On the recently discussed topics of "blocks in dark scenes" and
"does the encoder see things differently than the eye" I have
something that might be of interest.
I pulled up a still frame from a DV file that to the eye looks
black. The encoder on the other hand will see quite a bit of R G B
(more than I expected) that needs to be encoded.
I've attached a small jpg (should be under the limit for the
mailinglist) of the "RGB Parade" scope in FinalCutPro.
After applying the 'desaturate lows' (along with other color correction)
the RGB levels are about 1/5 as high without visibly affecting the
overall picture. The result is that the encoder produces much better
looking dark areas.
Color correction's a subject for another mail item ;) It's amazing how
grungy some tapes are and how much better the video looks after a
little nudging of the whitebalance, black level, contrast and so on.
Cheers,
Steven Schultz
<<attachment: rgb.jpg>>
