UKC

I've produced a few DVDs about some of my walks using Windows Movie Maker and then burning on to disk. Instead of a spoken commentary I put captions on.

Three years ago I produced one of my EBC trek and I created the captions using a "fancy" font(Gabriola) in red. On playing it back yesterday I noticed that the text had become quite indistinct and much less easy to read. I don't recall it being thus when I first created the DVD.

Is there anyone on UKC conversant with this sort of thing please?

In reply to mypyrex:

Digital movies don't degrade. Do you have a new tv, new player etc?

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:
That's what I thought
No, that said the tv has been "upgraded" with various gizmos and programs
I'm seriously thinking about doing a "remake" of the DVD and using a less fancy font. I've just done one using "Arial" and that's quite clear.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:
This is it on Youtube, although it seems better on Youtube on the pc than on tv.
youtube.com/watch?v=LbLgLcENvEc&

In reply to mypyrex:

If your problems persist perhaps try a new editor. I use VideoPad for my home movies, totally free and for basic things very user friendly.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:


Thanks, I'll have a look.

In reply to mypyrex:

Just had a chance to check out your YouTube video. It definitely looks like compression issues from your export in Movie Maker. If you still have the project file my advice would be to try exporting the video in HD resolution (your video was in 480p) and if possible adjust the compression settings to a higher bitrate/quality. It doesn't matter what quality the input video/photos are but if the text is bad quality it means your editor is removing data when you render the final copy. Depending on your version Movie Maker may be limited in options here, so if you have no luck trying new software may be a long term fix if you intend to keep making videos!

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:


Discs do degrade though. I've had a few self recorded discs fail within a few years of writing.

In reply to DubyaJamesDubya:

Yeah, but I mean they don't have a linear degradation like film. They either transfer data or they don't. Of course you can damage disks, but the movie won't look faded or worse quality - it will just skip or not play.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:


Many thanks for that. I think I understand that and I'll look further into it.