Scan order                               : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.309
Stream size                              : 19.6 MiB (91%)


Audio
ID                                       : 4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Codec ID                                 : 129
Duration                                 : 10s 368ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 256 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Delay relative to video                  : -80ms
Stream size                              : 324 KiB (1%)

Render:

General
ID                                       : 0 (0x0)
Complete name                            : C:\Users\Kuba\Desktop\pies_corel.m2ts
Format                                   : BDAV
Format/Info                              : Blu-ray Video
File size                                : 17.7 MiB
Duration                                 : 9s 277ms
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 16.0 Mbps
Maximum Overall bit rate                 : 21.3 Mbps


Video
ID                                       : 4113 (0x1011)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 2 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=3, N=12
Codec ID                                 : 27
Duration                                 : 9s 360ms
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 15.1 Mbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 16.8 Mbps
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 25.000 fps
Standard                                 : PAL
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Interlaced
Scan order                               : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.291
Stream size                              : 16.9 MiB (95%)
Color primaries                          : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177


Audio
ID                                       : 4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID                                  : 1 (0x1)
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Codec ID                                 : 129
Duration                                 : 9s 344ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 256 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 292 KiB (2%)

[Midnight Blue]

Like I said you have dropped your bit rate a little. From 16Mbps to 15.1Mbps which isn't a lot but the drop in image quality is not much. Apart from that you have pretty much matched the original footage well. The only other way to try and have a better quality image is to use a lossless format but this would give you huge files AND you may not even be able to play them on your computer.

[saperos]

TBH I do not know how to manually change those properties in VideoStudio x4... How can I approach this lossless format? I think my computer will handle that

[Midnight Blue]

I can't walk you through it as I don't know your software. Usually there is an option for a lossless .avi format. If you do some looking around you might find it.

[saperos]

To be honest Im just testing trial versions to find best software... Can you please suggest me something better than corel's video studio in this price range?

[Midnight Blue]

I usually recommend Sony Vegas Studio Platinum. BUT I think it's good to try out a few different ones to see which suites you best.

[saperos]

Hello again,

Im testing Sony Vegas 11 platinum and Im impressed how good the render looks like on default settings. As a vegas user, can you tell me which settings should i use (based on media info log) so that my render has best possible quality?

Regards,
Kuba

[Midnight Blue]

I like the Main Concept mpeg2 format. Others like different ones like the .wmv or the .mp4. If you stick to matching the original media as close as possible so choose a 1080p template and make sure the frame rate is 25fps. You should be ok.