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I was helping my mother's friend test iMovie on an eMac 1.25ghz and I was truly disappointed with:

1) TITLES were awful - quite fuzzy, not clean and crisp.

2) The picture quality. I've seen the same footage off the same MiniDV handycam on a DVD made with Pinnacle Studio (9.0?) and it looks fantastic. Sharp, brilliant picture. With iMovie, I exported to a QuickTime movie using the highest setting and it was very disappointing.

Am I missing something? Are there settings I need to be aware of?

The camera is a Sony HandyCam DCRPC330 (3.3-Megapixel):

Imaging Device: 1/3", 3310K Gross Pixels, Advanced HAD CCD

Video Actual: 2048K Pixels

Still Actual: 3040K Pixels

Aperture: f1.8-2.1

Focal Distance: 5.1 - 51mm

35mm Conversion: 45 - 450mm (Camera Mode), 37 - 370mm (Memory Mode)

Filter Diameter: 37mm

Optical Zoom: 10X

Digital Zoom: 120X

Focusing: Full Range Auto/Manual (Touch Panel)

Minimum Illumination: 7 Lux (0 Lux with NightShot Infrared System)

NightShot Infrared System: Super NightShot, Color Slow Shutter

Shutter Speed: 1/4-1/4000 (AE Mode)

Memory Mode: Yes, 2016 x 1512, 640 x 480

MPEG Movie Mode: Yes, 320 x 240, 160 x 112

Viewfinder: Precision Color (180K)

LCD: 2.5" Precision Color (211K Pixels)

Accessory Shoe: Yes (Intelligent)

Video Input/Output: Yes/Yes (Special and S-Video A/V)

Audio Input/Output: Yes/Yes (Stereo, Special)

i.LINK DV Interface (IEEE1394): Yes

USB Terminal: Yes

Memory Stick PRO Media Compatibility: Tested to support up to 1GB media capacity; does not support high speed transfer function; does not support Access Control security function

USB Streaming: Yes

Headphone Jack: Yes (Mini, Stereo)

Mic-Input: Yes (Stereo)

White Balance: Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, Hold

Exposure: Yes/Touch Panel (24 Step)

Software OS Compatibility: Microsoft Windows 98SE, 2000, Me, XP; Macintosh 8.5.1 - 9.1, X (10.0, 10.1, 10.2)

Power Consumption (VF/LCD/VF+LCD): 3.4W/3.9W/4.2W

Dimensions (WHD): 2 3/8" x 4 3/4" x 4 1/2" (59mm x 119mm x 113mm)

Weight: 1 lb. 3 oz. (540g) without Tape and Battery

Supplied Accessories: AC-L15 Power Adapter/In Camera Charger, NP-FM30 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery, 16MB Memory Stick Media, RMT-831 Wireless Remote Commander Remote Control, 2 AA Batteries, A/V Cable, Lens Cap, Lens Hood, USB Cable, LCD Cleaning Cloth, CD-ROM w/Driver (Pixela ImageMixer Software Ver. 1.5 for Sony)

Optional Accessories: AC-SQ950D AC Quick Charger for Super Quick Batteries, NP-QM71D/91D Super Quick High Capacity InfoLithium Batteries, NP-FM50/70/90 High Capacity InfoLithium Batteries, MSA-16/32/64/128A Memory Stick Media, MSA-128S2 Memory Stick Media with Memory Select Function, MSX-256/512/1GB Memory Stick PRO Media, HVL-IRH2 NightShot Infrared Light, HVL-S3D Video Light

Battery Life(Battery(Fully charged): Rec Time VF/LCD/VF+LCD,

Playback Time LCD On/Off): NP-FM30: 95/80/70 min, 110/135 min; NP-FM50: 155/130/120 min, 180/220 min; NP-FM70: 320/270/250 min, 370/450 min; NP-QM71D: 375/315/290 min, 430/530 min; NP-QM91D: 565/475/445 min, 645/785 min

Memory Mode(Memory Stick Media: Fine/Std 2016 x 1512, Fine/Std 640 x 480): 8MB: 5/12, 50/120; 16MB: 10/24, 96/240; 32MB: 20/48, 190/485; 64MB: 40/98, 390/980; 128MB: 82/195, 780/1970; 256MB: 145/355, 1400/3550; 512MB: 300/720, 2850/7200; 1GB: 890/1450, 5900/14,500

MPRG Movie EX Mode(Memory Stick Media: Email Mode (160 x 112), Presentation Mode (320 x 240)): 8MB: 5m 20s, 1m 20s; 16MB: 10m 40s, 2m 40s; 32MB: 21m 20s, 5m 20s; 64MB: 42m 40s, 10m 40s; 128MB: 1h 25m 20s, 21m 20s; 256MB: 2h 50m 40s, 42m 40s; 512MB: 5h 41m 20s, 1h 25m 20s; 1GB: 11h 22m 40s, 2h 50m 40s

MannyP Design

First off, iMovie uses the Apple .DV format -- it's limited to 720 x 480 screen resolution and has two ways of viewing the footage -- simple, and high quality.

Try checking your prefs and make sure you're running it at high quality -- if it isn't, you'll see a "draft" quality that looks very fuzzy. I believe this view is/was used for lower-end PowerMacs.

The high quality setting is also available in Quicktime in the Movie Properties.