VideoStudio RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE by JC Hunter

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:08 am

PLEASE NOTE: The opinions expressed in this post are those of the writer and are not endorsed by InterVideo Ulead.

We strongly deny that this is the ONLY way to produce projects in VideoStudio successfully, and we also deny that there are serious bugs in VideoStudio. We take bug reports seriously and always work to resolve them if they are verifiable.

Despite many attempts, Ulead Customer Services and Ulead Technical support have been unable to replicate the bugs mentioned in this post. I personally regularly produce VideoStudio projects following the intuitive workflow of Capture - Edit - Author - Burn, with no problems.

InterVideo Ulead agrees that this recommended structured workflow is ONE of the ways in which one can complete projects in VideoStudio.

Tobie Openshaw
Manager: MarCom Dept
InterVideo Ulead

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The Recommended Procedure was written by forum Member JC Hunter and is one of the most read posts on the forum. Currently the thread is now 9 pages long and contains 125 replies. I feel that the length of the thread may deter new users from reading the article due to its sheer size. For this reason the initial post is reproduced here and will remain locked.

Warning: NEW USERS are strongly advised to follow the Recommended Procedure (below) because it details steps that YOU should take to avoid several serious bugs in Video Studio. If you ignore this procedure, thinking that you can operate Video Studio intuitively, you will be disappointed and frustrated by the problems you encounter on the path to a high quality DVD. Be sure you can burn DVDs before you invest a lot of time perfecting a long video project.

Tutorial Directory For detailed workflow and "how-to" guidance, see the following Tutorials.

Video Studio Version 10+ High Definition Tutorials:
Video Studio 10+ High Definition Tutorial Edit1 5/17/06

Classic Video Studio TUTORIALS (all versions):
Brian's Ramblings
DownUnder perspective
Trevor's Tutorials (edited)
Deutsche helfe.

Ulead Product Tutorials (All Ulead Products):
Ulead Product Tutorials

Use the SEARCH button. Lots of information is available in this forum on numerous problems. It is quite likely that a solution to your problem is already in the forum database. The Ulead Knowledge Base is also available.

Video Studio Updates

Updates and Bug Fixes are available for Video Studio versions 7, 8, 9, and 10 Here
Users experiencing audio/video synch problems with version 8.0 may find relief by upgrading to Video Studio 10+.

Getting Help from Video Studio Forum Members:
New Users: Please enter your operating system, computer speed, Memory capacity, available disk space, etc. in your forum profile because this will assist those users in diagnosing your problem(s).

If you want help, please provide ALL the details that you can: Video Studio Version, Captured Video Properties, Project Properties, Burn Properties, error message, etc. These video properties contain essential diagnostic information. If you don't provide them you may not get much help. To find your Properties, right Mouse on any video clip and select Properties. See Recommended Procedure for examples of video properties.

Newbies take note: The most common mistakes are
(1) Setting the wrong video PROPERTIES.
(2) Following the wrong procedure.
Either one can ruin your cherished video and waste a lot time doing it.

Recommended Procedure for Success with Video Studio
The following is all about problem avoidance - see the Tutorial Directory (above) for detailed "how-to" information.

NEW USERS: The following procedure/work flow is recommended when using VIDEO STUDIO because it has had the most success at producing good quality DVDs. In particular, it avoids triggering serious bugs, so please follow the process carefully.

The most important messages in this procedure are:
(1) Always Create a Video File of your entire project before attempting to burn a DVD,
(2) Never try to burn a DVD with anything in the EDIT Timeline display,
(3) Never try to burn a DVD using SHARE/Add Project button.
(4) Make certain that your BURN properties exactly match your DVD-Compliant VIDEO FILE properties.

Capture Phase

Your first challenge is to get the video from the camcorder into the computer. As a vastly oversimplified introduction, there are basically two types of video sources: Analog (older camcorders and VCRs) and Digital (newer camcorders). There are also two possible target video file formats in the computer: Mpeg2 and AVI(DV). Mpeg2 is the file format required for burning DVDs and DV (Digital Video) is the native file format of most digital camcorders. High definition editing is covered in a separate HD Tutorial

Analog Video
Most computers require an external capture box to which one can connect an analog signal source (S-Video or composite). These often contain a fast, dedicated processor that converts the video to Mpeg2 format and stores it directly in the computer¡¦s hard disk, using either a Firewire (IEEE 1394) port or a USB2 port.

