HDV capture with scene detection

[Wim Kok]

Just tried to capture the first shots from my new HDV camcorder. Unfortunately the “Ulead HDV capture plug-in” does not support scene detection obviously, this is greyed out. It looks like this plug-in is missing something that the “Ulead Directshow capture plug-in” enabled to split the scenes working in DV. Or do I make a mistake or do I forget something. If there is anyone who can help me, I'll appreciate that very much. I tried HDVSplit but many frames dropped or damaged and the overall quality is not what MSP8 capture (unsplitted) brings. best regards W.Kok

[Ken Berry]

Personally, I always use HDVSplit and have never had one dropped frame. I usually recommend it.

I can't actually say anything about MSP's ability to split HDV by scene, as I have not had it installed on my computer for a couple of years. But I suspect it cannot do it -- certainly Video Studio cannot do it with either HDV or AVCHD. HDV is, in any case, you would realise, not DV but mpeg-2. And as with any other mpeg-2, I think that MSP can only split by scene *after* capture.

[Wim Kok]

I always use HDVSplit and have never had one dropped frame.

Thanks for your explanation Ken, which shows again that Corel is a place where magnificant prosumer-software dies. Perhaps my first scenes were bad and that gave some dropped frames in HDVSplit which can detect HDV scenes indeed. Btw, the camera I bought is the Sony HVR-A1E and with that purchase I got a Vegas Pro 9 as well and that detects HDV scenes also!!
We, the ULEAD club (Nederland) are trying to keep MSP8 “on air” even in the switch we are making to HDV camcorders......... and we manage very well so far. I discovered in the meantime that if you run a preview in “Batch capture”, using the end marker at each scene-change you see (while the movie is running), will create a list of files that can be captured after that preview as separate scenes. The disadvantage of this method however is that it’s a tough job for your camcorder-drive because searching each scene means going forward and backward of the tape all the time. So I will use either HDVSplit or Vegas and can keep MSP8 still “on air”. Thanks again and best regards, Wim Kok

[Ken Berry]

As I say, though, I am pretty sure that if you capture the whole video, you can afterwards set it to split by scene... That would not of course be selective in the sense of *not* capturing certain scenes. But it would also avoid the wear and tear on the camcorder.

But I don't think you will be disappointed either by the Vegas product -- it is good, though is rather less instinctive to use, I have found... I have it, but have not yet bothered upgrading to version 10 as I have found the learning curve too steep. Is it really the full Vegas Pro, though, and not Vegas Movie Studio Pro?

[Wim Kok]

split by scene...

and

Is it really the full Vegas Pro[/quote

I have the experience that "split by scene" is not always reliable.
Yes, it's the full version Vegas Pro 9. Sony loves customers who
purchase a (semi)professional camcorder HVR-A1.
regards, Wim Kok Netherlands