.mp2 and Adobe Premiere

[tomeczek]

I used my ATI "All-In-Wonder 128 Pro" to capture video from my old VHS tapes. Worked great. The output is in form .mp2.
I am planning to edit the video in Adobe Premiere, de-mux Premiere's output (.avi) and create my own DVD.

Does anyone know how can I do one of two:
1. Import .mp2 file into Premiere, or
2. Convert .mp2 to .avi.
(I read FAQ's, searched the Forum, couldn't find answers)

Thanks in advance!

[Swan]

Hello there,

A question, is the file not called .m2p?
If so, have you tried just renaming the file to .mpg?
If it's a .mp2 file, then it's an audio file.
You can convert that to .wav with dBpowerAMP Music Converter (dMC).
It's free.
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm

/Swan

[tomeczek]

Thanks Swan!

It is .mp2 and not .m2p. Believe it or not, but it's a movie file! As I mentioned, created by ATi "All-In-Wonder 128 Pro". I can play the file with Windows Media Player! Has video and audio!
After renaming to .mpg, MPEG2AVI or TMPGEnc still don't like it.

[Swan]

You're welcome ;)

After renaming to .mpg, MPEG2AVI or TMPGEnc still don't like it.

What does TMPGEnc "say"?
You want to split the audio and video (demultiplex)?
Can you open it in Premiere, now that you've renamed it?

/Swan

[aldonix]

I have ATI All-In-Wonder 128 card, and I used to do VHS captures using bundled ATI software when I was young.

I used 2 methods to open the resulting *.mp2:

1. Using DVD2AVI - use all files option
2. Using FlaskMPEG - use all files option.

Word of warning: ATI video capturing software really sucks. If your VHS tape is little bit worse than average or your system is not absolutely the fastest, it starts to drop frames without A/V sync compensation. The resulting video may have a huge synchronization issues. Switch to something better like VirtualDub. And you will get avi files right away.

Aldonix

[tomeczek]

To: Swan
When I import .mpg file (renamed from .mp2) to Premiere, the error says:
Unable to open that file.
File is an unsupported type.

To: aldonix
I found VirtualDub ver. 1.4.10. Will try it tonight when I get back home.
As I mentioned before, I installed the "All-In-Wonder" software package. Is that enough for VirtualDub to capture video? Do I have to start any ATI's programs before starting VirtualDub? Do I need to install anything else, like some drivers? Or maybe I need to un-install "All-In-Wonder" package?

Thank you guys! Waiting for responses!

[Swan]

When I import .mpg file (renamed from .mp2) to Premiere, the error says:
Have you got the full version of Premiere 6?
It should open a Mpeg-2 file!

If you have the LE version, it does not support importing Mpeg-2 clips.

Can you open the file in TMPGEnc?

/Swan

[tomeczek]

My Premiere 6 is the full version. It imports .mpg files but not .mp2.
Right now, I'm converting to .mpg using TMPGEnc (after decoding .mp2 in DVD2AVI). Will see in couple of hours if it creates .mpg good for Premiere.

[aldonix]

I use Windows 98 SE, so I don't have to install extra wrappers to use VirtualDub. Can be different for Windows 2000/XP users. For me All-In-Wonder software installation is enough. You don't have to run ATI software concurrently with VirtualDub. VirtualDub detects ATI capture card driver and uses it for the capture.

VirtualDub has much more capturing controls compared to ATI, so it is highly recommended to read VirtualDub capturing manual.

Aldonix

[aldonix]

ATI video capturing setup claims that you can have MPEG-2 output format, but somehow it is crooked. Very few programs can open it.

To tomeczek: It looks like you gonna get a triple penalty in your processing chain: 1. lossy capture to "ATI MPEG-2". 2. reincoding in TMPEG. 3. processing in Adobe Premiere. It's highly recommended to have only one lossy step - final compression.

