Best DV Editing Program??

[Dionysus]

I was wondering if someone coudl let me know what the best Video Editing program is. I've used Adobe but the outcome isn't as good as I'd expect from a Digital Video camera. And how would I go about compressing it ie. using Nandub or Virtual Dub from a DV to a WMP .avi?? so that I can send it over email etc. but as well as someone dl'ing it from my computer. Let me know. Thanks.

[bb]

The program I like best so far is Ulead's MediaStudio. I use it for cutting, transitions, and titles only. Then I switch over to VirtualDub to do the filtering and encoding.

bb

[Dionysus]

how come I can't just load the DV .avi into Virtual Dub and just use it to compress the file?! Cuz when it's done compressing the file nicely it won't play on WMP or Quicktime or anything?? Thanks man.

[bb]

Oh you can - provided that you have a type-2 DV file. I do exactly that quite often. What are your settings? (If you have a type-1 file, open it through AviSynth's DirectShowSource command, and process the audio separately).

bb

[Dionysus]

are there any other websites that are more indepth with this unless you have the time to tell me what I need to dl, how to get it set up, good settings blah blah blah cuz I'm really familiar with DivX/(S)VCD etc but this is the first time I'm going to do this with DV. Yea and I have a type-1. if you don't have the time just leave me with a website and I'll be able to figure it out.

Thanks man.

[bb]

Sorry, I don't have a site for you. But it's not that difficult:

1. Use your favourite DV app, find a function to save a WAV file and save it.
2. Make sure you downloaded AviSynth (available at doom9's downloads), and installed it correctly (don't forget to run the .reg file, there's a readme!).
3. Write a small script (e.g. in notepad):
DirectShowSource("C:\DV\myfilm.avi")
BilinearResize(640, 480)

Name it something like myscript.avs.
4. Open the .avs file in VirtualDub under File, open the .wav file under Audio.
5. Set Video to Fast recompress, set Audio to Full processing.
6. Select your favourite video and audio codecs and their settings.
7. Save your .avi under a new name and the encoding starts!

Any more questions?

bb

P.S.: Another possible way of encoding the audio is the following:
1. Do the same as above, but leave out the audio part (in VirtualDub, choose Audio/No audio). Save the avi to get video only.
2. Use lame to encode your wav to an mp3 file.
3. Use Nandub to mux the video only avi and the mp3 audio. To achieve this, open the video in Nandub, under Audio open the mp3 file, set both video and audio to direct stream copy, then save the avi under a new name.

P.P.S.: I hope I will find the time to write a guide soon and post it as a sticky.

[Dionysus]

how come I can't load a DV .avi in Ulead. I used to be able to just transfer video from my camera to my computer and then into Adobe. But Ulead is telling me that the .avi has no video content. And I don't know what that means. Would you have any idea as you've used the program before.

Thanks again.

[bb]

No clue, sorry. I did not yet have that problem.

Anyone else?

bb

[theReal]

What program and DV codec did you use for capturing the DV file?

It could be some proprietary DV codec that doesn't work in other programs. Other than that, I have no explanation. Try capturing with Ulead Video Capture, it is a quite good capture program if you don't mind having type1 DV (MS Codec) as the only available capture-codec.

[Bandung]

Dionysus,
I use Ulead (can't remember which program cause I'm not at my desk)

1. Ulead will not recognize the camera if the camera has not been switched on before the program is launched. It needs to have the camera on in order to recognize and activate the firewire driver. (I actually have to put my Sony camcorder in the "vcr" mode.

2. Sometimes, the incorrect driver is used. I have a Pyro firewire card and in the control settings.. devices, I make sure that I have the TI driver chosen, not the Microsoft one. My card instructs me to switch things but it doesn't work for me.

3. Finally, make sure that you have all of the latest software updates downloaded from their site!!!

Any time Ulead can't see the video, it has been because the audio and video haven't been properly multiplexed as a type 1 file. I have occasionally been able to produce a file that Ulead will recognize by using graphedit and constructing the correct string of DS filters. But it's not fail same. When I am in a hurry, I make sure that the video is in a file format that Ulead can recognize, then I multiplex it inside Ulead in order to produce a file that Ulead will recognize and transfer back to my camera.

When I have the time, I will go back to constructing a more fail proof string of DS filters that performs this. Its a pain to have to encode my video as an mjpeg file first in order for Ulead to see it so that I can in turn produce a DV type 1 multiplexed file for transfer to the camera!

[Dionysus]

Thanks guys for all your help so far. But here's what I don't get. I have a program that came with my camera for getting the .avi onto my computer. But then I used Adobe Premiere for cutting, audio, transitions etc. and it loaded fine. But when I try to add the same video into Ulead it doesn't recognise the video content. The reason why I'm trying so hard to use ulead instead of adobe is because it's got the worst ending video result. Like it's not crisp and/or clear like Ulead can be. Cuz my friend uses ulead and all you guys use ulead so it must be quite the better program. Anyways, let me know what you think about this.

thanks.

[Bandung]

I think I understand the problem. I do a similar thing but I use Multiquence to edit my DV clippage instead of Ulead but I use Ulead to produce the final DV (one that is compatable with my camera so I can writeback to tape). Multiquence is awesome for those multi camera shoots with several audio feeds from the sound board as well as the camera to mix together.

