Video dark on TV not dark on Computer

Hi,



I took video using my Cannon HDD VIXIA G20 camera. The video was taken in a coverall indoor riding ring. The coverall is white material/transparent which lets a lot of light (if it is sunny) into the arena. The Easy button was on.



The video looked a bit dark in Premiere Elements 7. However after I burned the DVD it looks really dark (some parts you can't see the horse moving (the horse also happens to be white and grey with black leg wraps)when played back on a DVD player attached to a TV.



When I play it back on my computer using Windows Media player it looks fine not dark at all.



What can I do to fix this problem when viewing on the TV.



Thanks in advance for your help



Sarah
Video dark on TV not dark on Computer
Well, I suppose you could lighten it in Premiere Elements.



Although, if it looks fine on your computer but not on your TV, that might indicate that the TV is the problem.



But that depends. How does the original footage look when you plug your camcorder into your TV and play that?



Assuming you captured the video using Premiere Elements (and not some third-party device) the DVD should look almost identical to the original footage, when both are viewed on the same TV.
Video dark on TV not dark on Computer
Steve's suggestion to plug in the camera to the TV is the first place to start. One possiblity, not mentioned is that both your TV and your monitor are incorrect.



Most TV's have the factory default settings applied. Ninety-nine percent have never been calibrated. The same can be said for computer monitors.



Just as with print workflow, one needs to calibrate every step of the way, from camera, to computer monitor to the TV. However, here is the problem. If you use an NTSC calibrated TV monitor to do your Levels, and Color Correction, but your audience has never bothered to calibrate their TV, all you have done is produce the best possible output. It may, or may not, work well on the masses' TV's, and there is nothing that one can do about that.



If a client tells me that the DVD looks ''off color,'' or ''too dark/light,'' then I either offer to bring my calibration disc to their office, or suggest that they hire a professional in their area to calibrate their TV monitors. Once done, I know that my DVD will look correct, because I have already tested it on a calibrated NTSC system.



Sorry for the possibly bad news. Do try Steve's test first, as it will yield a better picture (no pun intended), of how your camera's output looks on it. If it looks good on the camera's little monitor, and on your TV, then look to your computer's monitor settings.



Hunt

HI,



As far as capture. I transfer it by pluging in the camera to my computer USB cord and going to the drive and clicking on the drive that is on the camera. I don't transfer like I did with my old sony handicam using a firewire.



This is the second video I have done with this camera. The first one was also taken in an indoor ring but without windows so no outside light.



Did both of them the same way and played both of them on the same TV and the first one (indoor) looked fine.



As far as calibrating TV's the video's I do are for horse people who for the most part can send and read e-mail (this describes their level of technology knowledge).



I just looked at it on the camera and it looks fine on the camera. I will play around a bit and get back to you.

HI,



As far as capture. I transfer it by pluging in the camera to my computer USB cord and going to the drive and clicking on the drive that is on the camera. I don't transfer like I did with my old sony handicam using a firewire.



This is the second video I have done with this camera. The first one was also taken in an indoor ring but without windows so no outside light.



Did both of them the same way and played both of them on the same TV and the first one (indoor) looked fine.



As far as calibrating TV's the video's I do are for horse people who for the most part can send and read e-mail (this describes their level of technology knowledge).



I just looked at it on the camera and it looks fine on the camera. I will play around a bit and get back to you.

I'm not clear what you're saying, Sarah. Are you saying that when you play the camcorder through your TV it looks different than when you play your DVD made of the video through your TV?



If you're using Windows Explorer to get the files from your camcorder to the computer (and not another piece of capture software) I know if no reason this would happen. Premiere Elements will not change the video levels.

Ok,



I use Image Mixer 3 (which came with the camera) to get the video from the camera to my computer. Have tried using Primiere but it won't work for the video.



I have taken two video's with this new camera. The first was in an indoor arena with no windows only extra light are the big lights overhead. When this is played on the TV it looks fine not dark at all. It looks just like it does on the computer.



The second video was taken at the coverall with natural light coming through the transparent covering. This looks fine on the computer but on the TV it looks really dark. I did plug in the camera to the TV and it looks really dark on the TV. The other video on the camera doesn't look dark at all.



