problems capturing with usb cable with sony handycam

[nanniesue]

please can anybody help me
i have videostudio 11 plus and a sony dv hdd camcorder dcr sr52
my problem is i cannot capture with firewire as there does not seem to be any port on the camcorder
it only came with a usb lead and have been informed that that is the only way of transferring my footage to my pc
i can do this no problem with the software that came with the camera but according to the properties of the file they are mpeg 2 which i have learnt reading your forums is not to good to say the least for editing
also i thought that dv was avi if you know what i mean?
i cannot capture using ulead as my camcorder does not appear in the capture devices
please any advice as to whether there is a way to capture with firewire and also should my files be mpeg 2 as after editing the quality is definately not as good as viewing directly onto my tv

[2Dogs]

Whilst I personally hoped that developments in technology might result in there being DV camcorders, i.e. standard definition camcorders using the DV25 standard to record to either hard drives or solid state memory cards, the manufacturers instead made camcorders which employed a more compressed format. In your case, the camcorder records in mpeg2.

Now whilst the mpeg2 format is not so well suited to editing as DV avi such as used by tape based miniDV camcorders, it's not too bad. You just need to be careful with your workflow, and try to minimise re-encoding of your video.

There are even some advantages. Instead of having to capture video from your camcorder in real time by playing the video back thru the camcorder whilst it's hooked up to your pc, you merely transfer the video files onto your pc from the camcorder hard drive - by USB. This should happen in a fraction of the run time of the video on a modern pc with USB 2.0 ports.

When you edit any of the video, you simply need to match your project properties to the properties of the camcorder video. Video Studio should prompt you to do this when you insert the first clip onto your editing timeline.

Then, unless you've made extensive use of video filters, rendering the project to a DVD compliant mpeg2 file should also happen very quickly, with a feature known as Smart Render enabled. Only those parts of the project with video filters, overlays, titles, transitions and so on - usually only a small fraction of the total - need to be re-encoded.

P.S. Welcome to the forum!

[nanniesue]

many thanks for your reply one problem i am having is after burning to dvd when watching o n tv it is like a motion sickness if you know what i mean it is not jerky just when the movement is fast it does not seem sharp
these are the settings for the files i put into ulead
file format pal dvd
video type mpeg2 video upper field first
24 its 720x576 16:9
frame rate 25.000 frames/sec
date rate variable (max9100 kbs)

audio

dolby digital
attributes 4800hz
layer none
bit rate 256

the project properties are not the same and show lower field first so have been changing that do i need to change the audio to the same as file as well
do i need to change the field in file : preferences as well
also have checked the box for show message when inserting first clip to the timeline but no message comes up when i do this any ideas there

do i have to change all the options everytime for field and audio everytime i go go to burn or is there a way of saving all this info?
one other thing can i use mpeg optimizer under share or will that also affect the quality of my discs?
i have spent hours ready all the posts on this great site and the tuturials but have to say is very mind boggling and am getting even more a pickle!!!
any advance to these questions really would be gratefully appreciated especially in plain english as after all i am only a 50 year old woman!!!

many thanks in advance i awaite any replys eagerly so i can have a go at burning my grandsons footy footage
sue

[2Dogs]

many thanks for your reply one problem i am having is after burning to dvd when watching o n tv it is like a motion sickness if you know what i mean it is not jerky just when the movement is fast it does not seem sharp

Is the effect you describe more pronounced on the DVD than on the original clip - say if you play the clip back in Media Player on your pc?

Having lots of movement is challenging for any camcorder. If possible, you should try to use a tripod, though I find a monopod almost as good in a lot of situations and far more convenient and quicker to setup.

You might also experiment with turning off any in-camera image stabilisation, to compare the effect with and without. Sometimes IS can work against you when you're panning, following some (serious footy) action.

these are the settings for the files i put into ulead
file format pal dvd
video type mpeg2 video upper field first
24 its 720x576 16:9
frame rate 25.000 frames/sec
date rate variable (max9100 kbs)

audio

dolby digital
attributes 4800hz
layer none
bit rate 256

That all seems fine.

the project properties are not the same and show lower field first so have been changing that do i need to change the audio to the same as file as well

You should set the project properties to match the properties of your source video above.

do i need to change the field in file : preferences as well

Yes. Each time I open VS in a new, blank project, it seems to default to "frame based". Maybe you should create a blank project file with all the correct settings for your video, and save it with some meaningful name, eg "Sue" or whatever. Then you can open that project file for each new project, and rename it accordingly, and you won't have to keep checking all the settings.

also have checked the box for show message when inserting first clip to the timeline but no message comes up when i do this any ideas there

You have to do this in advance of inserting any clips. Perhaps you could open a new, blank project, even the "Sue" template described above, make sure that the option to show message etc is checked, and then try inserting a clip. It should work for dv avi and mpeg2 clips, but not other formats.

do i have to change all the options everytime for field and audio everytime i go go to burn or is there a way of saving all this info?