Aldonix

[Swan]

My Premiere 6 is the full version. It imports .mpg files but not .mp2.
Okay. Just checking to make sure. :)

Right now, I'm converting to .mpg using TMPGEnc (after decoding .mp2 in DVD2AVI). Will see in couple of hours if it creates .mpg good for Premiere.
Ouch, that's not a good solution. This means you'll encode it in a lossy format, one more time.

Try using TMPGEnc's MPEG tools instead. Use the "Merge and Cut" feature. Open the renamed .mpg file or the m2p-file. Select MPEG-2 Program (VBR) and give the file a new name. Hit Start and let it run. This will create a new copy of the file, without loss of quality. Perhaps doing this, TMPGEnc will add headers and things in the video that was missing (and why Premiere complains). I'm not saying it'll work, but I'd give it a shot before doing something as drastic as re-encoding the video.

How long is the video you want to edit? If you have a large HD, perhaps you should capture the video again, this time using a lossless compression, like HuffYUV. But beware, this takes up a lot of space. However, it's a good idea if you want top quality, since you want to edit the file in Premiere. Editing Mpeg is tricky.

But, if HD space is a problem, see if you can use a different Mpeg-capturing software, there are many on the market. I personally like PowerVCR and Ulead VideoStudio. If you're going to create a DVD (that you play in a DVD Player and watch on your TV), don't use PowerVCR. Use an MPEG-2 capturing software that allows you to capture at 720 x 576 (PAL) or 720 x 480 (NTSC) *interlaced*. And whatever you do, don't deinterlace!
Also, make sure you capture the audio at 48.000 Hertz.

/Swan

[tomeczek]

Thank you aldonix and Swan! A lot of information I have to read and understand. Will try all your suggestions (I am really new to the whole thing).
My .AVI is small - just couple of minutes, so there is no problem with time (it's just test - the "real" captures and edits will be up to 2hr. long).
The disk space is no problem, I just installed 120GB (8MB cache, 7200rpm) HD.

I also installed VirtualDub 1.4.10, FlaskMPEG 5.94, HuffYUV 2.1.1 and AVI_IO 3.24.
As I said - I will start from scratch and will try everything possible.

Questions:
1. Which program would you recommend to capture from analog tape?
2. What settings should I use for video (frame size, ratio, frams rate etc.) and audio , knowing that I will create a DVD out of it?

Again, counting on your response(s).

[Swan]

Hello again, tomeczek! :)

You have said what you want to do: create your own DVD. You want to capture video, then edit the file in Adobe Premiere. The video you want to capture (and edit) is two hours long?

If it had been shorter, I definitely would recommend you to capture using a lossless compression codec like HuffYuv, but I don't think it's such a good idea when the video is 2 hrs long. I have captured music videos (approx 2-4 mins. long) and those files typically get to be 2-3-4 or so, GB large. If you capture with HuffYuv you will get the highest possible quality and also, a format that is nicer to edit than Mpeg-2. But even so, how huge would your 2 hr. HuffYuv file be? Enormous, I guess!
But give it a try. Capture, say ten minutes with Avi-Io ( I prefer it because I don't get any frame drops using it, but by all means, test other software) and check how large the file is. Will your HD be able to hold the entire 2 hr. file?
If not, you'll have to use some form of lossy compression when capturing.

First off, I have never created a DVD, I don't have a DVD writer.
But I know this: :)
If you want to make a DVD you need to capture at the highest setting your capture card allows. That's hopefully 720 x 576 (PAL) or 720 x 480 (NTSC)
You need to capture the audio at 48.000 kHz (for DVD compatability reasons).
You must not deinterlace during, or after, you capture!
The frame rate should be the same as the one on the material, 25 fps for PAL and 30 for NTSC.
Huffyuv is easy to set up. See here:http://math.berkeley.edu/~benrg/huffyuv.html

1. Which program would you recommend to capture from analog tape?
My suggestion is, if the HuffYuv method produces too large files, to capture in MPEG-2 format using Ulead Videstudio 6 (with the *first patch* Ulead released, not the latest one, though).
For Mpeg-2 editing, I'd drop Premiere and suggest you get a good MPEG-2 editing program, one that lets you edit the MPEG *losslessly*.
Just how much and what type of editing do you want to do?

