comb lines while panning

[isba]

There are a lot of info on this subject here. As a person who knew nothing about the camcoders a days ago I am still need a little bit of help. At this moment I am trying to figure out the answer on 2 questions. I have just bought Sony DCR-HC90. THe video I shoot is interlaced. I have tons of very wide comb lines when I preview the video on my monitor(during the PANNING atound almost all objects).
I also see the comb lines on the LCD of the camera itself during panning.
1. Is it normal to see comb lines artifacts on the LCD of the camcoder?
2. Can it be too many motion artifacts? Can it be a problem with the camcoder and would it help to exchange it on the different one but the same model?
3. I've tried to play my recording with recommended here WinDVD and
powerDVD on 2 different computers- none of them even reduced the comb lines/panning motion artifacts.
4. Should I just return the camcoder. I don't mind some artifacts, but the quility of the video right now isn't acceptable

Please, I'll be thankfull for any advice. Thank you,

Olga

[edDV]

1. Usually not.

Connect to a TV and see if there is a problem viewing TV display.

That is the first step in diagnosis.

Check to see if all effects modes are turned off on the camcorder.
I'd recommend calling Sony service or take it back if the problem continues in the LCD viewfinder. Solve that first before getting into computer issues.

[isba]

I do not see comb lines artifacts on my TV. THe only thing I see are a lot of jagged edges during panning on all objects including stationary. Everything is "jagged" . I did call Sony and we did reset the camera, so all setting are default. The Sony people recommended to return the camera. Although, I want to make sure that it is a camera, not me being very particular. The Sony lady has no idea about the camcoders and that was very obvious.

Thank you,

Olga

[edDV]

No problems on the TV? Even when panning?

There are many ways to create problems on the computer. My main concern for the source is you said these problems are showing in the viewfinder LCD.

Most LCD viewfinders are looking at a single field. This just doesn't make sense.

I'm beginning to think this is all a computer issue. How are you transferring the DV to the PC?

[isba]

I use firewire. Regarding software, I have used WinDV and Pinnacle Studio 9 with identical results. Some players also display constant flickering. I think it is nothing to worry about-just different players handle the recording differently. I couldn't find one player to get rid of the comb effect.

Olga

[edDV]

I use firewire. Regarding software, I have used WinDV and Pinnacle Studio 9 with identical results. Some players also display constant flickering. I think it is nothing to worry about-just different players handles it's differently. I couldn't find one player to get rid of the comb effect.

Olga

Still confused about viewfinder issue but here is the test to see if your DV transferred properly. Reverse the DV transfer with WinDV back to record back to a blank portion of a tape on the camcorder. Then play to the TV again and see if there are problems. If not then the the camcorder (except the viewfinder) and DV transfer are fine and we are talking about computer issues.

[isba]

So far I've tried to record back to DV tape unsuccesfully. WInDV can see the camera connected, but when I press the "record" it doesn't do it (it doesn't preview it either). I am trying to figutr out what is going on.

Olga

P.S. About the LCD issue: I'll try to ask a third party about the issue. Maybe it is just a judgment call. It is a quite small display

[edDV]

WinDV record to camcorder

1. Park camcorder in area of tape where you wish to record. VCR mode.
2. WinDV "Recording to DV device tab"
3. Enter source file path.
4. place check mark in box next to Record button.
5. Press "Record" button.
6. Press cancel to stop.

[edDV]

Lets assume your camcorder is working. What are you trying to do? Edit the video, make a DVD or just view it on the computer?

Viewing DV on the computer with quality is difficult. DV files are huge and your computer (unlike your camcorder) has no hardware assist so it must do the best it can with a weak CPU using software.

When I view DV on my 2.4 Celeron machine*, PowerDVD 6 does a reasonable job with display. Windows Media Player 10 gets jerky but doesn't break up badly.

The point is, when viewing DV video on a computer you aren't evaluating the quality of the video, you are evaluating your computer's ability to keep up.

Now what was it you were trying to do?

Also, how did you capture that still?

* I use the 2.4 Celeron (w/ 512MB RAM, MX-420 NVidia graphics card) to simulate an "everyman's" environment.

