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defaultsqa6l2r5lans
Participant
March 18, 2021
Question

color banding Premiere export file H.264

  • March 18, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 3221 views

Hello,

I'm trying to export a video in the file format H.264 in Premiere Pro with a smooth shadow in the original video, but after exporting it has a strong color banding. I tried to export it in the file format ProRes (Quicktime) and it will be gone. But I receive 2 new problems. The first is, that the file size increases to 300 Mb for a 10 second video (in the end I will export an 20 minute video) and the color isn't matching like before. The contrast and the red tones are really enhanced that I can't use the video anymore.

What should I do?

 

Greetings

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1 reply

R Neil Haugen
R Neil Haugen
Legend
March 18, 2021

Long-GOP encoding works to get the amazing amount of compression by breaking the image into pixel blocks, and looking comparatively at the near pixels. Dumping 'minor' differences between them so it has less data to track.

 

So if there are for instance four pixels in the block, three are 231-235-218 and one is 231-234-210, it may keep one channel that's different, but ... probably not. It may well simply make them all the same. Probably will.

 

And so yes, banding will be much more prevalent in a long-GOP export like H.264 than in an intraframe codec like ProRes, Cineform, or DNx.

 

With a higher target bitrate, you can sometimes get around it. Adding some 'dither' or grain to the file sometimes helps. Sometimes is the key.

 

As to the chroma/tonal changes in a different format export ... what is your OS and what is the external player you're viewing this in?

 

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...
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defaultsqa6l2r5lansAuthor
Participant
March 18, 2021

Hello Neil,

I'm not really into all of this. I tried to change the bitrate, but H.264 only alows 8 bit exportings, or how to change it (because this solves it in ProRes)? If this is what you mean by saying: "With a higher target bitrate, you can sometimes get around it". For info, every video with such shadow results in a video with such a look. 

 

"As to the chroma/tonal changes in a different format export ... what is your OS and what is the external player you're viewing this in?"

It's windows 10 sRGB on a Microsoft surface 2017. I'm viewing it in the VLC-Player, and looking forward to upload it on YouTube.

R Neil Haugen
R Neil Haugen
Legend
March 18, 2021

The higher bitrate is not bit depth ... bitrate is the bits per second of data in the file.

 

So ... in the Export dialog, go down to the Video tab, and scroll way down until you get to the Bitrate setting area. As shown in my image here.

 

Try a higher bitrate than what is being used in your current file. It would probably take a significantly higher bitrate to eliminate visible banding if you can.

 

As to the color, I would say to make sure you've got the "Display Color Management" setting clicked on in the Preference/General tab.

 

Neil

 

 

Everyone's mileage always varies ...
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