But! Test the "Huffy" method and let us know how it works out. If you want to try the Mpeg-method, write again after you've downloaded - and got a bit familiar with - VideoStudio and I'll help you out with the exact settings I use. I'm sure someone will jump in here and talk about using Mjpeg compression, but that's not my department, so I can't advice you there.:)

/Swan

[tomeczek]

I just need to remove certain (unimportant, dark, bad, etc.) scenes and eventually add some transitions between scenes. Do you know of any other program that would do this kind of editing?

My HD is 120GB (8MB cache, 7200rpm), so I should not have any space problems. I hope, that is...

[Swan]

I just need to remove certain (unimportant, dark, bad, etc.) scenes and eventually add some transitions between scenes. Do you know of any other program that would do this kind of editing?
The most professional Mpeg-2 editing software titles I have tried are M2-Edit Pro (extremely expensive, but has very accurate editing abilities and also support for transitions). The other one is a software from a company called Vitec, but it does not have transitions and stuff.
Perhaps there are other, more consumer-aimed products that offer this (transitions) but I don't know too much about that. I think VideoStuio has that ability, but I only use it for capturing. :)

I'd say, if you can, go for the HuffYuv alternative. It will surely be easier to edit the file and also then you'll be able to use Premiere, which you've already paid for. I'm all ears, I'd love to know if your HD can manage such a large avi-file, etc. etc. :)

Using HuffYuv-compression will enable you to do all the editing in Premiere and then export to Mpeg-2. I assume Premiere won't have a problem with that, at least. Did you get a Mpeg-2 export plug-in with Premiere, by the way?

If I were you, I'd try capturing 10 minutes worth of HuffYuv compressed video with Avi-Io. Check the file size. And check if Premiere will open it. And check if you have an Mpeg-2 export plug-in. :)

/Swan

[aldonix]

I capture at 528 x 480 29.97 fps (don't do DVDs yet). Typical 90 min capture using Huffy eats up 30 GB of HD space. Tomeczek is from New York, so I assume that he will be capturing 720 x 480 29.97 fps. For 2 hr capture it would be about 55 GB. So 120 GB HD has enough space both for capturing and for editing.

Aldonix

[tomeczek]

aldonix, Swan

I took your advice and installed HuffyYUV 2.1.1 and VirtualDub 1.4.10.
I captured about 28 mins of analog video from my VCR (using VirtualDub and ATi All-in-Wonder 128). I used 720 x 480 resolution, I don't recall if I set framerate to 29.97, I just took the default. The video came out perfect, but the audio is really bad. It's like beeing in the car, listening to some station, and loosing signal with the distance. BAD...

Any ideas or suggestions?

[jledhead]

I have the same problem here. when I use the ATI software and dvd quality settings the capture comes out perfect except the file is mp2, so I have the same problem as described above.

but when I use Vdub with either MJPEG (picvideo and MM) or huffy and create an avi I get problems. if I set the quality to its highest it still doesn't capture very well. the picture looks good but it gets the occasional wavey lines all thru it. I have used the guides found @ www.vcdhelp.com and thats what I get, the output is not even close to the ati capture with dvd setting

I would like to make a good capture and am not so worried about filesize, although I would like to keep it down.

I would like to be able to work out my problems with the mp2 file because CCE, TMPG,..... will open it. I can demux it but that just creates additional steps because I would then have to combine, and then edit. I would like to skip that one step and just edit and burn.

I also like the ati because I can use the Guide and the scheduler and don't have to baby sit it, even though you can use the stop methods in Vdub.


man, sorry, that was too long winded:confused:

[Swan]

@tomeczek It's like beeing in the car, listening to some station, and loosing signal with the distance. BAD...
How have you got the audio hooked up? Through the capture card?
Have you captured from other sources than your VCR before?
If so, was the audio also bad then?
Try connecting the audio cables from your VCR directly into a free line-in on the soundcard. That's how I do it (but I don't use the tuner either). :)

jledhead
What do you want to do with the Mpeg-2 files you capture? Edit the file in Premiere?
Or just edit the Mpeg-file (without re-encoding) and then burn it?
How much editing?

