Preview low quality, how do I change the setting?

[funny_Ripple16B8]

I am working with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 with Windows Vista.  The preview is showing in low quality.  It makes it difficule to judge the quality of the footage.  Is there a setting for this.  I have looked in the preferences but didn't see anythig helpful.

[Harm_Millaard]

Look in the Playback settings, but you can't really judge quality on the program monitor, you need a properly calibrated external monitor for that purpose.

[the_wine_snob · Accepted solution]

Are you in Draft, Auto, or Highest on the Quality setting of the Program Monitor (Rt-click on it to tell). Also, 100% will get you closer, than will Fit, but as Harm states, it is but an emulation and will only show so much.

Good luck,

Hunt

[funny_Ripple16B8]

Thanks for the reply.  The program monitor was set to Auto causing it to look crunchy.  I learned on Final Cut Pro at school.. I am working at home now and learning Premiere Pro.  I knew the preview I was seeing in the program monitor wasn't very helpful for judging quality.  It's much better now.  Thanks again.

[the_wine_snob]

It's much better now.

That is great news! Unfortunately, there is no iron-clad answer as to what is the best Quality setting. On some systems, it's Highest, but on others, it's Auto. There are probably just enough variables to keep us from making a definitive rec., so we just say, toggle between Highest and Auto, and see if one is better for you. Obviously, Draft will yield rather poor results on all systems.

It's the same for older OS's, that had Hardware Acceleration - if Min, try Max, if Max, try Min. If one helps, increment along the scale, until it no longer helps... wish we could be 100% certain that 1/4 of the way up the scale, or down the scale would be the perfect answer, but it all just depends.

Good luck,

Hunt

[excited_Genie16B8]

there is no iron-clad answer as to what is the best Quality setting. On some systems, it's Highest, but on others, it's Auto.

I disagree.  Best is the iron-clad "best quality" setting.  Auto doesn't improve upon Best, it only reduces quality automatically if the playback can't be supported at full frame rates.

[the_wine_snob]

Jim,

For some it actually has. That is why I mentioned that it is not "iron-clad." Now, for you, it might work 100% and that is great. For others, Auto has proven to be the 'best."

Hunt

[excited_Genie16B8]

For some it actually has.

I question that observation.

[the_wine_snob]

Well, Jim there have been three users, IIRC, in the last year or so, where Auto performed better than with Highest. For me, Auto and Highest produce no noticeable difference (on my laptop's GeForce 8800m GTX, and do not even know about my Quadro FX-4500, as it's always been on Highest), and I would have assumed that Highest would always be the best - yet for 3 posters, it was not. Three is not a very large number, but if one considers the number of copies of PrPro sold, factor then by the number of people, who post here. Factor again by the number of posters with questions/problems with the quality of the display in Program Monitor. All of a sudden, 3 might take on statistical significance. I do not recall the video card from any of those posts - could have been the same, or more likely different. When I read the first response, that Auto had worked better, I dismissed it. As time went by and at least two others reported the same, I made a mental note of it - in some cases, it appears that Highest is NOT the best, hence my mention to try each and judge. Why would Auto do better than Highest? I have no clue, but would think that it might have something to do with the video card, its driver, or possibly individual settings in the driver's console, or maybe something like Hardware Acceleration in the OS.

So you can question all that you want. It could be that the posters lied, or became confused over which setting worked best for them, yet with 3, it seems a bit of a stretch.

To cover bases, I mentioned trying each to test, so in this case, the OP should be able to make that determination, with very little time lost - click, click, test.

If it's meaningful to you, perhaps spend the weekend pouring over the posts, say back 18 mos. and see exactly what the circumstances were, that yielded better results on Auto.

Happy reading,

Hunt

PS - I know that the threads were here, as PrE does not have a Program Monitor Quality setting - only Magnification

[Jeff Bellune]

Highest Quality = Full resolution during playback and pause.

Automatic  Quality = Reduced resolution during playback and full resolution during  pause.

Draft Quality = Reduced resolution during playback and  pause.

-Jeff

[the_wine_snob]

Jeff, please see my response to Jim above. Your statement supports my thinking, until users reported that Auto did better for them with playback.

Thanks,

Hunt

[Jeff Bellune]

there have been three users, IIRC, in the last year or so, where Auto performed better than with Highest.

Hunt,

Make sure you and Jim aren't mixing apples and oranges.  Performance is a very different thing than Quality, as you know.

The word equations I listed above describe how Pr works; they're not opinions.

-Jeff

EDIT: Quote added for clarity.

[the_wine_snob]

Jeff,

I understand. For three posters (out of many, many more), the observed Quality was better for them on Auto. Why? I do not know, and am only reporting what worked best for them. For me, Highest is the ticket. For the vast majority, it should be too. For a few, it seems that their machines gave better Quality, by their observations, with Auto.

Thanks,

Hunt

[Jeff Bellune]

For three posters (out of many, many more), the observed Quality was better for them on Auto

I, too, would question their observations.  But I guess "Better" is a subjective term.  For example, a full-resolution image with fine detail may shimmer and flicker when played back, but a lower-resolution version may not because the fine details become blurred. I would consider the shimmering, flickering image better because all of the video data is being shown; others may see the lack of artifacts as "better" even though the image is missing data.

-Jeff

[the_wine_snob]

I completely agree. I dismissed the first report that Auto was "better," until I saw two others. Do not think that it was the same poster in other threads, as these observations came in replies like, "hey, Auto did the trick for me - thanks." That was when I began to pay attention more closely, and started deviating from my normal reply - "set to Highest." My assumption was that the user observations might be related to lower-end cards, or perhaps driver versions/settings. We all know where "assumptions" will get you...

The comments on flicker/shimmer is probably spot on. It's possibly like a slight Blur (especially Horizontal Blur) in text for Video/DVD, looking "better" than a shimmering, sharper version. "Better" is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

Thanks,

Hunt