Converting 480p videos to 720p or 1080p

[PantherPaul]

We've just successfully converted several old mini8 and Hi8 video tapes to .mp4 files. The native resolution on the videos is 480p.

Is there a good method to convert these files to 720p or 1080p without losing much clarity? We know any conversion above the original 480p will result in some quality degradation, but we're just looking for some avenues to try.

We've dropped these files into iMovie and exported to 720p. Results aren't bad, but seems like we can do better. Are there any methods that others have tried with better success that we may have overlooked. Convert through Final Cut Pro? Premiere? or maybe Media Encoder?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Horsa]

Hi Paul,

I can't guarantee that the results will be any better, but in my experience MPEG Streamclip does a very reliable job of transcoding pretty much anything. Its very easy to use and has lots of customisable settings.

Squared 5 - MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac OS X

 

[PantherPaul]

Thanks. I'll give MPEG StreamClip a try.

 

[Slydude]

@PantherPaul What version of the OS are you running? I personally love MPEG Streamclip but it has not run easily in the last several OS versions.

HandBrake will do the conversion just as well and works under the current OS. If you use one of the presets it's fairly easy to use.

 

[PantherPaul]

Catalina 10.5.3. Thanks for the input. I'll give HandBrake a shot.

 

[Slydude]

There are also a number of converterters available in the APP Store. Some are free and some paid. I haven't looked at that segment of software in some time. I can tell you that many of the programs rely on the same conversion binaries even though the interface of some of these programs looks quite different.

×

 

[chscag]

Hey Sly:

The "x" is back. We need to figure what's causing that with certain replies you make.

Charlie

 

[IWT]

Hey Sly:

The "x" is back. We need to figure what's causing that with certain replies you make.

Charlie

I wasn’t sure whether the x meant Sly was cross, in love or wanted to remain anonymous

Ian

 

[Horsa]

Catalina 10.5.3.

Ah... alas, MPEG Streamclip hasn't been updated since 2012, so it'll be 32-bit. Won't run under Catalina.

 

[Slydude]

Hey Sly:

The "x" is back. We need to figure what's causing that with certain replies you make.

Charlie

I've started a list of threads that have the x in my posts and those that don't. Haven't really figured out a pattern yet so I'm not sure it will help.

 

[RavingMac]

Perhaps it just marks the spot . . .

 

[BobHas]

What is the purpose of the transcoding? You can not get more detail or resolution than is in the original.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

What is the purpose of the transcoding? You can not get more detail or resolution than is in the original.

Agreed. You can transcode the original format into other formats, but you are not going to generate additional pixels to go from 480 to 720 or 1080. If you DO force a resolution change, that's going to either change the aspect ratio or make the output ugly to look at. I equate this to using a high definition TV and watching the standard definition channels, the quality is really bad because those channels are broadcasting in 480i, not even p (for progressive).

 

[lclev]

Ashwin is correct - you can not add pixels to 480 video. If iMovie is working okay stick with it.

At work we currently record our services in SD - 480p. We use to encode it as an mpeg file for our local TV station. They recently upgraded to new servers that uses HD quality mp4 files. I can encode our output as an mp4 file and push it a bit to get 1280x720 but it is very soft. What is really interesting is that their service for steaming programs is still set for SD quality. Not sure how that is working for them yet as this was just put in this past week.

Anyway - I use Premiere Pro CC. I have also used Handbrake - which I love. One cost a lot and the other is free.

Just my 2 cents!

Lisa

 

[Lifeisabeach]

As the others have pointed out, you can't increase the resolution if the resolution isn't there. That said, I did a little reading and found a discussion in another forum that may be worth reviewing. In a nutshell, you should be capturing 720x480 at a high bitrate (7000 kb/sec). I'd wager that the bitrate is where you may have more room for quality improvement.
Capture resolution question? - VideoHelp Forum

 

[BobHas]

I think my question is what resolution you can produce in. If you have a an SD camera that is all the resolution you can get. You can upscale it to more bits, but there is no more detail or sharpness. If you are using a higher res camera, or if you are creating content by other means like computer generation you should be able to produce it at the higher resolution to start with.