333pg333

I know that's an obvious question with some obvious answers but it seems to be as much the carrier and upload speed as the camera/tech to obtain good quality playback on Youtube etc.

Looking at the latest promotional video for the new GoPro H3 and I wonder why we don't see in car track video with this sort of clarity? I know this is the latest version but even so, when viewing my own or friend's video on their own PC's and then seeing the degradation of quality once it uploads to Youtube makes me a little frustrated that we're not all producing better quality viewing. What gives?

Van

Put babes in bikinis in front of the race cars, and the quality will be much better!

Realistically, I think several things impact the image quality:
-Speed at which the camera/subject is traveling - slower moving things will always appear clearer
-Exposure challenges - on a bright sunny day, in the water like that, it's easy for the camera to meter the light and adjust for the exposure; many times, in a race car, the camera has to deal with a dark interior, a bright exterior, and changing orientation of the sun as the car goes around turns
-File size - kind of a no brainer here... but many people will record at a reduced file size so a 30-minute file isn't 8-10 gigs large - you'll need a lot of memory cards, hard drive space and a powerful computer for processing
-File format - I'm not a guru in this sort of thing, but I do know that different file formats use different types of compression algorithms, and there are some file types that work better for high quality (I just don't know if .avi is better than .mp4 or .wmv, etc...)
-Vibration - I'd also have to think that vibration plays a big role - even well secured to a roll cage, the camera will be vibrating at some frequency - and a lot more than hand-held underwater; this vibration will cause the image to fall on a different set of pixels on the camera's sensor - remember it's taking a snapshot 30 times per second and then merging that all together in a movie
-YouTube - and, like you said, even if you start with a good movie, the quality goes down when you upload to youtube. They have their own compression algorithms to make the file sizes small enough to stream over the internet - and they also don't have unlimited storage capacity...

pontifex4

Van's right on.

Assuming you're not talking about exposure (too bright or too dark), the superior quality and "sharpness" that you see on a promo video like that one is partly thanks to the subject (lots of colour contrast in those shots) and partly due to good post-processing. Basically, they're showing you lots of contrast, and it makes you think it's really sharp.

I do a fair amount of this kind of work in my day job, and just off the top, I see a fair amount of selective digital filter work in that video (sky brightness control, for example, as well as some pretty heavy handed recoloring in the sunset shots). That video didn't look like that straight out of the camera. In fairness, it probably wasn't bad -- after the firmware update on the Hero 2, exposure seems to be a lot better.

Finally, of course, they used a team of video people who know how to compress the video optimally for YouTube. This is a lot harder than it sounds.

2BWise

^+1. That video is almost as much about the work done afterwards at the computer as compared with the effort in shooting it. It's not realistic that you'll ever be able to shoot something and import it direct to any site and look that high quality. Lots of post processing.

himself

The rest of the quote has been deleted in order to focus on the only important statement made.

-td

Apex996

Try using Vimeo.com. The Encoding is better.

GT3 Techno

The resolution is important (HD in 1080p or 720p) but the number of frames per second is key. Very important if you edit with slow motion or if you film lot of fast movements (in-car video while racing for example). Most camera in 1080p will allow only 30fps or in 720p 60fps which is better for slow motions or in-car video. The promotional video filmed for the GoPro3 is available on You Tube in 1080p but has been done using a 60fps rate. This new camera offers even a 120fps (perfect for super slow motions) in the 720p resolution.

333pg333

Thanks for the answers Guys. I get that there is post prod done on the promotional video. Goes without saying I guess. However the bottom line is that they got this quality onto Y/tube. I've seen some very good quality race video too but it's far and few between.

I suppose for the Joe Average (which I put myself in) it would be nice to think you can buy a good quality camera with all the latest tech and then be able to upload pretty damn decent footage. Perhaps there are software programs to run your own videos through before uploading. Also, is it just me or does the quality of Youtube videos seem to degrade over time? I'm sure I look back on some of mine that now appear to be viewed through a Velvet Fog nowdays.

ps...I inquired about this stuff. They won't sell you the tech. They'll supply it with an operator and post production. He quoted me 1000's of Euros per second for the final product. Not sure if he got his decimal point slightly askew. Nevertheless it's pretty funky. Watch the video and play with your arrow keys while doing it.

http://makingview.no/makingview.com/?page_id=23

BostonDMD

Why some video is still so blurry and others super clear?

I think it all depends on how many alcoholic beverages the viewer has had before watching the videos.......