VS X3 Linking H264 clips from Samsung HD

[Stwilliam]

I've several hundred video clips from my Samsung R10 HD camcorder ( H264 - 1080 25 fps) that I wish to link into one continuous file. I'm not bothered about transisitons or any other editing.

Ideally, I would prefer it to be lossless, but when the clips are placed into X3, it appears they have to be rendered. However, if I'm forced to re render, I cant find a 1080 H264 setting in MP4 format with 25 fps ??????


Any help would be welcome.

[Ron P.]

Welcome to the forums,

If there's any rendering going on when you're first dropping videos into VS, it must be the Smart Proxy. VS is creating Proxy files to use while editing. This is used primarily to make it easier for slower computers to edit higher definition videos. Since you did not complete your system information in your profile, I don't know if you have a computer with enough horsepower to edit HD video without using Smart Proxy.

To disable Smart Proxy, open the Preferences dialog (Settings>Preferences, or press F6 on your keyboard), then go to the Performance (Smart Proxy) tab, and clear the checkmark.

[Natal]

The clips themselves shouldn't be re-rendered when you put them into the timeline, but the preview might appear to be. That is just the preview though.

Once you have all the clips in your timeline, select "share", then "create video file", then "same as first video clip". As long as it is a format that can be read by VS it should output the file you want with very little or no rendering.

That is, if you just want a file. If you want to burn a disc then, depending on your bit rate, you may not be able to avoid a re-render. If you are producing discs I would recommend staying away from VS's H.264 options since they degrade the output to unacceptable levels, and using the mpeg2 one instead.

[Stwilliam]

Once you have all the clips in your timeline, select "share", then "create video file", then "same as first video clip". As long as it is a format that can be read by VS it should output the file you want with very little or no rendering.

.

I tried that and the 'create video file' was greyed out. A friend who as X4 tried it and although he could select same as first clip, it then came up with the following error -
" The frame size ( 1920 x 1080 ) of the video file does not match the settings and therefore cannot be trimmed "

I only require one file to reside on the computer. But I dont want VS to render when it joins the clips.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

If you have several video files and want to join them together into one single file then they have to be rendered/converted into a single file.

What properties the single file uses depends on what you select in Share Create Video File.
If Same as First Video Clip is available then the resultant file will use the same properties as the original.
This option may not be available if Video Studio does not recognise or full support the video file,
In which case the video clips will be re-coded using different settings of your choice.

I assume you have transferred the video clips from the camera to your hard drive.
Right click the timeline and select Insert video, browse for your files.
With the clips in the timeline, right click and select properties, what are they?
Post the details, you can if you wish attach the window as an image to the post.

[Stwilliam]

Hi
If Same as First Video Clip is available then the resultant file will use the same properties as the original.
This option may not be available if Video Studio does not recognise or full support the video file,

If I choose same as first clip I get the error 'The frame size ( 1920 x 1080 ) of the video file does not match the settings and therefore cannot be trimmed'

Hi
I assume you have transferred the video clips from the camera to your hard drive.

Yes, I've done that.

With the clips in the timeline, right click and select properties, what are they?
Post the details, you can if you wish attach the window as an image to the post.

Details attached


It's looking like VS X3/4 does not support my Samsung format. So I will have to render. But - what format ? There appears to be no 25 fps option and the WMV option does not allow for 1920x1080.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

What are you intending to make................

A standard definition DVD
A HD Bluray disc/ Hybrid disc
A video for the internet

[Stwilliam]

Hi

What are you intending to make................

A standard definition DVD
A HD Bluray disc/ Hybrid disc
A video for the internet

Basically, all the small files of the kids birthdays into one file to be stored on a PC ( and the same for each subject ). I dont use DVD / Blueray players, all my videos from previous camcorders ( pre HD ) are stored on external drives which I can acces via my PC or the TV ( using allshare ).

So I want the quality to be as near to the original clips ( in this case 1080 H264 ).

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

Using Settings – Make Movie Templates Manager I was able to create various templates to the following using similar settings to your original.
I was unable to duplicate the frame rate of 24.975, however its as near to 25 as you can get.

MPEG-4 Files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 30 fps (cannot select any other than 30 fps) ??
Frame-based
H.264 Main Profile Video: 17608 Kbps
44100 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo
MPEG AAC Audio: 128 Kbps

-----------------------------------

Microsoft AVI files
24 bits, 1980 x 1080, 25 fps
Frame-based
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V1
PCM, 48.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo

---------------------------------------

MPEG Transport-Stream Files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 25 fps
Upper Field First
(HDMV-PAL), 16:9
H.264 Video
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 17608 kbps)
Audio data rate: 256 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio, 48 KHz, 2/0(L,R)

-------------------------------

QuickTime Movie Files
24 bits, 1980 x 1080, 25 fps
Frame-based
MPEG 4 Visual
50% Quality, 24 Key Frame Rate
None, 8.000 KHz, 8 bits, Stereo

Give them a try to see which produces the best video, also compare file sizes.
The transport stream may be best should you wish to create a DVD at a later date.

