 Home | General RA vids | Other RA vids | RH S1 | RH S2 | RH S3 | Spooks S7 | Spooks S8 | Spooks S9 | Strike Back | Video Tour | Help | Polls | Search Tips | FAQs | Links | About & Contact | Misc. | Feedback General Video Quality Guidelines for RAfanvids.If you're reading this page, it might be because I asked if I could host one of your videos, and have requested that you to send me a higher quality copy of your video (which I'll then convert to iPod, etc. files for the site). Here are some tips for creating such a file. (Please bear in mind, however, that I am always grateful to get whatever I can get, and if it proves too difficult for you to make a file by following these guidelines, just send me the best quality file that you have!) Simple export method:This tutorial was designed to just get a reasonably decent quality copy of your video out of your video editor (whether it be Corel VideoStudio, Sony Vegas, or whatever). If your editing software is not included in that tutorial, just export as a DV as best as you can, then open the file in MPEG Streamclip and follow along with the rest. As it says in the tutorial, even if you get the aspect ratio wrong when exporting the DV file, that's okay, because it can be fixed later. If you can send me an MP4 file with H.264 compression and a data rate of about 3000 to 4000 (follow the instructions on the tutorial to learn how to do that) then I will be most happy indeed! Or, if you just want to send me the DV AVI or DV MOV file that you exported straight out of your software, that is fine too. If you don't mind uploading the large DV file up somewhere, then that can work great for me as well. iMovie users (and even Final Cut users) can follow the export instructions lower down on the page of this tutorial. Scroll down to the entry which says, "Exporting your HD video out of iMovie." (If you didn't edit in HD, that's okay, there are instructions there for exporting regular definition video.) If you make an H.264 MOV file with a data rate of 3000 to 4000, that is perfect for my purposes! (Or you can just send me the large DV file if you prefer, either is fine.) More advanced tutorials:There are some other export tutorials on the fanvid forum FoolishPassion. (Free membership required to view some of the tutorials.) Some of the ones you might find useful are: Export "recipes" for Mac and PC. Covers exporting video with Corel Videostudio, iMovie, Sony Vegas, and so forth. The quality can range from decent to quite good, so it's definitely worth a look if you are interested. There are downloadable samples there for you to view, to get an idea of what can be possible when you follow one of the "recipes." Exporting your video for great quality (Mac and PC). Probably one of the best ways to get maximum quality from your video export, but requires that you make an uncompressed copy of your video first. (This uncompressed video can be over several GBs in size.) A lot of vidders do it this way, and the quality can be great (assuming that your source footage is high quality). Making your Mac fan videos extra pretty. (For iMovie and Final Cut users.) Techniques to not only export out with good quality, but also smooth out video noise and otherwise "prettify" up your video. For future videos—getting better quality overall:This tutorial explains how using higher quality DVD rips (with editing-friendly video codecs) can improve the overall appearance and quality of your video. (There are tutorial links at the bottom of the page with more info on the particulars.) Don't assume that just because all your friends do it a certain way, that there is nothing left to learn, or no more room for improvement. With a few changes in DVD ripping/converting techniques, you can get almost-DVD quality from your finished fan videos.
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