As far as the project properties are concerned, no, not if you use my suggested "Sue" template project file approach.

one other thing can i use mpeg optimizer under share or will that also affect the quality of my discs?

You most definitely should use the mpeg optimizer. It's a very good indicator that things are as they should be. All the green areas shown in the optimizer will indicate that Smart Rendering will occur in those sections - and your aim should be to enable Smart render as much as possible to minimise re-encoding.

If the mpeg optimizer is greyed out, it indicates a problem.

i have spent hours reading all the posts on this great site and the tutorials but have to say is very mind boggling and am getting even more a pickle!!!

Don't feel too discouraged! I think some people feel that everything done on a pc should be really easy - and many might believe the advertising blurb on the packaging, touting the ease of use. In my opinion, VS is easy to use, but there is still a lot to learn, and there's no substitute for paying attention to detail, and perhaps breaking things down into a simple sequence of steps. You will find the forum users very willing to help you, and this has to be one of the most active forums (fora) I know of.

any advance to these questions really would be gratefully appreciated especially in plain english as after all i am only a 50 year old woman!!!

Then you should find it all very straightforward, since you will have a lot of experience and no hang-ups about taking advice!

many thanks in advance i await any replies eagerly so i can have a go at burning my grandsons footy footage
sue

Good luck! And remember, the question not asked is the only stupid question!

[nanniesue]

again many thanks i got all that thankyou very much have now managed to enable the box to keep my settings as my original file
the question about burning is what i mean is once all editing is done and have used mpeg optimizer in share i am now left with my mpeg 2 file with all my edited video on i then click on new project / share create disc ready for menus etc do i then need to change the settings at the bottom left corner of the screen as these again do not match my original files imported into ulead?
andddddddddd one last question how can i add all my clips at once into the timeline please

in answer to your question it is hard to tell whether it is worse when on dvd as one is viewed on the monitor and the other on a big tv but yes i would say it looks clearer on the pc

do not know if this is of any use to anyone but apart from reading all your tuturiols on this website i have found a good one on takeonefix.com it does not explain the ins and outs of all the tech stuff like you but is very good for learning basics editing overlay etc etc and it is in video which really helps someone like me!!!

am now in the middle of editing my grandsons match and once have a reply regarding the options in create disc will hopefully be able to burn a good quality dvd at the end of it

[2Dogs]

again many thanks i got all that thankyou very much have now managed to enable the box to keep my settings as my original file

Good! Making progress then.

the question about burning is what i mean is once all editing is done and have used mpeg optimizer in share i am now left with my mpeg 2 file with all my edited video on i then click on new project / share create disc ready for menus etc do i then need to change the settings at the bottom left corner of the screen as these again do not match my original files imported into ulead?

The important thing is to make sure that when you click on the "Gear" icon in the share>create disc screen, in the "Project Settings" box that comes up, "Do not convert compliant MPEG files" is checked. You might also change all the settings to match your source video as before in the editing stage when you set the project properties. If you did create a "Sue" blank project with all the right settings, perhaps you could open that to use, suitably renamed, for the create disc step (disc authoring)

andddddddddd one last question how can i add all my clips at once into the timeline please

Not sure what you mean by this. If you're following the suggested workflow, which it seems you are, there will just be the one DVD compliant mpeg2 file to import into the create disc step.

Otherwise, to insert video clips onto the timeline of your editing project, you can use "File>Insert Media File to Timeline>Insert Video..." and select the files you wish to insert.

in answer to your question it is hard to tell whether it is worse when on dvd as one is viewed on the monitor and the other on a big tv but yes i would say it looks clearer on the pc

DVD's often do look better on a pc monitor. One common cause of such a problem might be a mix up in the field order. For example, if you inadvertently made a DVD using frame-based instead of upper field first, it could look better on the pc. Using lower field first by mistake would result in video that looked bad on both the pc and the TV.

do not know if this is of any use to anyone but apart from reading all your tuturiols on this website i have found a good one on takeonefix.com it does not explain the ins and outs of all the tech stuff like you but is very good for learning basics editing overlay etc etc and it is in video which really helps someone like me!!!

Although I'm not familiar with that particular one, the animated nature of the tutorial does make things easier. I think that once you grasp the basic concepts, the technical details will easily follow.

am now in the middle of editing my grandsons match and once have a reply regarding the options in create disc will hopefully be able to burn a good quality dvd at the end of it

When you do get to create the disc, I would suggest you output to DVD folders, and then check everything before burning to single write media. Otherwise, you might also do a first burn to a re-writable DVD+RW or DVD-RW disc, although some standalone players can be picky with RW media, and you generally get significantly poorer burn quality to RW discs.