[Stwilliam]

Many thanks Trevor, I will give them a try and let you know the result.


I was also foxed by the 30 fps limitation on the MPEG - 4 file format ?

[Stwilliam]

Hi
MPEG-4 Files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 30 fps (cannot select any other than 30 fps) ??
Frame-based
H.264 Main Profile Video: 17608 Kbps
44100 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo
MPEG AAC Audio: 128 Kbps

Unable to make this template, the maximum res it will allow me to select is 720 x 756 ?

Microsoft AVI files
24 bits, 1980 x 1080, 25 fps
Frame-based
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V1
PCM, 48.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo

Same again. It will only allow me 800 x 600 ?

MPEG Transport-Stream Files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 25 fps
Upper Field First
(HDMV-PAL), 16:9
H.264 Video
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 17608 kbps)
Audio data rate: 256 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio, 48 KHz, 2/0(L,R)

Kind of worked. It took forever and a day. 12 x 20 sec clips took 5 hours ! , That was the average across 4 computers ( one of them a recent build for a recording studio running pro-tools - so very high spec ). Even then the quality was pretty poor.

QuickTime Movie Files
24 bits, 1980 x 1080, 25 fps
Frame-based
MPEG 4 Visual
50% Quality, 24 Key Frame Rate
None, 8.000 KHz, 8 bits, Stereo
.

Quicktime was also pretty poor, But its not an option anyway.



Thanks for your help, but I think Samsung have devised a really weird H.264 format ? I can buy a new HD camcorder and bin my current one, but that dont solve my problem of 12 months worth of video to join. Even Samsungs own intell-studio software thats supplied with the camera appears to re-encode.

[Black Lab]

You may have to convert them in order to use them.

Even Samsungs own intell-studio software thats supplied with the camera appears to re-encode.

And the quality after they are re-encoded? Converting them to something usable may reduce the quality, but that's still better than what you have now - i.e. unusable clips.

[Stwilliam]

You may have to convert them in order to use them.

Even Samsungs own intell-studio software thats supplied with the camera appears to re-encode.

And the quality after they are re-encoded? Converting them to something usable may reduce the quality, but that's still better than what you have now - i.e. unusable clips.

The quality is still poor, but the time scale is vast. I would need to set aside weeks to use intellstudio. It really is slow beyond believe.

There is a vast array of video editing / encoder programs on the market. It's just a case of finding one that will give me 1920x1080 at 25fps in a known format ( mp4, avi , mkv ) that can reside on an external hardrive for playback via PC, laptop or allshare. My allshare connection will play anything I throw at it through the server, even the most obscure bizzare video formats, yet its a Samsung smart TV - so why there is so much trouble with Samsungs HD camera format is strange.

I've used VS with my old tape AV camcorder videos for years. I wish the camcorder market produced a universal HD format that was cross platform.

[Black Lab]

I wish the camcorder market produced a universal HD format that was cross platform.

That, in a nutshell, is the crux of the problem.

[Ron P.]

I wish the camcorder market produced a universal HD format that was cross platform.

That, in a nutshell, is the crux of the problem.

Universal=Standardized, which really is not..

I've found Wikipedia to be a huge research tool for these confusing things. After reading the statement about "universal HD format" I visited Wikipedia and read some on one of the most standardized formats, DV, since it has always been the easiest to work with. I think if you start to understand the first transition made into digital video from the film industry, you get a better appreciation as to why these newer high-def formats are so much more difficult to get to work for everyone, all the time. It's real easy for all of us to slam Corel or whomever the program developer is, but it just isn't as simple as what we want to think it is.

The differences in PAL/SECAM and NTSC based on the electrical systems of 50Hz and 60Hz, how they must translate how film was recorded at 24fps to be able to work with each one. This takes into account the number of lines each one must use for the video/movie to be displayed on televisions. I didn't realize until recently that they used Pitch shifting which involved speeding up the frame rate to achieve this for PAL/SECAM.

One thing that is real bizarre is an apparent desire to translate video back to the old cinematic film look. In order to get recorded film to work as video, they had to devise a way to get 24fps to work as 25fps and 29.976fps. Pull-down (3:2 or 2:3) was used. The equipment to do this is not something that we could even image being able to afford. Keep mind this is with DV, not the HD stuff now.

I can't fathom a guess as to how many different brands of televisions, disc players are on the current market. How can we possibly expect a company to be able in a short time frame, code for all of them? All it takes is for a handful to tweak their idea of how their product will handle something, and suddenly the standard is no longer that. The AVCHD codec was first developed by Sony and Panasonic, but still there is no rock-solid standard.

For display, in just the last 10 yrs we've seen TVs go from analog CRT, to flatscreen, to digital, to HD-widescreen LCD and Plasma, and LED. Anyone of these are going to use a variant of how to display the video information. Which ones internally decipher interlacing, and how to de-interlace any given format fed into them? It would be a great plan to have just one format, but Sony, Samsung, Vizio, GE, may have just a little different idea to get a better picture on their systems.

Universal, would be nice if it was implemented, but I think it is interpreted as everyone has their own way, and everyone else is to change to their idea..