I tell Multiquence which audio codec to use, set the specs correctly, grab the DV codec (Microsoft's I presume) and voila, outcomes a DV compatable file. Except Ulead's plug-in for writing to my camera says it can't find the video.

So here I have all of this work done just the way I want and its a monster of a file because its DV right? But Ulead wont accept it.

Rather than redo everything, I pull out Graphedit and try to convert the video to a DV type 1 that Ulead will accept. I code the audio as a separate stream and then go back to Ulead. No go most of the time.

Out of frustration, I go back into Multiquence and re-encode the video portion as an MJPEG file. But by now, I'm hurting wrt to Hard drive space. (and I've got a 100 Gig hard drive in addition to a 30 gig plus two 20's :)

That solves the production aspects but it really steams me to have to produce an intermediate MJPEG file. I have been hounding the developer of Multiquence for a frame serving option so that I can avoid the big MJPEGfile. I am also awaiting the developer of Videotools' Link2 and Avisynth plug-ins to create a vfapi client for Ulead.

Yes, I think I understand the source of your pain.... The solution is not so easy. We need frame serving to get around all of these intermedate files. But I wish I could encode the Video correctly in the first place with MS's DV codec. For some reason, Multiquence does not grab the vfi DV codec that I purchased from a German company which works well with VIrtualDub. (can't remember its name)

[theReal]

Dionysus, I'd just capture with Ulead Video Capture (the prog from the Media Studio Package). I assume you have v.6.0 or 6.5 - these are the ones I know and worked with.

I don't think Ulead is better than Adobe Premiere or produces better quality - it's just that I got used to it from the beginning and it is easy to use. If your results from Premiere are not as good as the original DV video, something must be wrong.

There are some settings you need to get right, also in Ulead Media Studio. You have to set it to "best rendering quality" and "Field Based, Field Order A" before you begin with your first project. Otherwise Ulead will not produce the best quality and need very long to render

[Dionysus]

okay guys, thanks for the recent input I have figured a little part of this out. I've learned how to capture the video from my camera using Ulead Video Capture 6.0 and to get it onto my computer through that meathod. But when I open Ulead Video Editor 6.0 and go to open the video file so that I can add transitions, pictures, different audio, it still tells me that the C:desktop/dv movies/test.avi contains no video. But yet it should cuz it will play back on the WMP nicely?? Hope you guys have some suggestions to that. Thanks again.

[theReal]

The first problem I encountered when I was first using Ulead Video editor was that you can't open video files, you have to insert video files into the project...
(the only thing you can open is project files)

Click on insert->video file, then you get to the correct dialogue. After you double clicked the video in this dialogue, you have to click on one of the empty video tracks in the timeline to insert it there.

[ByronE]

Personally, I use Vegas 3. I didn't like it's captureing procedures for analog capturing, but it's quite swift and easy for capping dv. I didn't like premiere's methodology for it at all, and I haven't tried Ulead. What really makes Vegas much more preferable though is it's editing techniques and abilities. Very smooth, quick, and easy with alot of maniuplative capabilities for video.

[Dionysus]

Well The REAL, that didn't work either it still came up with the same error message as in the beginning. So I went and emailed Ulead to askt hem the question and tehy came back saying to check the Video Compression Codecs on my computer and get rid of unnecessary ones. But when I go to do that I've got like 26 different codecs so here's me asking you guys a favour. If you wouldn't mind going into general discussion and under "What Codecs Are Needed" and just reading which ones I have and then telling me which ones I need to get rid of then maybe that will help solve my problem. Hope you guys can help.

Thanx.

[Dionysus]

Actually scratch that last reply... The REAL after reading your reply to my codecs question, the one that you told me to get rid of allows me now to load my .avi's into Ulead. Now I just need to find some guides that tell me how to use all these programs that come with it...

But thanks again for all your guys' help.

[theReal]

Sorry, I answered the question in the title of your post which says "What Codec(s) are needed??" and I answered number 8.

Had I read more closely, I would have noticed that your second question was what codecs you should get rid of...

[Dionysus]

okay now that I've got rid of it is there any way that I can get it back and how come as soon as I got rid of it that I was able to start using Ulead and that it began to recognize the video content. Is it important to have that one?? let me know hahaha.

[theReal]

No, you don't need it...
I just looked it up in my system and found why I was wrong: I thought the only DV codec in your list was the DVC [dvsd], so it must be the right one. I didn't realize that Directshow Codecs are not listed in this list, so the essential Microsoft DV codec doesn't show at all.
Using SysEnum (a tool from Graphedit that lists all directshow codecs) I found the Microsoft codec (called "DV Video Encoder"). The dll of this codec is qdv.dll and it is the only codec you need for Ulead.

I don't know why Ulead didn't work for you with the other codec installed. I have two other VFW codecs installed, Canopus and Panasonic, but Ulead works with no problems (using the Microsoft codec).

[BeNBeN]

Hi all


the best dv editing softwae is of course AVID XPRESS DV 3.0 (or 3.5 for WINXP). since u really want to do some editing.

It's not the best if it's only conversion u need.


SEEYA

BeN