CSX In Central NY & Samsung s23 Ultra , Camera & Video Editor Discussion

[afleetcommand]

Hopefully tuning a page and "upping" the video/photography game for my channel(s)

Have used a Canon camcorder for years, and the images were "ok", and used Movie Maker as well, and it basically brings the individual frames down to a density / image clarity defined by its software limitations. Like a filter, one that makes thing worse. This really shows up on the train video's way more than the chainsaw / logging that has been the core of the afleetcommand YouTube channel. SO a change was needed. Want to do more trains and better quality video. So hoping the Samsung increases video pixel density / frame by frame quality and hoping Clip Champ doesn't ruin the better images. THIS was the FIRST one I've done with that combo

 

[bnsf971]

Does the new "camera" have a higher FPS setting for captures? Watching on my 4k monitor, everything that wasn't moving was very clear, but the moving trains were blocky and, well, jerky. It was like I was watching a series of still photos strung or blurred together.

 

[afleetcommand]

It does, I have 30 and 60 fps settings and also High Def & Ultra High Def. I switched to the ultra high def in that video. Problem is it's SO much data, not many display devices can handle it so it will be jerky as the data flow required is more than most common devices can handle. That was a lesson of this. My kids "gaming" computer with its Invidia high performance graphics card works well, everything is crisp clear and smooth. My computer even with a relatively high performance intel graphics device its all herky jerky SO on subsequent video's I will go to the standard setting with 60fps and try that.

BTW THAT was with a local file. On the devices like a phone where the file is streaming from a remote location, the data will quickly over whelm many of the 3g even 4g type services as their down load speed isn't fast enough.

BOTTOM line is I have to go to a less dense per frame picture ( Standard vs. Ultra High definition ) and possibly a higher frame rate ( 60 vs 30 ) and try that

 

[afleetcommand]

PS, looks like another editor, Da Vinci Resolve ; will let me first load then "render" into a less dense or lower definition & frame rate video. Going to try that on the next one. Hey if folks here are fluent on this stuff chime right in! I'm learning real time & I'm an old fart

 

[afleetcommand]

OK I have had a Deja Vue moment. Anyone have experience with the Cad/Cam/CNC world in the Aerospace industry back in the 1970-1990's?? When A company might get a contract to build and prototype concept but then either loose of have to farm out the manufacturing?? SO all the "data" used to both model & manufacture the "Prototype" that may have won a contract has to be REPLICATED else where? One way of course was for all involved to use the same CAD/CAM and even machine tools so the "CLDATA" for the machining is line byline exact from one place to the next AND the machine tool control the same so it's interpreted exactly the same...APT turned into a "standard" for interpreting geometry and creating CLDATA for machine tools. SO sounds like I'm off in the weeds... but its relevant here.

EVERY time I take a video with a set of parameters with my new s23 Ultra, it's out put file has a representation defined by the algorithms of that camera & Samsung's software jammed into a relatively standard file format. SO now I "read" that file for display in another program, say MicroSoft "Photo's". The file is then first interpreted by the Display software, then put in a form the computers graphics card & display can attempt to replicate on the screen, several "interpretations" in that process so the BEST I can hope for is a display on my computer where it looks good enough I'm happy right? BUT the software ingests then regurgitates an interpretation, same with the display / graphics on the computer.

My computer has a good enough graphics card to where I'm "happy" with the results, its an Invidia high performance card so it BETTER display those video's smoothly and have good clarity. BUT if u understand all the "transitions" the data goes through, it's easy to see why some will herky jerk their way thru a video.

Add a video editor in the mix and now its a completely different game because now I have introduced yet ANOTHER set of data manipulators therefore interpretations in the data stream from my camera to your video display screen.

SO the strategy has to be to find tools that do either the LEAST amount of data modification or at least doesn't ruin the effect the creator is looking for with a video on say YouTube.

I think I found a couple of options and will try test cases for those interested here prolly in this thread. First I went to the two "big" players, Microsoft & DaVinci Resolve. They both work. I hate the MicroSoft Clip Champ philosophy as everything is done in the cloud. You have to be online therefore the data transfer is constricted by your internet connection. Also they are "light" on tools & widgets. BUT they seem to do very little to corrupt the video data. I like that. But Damn are they slow! ( Internet limitations ) Seems they are creeping into a world for Hand held devices where storage is limited therefore the focus on the "cloud"

The Da Vinci resolve has all the tools and widget in the world and can actually do a good job of maintaining data integrity IF you know how to manipulate the projects and output formats etc. Steep learning curve and eventually will need to buy the pro version if you take this route. LOTS of online support. thought. I just ....didn't get along.

