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richardh1690077
Inspiring
January 19, 2019
Answered

SD card footage only looks good when viewed on TV through camcorder, nowhere else

  • January 19, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 1446 views

Hello all,

Hope this is in the right forum for this post.

I have recently purchased a Sony 4K camcorder (FDR-AX700).

To go with it, I purchased 2 x SD cards (SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I Card, 256GB, Speed up to 95 MB/s 633X). When put in the camera, I was prompted to format them which I did.

I have shot footage both in 4K and HD.

I have viewed this footage on my 4K TV by directly connecting the camcorder to the TV (via a HDMI cable). The picture looks great and I am very happy with it.

However.... (there's always a however ) this seems to be the only way where the footage looks this good.
When I downloaded the clips to my PC (using the cable provided, and using Sony memories which is the software with the camera) and played the clips back, the clips deteriorate in quality. Not massively but more than enough for it to be noticed. This is especially prevalent with movement. Its no-where near as smooth. Also, I think the colours are not quite as vivid.

I assumed this was just down to PCs not playing clips as well as a dedicated 4K TV. So, I put it the clips through premiere pro, outputted it matching the source settings, and viewed that on the 4K TV via an external hard drive that I use. The clips look exactly the same as they did on the PC (i.e. not as good).

Again, I wondered whether it was just down to a combination of the clips naturally not looking so great on a PC, and also maybe the quality dropping somehow by putting it through premiere pro (though never had that issue before)

So, in trying to isolate the problem, I have taken the SD card out of the camcorder. My 4K TV has its own slot for SD cards so I can play the clips back directly onto the TV. But, when doing this, the quality is exactly the same as the PC and the outputted footage (not as good). This seems to be the same whether its shot in HD or 4K.

So, it looks as if the clips look great when played on the TV through the camcorder, but when the SD card is played elsewhere, the quality diminishes. So, maybe the camcorder does something when playing the clips back (compresses it somehow) that it doesn't do elsewhere. Or maybe I have not got good enough cards.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I think the camera itself is absolutely fine, but I just can’t figure out why the clips on the SD card (which are digital) would lose any quality when played elsewhere

Many thanks,
Richard

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer richardh1690077

Not quite, Richard.  Choose one clip and post the specs that were actually recorded.  A mismatch between clip and sequence can cause issues.


Hello all,

Update on the above. I think I may have found the answer. I have been experimenting. I shot some footage today, and tried to shoot exactly the same thing, but one clip in 4K and one in HD.

And the HD appears to play back pretty much perfectly, whereas the 4K playback is a bit choppy (and has the issue I first mentioned). So, this looks to be the issue. Which means it is (I think) how the SD card or the external hard drive is playing it back on the TV.

I am not overly bothered. I have a 50in TV and cant really tell the difference between HD and 4K, so I will just shoot at HD. The camera seems to have more available when I shoot in HD as well (more settings available).

I may look into a new external hard drive (do any come with HDMI, or are they all USB). It may of course be the TVs media player. Might not even support 4K playback via the SD or external drive (though would think so as its a 4K TV).

Anyway, that's where I'm at. The fun experiments go on, but im feeling a bit happier about it all now.

Kindest regards,

Richard

3 replies

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richardh1690077Author
Inspiring
January 19, 2019

The other interesting thing I found when doing this is this - in adobe, when I import files/footage (from vhs, youtube etc) the clips play fine. WIth the footage I import from the sd cards, the yellow line appears in the timeline indicating that it needs to be rendered first. Now, I only see this if I have added an effect etc. So just wondering whether this was connected somehow.

M
Meg The Dog
Inspiring
January 19, 2019

The FDR-AX700 supports proxy recording, which is the simultaneous recording of a lower quality/smaller file for specific uses. Is it possible you are viewing the proxy files instead of the full quality files?

In the camera menus, make sure proxy recording is turned off and then do some test shots.

If the card only contained the high quality XAVC files, I would be surprised if the TV would play the files at all directly off the SD card - although I may be wrong if it is a Sony TV.

MtD

Peru Bob
Community Expert
Peru BobCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 19, 2019

Have you tried copying the SD card files directly to the computer using a card reader instead of the camera?

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richardh1690077Author
Inspiring
January 19, 2019

Hi Meg,

Many thanks for your reply. This is exactly what I am looking for (i.e. to identify potential issues that im not aware of).

Yes, the proxy recording was already set to off so unfortunately its not that.

The TV isn't a Sony, its a Panasonic. It is a 4K tv though if that makes the difference - It has a slot which the card fits into, and a media player type thing opens up on the TV, which can then play the clips.

Richard

E
excited_Genie16B8
Legend
January 19, 2019

I also recommend Bob's earlier suggestion.

Use Windows Explorer to copy the entire card to the hard drive on the computer.  You will need a card reader for this.  Do not delete, move or rename any of the files you just copied.

Once the entire card has been copied, use the Media Browser in Premiere Pro for import duties.

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