General Questions

[sportswizdan]

Ok, I just want to be sure of one other thing here. Im capturing thru a sony cam via firewire. I have been capturing to DV format. You cant change any of the video data rate because there is no menu for that in the edit columns like there is if you capture to MPEG. Am I correct that you cant change the variable or constant bit rate for the video if your capturing to DV or SHOULD I BE capturing to MPEG where I "CAN" have a menu selection for bit rate and choose the "variable 8000 kbps" and when it asks me if I want to match my project properties to my video say yes there because my camcorder is AVI files. I guess I'm just a lttle confused because I have been capturing to DV but don't see anywhere to change the bit rate when doing that. Any help here will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dan

[thecoalman]

There's no choice it's a set Data rate. The thing to understand is when you capture DV your not capturing but transferring the footage, there's no conversion. It's similar to copying a file from one folder to another on your computer. The upside to AVI is easily editable, is less prone to producing A/V sync issues when edited and produces a better final product especially if your doing a lot of editing such as adding filters.

The only real downside is you have to spend the extra time to transfer as opposed to converting on the fly to mpeg. It still has to be converted to mpeg but that's after you finish your edits.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi
So when you have completed your editing, you are ready to convert / render the project to one single Mpeg 2 file.
You use this file to make a Dvd.
The amount of footage you can save to a Dvd depends on one main factor.
The Bit Rate. The size of frame and type of audio also affects the file size but not as dramatic as the bit rate.
As a guide:-
Up to 60 minutes should use 8000kbps
Up to 90 minutes should use 6000kbps
Up to 120 minutes should use 4000kbps

At the end of editing you know exactly how long the video is. Use a bit rate calculator to check the bit rate required. Have a look at this web page.

http://dvd-hq.info/Calculator.html

Assuming your video is 60 minutes.
From share/create video file/
You have a choice of templates choose Pal or Ntsc Dvd
This is Video Studios default template.

You can use the custom template which allows you to alter the settings.

You can also make your own templates, adding them to the list.(very useful)
From Tools / Make Movie Manager.

Check out Quick Guide for Avi and Mpeg below

Hope this Helps

Trevor