Many analog capture products are not supported by Video Studio. If you have difficulty, use the capture software (e.g., CapWiz) that came with the box to capture the video files - then edit with Video Studio.

Digital Video (mini-DV)
Most digital camcorders have a Firewire connector and so can attach directly to a Firewire port on the computer. Don't try to capture video with the USB cable that came with the camcorder - it is usually for transferring still images to the computer.

Capture Guidelines Standard Definition: (For high definition capture, see HD Tutorial link above.)
Capture Mpeg2 format ONLY if you have a fast computer (>2.5 GHz, 1GB RAM, disk with > 20 GB of available unfragmented space). If you capture in DVD-Compliant Mpeg2 format, the whole video editing process to DVD burn will be faster and simpler.

If your computer CPU is slower than 2 GHZ, capture to AVI (DV) Type 1 because capturing in Mpeg 2 format puts too great a load on the CPU. DV Type 1 is recommended because users have experienced problems with AVI Type 2. DV files are about three times larger than Mpeg2 files (~13 GB/hr), so be sure you have enough free disk space.

You can capture directly with Video Studio by selecting the CAPTURE tab.

Set the Capture Properties
If you want the best quality and plan to burn to DVD, set high video bit rate properties (Variable, 8 Mbps) and the best frame size (720 x 480 NTSC, 720 x 576 PAL). If you have a low resolution video source such as VHS tape and want to store a lot of video on a single DVD, you can use a lower bit rate (3-4 Mbps).

Field Order property: Upper Field First for analog video, Lower Field First for digital video.

The following capture properties will yield good quality video when burned to a DVD. (In PAL country, substitute 25.00 fps for 29.97 fps and substitute 720 x 576 for 720 x 480):

Mpeg Capture Properties:
NTSC drop frame (29.97 fps)
MPEG files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First for digital capture {if capturing analog use "Upper Field First"}
(DVD-NTSC), 4:3 (or 16:9 for widescreen)
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 224 kbps
MPEG audio layer 2, 48 KHz, Stereo

AVI(DV) Capture Properties:
NTSC drop frame (29.97 fps)
Microsoft AVI files
24 Bits, 720 x 480, 4:3 (or 16:9 for widescreen), 29.97 fps
Lower Field First {if analog use "Upper Field First"}
DV Video Encoder -- type 1
DV Audio -- NTSC, 48.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo

Tip: In VS7&8, enable the Drop Frame Counter to monitor your capture quality as follows:
Documents & Settings\All Users\Application Data\Ulead Systems\Video Studio 8. Open UVS.INI and scroll down to Information? And change the Show Drop Frame Counter from =0 to =1 Save the changes.

In VS9 and VS10, select menu File/Preferences/Capture tab: check "Show Drop Frame Information"

If you elect to capture digital video direct to NTSC Mpeg2 using Video Studio 9.0 or 10, set the Capture properties as shown in the figure below(Dolby audio is supported in VS9). If capturing Analog video, set Output Field Order to Upper Field First:

Edit Phase

Note: If you captured in DVD-Compliant Mpeg2 format and do NOT want to edit your video, you can skip this Edit phase and the next (Create Video File) and continue with "Burn DVD Phase" to immediately burn a DVD.

1. Select Menu FILE/Preferences. Place a checkmark next to "Show Message When Inserting First Clip..."
2. Drag one of your .captured video files into the empty timeline display.
3. When it asks "Do you want to Set Project Properties to Match..." press Yes.
4. Select Menu FILE/Project Properties. Click [Edit.] Open the Compression tab and select Media Type = [NTSC DVD] (or PAL DVD if you live in PAL country).
5. Move the Quality Slider to 100. Set Data Rate to [Variable.] The Bit rate and Audio settings will already be set properly to match your captured video. Press OK. Check [Perform Non-Square Pixel Rendering.] Print the Project Properties in the lower window and stick it on your wall. Memorize it.
6. Now complete your video editing - add audio, titles, transitions, cut out shaky video sections, too-fast pans and zooms, pictures of the inside of your camera bag,

etc. How to use the Edit controls is outside the scope of this brief intro.
7. You can insert digital still images (e.g., jpeg files) freely, at full resolution into the timeline. Set menu File/Preferences/Edit tab "Image Resampling Option" to "Keep Aspect Ratio" and "Resampling Quality" to "Best" before insertion. Opinion: Simple cuts are less wearing on the audience than transitions between still shots. Time the cuts to coincide with beat of your background music.
8. Save your project.

