New to video capture - need help on why video quality is so poor?

[KBurns]

Hi,

I'm completely new to video and video capture and just wanted to see if you can give me any help on why the video quality of my videos is so poor?

I'm screen capturing videos of how to use our recruitment system like in this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EAI5m1XoiA

I use a piece of software called Movavi Screen Capture. I then edit the video in Movavi Editor. I save the video as an Online Video in Output Format and the Preset as Video for YouTube (1080p).
Clearly it doesn't look great and my boss isn't too pleased but I can't get it to look any better. Do you know what I'm doing wrong and if there's anything I can do to fix it? Is it the quality of the software or am I making a mistake in what I'm doing somewhere?

Thanks for the help!

[DB83]

So many unknowns.

I suggest, with your boss's consent, you upload a short sample of the original, un-edited screen capture. And also the same footage with a slight edit as you have done with the program in the same format as you upload or wish to make available elsewhere.

[KBurns]

I've uploaded 2 test videos doing exactly what I'd usually do.

Here's the original capture (saved as PM4) - https://files.videohelp.com/u/271400/Original%20Screencapture.mp4
And the edited (saved as HD video for Youtuvbe 1080p) - https://files.videohelp.com/u/271400/Edited%20Video.mp4

[DB83]

If these videos are typical then there are several issues.

1. The original capture has an odd display ratio of 1280*1024. Is that the dimensions of the display you are capturing ?
2. The original video has a variable frame rate of +/- 30 fps. That could be an issue with he capture program but check its settings to capture at fixed frame rate.
3. The edited video now has a fixed rate of 25fps. The editor is unlikely to correctly change the video from 30 (even if it was fixed rate) to 25. You should export at 30 fps which is closer to the original. But, again you really need to capture fixed at either 25fps or 30fps.
4. The edited video has now been enhanced to 1920*1080. It appears that the original height has been changed to fit the larger frame. The width would also change to retain the odd AR of the original. That could make the original slightly fuzzy.

[KBurns]

1. Yes, that's the dimensions of the display
2. I've found in the settings where to edit the variable frame rate. It;s fixed at 30
3. When I'm exporting the FPS is saved to Auto - should I change this to 30?
4. What should i do with the height? Should I change this to the dimensions of the display?

Thank you for your help!

[DB83]

The other thing is that it would be better to see a real example just in case the original sample is not as good a quality as what you posted here.

[jagabo]

You should add borders to the top and bottom instead of resizing the video to the height of the frame. That will prevent blurring from resizing.



If your software doesn't allow that, or you just can't live with the top/bottom borders, use a sharper resizing filter. It looks like you used a bilinear filter. Using bicubic, or something sharper will give you less blurring.

In the future use a computer with a native 1920x1080 display and capture at that resolution. You'll be able to avoid resizing and adding borders.

And also have rec.709 vs. rec.601 color issues, and full range vs. limited range brightness problems.