Synchronization blues persist...

[G-man]

The excellent instructions provided at this site for AV synchronization seem to assume that asynchrony is always delayed, in which case the problem can be paradoxically remedied by dragging the audio track in the timeline to the right in ripple edit mode. But what if the reverse were the problem?

After demuxing and using the crop tool, I tried to snip off the first 2 secs from the audio track. But that trick is presently beyond me right now. So I have two questions:

1) Is it possible to trim some time off the audio track?

2) Has anyone tried to add a small clip (filler) to the beginning of the video?

[Ron P.]

You can trim the audio, after it has been split from the video. It's not difficult, just right click on your video clip choose Split Audio. The audio will be added to your voice/narration track. Select the audio track, go to the point where you want to cut, then click on the scissors. Now you can delete it.

[G-man]

Thanks Vidoman,

I followed your suggestion and also used the guide to synchronization from this this site. Happily I was able to achieve perfect AV synchronization when playing back the video in UVS v10. The rendering process took much longer to complete...over eight hours! But I didn't mind as I have three PCs. I then used IMTOO's "AVI to DVD Converter" to create a true DVD output (I wish UVS could create IFO, BUP and VOB files). But when I played the video on my stand-alone DVD player, the video still ran two seconds behind the audio. Rats!

So I repeated the steps and this time delayed the audio by three seconds. In UVS playback, the video now ran AHEAD of the audio by one second. But alas, on my stand-alone-DVD player, the audio ended up still running about two seconds ahead of the video. I hope version 11 addresses this pesky issue.

Do I need to disable "Smart Rendering"?

Regards

[Ken Berry]

I'm a little bit confused now...

First, you need to tell us exactly what your workflow is, from capture through editing to burning. Of particular interest will be the various video formats you might use and their properties; and how you captured them.

Second, I am totally confused by your need to use a third party program to produce a 'true' DVD structure. While I often use another program to burn my discs, this is not to say that VS is not capable of doing so as well. But this is again where your version number comes in: if you have SE in the name somewhere, and no mention of DVD, then the ability to produce a DVD may simply not be there as SE indicates a crippled version -- though I am not sure if VS10 SE in any form disables the ability to burn a DVD.

In any case, if you can burn a DVD with VS10 (or indeed any other version), it is a true video DVD, and to be such, it has to conform to the DVD standard, which includes not only .vob files, but the usual array of .ifo and .bup files.

Third, your reference to your use of an 'AVI to DVD converter' made me wonder further exactly what you are working with and what you are doing to it. If you are working with AVI files, exactly which flavour of AVI are they? Right click on one of them within VS and copy the properties here, please.

And after editing, did you (or could you, depending on your VS version) go to Share > Create Video File > DVD to produce a DVD compatible mpeg-2? Or did you try going straight to the burning module (Share > Create Disc) which would have resulted in the program trying to convert your project file, on the fly, with the other complex burning procedures including converting the menu to video, multiplexing the video and audio and burning. "There be dragons!" Many a user has come to grief here, and out of sync audio and video is often the least of their problems.

But in answer to your question, yes, try turning off SmartRender. But also try the method I suggested in the preceding paragraph...

[G-man]

Crickey, you must be a true blue, fair dinkum Aussie, rubbin' shoulders with all them politicians in Canberra. But no worries mate. I was raised in Melbourne.

Firstly I apologize for stating that VS does not create true DVD files. I discovered that it certainly does. My mistake.

The AVI file on which I am working is identified by VS as follows: Image: 588 x 244; audio bitrate: 112kbps, MPEG Layer3; video framerate 25 fps, data rate 106 kbps, sample 12 bit, XVID compression. I encounter no asynchrony when playing the movie with Windows Media Player or Nero ShowTime.

The 900 MB AVI file cannot be burned to DVD disk as VS expands it to 9 GB when I try. No option is given to compress the file(s), like in DVD Shrink.

So I select "Create Video File" > Custom > save as an AVI file > Options > uncheck SmartRender > OK > AVI tab > select (lossless) Huffyuv v2.2.0 codec > Advanced button > check Recompress > OK > Save to a folder. Then I use IMTOO's cheap little "AVItoDVD Converter" that nicely converts the AVI to DVD files that fit on a standard 4.7 GB DVD disk, which plays on my TV via the stand-alone DVD player.

Most video buffs prefer separate software to edit video files, but it seems the more you process them the more likely they are to suffer problems and loss of quality. I'm hoping VS (v11) will allow me to process a 900 MB AVI and compress the rendering to < 4.7 GB, so I can burn it onto DVD media without need to use other software. If VS can compress the file it expands, I'd love to learn how to do it.

[DVDDoug]

Most video buffs prefer separate software to edit video files...

That depends on what you are doing and type of files you are working on. Video Studio is mainly an editor... Most people who use more than one program will use Video Studio for the editing step. (However, when I'm working with MPEG files, I do use a special-purpose MPEG editor.)

If you are going to play-around with highly compressed formats like DivX, you may need a 3rd-party converter or editor (maybe even a handful of software "tools".) All of the highly-compressed formats are really designed for playback only. People who try to edit or convert these formats seem to have lots of trouble. You probably should try to find some tools that don't create sync problems. I can't help you, because I don't work with DivX.

SVCD 2 MPG (~ $40 USD) claims it will convert almost anything to DVD. I have used SUPER (a FREE!!! universal conversion program) a couple of times, but I haven't tried it with DivX.