Create Video File Phase

Note: This phase is crucial because it avoids serious bugs in Video Studio. Always create a video file of your project before attempting to burn a DVD.

If you captured your video in Mpeg2 format, you will be able to "Smart Render" your video file relatively quickly:
1. Select SHARE/Create Video File
2. Select [Same as Project Settings] (Only if your project properties match your captured video files exactly. Otherwise, use the AVI (DV) procedure below.)
3. Name your video file and hit the SAVE button.
4. You can review your video file using Windows Media Player (or Video Studio). Media Player Classic (MPC) is also an excellent video player (free) that also plays high definition video files.

If you captured AVI (DV) format, you will have to transcode your project to Mpeg2 before burning a DVD, which can take a LONG time:
1. Select SHARE/Create Video File
2. Select Custom then set Save as Type = "Mpeg"
3. Select Options, Select "Compression" tab. Set Media Type = NTSC DVD (or PAL DVD). Select Video Data Rate = Variable, (e.g. 8000 kbps or 3-4 Mbps for low resolution sources)
4. Now examine every setting on all three tabs to make sure every property setting matches the following pictures (Note PAL has different frame size and rate, Analog video is Upper Field First, Widescreen video should be set to 16:9).
5. Name your video file and hit the SAVE button.

Setup for Creating an NTSC DVD-Compliant Video File:

Burn DVD Phase
Caution: Never try to create a DVD with anything in the timeline. Do not use the SHARE/Create Disk/Add Project control option.

1. Select NEW project.
2. TBD
3. Select SHARE/Create Disc
4. Press ADD VIDEO button. Navigate to select your Mpeg2 video file. It will appear in the lower display.
5. Click the little Gear-Shaped icon on the lower left, second to the right to set the properties for the DVD burn.
Burn property setup is the same as shown above for Creating Video files.
6. Press "Change Mpeg Settings", then press "Customize," then the "Compression" tab.
7. Media Type should already be selected. Push the quality slider to 100%.
8. Set all burn properties to exactly match the properties of your Project Video File.

Version 10+ note: The DVD menu set up is different from here on. Update TBD.
9. Now press Add/Edit Chapters and use the jog bar set up your DVD Menu entry points.
10. Press Next. Now edit your DVD Menu labels, choosing each one from the selector at the top.
11. Optional Step: You can save all your DVD menus by pressing "Close". Select FILE/SaveAs and name this project "BURN Project" or something like that. Then, when you open this Burn project again and press SHARE/Create Disc, everything (menus, etc.) should still be there.
12. Skip to the last screen, Check Record to Disk if you are ready to burn. If not, you can check "Create DVD Folders" and/or create Disc Image File," instead.
13. If burning, verify the Required vs. Available disc space.
14. Hit the Output button. Burning should take about 30 minutes at 4x
15. If you see a message that says "Converting Videos, This will take a long time..." hit the Cancel button and check for the following problems (1) Burn properties do not match Video File properties, (2) Timeline display is not empty, or (3) You have used the Add Project control.

Post questions and problems in the original thread by clicking here.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:10 pm

Suggested Work flow.

In another post within the VideoStudio forum I saw the following:

Phil S wrote:
htchien wrote:It will render faster if you know how to enable Smart Rendering in UVS. It takes long because your video is been re-rendered.

For Smart Rendering, check step 46 in http://www.jonesgroup.net/media/vsonec.htm and step 11 in http://www.jonesgroup.net/media/vstwo.htm

You can check the Ulead website and http://www.jonesgroup.net/media/tutoriallist.htm for some good tutorials.

