Solved 4k clips very grainy and blurry

Hi
I am new to this forum business so I will try and provide as much info as possible regarding an issue I have with Movie Studio Platinum 13.
I recently purchased a Sony 4k camcorder (FDR-AX53) and have started to edit the 4k clips in Movie Studio Platinum 13. When I finished the edit, I did the usual ‘Make Movie” to a DVD (I don’t have a 4k TV as yet). During playback, in some scenes where, for example you have a bunch of trees or plants swaying in the background, the trees are quite ‘grainy and blurry’ although the foreground vision is not too bad. Indoor footage seems ok, although I haven’t gone through it all as yet.
I know that the issue is not with the original clips, as I can play them back on the camera, and also on the TV (by connecting up the camera directly to the TV), so I’m a bit ‘puzzled’ as to what to do.
Has anyone come across this sort of situation before?
I have a Windows 10 64-bit desktop with 16GB of RAM and a core I7 processor.

Hi lawry_cec

If you invested in a 4K camera, don't use DVD! DVD is old Standard Definition technology.
DVD only supports up to 480i Standard Definition video - this is only 1/16th the resolution of your 4K video.

You should be using Blu-ray disc, which supports up to 1080i HD video.

Another thing you should do, is make sure Re-Sampling is turned OFF for all your videos on the timeline.
Right-click videos as soon as you import them onto the timeline and go to Switches - Disable Re-Sample.
This will reduce Motion Blur for fast moving objects.

Make sure when you import your 4K video, that you use the Match Media function.
This makes sure your Project Properties are set to 4K resolution.
You can then render to lower resolutions when you use the Make Movie/export function.

Please watch my beginners guide tutorial if you have not already done so.
Beginners Guide for Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13 (How to Use)

When you import your 4K video, you would have noticed that the program renders Proxy Versions of your video, before you can begin editing.
This creates easier to play versions of your videos just for editing.
When it is time to export your movie, the program uses the original 4K versions.

You may like to watch both these tutorials I made:
Zen Tip #1: Why Does My Video Look Blurry in Sony Vegas?
Zen Tip #3: Why Is The Preview Window Lagging So Much in Sony Vegas?

Regards
Derek

Hi Derek
Thank you for the prompt response.
I will try out the 'Blu-Ray' option, and let you know how it goes.
Most of the other suggestions I had already done (after watching your 'how to use MSP 13'.
Thanks again
Lawry Cec

Hi Derek
Thank you again so much for taking the time to analyse and make suggestions to the documented issue.
Whilst I did try your various suggestions, they did not seem to make a difference.
Fortunately though, whilst I was tinkering around with the project, I did notice that this 'recoverable error' message was coming up a on a few different occasions. So I updated the display driver and bingo, the problem looks to have been resolved - not that I can make any connection between the display driver's health and the quality of the output from MS13, but there you go!!!!
Thank you again, and I'll be sure to keep a close eye on the stuff on any new stuff that you put out - any knowledge is always welcome.
Lawrence Cecconello

Hi Derek
I think I've located the issue ... looks like it was a faulty / out-of-date display driver which was causing the issue. The DVD output is looking much better since I updated it.
On the flip side, I haven't been able to successfully burn a Blu-ray as yet.
When I go thru the 'make movie' process, it gets to the end of rendering, and then fails with the following error.

Could not find file 'E:\MultiMedia\Audiovisual\SONY'..Status: MUXComp:Validating error. --- Cannot load the schema for the namespace ' tempuri.org/ProjectDefinition.xsd '.

I've even tried to burn a very small project onto a Blu-Ray, but it comes up with this error, even on a small file.
Cheers
Lawrence

I have never heard of that error before, so have no idea what it means, however the Windows Explorer address you quoted is a bit unusual.

E:\MultiMedia\Audiovisual\SONY'..Status: MUXComp:Validating error.

How many Hard Drives are installed on your computer ?
A basic computer has one C-Drive only.
All folder addresses should start with C:

If you had 2x Hard Drives, the 2nd drive would normally be located at , in which case some folder locations would start with
Your address starting with E:, indicates a 3rd Hard Drive or External Hard Drive.
Do you have an External Hard Drive connected to your computer ?

Was this a brand new project started on this PC ?
or
Is this an old project made with different computer and opened on new computer ?
Because that may explain E: folder address.

Which exact Make Movie option are you using ?
Are you trying to burn a Blu-ray disc direct from timeline using 1. Make Movie/Burn it to a DVD or Blu-ray disc/Blu-ray disc
or
2. Make Movie/Burn it to a DVD or Blu-ray disc/Blu-ray disc with Menus
or
3. Make Movie/Save to Hard Drive/Advanced Options/then rendering a separate video and audio file ?

I will wait for your answers to all these questions before commenting more.

Hi Derek
Thank you again for getting back to me.
I will try and answer your questions as bets I can.
I have 2 hard drives on this desktop. the 'C' drive is an SSD which houses the operating system and a few other bits and pieces, and the 'E' drive is a normal 2TB SATA drive where I keep all the audio visual stuff. The 'D' drive, as it happens, is the CD / DVD / Blu-Ray drive.

It's a completely new project that I've started on this computer - actually it's the first project since I've moved to MS13, using 4k video clips.

When I get the nominated error I'm using the 'Make Movie' menu option --> Burn to DVD or Blu-Ray --> Blu-Ray Disc.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Lawrence

Thanks for the replies!

Now that I know that E:\MultiMedia\Audiovisual\SONY.... belongs to YOU, it seems that something you have added to the project is causing the problem.
Out of all the media you have added to the timeline, which item lives at this address ? E:\MultiMedia\Audiovisual\SONY

You must know what is in this folder, since it is yours.
Locate what this is and try removing it from the timeline and then re-importing it.
Make sure to save a NEW copy of your project first, using SAVE AS and save to NEW folder location with slightly different name.

I would also recommend doing a reset for the program.
This is safe to do and will not delete any of your saved projects.
It will remove any corrupted files from the temporary Movie Studio files cache.
Following instructions here:
www.moviestudiozen.com/doctor-zen-faq/573-how-to-reset-sony-software-to-default-settings

When people have problems burning a DVD or Blu-ray directly from the timeline, I recommend you STOP using this method and use a more advanced method for creating discs. The more advanced method will break everything down into different steps, so that you can at least progress through each step separately, before you get to the actual burning stage.

Try this method instead:
www.moviestudiozen.com/free-tutorials/dvd-architect-studio-50/528-how-to-render-video-dvd-bluray-menus-sony-movie-studio-platinum
This will render the audio and video first, then you will send it to DVDA to complete the disc.

Hi Derek
I will certainly try out your suggestions, but what I also previously tried was to remove basically everything except for 1 text event and 1 small 4k clip, and still got the error.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Cheers
Lawrence

If you Google Search "MUXComp:Validating error", you will find some results and for this error.