Recording via Computer - Loss of Quality?

[Whoppa]

Recently I have been trying to record things on an MMORPG I play (Yea, call me a nerd!). It's called World of Warcraft and the problem isn't the recording itself but more so when I import it from my movies section in finder to my imovie HD a large amount of quality is lost, then when I import it onto Youtube I suffer an even greater loss. Is there a way to avoid the loss when importing into imovie from your computer rather than an actual camera?

Thanks :)

- Justin

[cpcarrot]

How are you making the recording and what format are you recording it into? i.e. are you using a screen capture program like iShowU (and if so what settings are you using), or some other method?

[spinnerlys]

What settings did you use to record the video from WoW? And what software?

And what preset/template do you use in iMovie?

And what kind of quality loss are you speaking about? Major or minor?

And quality loss is there if you upload to YouTube, as YouTube converts the video to something more sizable to be downloaded.


With settings I mean, which codec was used, which resolution, what file size results, is it a .mov or something else, frames per second, ....?

You can view that information via QT Player and Cmd+I.

[Whoppa]

I m using the in-game built in software for Macs, so Blizzard software.

I am dragging and dropping it from my movies section in finder to imovie.

Major

http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot050509185810.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot050509185819.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot050509185823.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot050509185825.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot050509190320.jpg

Click to enlarge :)

Thanks for the help, much appreciated!

- Justin

[spinnerlys]

You showed us your WoW settings, but what about iMovie?

You used 640x400, 29.97fps and the .h264 codec with a data rate of 11.xx MB/s (if it's MByte, it should be looking okay).

The .h264 codec is a highly compressive codec, which is not meant for editing, only distribution.

Take the Apple Intermediate Codec instead, but I don't know, if it works with iMovie.

And what file type is created? A .mov, .mp4 or .m4v?

640x400 and all the other resolutions offered by WoW are not exactly formats you can edit with, as there are no settings for iMovie in it (or professional editing software).

So whatever project setting/template you use with iMovie, the file you import gets down or upscaled to the proper resolution (the one iMovie uses).

You could open the created file in QT Player and post a screenshot of the Information window. You can use Cmd+Shift+3 to select the area you want to screenshoot.

[Whoppa]

I am sorry the reply was so brief, I had about 500 words typed out but when I hit post I had been "logged out" which deleted my post. It is being saved as a .mov

Is there any other information I can give you?

Appreciate the quick responses and help Spin :)

[spinnerlys]

What iMovie settings are you using?


That is the keystone.

The .mov (can you please post a screenshot of the open .mov in QT and the Information Window?) and iMovie don't seem to correspond well, and that is what is causing the "quality loss".
If the settings of the .mov and iMovie get as close as it can gets (codec, resolution, framerate), then the quality loss will not be so apparent.

[Whoppa]

I know I probably sound like an idiot right now but what information window?

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5213/picture5vyb.png

http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture8rvv.png

http://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture9o.png

http://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture10qsx.png

Those are the settings, Thanks for taking the time to explain this out.

[spinnerlys]

[QUOTE=Whoppa;7571258]I know I probably sound like an idiot right now but what information window?

Quick Time > Open the file you recorded > Menu Bar > Window > Show Information Inspector (CMD + I).


As I can see, you use the DV NTSC preset, which is quite near the recording you took.
DV NTSC has a 640*480 resolution, has 29.97 frames per second but does not use the .h264 codec. It uses the DV codec (3.25MByte/s).

Just show me the Information Inspector and we will see what we can do.

It maybe that you have to use MPEG Streamclip to convert the video first from -h264 to DV.

And can you also show us two sample images, one from the video you recorded and one from iMovie (export a short clip or so, not directly from iMovie, as the quality you see there is not the real quality - which might be the answer in fact.), both with the Information Inspector window.
You can use Cmd+Shift+3 to select the area of your screen shooting, as those big screen shots are quite big and may be unnecessary.

[Whoppa]

http://img18.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture14e.png

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/2780/picture15c.png

I feel like an idiot.

:) Thanks again

[Whoppa]

Does anyone have any feedback I could use?

Thanks :)

[spinnerlys]

In this picture, what is what?

I mean, I can see the iMovie window, but what is the clip in the QT Player window?
The recorded clip or the exported one?
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5216/picture14e.png

Also in this image, I assume this is the recorded one:
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/2780/picture15c.png


Did you do an export of some short clip/timeline in iMovie, to see if it is the same as in iMovie?

It may just be, that the video looks worse in iMovie than it actually is (there are some threads in this subforum mentioning it), as it has to be resized for display (from 640x400 to 640x480), so an export with iMovie at high settings should tell you, if there is loss or not.

[Whoppa]

I am doing the following:

Record

Drag the recorded version from Finder > All Movies > Drag my recorded movie to imovie (it imports it)

The clip you saw was the recorded one.

no, what do you mean?

I am not sure because when I import it to youtube its barely legible, you can barely make out the shapes.