Final Cut Pro Output Quality

I am trying to mask out some information (SSN) on a screen captured avi file using FCP. I can mask out the information using a gaussian blur just fine, but when I go to save and recreate the video file, the final version looks like crap. It is no where near as crisp and clean as the original file. The rest of the text is barely readable. Can anyone help as this is supposed to be on the director's desk by noon tomorrow. The original file is 114mb and as sharp as a knife.

I have tried several ways - by exporting it thru QT Conversion back into an avi file, and I have also tried exporting it to Compressor as an mp4. But as I said, the quality just is not there.

Thanks in Advance, and remember to vote. Doesnt matter who you vote for, just vote for who you believe in!!

Shawn

This geniusdv link might be helpful. I thought there was something like that in FCP, but I think that was for copying back to tape. You could look at your Sequence --> 'Settings...' and the 'Render Control' tab.

Also, I'd avoid using AVI files and would have converted it to something friendlier to FCP. It's just an opinion, but from seeing other messages, it seems using AVI files can cause problems.

You didn't say what format (AVI is generic) and size the original file is or what you were exporting to. Maybe either of those are issues. Also, the export bit rate you use has a large influence on quality.

As for voting, remember that many many people here are from many places around the world. Perhaps the majority of people reading your post don't have a vote tomorrow, assuming you are referring to the U.S. election.