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Elgato Movies Look great on PC but Terrible on my iMac? Why?

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So I have been experimenting to try and find why my converted Elgato videos look like garbage on my iMac. 2018 27" 3.8 GHZ.
So I went ahead and converted the same footage on my PC and it looks totally different and better. No grain or blurriness. So why do converted videos on my iMac look like crap compared to my 4 year old PC laptop?

All Elgato settings being equal on both. When I play the PC mp4 on the Mac it looks great too. But when converted on the Mac, garbage. I really don't want to use my laptop to convert these.

Thanks.
 

Slydude

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What is the screen resoluton of the PC's display? If it is set lower than the resolution of your iMac it's closer to the resolution of the original video footage. That would make the video look better.
 
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Is your iMac 4K or 5K?
 
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5K. But when the coverted PC file plays on the Mac it looks fine. Its only when I convert it on the Mac. So what can I do to rectify this.

- - - Updated - - -

So do I need to lower my Mac resolution when converting the files?
 

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What does a file converted on the Mac look like when it is played on the PC? This of course assumes that the conversion sttings are the same on both machines.
 
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What are the settings for the movie? Width Height?
 
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the Mac converted file plays on the PC the same way: Crappy. So It is definitely files converted via Mac that are crappy. Used 4:3 and 16:9 same results. No matter which settings I use on Elgato all the results are the same. Mac version are blurry and PC versions are clear.
 

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You are using Elgato software on both the Mac and the PC to do the converting?
 

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I'm a bit confused over what Elgato actually does in your case. Can you describe your process? I get that you use their software to convert your source to mp4 then you playback the source on what? What format is it in to begin with? The reason I ask is because Elgato may not be very Mac friendly. You may have more success with VLC or an app I use called Smart Converter. Innocuous name I know but I have been doing MKV and AVI batch conversions with the Pro 2 version and its flawless.


Sent from my iPhone
 

dtravis7


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I'm a bit confused over what Elgato actually does in your case. Can you describe your process? I get that you use their software to convert your source to mp4 then you playback the source on what? What format is it in to begin with? The reason I ask is because Elgato may not be very Mac friendly. You may have more success with VLC or an app I use called Smart Converter. Innocuous name I know but I have been doing MKV and AVI batch conversions with the Pro 2 version and its flawless.


Sent from my iPhone

Rod, Elgato makes video capture cards. Way back they made the software the the Plextor ConvertX which I own. I bought it to digitize VHS tapes to movie files on the computer. The software I use that came with it is made by Elgato. You have to use that software to convert the files to a format anything can read. Here is a URL to their Mac capture device. They also make PC Capture cards also.

Video Capture | elgato.com

I seem to remember some issues converting but it's been so long since I have needed to convert a VHS tape to say MP4 or AVI I forget.

I will see if I can fire up my capture device and try to duplicate the OP's issue.
 
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Thx Dennis. That is correct Rod. Anyway Elgato's customer service has been outstanding. But, they have not solved my issue so Unfortunately it looks as if I will have to use my PC to convert everything which I am not happy about. I have a brand new $3000 top of the line iMac and I have to use a 5 yr old laptop. Seriously?
 

dtravis7


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Paul, what format is the Elgato software converting to? MP4? AVI? Can you change it?
 
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The reason, could be where the data is originating from. How old is the device you are converting them from? The winOS PC, has older tech, that works better with the Elgato.
 
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It converts them to h.256 mpeg4 which is supposedly the highest quality. Im beginning to wonder if it is my source. Its a Sony Digital Hi8 Handi Cam via Svideo. Interestingly when I covert with my old SVHS I don't get this all, actually looks better on Mac. But with the Sony cam its the opposite.
 
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I believe that Hi8 resolution is only 640X480, so it's not going to look great. Play the imported file with Quicktime and open the Movie Inspector to see what size the movie window is. Resize it to 640x480 to get a true appreciation as to the quality.
 

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