Alludo USER to USER Web Board

Hello,

First things first ¡V thank you all and the administrators for making this tremendously helpful information available to anyone.

I just joined the forum, and although this my first post, it definitely is not my first visit, and I already have been able to use many of the answers provided here.

I made my first video a couple of months ago, and since I had no clue as to whether I could do it, I just used the free Windows Movie Maker. I thought it was relatively easy to use, and posted my first video on YouTube:
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRZizn0a-Bg >

After much researching (i.e., Googleing) I decided on Corel Video Studio Pro X2, and bought the CD version that came with the book. I had a difficult time with the titles, and had it not been for this forum, I don¡¦t believe I could have done it. Yes, I watched the YouTube help videos, but the information provided by the forum is what I needed. Here is my second video, this time wit VSProX2:
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpraPQXDAbg >

Now my first question:
The Movie Maker video, which is about 5 minutes long, is a 91,719 KB .wmv file; so roughly about 18,500 KB per minute . On the other hand, the VSProX2, which is 7-1/2 minutes long, is a 441,120 KB .mpg file, and that is about 59,000 KB per minute. Quite a difference.

Should I have selected a different format for the VSProX2 video?

The video cameras I used for both videos were a Sony TRV20 and a Flip Ultra. The music is from CD¡¦s, and I use Windows XP on a relatively old Pentium 4 computer. I plan to buy a new computer when Windows 7 comes out.

Thank you for your time!

Alex

Hello and welcome:

Should I choose a different format?

The format you choose to create the video file when you are about to "Share" the video is dependant on primarily how you intend to distribute.

The higher the compression the more information has been taken out of the original video file.

For youtube, the formats they accept is a lot wider now than it was even a year ago. So either wmv or mpeg is good. Is one better than the other? That's up to you and what ever you find easiest to work with and it also depends with what format you are starting with. Either way you-tube will compress even further and convert to the flv format (flash)

wmv & mpeg are types of formats that use compression to make file sizes smaller. They compress at different rates hence the difference in file sizes. wmv has a higher compression than mpeg

DV-avi is the least compressed video format and this format gives you more flexibility when it comes to choosing a "share" format in the standard definition range.

Had you started editing with wmv files and tried to "share" to a format using less compression you may notice a degradation of the quality of the image.

Once you get to know and understand the differences in the ranking of compressed video the choices you make become easier. Sharing on the internet you'd want a format that gives great compression (reducing file size) while retaining decent quality. wmv is designed for this distribution medium. On a DVD you can afford less compression and therefore mpeg suits.

High definition formats is a different beast altogether.

This reply could easily ended up as a long essay so I have kept it to basics because it can get a lot more complicated than what I hav written above.

The basics.... start with the least compressed for widest "share" options

Both your videos are AWESOME and I can see you are a master of your hobby. Lovely models and set up, brilliant filming and a pleasure to watch.
You have already found a good format so make sure you don't lose that particular template, and yes you can experiment to try different formats, safe in the knowledge that you already have a good format to fall back on.

If you want to try and duplicate your Windows MM format to VideoStudio, you can try the procedure in this link - using a short video clip created in windows MM to create the template.

Making and Sharing VideoStudio Templates

I used to have a fairly large HO setup. Unfortunately my video hobby started after my train hobby ended so I have no footage of it.

I love your POV shots.

SJ: "If you want to try and duplicate your Windows MM format to VideoStudio, you can try the procedure in this link - using a short video clip created in windows MM to create the template."

Good tip - I'll give it a try. Thanks.

And thank you all for your comments; they are encouraging.

Alex