<p>I had the same issue with image quality for a 4K video I was trying to produce. I found that for my situation the image was always very blurry upon an export, so I had to change the Format and Preset. A very nice 4K format that enabled my images to turn out crispy is the <em>H.264</em> which is quite widely used, and already has a built in default <em>YouTube 2160p 4K</em> preset which works well. Once you select this you can compare how the output will look against the source formatting by switching between <em>Source</em> and <em>Output</em>. Eventually, you can tune the default preset and make your own in order to get a nice 4K video out of the application.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/i4Knk.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/i4Knk.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-11T20:56:34.350Z
2016-09-11T20:56:34.350Z
Alexandru
<p>That looks more like a 'field' from the video, rather than a frame -- jagged diagonals are the tell.</p>

<p>If your video is interlaced, you may only get half the vertical resolution in a still, unless you specifically set it to output a full frame. Check the export settings.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-21T21:34:01.430Z
sorry for the delay and thanks for the answer - im afraid i dont know how to translate your advice into specific settings though, so i have edited the question to show you what settings i use (that produce poor stills still)
Cel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-31T12:33:41.237Z
found the settings needed now, please see final edit. thanks!
Cel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-25T10:18:25.920Z
2013-04-25T10:18:25.920Z
Jim Mack
<p>This is the actual <strong>source image</strong> to a video track in Premiere (a PNG):
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/NiZYL.jpg" alt="decentqualityinput" /></p>
<p>With no resizing whatsoever, and .flv output, this is a <strong>resultant frame</strong> from the exported video:
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/wg7j4.png" alt="poorqualityoutput" /></p>
<h3>How could I improve the output quality, especially the text?</h3>
<p>What settings should I use</p>
<ul>
<li>I've tried to max out pretty much everything in the FLV export settings.</li>
<li>And now I moved to MP4 output with H.264 encoding, but still get poor quality stills.</li>
<li>Here are the MP4 Export settings, what should I change?</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Bcutp.png" alt="MP4-poor" /></p>
<h3>Solution</h3>
<p>Inspired from the answers, turns out that have to set the source to Progressive when creating a New Sequence (instead of Fields: Upper)</p>
<ul>
<li>this is why I did not get better results whatever my configuration once I had created a sequence with Fields set to Upper</li>
<li>and this is why the following settings for my next project, yielded good stills
<ul>
<li>although also using higher resolution, so not sure high that plays into the test results</li>
<li>H.264 / MP4 Export settings otherwise the same</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/H0USB.png" alt="ProgressiveFields" /></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-26T07:42:05.717Z
Is the input source a set of PNGs? Any video footage involved? If not, try setting your sequence to 'Progressive'. As per the settings screencap, it's Upper field first right now.
Gyan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-26T09:09:57.497Z
@Mulvya it is Progressive already and greyed out (Field Order in screenshot); the source is a set of PNGs in one track (intermittent slides) and video below. I've also set video transitions to the PNGs (Cube in, Curtain out), but no other effects.
Cel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-26T09:13:44.750Z
@Mulvya and in the actual Sequence Settings the Fields is greyed out too, and set at "Upper Field First"
 & tried to export without any effects just now, still poor quality stills.
Cel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-17T14:32:06.453Z
Would give a +100 if I could.  I've been battling a similar problem for months, and this explained what I was doing wrong.
Joshua Frank
<video><premiere><file-formats><codec>
poor quality export of still images from premiere
Cel
# poor quality export of still images from premiere

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-04-24)

This is the actual **source image** to a video track in Premiere (a PNG):
![decentqualityinput](https://i.sstatic.net/NiZYL.jpg)

With no resizing whatsoever, and .flv output, this is a **resultant frame** from the exported video:
![poorqualityoutput](https://i.sstatic.net/wg7j4.png)

### How could I improve the output quality, especially the text?

What settings should I use

* I've tried to max out pretty much everything in the FLV export settings.
* And now I moved to MP4 output with H.264 encoding, but still get poor quality stills.
* Here are the MP4 Export settings, what should I change?

![MP4-poor](https://i.sstatic.net/Bcutp.png)

### Solution

Inspired from the answers, turns out that have to set the source to Progressive when creating a New Sequence (instead of Fields: Upper)

* this is why I did not get better results whatever my configuration once I had created a sequence with Fields set to Upper
* and this is why the following settings for my next project, yielded good stills
  + although also using higher resolution, so not sure high that plays into the test results
  + H.264 / MP4 Export settings otherwise the same

![ProgressiveFields](https://i.sstatic.net/H0USB.png)

**Tags:** video, premiere, file-formats, codec

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Is the input source a set of PNGs? Any video footage involved? If not, try setting your sequence to 'Progressive'. As per the settings screencap, it's Upper field first right now.  
> **username_0**: @Mulvya it is Progressive already and greyed out (Field Order in screenshot); the source is a set of PNGs in one track (intermittent slides) and video below. I've also set video transitions to the PNGs (Cube in, Curtain out), but no other effects.  
> **username_0**: @Mulvya and in the actual Sequence Settings the Fields is greyed out too, and set at "Upper Field First"  & tried to export without any effects just now, still poor quality stills.  
> **username_2**: Would give a +100 if I could.  I've been battling a similar problem for months, and this explained what I was doing wrong.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2013-04-25. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

That looks more like a 'field' from the video, rather than a frame -- jagged diagonals are the tell.

If your video is interlaced, you may only get half the vertical resolution in a still, unless you specifically set it to output a full frame. Check the export settings.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: sorry for the delay and thanks for the answer - im afraid i dont know how to translate your advice into specific settings though, so i have edited the question to show you what settings i use (that produce poor stills still)  
> **username_0**: found the settings needed now, please see final edit. thanks!  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-09-11. Score: 1

I had the same issue with image quality for a 4K video I was trying to produce. I found that for my situation the image was always very blurry upon an export, so I had to change the Format and Preset. A very nice 4K format that enabled my images to turn out crispy is the *H.264* which is quite widely used, and already has a built in default *YouTube 2160p 4K* preset which works well. Once you select this you can compare how the output will look against the source formatting by switching between *Source* and *Output*. Eventually, you can tune the default preset and make your own in order to get a nice 4K video out of the application.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/i4Knk.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/i4Knk.png)


---