Hope you're not tempted to use your editing skills to alter the result of the game!

Good luck!

[nanniesue]

well looks like another thankyou yet again!!!
yes i did mean how to add all files to timeline that i have ready and yet again you have answered that for me
and i have followed your advice to the letter ( in your terms suggested workflow) see i have read so many posts on this forum trying to find the answers to my questions (before i got round to joining and asking myself)
that i even am learning the tech talk!!!
i have made a template for my file properties so should now have no problems left to ask
by the way dont need to fix the game we won 2-0
will let you know how it all goes
have enjoyed the chat

mistake made for website it is takeoneflix.com if you have time after replying to all us newbies take a look

[nanniesue]

well just had to let you know how i got on and guess what?
my dvd quality is now near to perfect i am thrilled and would like to thank you over again however......
i do have one slight problem the audio is out of sync!!
i had this problem before and found that it only happened when i used the mpeg optimizer in share
if in share i went to share / create video file/ same as project settings this did not happen any ideas on this one yet again?
also between each clip there is a slight pause of say 1 second which happens on every clip i can live with this if i have to as am delighted with the quality i now have
the next clip starts then pauses very briefly then continues is this what is called a dropped frame and why does it only happen between each video clip added to the timeframe?
i am not using any effects inbetween incase that would be your quesion
have checked the mpeg 2 file that have created and happens when viewing that to but not as noticable as when viewing completed burnt dvd on the tv
anyway have had enough now and am off to my bed is 01:52 and my head is spinning
await your reply
sue

[Black Lab]

Turning off SmartRender solved some out of sync issues in previous versions. Worth a try.

[2Dogs]

i do have one slight problem the audio is out of sync!!
i had this problem before and found that it only happened when i used the mpeg optimizer in share

Using Smart Render with earlier versions of VS was known to cause audio out of sync (OOS) issues - but I thought that this had been fixed in at least the last three versions.

if in share i went to share / create video file/ same as project settings this did not happen any ideas on this one yet again

When you create a video file "same as project settings" does the project get Smart Rendered? You can tell that this is happening since the preview window will stay black, and the process won't take very long. If you can confirm that smart Render is enabled when you do that, and you don't get the same OOS problems, it might point to something amiss with the MPEG Optimizer - which would be a bit of a shocker!

also between each clip there is a slight pause of say 1 second which happens on every clip i can live with this if i have to as am delighted with the quality i now have

When you are in your editing project, if you change the view to Storyboard view, are there any plain black clips in between your video clips? Sometimes you can have a default setting to insert a transition between each clip. Click on "File>Preferences" and in the "Edit" tab, make sure that "Use default transition effect" is unchecked.

the next clip starts then pauses very briefly then continues is this what is called a dropped frame and why does it only happen between each video clip added to the timeframe?

No, dropped frames result from the inability of your hard drive to keep up with the incoming data when capturing video. In your case, transfer via the USB cable can occur at the maximum speed of which the system is capable, and isn't ruled by the camocorder playing back the video in real time, so I would hope there would be little possibility of dropped frames.

i am not using any effects inbetween incase that would be your quesion

Oh, there goes that theory then! Although you may not be deliberately inserting effects, though, there's still an outside chance of VS being set to default to a transition between your clips, so checking it in the Storyboard view would still be worthwhile.

have checked the mpeg 2 file that have created and happens when viewing that to but not as noticable as when viewing completed burnt dvd on the tv

You might try playing each separate source video clip in your favourite software media player to check if the effect is apparent before the clip is inserted into VS.

anyway have had enough now and am off to my bed is 01:52 and my head is spinning
await your reply
sue

Tut tut, dirty stop-up! Beware - video editing can be a great thief of time!

[nanniesue]

well guess what i started looking at other threads for audio out of sync and am still up was shocked that others are too!
ok regarding the smart render bit you asked about as i have the box ticked for project setings same as file a message comes up to saying that it will produce smart render so how do i get out of that one as i need it for my quality

next answer no there are no black clips and my default transition effect is unchecked the problem is no exactly between the clips but a second after
does that help
i am not going to try and make the mpeg again tonight (or should i say this morning) as my brain is frazzled now and i need my beauty sleep believe me

next answer each clip plays fine is only when i put them together and make new file i have the problem they play fine in the timeline as well

speak to you tomorrow i hope
sue

[nanniesue]

back again well tried to make mpeg file n share create file same as project settings but now program keeps freezing!!
it starts ok screen is black then you can see the video in slow motion next the video will pause then come back on again in slow motion this seem to happen where a title has been added then where there is no title it stops again if you get my drift
then the program freezes
and found yet another revalation if i load my svp file via load media files in the preferences box it comes up as one big clip not with all the titles etc in the title line i then go to share creat file use original file settings it takes a while to convert an meg 2 file but the audio is in sync!!!! and no the screen does not go black but again have the slow motion thing going on but does not freeze
i do not understand what on earth is happening here
also have played the first burnt dvd in another standalone player and the audio is still out of sync but the pausing between clips does not happen
do you think it would be worth uninstalling and reinstalling ?
am really about to give up and thats not like me
any chance you live in the bedfordshire area a one to one lesson would be great lol
sue

