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Author Topic: Discussion: re making videos and video sound quality  (Read 5288 times)

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Sandy

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Discussion: re making videos and video sound quality
« on: May 12, 2010, 09:24:13 AM »

As herder of ToTM entries I have noticed through the months that more and more videos are coming with no head in view and a definite increase on audio only recordings, so you are not alone with these problems   :D

I am guilty of this but mainly due to running out of video tape. I prefer video as it helps to see 'what's going on' sometimes.

Won't apologise for cutting of the head  :D as it is best to zoom in on box  :|||:

Might have to tidy up the place before the next video though as JB's analysis of the background is getting rather astute  ;D

Cheers
Sandy
 (:)
« Last Edit: May 13, 2010, 03:05:17 PM by Clive Williams »
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Anahata

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2010, 11:38:51 AM »

As herder of ToTM entries I have noticed through the months that more and more videos are coming with no head in view and a definite increase on audio only recordings, so you are not alone with these problems   :D

I like to see the player's head too, which is why I've done mine that way.
But it's much easier and quicker to do audio-only - I've just been lazy!
Is there general consensus in agreement with Sandy that it's useful to be able to watch how people are playing?

Might have to tidy up the place before the next video though as JB's analysis of the background is getting rather astute  ;D
I usually do videos in front of a background of shelves full of music and books, so at least I might stand a chance of looking learned and erudite. Yes, you can still see it's a mess and there's a pint of beer next to me in at least one of them...
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Clive Williams

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2010, 11:50:32 AM »

Is there general consensus in agreement with Sandy that it's useful to be able to watch how people are playing?

I certainly like to see people playing - it's interesting watching fingering, technique etc in many cases too. But I wouldn't want to have an official 'must use video' policy; I'm happy for everyone to make their own choice....

Clive

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2010, 11:57:44 AM »

Is there general consensus in agreement with Sandy that it's useful to be able to watch how people are playing?

I certainly like to see people playing - it's interesting watching fingering, technique etc in many cases too. But I wouldn't want to have an official 'must use video' policy; I'm happy for everyone to make their own choice....

Clive
for me I have several 'levels of competence

-Practice
-Audio only
-Video

and if its a hard tune I'll probably just about get to audio only level, if its a tune I  know or have played before I can get it to video standard.

Sandy

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2010, 12:23:42 PM »


I like to see the player's head too, which is why I've done mine that way.


Actually I was thinking a bit about this earlier. Just the close up on the box is great for finger/note instruction but viewing the player and box is so useful for looking at overall technique.

cheers
Sandy (:)

GbH

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2010, 12:30:44 PM »

As you might expect, I don't entirely agree with Sandy's quote that "it is best to zoom in on box".  Whilst, in some cases, I do think a well considered close up approach can be interesting and of educational value, the effectiveness of this does seem to depend on the player and the tune.  In some cases, you just can't see what's going on anyway which rather defeats the point.

I'm can't say I'm a fan of the more general headless shots - it just looks like bad camera technique to me.  There are so many other possibilties for making use of the visual aspect, it seems a shame that the 'decapitated' option is used so much.  

I definately agree that a straightforward head-and-body shot can work very well, particularly when the player seems comfortable in themselves when performing to the camera.  

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Owen Woods

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2010, 04:41:18 PM »

Is there general consensus in agreement with Sandy that it's useful to be able to watch how people are playing?

I think so, yes. Certainly I find it useful, which is why I am struggling with video. Mind you, I don't know why anyone would want to look at my hands. My technique is dreadful, but it gets the job done. Ish :P
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forrest

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2010, 12:01:23 AM »

  As regards videos, I must confess that my head has gone missing for some time now. Occasionally  I can get a loaner, but it's not always pretty. As for audio only, it is quicker, as you don't need to reject the performance because the camera was focused on un-intended anatomy. I also believe that the sound quality is superior on Onmvoice than on You-Tube. Videos are fun, though, if you have the time. I'm still using a pocket camera for mine. 8)
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DRUMKILBO

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #8 on: May 13, 2010, 08:36:57 AM »

I think you hit the nail on the head JW, when you say that the sound quality is better with onmvoice than you tube, that's what does it for me, though in my case it's more the difference between a digital recorder for audio and a digital camera [audio not so good]

Ian
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Anahata

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2010, 10:00:37 AM »

I've found that even if I record the sound separately and combine it into the video as a 192k bit rate MP3, it may sound absolutely fine on local playback but gets degraded by YouTube.