...but it seems the more you process them the more likely they are to suffer problems and loss of quality.

Yes. MPEG is lossy compression (DivX is an MPEG-4 variation). Any time you re-compress, you loose some quality. There is some quality loss when you convert from DivX to MPEG-2 and vice-versa. If you do any processing such as color adjustment, the video has to be de-compressed and re-compressed. If you add transitions or text overlays, the video has to be de-compressed and re-compressed. (If you use smart-render, the video will only be re-coded where required... i.e. during the transition.)

I'm hoping VS (v11) will allow me to process a 900 MB AVI and compress the rendering to < 4.7 GB

Any version of Video Studio can do that! It's a matter of selecting the correct bitrate* for the playing-time of your file. You can choose one of the Templates provided (under Project Settings)) or you can create a custom template. If you are not doing any other "processing", you should convert your file once to DVD-compatible MPEG-2 at a bitrate that makes the correct file size.

Here's handy online Bitrate Calculator.



* Bitrate is usually indicated in kbps (kilobits per second) or Mbps (megabits per second). This can be scaled-up to Gigabytes per hour to determine the file size.



Quoting myself

Higher bitrate = higher quality = bigger file size = lower compression = less playing time.

Lower bitrate = lower quality = smaller file size = higher compression = more playing time.

A good "rule-of-thumb" is 90 minutes per DVD. You can get that with a 6000k bitrate and Dolby AC3 audio. This bitrate is typical of commercal DVDs (The DVD spec allows video bitrates up to about 9,800k, and up to about 10,000k combined audio & video.)

The quote above assumes that you are comparing "apples-to-apples"... A 4000kbps DivX file might have better quality than a 6000kbps MPEG-2 DVD. And, converting-up to a higher bitrate won't improve a low-bitrate file. The quality/detail has already been lost, and increasing the bitrate won't bring-back the lost data... You might even loose quality due to the additional de-compression/re-compression step.

[G-man]

Thanks for the info. Word processing was a breeze; learning how to use vector and raster layering in photo editing at the pixel level was more challenging; writing command line switches for reprogramming firmware, building PCs from scratch, tweaking systems by modifying registry keys, or creating batch files for DVD autorun menus wasn't so bad; even building web pages with smart meta-tags and converting/editing/enhancing/re-mastering audio files was relatively painless; but editing video is by far the most complex task I have ever faced on a PC: it's like taking a college course at the Master's level. And all the professors are guys like you folks. Methinks the video software developers themselves are only beginning to get the hang of things as evidenced by the lack facility in their products that slooooowly get better in each edition.

OK. I disabled the not-so-"Smart Rendering" and saved the file as an AVI, since VS refuses to resize it to fit on a standard DVD. IMTOO's AVI-to-DVD Converter automatically compressed the file to < 4.7 GB and burned the movie to DVD. When I played the movie on my TV, the three second delay I added to the split audio track worked perfectly! Yay!

I noticed that even using a stop watch to determine the precise amount of time I needed to delay the audio (that had played ahead of the video) was insufficient, for the software seems to continue to try and correct the asynchrony after you drag the demuxed audio track to the right. In VS the video trailed the audio by two seconds, but I needed to delay the audio by three seconds before synchronization was achieved in the final product, which was near-perfect.

[sjj1805]

You problem is that you are working with an Xvid source file.

Xvid DivX and MPEG4 are highly compressed formats but retain high quality. They are popular amongst Television Stations that now post their material on the internet.

These formats are designed for viewing and not editing.
To edit them I find it is best to convert them beforehand to a less compressed MPEG2 format.

There are plenty of copnverters available - you just need to Google to find them. Some free some not.
These converters are also fairly quick, a typical 800MB 1 hour video in Xvid format will convert in about a hour - unlike the several hours that is taken by a standard video editor such as VideoStudio.

Once converted import that file into VideoStudio and continue with your project.

[G-man]

I'm hearing you say that I should firstly convert the mainly-for-viewing Xvid AVI file before importing it to VS for editing. I don't believe you identified to what format I need to convert the file.

Second question, if I may: Is Video Studio Pro Ulead's top of the line software for video editing? I don't mind paying more for power.

Thanks

[Ron P.]

Try converting to DVD Compliant MPEG-2. You don't want to recode it any more times then is absolutely necessary.

I think you mean MediaStudio Pro, and yes it is.

[sjj1805]

I'm hearing you say that I should firstly convert the mainly-for-viewing Xvid AVI file before importing it to VS for editing. I don't believe you identified to what format I need to convert the file.

Second question, if I may: Is Video Studio Pro Ulead's top of the line software for video editing? I don't mind paying more for power.

Thanks

........
These formats are designed for viewing and not editing.
To edit them I find it is best to convert them beforehand to a less compressed MPEG2 format. ........

[G-man]

Yes, that makes sense. Like in audio or digital imaging, the more raw the file the less challenge there is for the editing software and the less likely you are to encounter unpleasant surprises. How much more when working with a multiplexed file.

Thanks

[Ken Berry]

As for your question regarding where Video Studio sits in the Ulead pecking order, no, it is not the top of the line program. That place is held by Media Studio Pro 8.0. However, if you look at the Ulead website, you will see it is a good deal more expensive.

There is also a question over its future, now that Corel has taken over Ulead and is consolidating (i.e. getting rid of some of the programs that don't sell in high volume). But you would get a better idea of that if you visited the Media Studio forum.