[nanniesue]

ok here we go another update been at it all day am surprised computer has not blown up
have now managed to create an mpeg file with audio in sync
have done this by unchecking the smart render box that comes up when using mpg optimizer it takes about 45 mins to render the 31 min video but like i said audio is in sync
regarding the screen going black when using smart render this never happens whatever i do like i said the video just pauses for a while inbetween making the titles whether i make a file with mpg optimizer or same as project settings but the time taken for same video is 17 mins so figure must be smart rendering
last question have been looking through book (yet again!) that came with software and it says i should have a project options tab in the video studio on opening this i should be able to turn off smart render but just my luck do not have no such tab only project properties and preferences etc any ideas why or where it is please so can turn it off otherwise cannot use the other options for create file without my audio being out of sync

dont know whether everybody is busy or just fed up with me now but am not getting any feedback today hope it is not the latter!
sue

[2Dogs]

Hi Sue,

like I said, video editing can be a great thief of time!

Funny that you're in Bedfordshire - my brother lived in Bedford before emigrating to NZ last year. The reason you didn't get any further responses from me was that I went to bed and watched a movie - I'm in "Katrinaland", North West Louisiana, and six hours behind the UK.

I'm sorry to hear that Smart Render seems to be causing OOS problems, though. I had suspected it might, since on some videos from a DVD recorder, on which I remove the commercials, there did seem to be a slight sync issue.

I certainly don't experience the faltering playback one or two seconds into each clip that you describe - and my DVD-VR source material is also 9100 kbps variable bitrate - but I don't add titles to those videos. Some experimentation may be in order...

You seem to have found out how to disable Smart render yourself. When you go to "Share > Create Video File > Same as Project Settings" (or "Same as First Clip") also click on the "Options..." button, which will bring up another window. In that, uncheck "Perform SmartRender" (and I also usually uncheck "Play file after creating it"

You should fill in the computer related info in your system profile. From your rendering time figures, I would guess that you have something like a 3.2Ghz Pentium 4 or an equivalent AMD pc. It certainly seems like it should be up to the job, but there are a few tweaks that might be helpful.

Are you using XP or Vista? From the above I would guess XP.

Not sure of what's happening in your preview window when Smart Render is occurring - it could be that the screen does show something in the sections that aren't Smart Rendered. Since your pc renders at about 1.5x real time, you might expect to see slight slow-motion in the preview window.

You might make sure that you do a few basic tasks which might be helpful. Use the Windows disc cleanup utility to clear out temporary files, and defragment your hard drive. It would be worth scheduling a disc check too, which normally runs in a blue dos screen on your next reboot. All of the above would help eliminate disc problems as a possible cause of your troubles.

It goes without saying that you should disable any screensavers and other scheduled program runs - e.g. scheduled anti-virus scans, and I would generally disconnect the pc from the net whilst doing any "serious" editing.

Whilst the aim would be to not re-encode mpeg2 video, doing it just the once, by disabling Smart Render when you create your single, large mpeg2 file from your editing project will probably not result in any obvious deterioration of the picture quality.

Good luck!

[etech6355]

dont know whether everybody is busy or just fed up with me now but am not getting any feedback today hope it is not the latter!

Others are reading this thread, 2Dogs has described in great detail the workings on VS11+. He can tell you himself he could writeup another 5 pages on different ways to edit video.
I think it may be counterproductive and could add more confusion if to many other experienced users jump in. If you want to read the other users experience then I suggest using the Search & Tutorials sections (which you have already done).

The only thing I'd like to contribute to add to 2Dogs postings is the VS11+ program itself which should be updated if you haven't done so along with the latest distribution of Directx 9.0C dated November 2007.

The below statement is a standard quote:

Have you installed the patches to VS11+? There are 2 patches to install (NOT the HOTFIX)
And have you installed Directx 9.0C November 2007 latest update? These are necessary for the program to execute properly.

After updating the program make sure under Preferences your quality is set to "BEST" (the default is "GOOD"). Make sure your project settings match your source video settings and the "Compression/Quality" is set to 100%.

If having problems then disable SmartRender, when you goto make a new video file from the timeline then disable "SmartRender".
"Share -> Create Video File -> Same As Project Settings". Click on the OPTIONS Button and "Uncheck" use "SmartRender".

If you haven't update VS11+ and Directx 9.0C from Novermber then you need to do this.