H.T.
Why do these procedures differ from the Recommended procedure given at the top of this forum?

These procedures tell you to render and produce a DV.AVI file after editing, but the recommended procedure tells you to render to a MPEG2 file.

I think that my reply will help clarify the entire process a bit more and so have taken the decision to tag this post onto Johns procedure. It does not alter anything that John has said but hopefully explains it again in a different way.

I think a lot of users get confused at this stage so just to clarify.
Every time you render (create) a video file you risk losing some quality and you risk other issues such as out of synch audio/video. You therefore should aim to render a file the least number of times possible.

It is a generally accepted fact that if you can capture (or in the case of most camcorder recordings - transfer) your video footage in a non lossy format such as DV (avi) then you should do so. Not everyone can enjoy that luxury because with such a wide range of video recording equipment and a wide variety of video sources - TV cards - Digital cameras - camcorders - internet - mobile phones - CCTV systems - Sky+ boxes - DVD discs and so on. Furthermore different hardware systems have different connection capabilities - USB, Firewire, SCART, RCA and so on, that what may apply to some users cannot physically be done by others.

Think of the whole process as a 3 step procedure.
Step 1. Get it onto your hard drive.
As described above not all users can do this the same way.
Establish what is best for YOUR setup and the best possible settings for YOUR equipment and source materials.
It is a widely accepted fact that DV (avi) is an easier format to edit than MPEG2 but that does not mean it is impossible to edit MPEG2 and as mentioned above, for some users it is unavoidable.

Step 2. Edit.
What this means is that you place your source materials from step 1 onto the timeline or overlay tracks. make your cuts, add your transitions, titles and extra backgrounds sounds - generally you tidy it all up, cut out the rubbish and put in all your Steven Spielberg Special Effects.

At this time, your original source materials remain untouched on your hard drive. You have simply created a very large text file which is a record of your intended cuts, transitions titles and so on. You save this large text file as a VideoStudio Project File - or in the case of MediaStudio - a MediaStudio project file.

Now what you do is to apply all those cuts, transitions, titles and so on and create a new video file. There are two ways to do this.

Method 1 which is my preferred method, is to create a brand new video file on your hard drive with all of those edits processed. It is no longer a project file it is now a standalone and playable video.
When you do this - you don't want to render it again - we are aiming to render ONCE to avoid loss of quality and any other side issues such as audio/video synchronisation. Our target device will be a DVD disc playable in a standalone DVD player and so we need to render to MPEG2.

If however you are producing a video to place on the internet you would no doubt create one of the following
DivX / Xvid / MPEG4 / WMV / Quicktime or some other format associated with videos you find on the internet.

The reason why this is my preferred method to Method 2 below is that you can now play this video on your computer before moving on to step 3 - authoring. You now have the opportunity to watch the video on your computer with those edits having been implemented. If you decide further editing is required you simply go back to your project file and edit it further.

Using this 'Method 1' you must work out in advance the appropriate bit rate and quality settings so that the completed project will fit onto your DVD - otherwise you will end up rendering the video a second time to reduce it to fit. (Please view What Bit Rate settings should I use?)

Method 2 - place the project file into the authoring module.
Here you have not rendered your video file but instead you render the file as a part of the authoring stage. Technically there is no reason why you cannot do this. Practically though you must consider what effect it will have on the entire project if you then create your completed DVD and then realise you needed to do further editing. Will this affect the placement of your DVD chapters and so on. You might end up having to redo the authoring stage again.

Either way your video will get rendered to the required format - normally MPEG2 as most users will be creating a DVD disc playable in a standalone DVD player. This will take the same amount of time no matter which method you choose. In other words if you create the video file first using method 1, your video has already been rendered and so will not be rendered again and so the authoring stage will appear to take dramatically less time than method 2 where the file must now be rendered.

Step 3. Authoring.
This is the stage where you now create your DVD menus and navigation structure, chapters, Menu background sounds and images and so on.
From this you burn your completed project onto your DVD disc ready to play in your standalone DVD player.

I hope this clarifies the procedure and from this you can see that you should NOT create an avi file from Step 2 but instead either create a DVD compliant MPEG2 file or place the project into the authoring module at step 3.