Loss of Quality after Export to iPhone (Final Cut Pro)

Question

Loss of Quality after Export to iPhone (Final Cut Pro)

I am new to fcp (about a week or so) and I am trying to export videos to post them to Tik Tok. When i view the videos on my computer, they look great. The quality of the clips before importing them and during editing (on my phone, comp, and fcp) look perfect. However after I export, when I play them on my iPhone, they are a bit grainy - post export is the only time I am having quality issues. I have attached screen shots showing the difference in quality.

NOTE: I had to use Wide Gamut HDR as I recorded in HDR by mistake. I have also attached a clip of the export settings - the error message says "Using an 8 bit codec with HDR content may affect video quality". However, in the past, I used 'standard' not wide gamut and was still having the same exact loss of quality issue. So i do not think the error is related to the loss of quality.

Sorry if this is a lot of information. I have tried watching many YouTube videos on this, but honestly, it is like reading instructions in a foreign language. I appreciate any recommendations or feedback.

Just trying to get to the bottom of this so I can have cleaner videos on mobile post export.

MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.5

Posted on Sep 21, 2022 06:24 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Sep 21, 2022 02:11 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Hi Tom - I took the footage on my iPhone 12, vertically.

I am using a MacBook Pro -, OS: Mac OS Big Sur 11.5.2

Exporting to ProRes is not an option for me right now - usually I think i do see that option.

thank you for the help! dying to sort this out

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Answer 2

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,700 points

Sep 21, 2022 02:40 PM in response to mustsaveferris

There will be some loss in changing the color space from HDR to standard Rec 709. The shift in the color of the white plate in the first images is some indication of how the image is being transformed.

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Answer 3

Sep 21, 2022 02:43 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

OK - Another comment - not sure if this will help narrow down the issue. The video looks perfect in quicktime player after export. It's only when I send the video to my phone and watch it on mobile does it look grainy.

THANKS :)

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Answer 4

Sep 21, 2022 03:42 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I am just watching them on my phone - I save them to my desktop on my Mac then iMessage it to myself on my phone. I either watch the video by clicking it thru the message or by saving the attachment and watching it from my photos library

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Answer 5

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,700 points

Sep 21, 2022 03:45 PM in response to mustsaveferris

Did you message it. Try AirDrop.

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Answer 6

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,700 points

Sep 21, 2022 07:13 AM in response to mustsaveferris

Try making a Rec 709 project and putting a couple of clips like this one in it. Use HDR Tools to convert the clips to 709. Try exporting that and see if it's any better.

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Answer 7

Sep 21, 2022 07:21 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Hi Tom - Thank you - I already tried that method and quality after export is still grainy. This has happened in every project I have created (whether there have been HDR clips or not)

Thanks!

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