AVI and MPEG2 files in the same project

hanspeter · Post by **hanspeter** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 1:59 pm

Hi

I have a challenge with Video Studio 10 Plus (so still using the "old" version with good success).

I have a project in which all of my clips are from my Sony digital DVD video camera. All clips are in MPEG2 format (so coming from the DVD VOB format from the camera). They are normal PAL standard with upper field first as they are coming from my Sony camera. Rendering such a project and making a new MPEG file and share to a DVD works perfectly fine.

Now I want to add in between the series of MPEG2 clips a small clip made in AVI format, which is a map showing the trip, taken directly from my computer screen with a screen capture program.
When I view the AVI clip as such in Video Studio it works fine and the map and text is clearly readable.
But after having rendered the mixed MPEG2 and this one AVI file into a new final MPEG project then the part of the AVI file gets chopped and text is not readable any more. I am not sure if that has to do with the field order as the MPEG2 is upper field first and the AVI is frame based. On the other hand isn't it so that the rendering process should make work this right?

I also have tried to render a separate MPEG2 clip only out ot that one AVI clip and then to insert it into my series of MPEG2 clips of the actual video. But the quality is the same horrible one.

Does anybody have similar experience and can give advice what to do with mixed MPEG2 and AVI clips in the same project?

Thanks in avance for your support

Hanspeter

skier-hughes · Post by **skier-hughes** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:12 pm

rendering out as an mpeg on it's own shows it is either the clip or the way VS handles it that is the problem.
You coulkd try other convertors, such as super to see if thhey manage it better.

You need to think about the size of the avi file, as I suspect it is 1024x768 or whatever screen resolution you have, and this needs to come down to 720x576.

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:17 pm

Mixing AVI and MPEG2 is not the problem. Mixing field orders is the problem.

But if by "chopped" you mean part of the AVI clip is cropped, or cut off, than that doesn't necessarily sound like a field order problem.

Please post the properties of the two different kinds of clips, along with your final MPEG2 properties.

hanspeter · Post by **hanspeter** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:29 pm

Black Lab wrote:Mixing AVI and MPEG2 is not the problem. Mixing field orders is the problem.

But if by "chopped" you mean part of the AVI clip is cropped, or cut off, than that doesn't necessarily sound like a field order problem.

Please post the properties of the two different kinds of clips, along with your final MPEG2 properties.

Thanks guys for your quick answers. I share Black
Lab's opinion that it is probably the mixing field order. With chopped I mean that the moving of the cursor is not smooth any more, and also the text from the map is not readable any more after I have rendered the AVI clip to MPEG2, either as a standalone clip or then in the complete project.

I can send the properties at a later stage as I am not just around my computer where I edit my videos. But does the above statement help for some more advice?

Thanks for your help

Hanspeter

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:40 pm

Well then, that sounds like a field order problem. You can try rendering both types (the UFF MPEG2 and the LFF AVI) to frame based and see what happens.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 3:43 pm

I have mixed DV Lower Field First with MPEG2 Upper field first and had no problems. Someone once posted on the Forum that they did some tests and it was found that the field order would flip over from UFF to LFF on playback.

Combining Upper & lower field

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:53 pm

[quote="Black Lab"]Please post the properties of the two different kinds of clips, along with your final MPEG2 properties.[/quote]

Post by **Ken Berry** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:08 pm

And I have to add that UFF + Frame Based should cause no field order problem anyway as Frame Based will normally take on the attributes of either UFF or LFF. That is what happens with Slideshows inserted into a video, in any case...

But as has now been made clear, we absolutely have to have the properties of at least the avi in question as there is a huge variety of formats which use that extension...

hanspeter · Post by **hanspeter** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:13 pm

Hi all again

thank you so far for your support. I have now here the detailed data, and probably also some idea for the others who face the same problem:

To recap the whole problem:
1.) I want to insert a street map directly into my video to show the trip. The map I capture directly from PC screen with a screen capture video software (CamStudio, open source software). I use the Microsoft video 1 Codec in this software). I open the map and move with the cursor over the trip and then zoom into the map at the destination, so a simple and easy thing to show to the audience where we were.

2.) the first video clip inserted into a new Video Studio project is a normal video shot with my Sony DVD video camera, and the properties are as follows:
MPEG2, Upper field first
Total frames: 312 frames
Attribute: 24 bits, 720x576, 4:3
Frame Rate: 25.000 frames/sec
Var Bitrae (max 9100)

2.) The AVI clip from the screen capture with the map has the following properties:
File Format: Microsoft AVI files
Framerate: 200.000 frames/sec
Datarate: 611.80kps
Compression: AVI Decompressor
16 bits, 730x576

When I look at the individual clips in both VS10 as well as Windows Media Player the quality is excellent, but after rendering (without smart render - I actually never use smart render because of the loss of the Audio Sync!) the first part of the video is good, but the map part is terrific and you cannot read any text from the map.
The properties of the rendered file are the same as the first video clip (I select also "same as first video clip" in the Share menu).

I made then a second trial by adjusting the framerate to 25.000 frames/sec. in the screen capture software CamStudio, the quality is then a bit better, but not sufficient at all. the quality of the clip however is perfect, so it clearly must have to do with the fact of rendering.

So I thought the framerate might help here, but it does it only partly.

Therefore the question remains: anybody else who has some experience on this?

Thanks again for your help.

Hanspeter