I'm sorry, but I'm a bit tired today. :) I don't understand what you want to do and what is not working?

/Swan

[jledhead]

Originally posted by Swan


I'm sorry, but I'm a bit tired today. :) I don't understand what you want to do and what is not working?

/Swan

:confused: sorry, it is a bit early here and my brain is not all there.

I want to eventually end up with something that is commercial free that I can burn and watch on my dvd player. so if I capture as avi or mpeg does not matter, I am just looking for the best mix of quality and speed.

my ATI captures to mpeg2 very well but at a high bitrate and large files, which I can put on DVDRW but would rather use CDR.

if I could capture with high quality on an avi, I could then easily convert to svcd format at an acceptable size and time. but when I do avi using MJPEG/huffyyuv the quality does not come close to when I do ATI mpeg2 capture.

I am sure there is something very retarded that I am doing, so to keep from wasting yours and everyone elses time, other then www.vcdhelp.com and some of the guides found at Vdubs website, do you have any other links or suggestions that you could provide.

or if you know of a good way of editing the mp2 file. you can rename to mpg but then get the same result with encoding software.

[Swan]

sorry, it is a bit early here and my brain is not all there. Oh, good, that makes two of us then! :)
I stayed up too late last night, capturing stuff and playing with my new capture card . So please forgive me for being extra thick today. :)

Now I understand what you want. I am very poor at giving you details on capturing with HuffYUV compression and Vdub capturing in general.
I'm the Mpeg-2 person in this Forum. :)

Can you post a screen shot of the problem you have when capturing with HuffYuv/Mjpeg compression?
Describe exactly what settings you use in VirtualDub, etc?
What settings are you using in the Mpeg-capturing software (that came with the card)?

If you can give more details, someone more knowledgeable about Huffy/Mjpeg capturing may be able to give you some tips.
Also, a direct link to the page on Vcdhelp, that way we can find the guide easily and check it for errors.

I think this would be the best: capture losslessly (Huff), edit, then export to SVCD (Mpeg-2).
Editing an Mpeg-2 file is tricky because it's not a format that was created with editing in mind. Editing it can sometimes cause audio and video to go out on sync, at least if you try to encode it to DivX or Xvid later on.

But, if you just can't get lossless capturing to work (or if your HD isn't large enough), no matter what, then you can perhaps capture in SVCD resolution (480 x 576, right?) and then edit the Mpeg-2 file with TMPGEnc (using its Mpeg Tools). It's quite buggy, but it may cooperate. :) If not, other softwares that let you edit Mpeg-2 files (taking out the commercials) without losing quality (no re-encoding) are:
M2 Edit Pro (version 4 or 5 will do the job)
Womble Mpeg-VCR
However, you cannot, say, capture in DVD resolution (720 x 576 PAL or 720 x 480 NTSC) and export it from M2-Edit or Womble in SVCD resolution. That would need a re-encode (BAD). All you can do without forcing the editing software to re-encode is cut out the sections of video you want (and paste them together, if you like)

Good luck and let me know if you succeed!

/Swan

[jledhead]

Originally posted by Swan
other softwares that let you edit Mpeg-2 files (taking out the commercials) without losing quality (no re-encoding) are:
M2 Edit Pro (version 4 or 5 will do the job)
Womble Mpeg-VCR


thanks, will give that a try.

to be honest I could care less if I had an avi file or not, I want it to end up being mpeg2.

I will give some of the above a try and we will see.

my capture card does very well with mpeg2 @ high bitrate. if I can edit out commercials with very little or no reencoding I would be very happy.

will report back.

:D

[Carterma]

demultiplex the mpeg2 file, take the mp2 into the audio part of the first screen in TMPGEnc and under file, save as...wave. Now Premiere will like it.