Mavic Air 4k footage - trees/grass looks pixelated

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

{updated on Mon 16th with some details!}

Wanted to get your help and thoughts on part of one of my projects (work in progress!) where the footage of grass / trees looks pixelated in places. This is the case when I view the raw video file (mp4) taken off the SD card and played on my PC (i.e. all before uploading to YouTube)

I shot (using my Mavic AIr) some footage last week of my house (4k / 3840 x 2160 / 24fps). I edited it Da Vinci Resolve v15. Before importing my media I set my project to be this same resolution as I always do. I shot in D-Cinelike mode also using a ND-4 filter.

Note - For post processing - I just added some contrast/saturation and I also applied a LUT but the issue was present before I did that.

Can anyone explain why at 00:16s the grass looks pixelated ??

Also (while I'm here) - I've uploaded the video to YouTube as 4k (2160p) but it only shows as 1080p - why is this ? I've noticed this with other recent uploads too.

Let me know if you need more information / details !

Thanks - Ro

 

[BenF]

YouTube will auto adjust to the capability of ones system.
My GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card is hooked to a Samsung S27B350.
It can play 3840x2178 videos. I'm not sure of the upper limit.
Suppose it depends on what the codec/GPU/monitor combination is on the system in question.
Here is your video, played on my system. The screen capture was reduced 50% in windows paint editor.

The pixelation is caused by the H265 decoding process. Some codecs are better than others.
On a big pure blue sky (Using VNC player), I will see blocks of fuzzyness every once in awhile on my PC, but played through
my Apple TV on the 55" plasma , the picture is perfect. Same file, different codecs/GPU/monitors

 

[RonanCork]

Hey Guys,

Sorry - had accidentally deleted the video link (Monday morning brain!) - it's back up now.

Thanks Ro

 

[RonanCork]

YouTube will auto adjust to the capability of ones system.
My GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card is hooked to a Samsung S27B350.
It can play 3840x2178 videos. I'm not sure of the upper limit.
Suppose it depends on what the codec/GPU/monitor combination is on the system in question.
Here is your video, played on my system. The screen capture was reduced 50% in windows paint editor.
View attachment 81746
The pixelation is caused by the H265 decoding process. Some codecs are better than others.
On a big pure blue sky (Using VNC player), I will see blocks of fuzzyness every once in awhile on my PC, but played through
my Apple TV on the 55" plasma , the picture is perfect. Same file, different codecs/GPU/monitors

Hey BenF,

Thanks for the reply.

- Re the screenshot you showed me - did you mean it looks REALLY pixelated all the time from how you view it ? So In Da Vinci Resolve (v15) it's using the H264 codec (H265 doesn't seem to be listed) from what I can see (when I fill in the details on the "Delivery" tab when I'm about to publish my video. What I meant to say also is that it looks pixelated when I play it on my LG 4k tv (via a USB key with the mp4 file on it. Am in work now but tonight I can get the details on my PC and GPU (though it's an old Lenovo so the playback in resolve isn't great itself.

- Re 4k not showing on YouTube: The video in fact did seem to upload as 4k, sometimes it doesn't.

Thanks again - Ro

 

[RonanCork]

Hi Guys,

So an update on this:

I went back into Da Vinci Resove (DVR) v15 last night and confirmed that the pixelation is NOT present in the original raw videos - i.e. those taken off the drone's sd card and then played (using VLC) on the laptop (before any post production)

So I did a couple of things (after researching):

Step 1 (Importing): I originally shot at 4k in 24fps. When I look at the raw video (off the sd card), if I right click > properties I see the frame rate is "23.976". So I then (in DVR) set my project to be this exact frame rate and the imported my media. All good. Happy days.

Step 2 (Delivering): In DVR on the "Delivery" tab I tried 2 things:
- I exported (for YouTube) my video as 2160p (4k) with bit rate of 35000
- I exported (for YouTube) my video as 1080p with bit rate of 8000

Looking an YouTube's recommended upload settings, I got the bit rate suggestions

Result:

- The 4k one was crystal clear and showed very little if any pixelation (large file size though)
- The 1080p one was quite clear but did show pixelation (not tool large file size)

I know it's an age old problem - file size v quality. I'd love to get your thoughts on it. Should I update as 4k ?

Actually I'd love to do a poll on what resolution you guys do upload to YouTube. Do you know can anyone "start" a poll ?

Thanks Ro

 

[Dakarenduro]

1080p, matches my helmet cams (although they can do a weird 1440p).

 

[MavicFlyer]

I've uploaded the video to YouTube as 4k (2160p) but it only shows as 1080p - why is this ? I've noticed this with other recent uploads too.

I've uploaded 4K videos to YouTube many times. When you go to view your upload, it shows a max resolution of 1080p, initially, but after a few hours, the 4K version becomes available.