Sampling - which format and program ?

[mikescott]

Hello all,

I am getting back into video editing again after a two year absence!
I had a VS8, but upgraded to version 11.5 VS and wish to transfer all my tapes onto DVD.
I now have about 12 hour long tapes to transfer.

1) The age old question. Sample in AVI or MPG?
When I started I though I must keep the highest quality and do all in AVI despite 13GB files,
but then I only had 4 tapes!
Can you really achieve the same quality editing mpg as you do avi?

2) My ambition sometime this year will be to get a new pc with Windows 7 and X4 when it is released (is it every year?)
until then I can get on with sampling and organising files, and perhaps starting some editing.
I read there are some sampling issues with VS11, am I better off just using VS8 to sample?
(i.e. is there any benefit in using VS11.5 to sample over VS8 also bearing in mind the AVI v MPG dilema in question 1)

Thanks in advance, I have always found everyone on this forum most helpful.


Mike

[Black Lab]

What to you mean by "sample"?

If you are doing simple editing, such as just trimming the beginning and ending of a clip, MPEG-2 files are fine. If you are going to be doing extensive editing, such as adding titles, effects, etc., I would use DV-AVI. The reason being DV-AVI is a non-lossy format (won't degrade with editing/rendering), while MPEG-2 is.

[mikescott]

Black Lab,

Thanks for the swift reply.

Yes what I meant by sample was transfer to hard dsic from digital tape.
I do edit clips, piece together with titles and music.
Therefore I will stick with the AVI format.

Any comments on VS8 versus VS11.5 for sampling?

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

As far as I know VS 11 has problems with capturing analogue video.

When you refer to tapes, do you mean camcorder Mini-DV type tapes, or VHS recordings.

You also mention Digital Tape so I assume Mini DV.
You should use Firewire to transfer the video using DV as the capture format.
This creates DV.Avi at 13 Gb per hour. (definitely the best option)

Just to confirm can you tell us hat type of camcorder you are using.
Or am I on the wrong tack here and its VHS????????????

If Camcorder MiniDV then there is no difference using VS8, in fact vs8 may be the best option

[mikescott]

Thanks Trevor,

Yes well deduced from my cryptic clues I am using Mini DV taken on a Sony TRV33.
I have Firewire connection and have always used it, the TRV33 is old school USB 1.1 so not even an option!

I may well just use VS8 to transfer the AVI files.
Thanks for all the help.

[Black Lab]

I may well just use VS8 to transfer the AVI files.

I use v10 to capture and X3 to edit.

[mikescott]

Jeff / Trevor

Thanks for the advice on capture.
I am intrigued as to why the older versions are better?
Is VS11 the turning point when it was made worse?
Especially as, if I upgrade my computer, I wil need the new X3 (or 4 by then) to run on W7.

Cheers

Mike

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Mike

VS11 had a problem with capture from its release.
I do not own VS 11 and therefore don’t know the full details, only that there is a problem.

Capturing via firewire to DV is a matter of transferring the video to the pc, there is no recoding, what you have is what you get DV-Avi. (13Gb per hour)

There is a free program called WinDV
http://windv.mourek.cz/
Nice little program used to transfer DV.
Once you have the files on your pc you simply insert to timeline and edit.

Camcorder manufacturers seem to supply all cameras with USB cable not firewire cable.
Seems a little strange to me, not surprising that we get confused.

[mikescott]

Trevor,

Thanks, what a neat little program!

My guess is that camcorders come with a USB cable because its cheaper, not because they think its better!!
I have heard despite USB 2.0 's massive speed increase it still can not guarantee constant transfer speed
like firewire can, is that true?

[skier-hughes]

That's becasue USB 2's massive spped is burst speed, so firewire is still faster for continuous data transfer.