MP4 export quality

zolek wrote on 4/26/2011, 11:31 PM

I have MEPro Plus version, I purchased software to work mainly with mp4 files, that I get from my GoPro camera. I do all the editing stuff, add titles, fades, etc. Export it to MP4, ( back to the same format, original file is) however the quality of final video is not acceptable - the color is lost and lots of pixalting, I choose to export it with the highest resolution possible, however quality of video is terrible. If i export to AVI, files are extreamly large but quality is great, Quick time (MOV) is also acceptable, but MP4 export is simply horrible... Is there any fix, patch or something that could be done to impove the export quality of MP4 files?

Comments

cpc000cpc wrote on 4/27/2011, 8:14 PM

zolec,

 

Looking around for info on the GoPro I cam across this group  http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=577298 where someone said:

 

'...Note that MP4 is just a file container type (think of it as an envelope for delivering data). A video contained within can be encoded in different formats. In the case of the GoPro HD the video is encoded using H.264. This encoding is highly compressed for efficient playback. But it's terrible for editing because of how it is encoded. It's a "lossy" format which means that image data is lost during compression. This is fine for playback but introduces artifacts when you want to edit....'

 

The suggestions is that you first convert your camera clips to a 'lossless' (big files) format for editing and then convert back for your final export. I've not needed to use MP4 originals so I can't advise other than to check other things first before resorting to transcoding.

 

You said you are exporting 'same format' (MP4 container) as the originals but that may not be anywhere the same encoding options. I assume you are exporting at the same pixel resolution. You might try the free 'GSpot' or some other utility to compare the internals of your in/out files.

 

Are you using a good preset profile for your MP4 export? I just did a quick export from a full HD MPEG-2 clip using 'HDTV 1920 x 1080 H264' and the result is flawlessly sharp though a little soft in color. I'd note that and add a bit of contrast/saturation during the edit to compensate. Also in MEP make sure you check out the 'Advanced' button on the export window. For MPEG-4 there are a host of things you can adjust about which I know just about nothing! 

 

Regards,

Carl

philaphonic wrote on 11/24/2011, 1:35 PM

I'd like to get a good answer for this, too. If ANYONE knows how to improve MEP's MP4 export quality using the built-in (advanced) controls, I do hope you will share that knowledge! Thanks in advance.