two render questions

[editormanish]

i dont know which codec r u using for creating Quicktime movie, however use Sorenson3 codecs,i havent faced the faded color problem as yet using these codecs. they provide nearly the same quality as the preview.

[beenyweenies]

1. I have a project using footage from a 16:9 DV source. So naturally, I am setting my comp pixel ratio to 1.2. The problem is when I render a quicktime output, I am only getting a "squashed" 4:3 size on playback. If I render avi I do get a proper 16:9 size. I am wondering if there are any issues or recommmendations on getting proper 16:9 output sizes when creating quicktime. I have tried a variety of quicktime compressors, all with the same issue.

2. What steps can be taken to ensure an accurate match in color when rendering output? When creating either quicktime or avi files using a variety of compressors, my output video consistently has lower color saturation compared to the previews in my project, giving all my output files a washed out look. How can I match what I render to what I see in my comp window?

If you import these "squashed" Quicktimes into an editing app they should be properly interpreted since it is the pixel aspect ratio the editing app will be looking at to determine how to handle the footage. If you are outputting them for the web or other computer monitor usage, you can always get the correct aspect ratio by nesting your anamorphic comp into an comp sized at 856x480 and "unsqueezing" your original comp by scaling it out horizontally. This will compromise detail since you are building your project anamorphic then unsqueezing it. A better bet is to build your comp at 856x480 from the get-go, because you can always nest this wide comp into an anamorphic comp for your edit res version. Others will disagree, I'm sure, but most of my anamorphic AE work is created at 856x480 for maximum quality, since squeezing anything will sacrifice resolution once unsqueezed.

As for the color problems, this is something I haven't personally encountered but it may be several things:
1. your video card may have special settings for handling video playback, much as they do for games. For example, my nVidia card stores seperate color settings for video playback and about 20 different games. Don't tweak this unless you isolate it as the problem, or you may be falsely correcting a problem that actually exists elsewhere in your pipeline and will continue to be apparent on other machines.
2. Color profile woes. AE uses the color profile embedded in your imported artwork, and if the art has a funky or incorrect profile it may cause problems on output. Check your source artwork and make sure they are using sRGB or similar.
3. One last issue could be that you are compressing your footage too much. Compression, by its nature, takes away information for the sake of file size. Color fidelity/saturation will be compromised if you are applying a lot of compression.

[scrimshaw1803]

Thanks for the replies.

Actually, I did try an import into Avid and back into AE and the results looked correct in color and a/r. I experienced my issues only when viewing them with the Quicktime player (7.0.4) so I guess the player was the culprit.

I am unsure why this would be but it is not a big problem since I was only using these files to preview for a client. Since I'm dealing with them in person, it's easy to preview within AE itself.

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