Going to evaluate "Light Works" as I have history there from 30 years back in a place far far away... So want to see where they have ended up.

Stumbled onto a "free" editor that is somewhat simple, possibly lacking in widets & tools; but absolutely allows me to tweak the oiutput files to match YouTube or my computer..... OpenShot It's a FREE download open source video editor that will match the DaVinci in file manipulation/output options but has a much easier to learn interface simply because there isn't much there! SO for the light amounts of editing I'll do where basically it's trimming and putting a text label here and there it's perfect. SO will give it a try for a few video's.

It does allow me to take the 8mm and 4k files generated with my camera and boiled them down into an acceptable mp4 file to upload into YouTube which BTW is yet ANOTHER filter between my camera and U, they want file formatted to 1280x720 & 16:9 aspect ratio. THAT when My camera is creating files with twice even 4 x that density

 

[afleetcommand]

SO if any one is watching I uploaded a file in essentially "4K" to YouTube. NO editor, just raw. YouTube for their part converts it in three levels, Standard, High Def, And 4k NOW IF You have a decent internet connect AND you have a higher level graphics card or capability on your computer or what ever you would view this, the video is stunning. Stop and every frame looks like a photograph. If on the other hand you have a slow connection or your computer or smart phone has less than capable graphics...it will look all blurry. I have an older Invidia graphics carb i a Core i7 lap top and the video is smooth, crystal clear and stop anywhere to see real detail on that train. I will post a couple more for "verification" and a few High def & Ultra High ( Samsung concepts ) video's direct from the s23. Goal? To find the lowest level that still provides a good video

 

[bnsf971]

The second video is much better. I am using a Samsung 4k 60hz monitor, with graphics going through an Nvidia RTX3060ti to view it. My internet speed is 300Mb/s.
I was watching in 4k, and everything was much smoother. Almost. I think I found the "jerkiness" cause. Your phone was trying to autofocus and follow individual cars as they moved past you, momentarily following one car, then another, then another.

 

[afleetcommand]

Autofocus could very well be an issue. Any way to "stop" it from doing it's thing?

Here is the last one I did yesterday & tweaked with "Openshot" .... 60fps but just the "hd" vs uhd on the Samsung. Also I found the editor REALLY matter. Found I can manipulate with "Openshot" ( Open source free down load Video Editor ) "OK" but can tailor the output file. This one ran smooth on my system....knock on wood it's something "acceptable" for most. Think the editor plays a big part, especially if you can configure the output file parameters,

 

[bnsf971]

That one seems better, without so much "hunting". I really should watch it on my desktop computer, but it seems good on my laptop, with a 1080 screen, 144hz, and RTX 3060.
If you can't find the setting to keep the phone from trying to track individual cars, maybe you can focus on a single item in the foreground, and let the train pass behind that item. It seemed to focus on the crossing gate when it was in-frame, and didn't try to follow individual cars.

 

[afleetcommand]

Thank you for the feed back! Think I will explore more with that camera setting then. It's tough as what I see in my editor and system prolly isn't what others see. Also will try to see if the dynamic auto focus is something I can tweak. Have to say the editor has turned out to be the 800lbs gorilla in the process for me.

 

[afleetcommand]

So a summary:
( Harkens back to the old Cad/Cam days when I was in that world as a Product Manager )
The Filters that will effect the play back of a video on YouTube:
1) My Camera and the "format" it's capable of creating. In my case with the s23
a) High Definition 30fps & 60fps
b) "Ultra: High Definition & 30fps & 60fps
c) 8mm or 4k
2) Video Editors ability to "map" the input file accurately in it's internal "cyber space" working format
3) VERY Important , the Video Editor's ability to create output files close to or the same as the input file with minimum distotion.
4) YouTube or Rumble's ability to first "map" the file and then produce a graphics out put with minimal distortions.
a) YouTube has the ability to "process" to different levels and also play back to match. REALLY cool, from 720p to 4K
5) The graphics card or device on the "viewing" computer, laptop, or phones ability to display the results be it YouTube or From Editor
a) Internet speed plays a BIG role on the YouTube or Rumble play back
b) A high performance graphics card is essential on my computer/lap top to get smooth and crisp play backs from any input from file to YouTube


SO the quest begins ( actually already started ) to find the right "blend" of settings to allow a good video in MY environment & computer as I'm assuming mine is "typical". My Samsung s23 Ultra actually is WAY better than my Lap Top which is a Dell with an older / early Core i7 Processor and an older iVidia graphics card. I have to force my display programs & editors to use that card as the "default" graphics is the onboard the CPU intel graphics. It sucks but If I can make a video play pretty well on it, it will be good enough anywhere.