What puzzles me is that some YouTube Videos do have excellent sound. How do they do it?
(I suppose there might be a better place to ask, come to think of it)
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HallelujahAl

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2010, 11:43:04 AM »

Quote
What puzzles me is that some YouTube Videos do have excellent sound. How do they do it?
(I suppose there might be a better place to ask, come to think of it)

LOL!
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Anahata

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2010, 01:06:59 PM »

Quote
What puzzles me is that some YouTube Videos do have excellent sound. How do they do it?
(I suppose there might be a better place to ask, come to think of it)
LOL!

Well yes, but at least here at melnet we are concerned about the sound, or at least the music, and the visuals are secondary, so there might be someone who's taken the trouble to research this.
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Clive Williams

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2010, 03:02:07 PM »


What puzzles me is that some YouTube Videos do have excellent sound. How do they do it?
(I suppose there might be a better place to ask, come to think of it)


It's probably down to the video format chosen - youtube supports several. I tend to make .m4v videos, because that's what IMovie makes, and I've never noticed any particular problem with sound. Is there a particular video you can give a link to that sounds worse than expected?

[[[ I'll split this off to a separate thread ]]]

Cheers,

Clive

Anahata

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Re: Discussion: re making videos and video sound quality
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2010, 04:11:39 PM »

I'll have to check them, and see. Or rather, hear...
But I've also had an idea - to download some of my YouTube videos and find out what standard they've been(re-)encoded to - that might give a clue.

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forrest

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Re: Theme of the Month for May 2010 - Morris Tunes
« Reply #14 on: May 14, 2010, 12:17:50 AM »

I've found that even if I record the sound separately and combine it into the video as a 192k bit rate MP3, it may sound absolutely fine on local playback but gets degraded by YouTube.

What puzzles me is that some YouTube Videos do have excellent sound. How do they do it?
(I suppose there might be a better place to ask, come to think of it)


I agree. I have been recording on a Boss Micro BR 4 track recorder with a decent stereo mike. It usually sounds quite good directly after uploading to Y'tube, but degrades significantly after the "processing" takes place. There is a discussion section on the Youtube site where this has been hashed over ad-infinitum.... :P
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Anahata

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Re: Discussion: re making videos and video sound quality
« Reply #15 on: May 27, 2010, 11:24:58 PM »

I think I've cracked my YouTube sound problem.

I was doing the audio as MP3 and trying to save in a .MP4 video file, which resulted in a .MP4 file that didn't work properly - depending on which player I used, it either didn't work at all or I got the sound at double speed. I could export to .AVI files instead, which worked OK but the video quality was degraded.

I've since discovered that the native audio format for MPEG 4 files is AAC. If I use that everything just works. I've just noticed that YouTube recommend it too. When I uploaded MP3 audio to YouTube, I think they converted it to AAC, and that would degrade the sound quality.

I can now edit and upload files in HD quality (720p), even when I've combined it with a separately recorded audio track. I don't think I'll make a habit of that though, as the file size for 720p is huge and it takes forever to upload. 640x480 will do for most purposes.
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nemethmik

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Re: Discussion: re making videos and video sound quality
« Reply #16 on: May 31, 2010, 01:38:32 PM »

640x480 will do for most purposes.
Exactly my observation. Today storage technology and networks are not ready for HD.
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Anahata

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Re: Discussion: re making videos and video sound quality
« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2010, 12:46:26 PM »

(moved from another thread)

Have you tried reading / pasting the large HD file into windows moviemaker which reduces size dramatically but seems to retain most of the quality?

Following one shows basic open WMM and then move file to WMM and there is some useful stuff to clip off bad bits.  He saves in video for broadband. I save in the first, best quality option.
http://vimeo.com/131649
My HD video started off at 720p which is a resolution of 1280x720
The option he selects has a resolution of 320x240!
Video for BB (768k) is 640x480...
I can't find out what "Best Quality" option is, but if its 720p there should be little change in file size.
(I'm not running Windows so this isn't a trivial exercise to find out...)

The best quality HD videos out of my camera are encoded with H.264 which gives the best compression available. There must be some loss of quality somewhere if the file gets smaller - ether more lossy compression or lower resolution.

I'm using avidemux which enables you to select exact encodings, resolutions etc. instead of vague "best for your computer/good/mediocre/broadband/large/small/etc." options of WMM.
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Kautilya

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Re: Discussion: re making videos and video sound quality
« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2010, 10:49:14 PM »

(moved from another thread)
The option he selects has a resolution of 320x240!
Video for BB (768k) is 640x480...
I can't find out what "Best Quality" option is,

Have sent yr earliers and this post to someoone who 'might' know (certainly more than me as I just hope to be able to press a button and it all gets done). It really is a minefield - just now I cannot convert the Kodak mov format (from a Zi8 HD 1080p) on my pc == when it opens mov directly and automatically with VLC all I get is the sound with a still picture !- but (on the other side of the room!) it opens  fine on 'the expert's' Mac. 
Will advise if anything useful emerges.
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