So am puzzled why two videos taken with the same camera look fine on the computer and one looks fine on the tv and the other looks very dark. I have looked at them on two different TV's one older one with tin foil on its antena's :) and mine which is about two years old with the same results.



So the calibration thing may be true but why is one ok to view and the other isn't?



tks sarah

I think all indications are that Image Mixer is at the root of this problem. It's never a good idea to capture with one program and edit with another, unless you're capturing DV-AVIs, which you are not. Otherwise, you risk that the capture program is converting the file somehow, which Image Mixer apparently is.



Try using the Get Media function in Premiere Elements to get the video from your camcorder.



Otherwise, use Image Mixer exclusively (assuming it has DVD burning abilities). Use one program or the other, but don't mix them.

Is it possible that in the dark video, the camera was reacting to a background that was brighter than your subject? For example, was the white portion of the coverall visible in the shot? Unless you activate backlight compensation, the camera will try to set an average level.... including the bright background. That will make your subject look too dark.



Paul

Yes the background is white and that thought has occured to me because the coverall is a transparrent white cover from about six feet off the ground, over the top. But why then does it look fine on the computer and on the camera and only dark on the TV?



Am also checking with Cannon



Thanks will get back



Sarah

Again, the main question is: Does the video look different when you play it from the camcorder into the TV than it does when you play it from the DVD?



Otherwise, we're comparing apples to oranges.

The video looks dark when played from both the DVD and the TV. But looks fine when the DVD is played back on my computer.



This is what Cannon said



This camcorder does not record Standard Definition videos. However you will be able to connect this camcorder to a standard TV set. In Playback mode, in order to display the picture in full and in the correct aspect ratio, select the setting according to the type of television to which you will connect the camcorder. TV sets with 4:3 (standard) aspect ratio, or 16:9 (HD) aspect ratio. The Recording System is AVCHD format: 1. Video compression: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264. 2. Audio compression: Dolby Digital 2ch. You will be able to down-convert using video editing software to save your video to a standard DVD disc.



I checked to make sure that I didn't change the Standard 48kHz which I did't and when I played back on the TV I had it set to 4.3.

Are commercial DVD movies dark as well when playing back on your DVD player connected to your TV? Your TV and DVD player may have the black levels incorrectly set. The DVD player should have a setting under the video menu for black levels. Change it to the opposite of what it is and see if that makes it lighter or darker. You may also need to adjust the contrast and brightness on the TV.



On my system, video in Windows Media Player looks darker than it does in Premiere Elements. You stated just the opposite.

Sarah, I'm not sure how to ask this question again to make it more clear -- but how does the DVD playback on your TV compare to your camcorder's playback on your TV? That is the most crucial comparison.



And, if there is significant difference between the two (Again, we're just interested in your TV's playback from two different sources; not your computer's), then you need to consider calibrating your DVD player (as Robert recommends) or exploring other ways to capture your video.



But until you compare your DVD playback, on your TV, to your camcorder's playback, on your TV, we have nothing to work with.

Sorry I thought I had posted it.



Pluging the camera into the TV the video is dark for this particular video with the white/natural light coming through/coverall indoor arena.



Playing the DVD on the TV the video is dark for this particular video with the white/natural light coming through/coverall indoor arena.



However other video taken in a different indoor arena played back on the same TV is not dark



Also this same other video on a DVD taken in different indoor arena played back on the same TV is not dark.



After you all's input and some from Cannon I am thinking the issue is the white background of the coverall and the amount of natural light that came into the arena and I needed to adjust the white ballance on the camera in that setting before taking the video?

Rather than white balance, you can first check to see if the camcorder has a backlight setting. Most do. It's a setting that tells the camcorder to lighten the darker areas instead of setting its lens to the bright background light.

Will do in the future. Is there anything I can do now in Premiere 7 to fix this or at least make it better? tks

You can try apply the Shadow/Highlight effect. This effect reduces the extremes and bright and dark and can bring out the details in this kind of image.

thanks will give it a try sarah :)

Hi,



It works thanks the dvd is much brighter now.



Sarah

:) !