SO the three camera settings that make the BEST video on the s23 Ultra are hd 60fps, which is "nice" and smooth, uhd 60fps which is spectacular on the s23, and 8mm which also is grat, just with a small screen it doesn't look better than uhd 60fps and it doesn't have the zoom capabilities either at that video setting. I've settled on hd 60fps for now.

A few video editors work, but the one feature that they MUST possess is the ability to input the higher resolution files, and some DON'T; and just as importantly the ability to out put at least at the same level of definition & frame rate as the input. DaVinci Resolve does, Openshot, and Lightworks ( paid app ) all do. I'm using Openshot for a bit to see if it's adequate for my hd and uhd 60fps files both input and output.

My Computer.....man I want to upgrade! But if I do that, what I see with the "Raw" camera output isn't what I can get thru ALL the "stacked" filters & therefor "Tolerance" stack from camera to YouTube and back to Computer SO same old computer for me as we try "settings" to get the BEST quality video thru put from camera to Play back off YouTube. Rumble doesn't yet have the same "playback" options for the higher quality videos.

 

[afleetcommand]

Took this one Thursday 5-4-2023, THIS video was done simply by taking the raw files from the Samsung s23 Ultra taken with the settings hd60 and added them together with Micro Soft's Clip champ Video Editor. NOTICE the stutter on the first train as the locomotives go past the signal. That is not on the raw file from the Samsung, it was introduced by clip champ. Going to put one up using VideoMaker and then another editor, possibly Openshot to see if I can actually get the same quality on the output as the raw file. But this is a ( pardon the pun) "graphic" demonstration of the "distortions" introduced with an editor. YouTube for it's part faithfully replicated the "stutter"

 

[afleetcommand]

Ok for comparison, the SAME exact set of camera clips, might have jumble the order, but the point is same "source", different out come with a different video editor. This time took those Samsung s23 Ultra video clips and stuck them together with "Openshot", the free open source down load version,

And YouTube yet again processed this up to "High Definition"

 

[afleetcommand]

More testing and I'm getting a better idea of what editors to use & avoid as well....this one OpenShot again. My issue with OpenShot is it is SO SLOW!

 

[bnsf971]

For some unknown reason, the video started at about the 4 minute mark. I had to scroll back to the beginning. Maybe a Youtube glitch?

 

[afleetcommand]

For some unknown reason, the video started at about the 4 minute mark. I had to scroll back to the beginning. Maybe a Youtube glitch?

please try it again. When I went to the YouTube channel direct it ran. So I deleted the link and just pasted the link again. Seems to work for me, ALSO this was recorded and saved from the editor in ultra high definition at 60fps. That could create an issue because of raw amount of data that's required.

 

[afleetcommand]

This one might be too much data for most "lap tops" but works fine on my samsung s23. Video was taken in the "uhd60" and I used Openshot editor and did the output file in 2.5K or 2560 x1440. Very dense and takes a fast internet connection AND a fast video display on the viewing device.

 

[bnsf971]

please try it again. When I went to the YouTube channel direct it ran. So I deleted the link and just pasted the link again. Seems to work for me, ALSO this was recorded and saved from the editor in ultra high definition at 60fps. That could create an issue because of raw amount of data that's required.

Okay, I tried again, and the video starts where it should.

 

[bnsf971]

This one might be too much data for most "lap tops" but works fine on my samsung s23. Video was taken in the "uhd60" and I used Openshot editor and did the output file in 2.5K or 2560 x1440. Very dense and takes a fast internet connection AND a fast video display on the viewing device.

It looks like it came out very good. The overall quality is very good, and those little "stop & grab" micropauses seem to be a lot less. I wonder if there's an app you can use to control zoom from another device. Near the beginning, when you pulled back, the phone zoomed out too quickly, and you had to stop and let the phone settle before continuing zooming out.

 

[afleetcommand]

The zoom is rough as the control on my Samsung s23 Ultra is sliding my finger on the screen. And it steps regardless how I do that. I think with a better video editor I could work to smooth that.

Actually this exercise is going to be expensive for me. I literally have 10 hrs of editing on that because of how slow the editor/computer display and processing is. To have an interactive / real time type experience I will have to radically upgrade my computer. I have a gen 6 i7 right now with minimal 16gb ram , I need at least a gen 12 i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz 2.60 GHz and a LOT more ram along with a much faster graphics card. Right now the mother board/cpu/graphics speed it simply too slow and the ram & memory on my graphics is not enough.