[isba]

Thanks for your posts EdDV

I finally made the windv work. First, It didn't want to record PInnacle captured files. It didn't want to record it's own files intil I've tried everything and accidentally found the cure ! I had to disconnect the firewire, started the Windv and started the recording. It showed the error: Device not found. O hooked up the camera and it worked! I love little accidental knowledge. It saves a lot of time. So, after recording the video back on the DV I think it looked the same as original. I captured the picture during playback on Light Alloy player. I also made the same ones with the PowerDVD.

I understand the difference on watching the video on TV and regular monitor. It is going to be TV eventually. My goal right now is to make sure that camcoder is OK. My concerns are: WinDVD/powerDVD doesn't make it look better. I've tried to play it on 2 different computers. I went to the store and made a clip with a lesser Sony camera to compare with mine, and I thought I can see less motion artifacts. Although, it could of been a better light source. I actually liked twice cheaper camera better! Hmm

My computer isn't too old yet I have MB nForce NF7-S V2 ABIT ATX; VGA XFX|GF FX 5600 128MB DDR;2800/333 ATHLON XP BARTON

Olga

[edDV]

Still a bit of a mystery then.

Transferring back to the camcorder with good TV playback indiates the camcorder and two way transfer are at least functioning.

Next try some edits of mixed pans, zooms, low light, outdoor and action. Then transfer back to the camcorder. Also burn a test DVD. See how the camcorder and DVD playback look on the TV.

[isba]

I didn't have much time to record new scenes. I did do one recording. It was on the moving object in a darker light conditions. I didn't see too many comb lines. It was strange. The panning gives me ton's of them on the stationary objects but not on moving ones. How can it be?

Thanks,

Olga

[edDV]

You didn't say how you were watching it.
No clues there.

[isba]

Sorry, I was watching it on my monitor

Olga

[edDV]

Watch on a TV from a DVD test burn. If you want to watch on a computer monitor you would find some way to deinterlace ... but then you would degrade the image in various ways* forever cursed for any full quality TV display from then on.

* each PC deinterlacing techique degrades the image in its own creative way.

I'm resisting this drama. If your target is a TV , then evaluate on a TV.

[isba]

Hey Ed!

I burned DVD, but then I realized my DVD player can play only -R type. My DVD is +R. Need to get the other type.

Olga

[ubaddala]

Hi All,
I've been using Sony TRV33 for a long time and was sucessfully making home made DVDs and recently I've upgrade to Sony HC90 model. I fell flat for its native 16:9 capabilities.

Following is the type of content:
Some of the footage is with kids going on merry-go-round and some "light" motion like biking and swinging etc.

Following is what I've done:
1. Using Movie Maker, transfer the video using firewire and edit the video and apply transitions.
2. Using TMPGEnc encode the video to DVD (standard DVD template).
3. Using TMPGEnc DVD Author create a DVD.

When watching the DVD video on my regular Sony TV I notice that there is an "uncomfortable" level of blurr (motion is smooth though) shown during the merry go round scenes ! And during the swinging scenes the same is noticed. The only good part was there was no high motion !

Also, when the video is directly played on the TV everything looked excellent.

Is this expected of 16:9 encoding or Sony HC90 or am I missing something ?

Similar kind of footage was fine when shot with my old TRV33 model. On a sidenote, how do I get the encoded video to be sharp enough ? The edges around the objects and the object itself is generally not sharp.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Uday

[edDV]

Hi All,
I've been using Sony TRV33 for a long time and was sucessfully making home made DVDs and recently I've upgrade to Sony HC90 model. I fell flat for its native 16:9 capabilities.

Following is the type of content:
Some of the footage is with kids going on merry-go-round and some "light" motion like biking and swinging etc.

Following is what I've done:
1. Using Movie Maker, transfer the video using firewire and edit the video and apply transitions.
2. Using TMPGEnc encode the video to DVD (standard DVD template).
3. Using TMPGEnc DVD Author create a DVD.

First questions.
Did you "capture" to DV-AVI?
How did you get from Windows Movie Maker to TMPGEnc?
Did you save as a DV-AVI or something else?

From Movie Maker try exporting your video clip of concern back to the camcorder over IEEE-1394 and play to the TV from the camcorder. Is the quality OK at that point?

[lordsmurf]

Start a new topic. Don't threadjack somebody else's.