VS-X5 Trial ver - New user questions

[Old_Friend]

Hi. I am using the Video Studio X5 "Trial" version, which I downloaded yesterday, until I decide to purchase. No problems with installation. But, after experimenting all night long, I have a few questions and comments about the program.

Question 1. Is there an easy way to fade in/fade out a clip; It was simple with Windows Moviemaker by right-clicking on the appropriate clip (either video or sound clips)? So far, I've had to keep cutting my video clips merely to add a "transition" between the two. That's quite cumbersome and time-consuming.

Question 2. I couldn't find it, but is there some way to optimize or to select some method of producing a much smaller final output video file? I've tried many of the options in the "Share"/"Create Video File" choices, but either they are too small (in dimensions; W x H), or else the resultant filesize was too large to be practical to attach to an email. For instance, the test movie I've been using has a total run-time of 1 minute, but it's filesize is 81MB's! And, that was created by selecting "WMV HD 720 30p". I'm only assuming that they will be viewed "Full Screen," therefore I don't want them to be fuzzy/blurry, etc.

Since I'm a novice and do not understand all the different video protocols, etc., can someone please explain how I can create the highest quality output at the lowest final filesize? I am working with .AVI files as my initial source files.
My objective is to make small movies to send to my brother (via e-mail attachments) who will more than likely view them with Windows Media Player.

Question 3. Can it actually be true that there are only 3 "UNDO" steps available? In CorelDraw & Corel Paint I could have as many as 99 UNDO steps! I'm disappointed if there are only 3 steps. I have 8GB's system RAM, so that is no problem.

Question 4. I noticed that there is no built-in "Help" file for immediate help. Is that because I have a Trial version, or will the paid version have it included with the program? Without convenient help, it's extremely difficult to learn the program features and/or find solutions to problems. For instance, after trying everything I could, I found no way to use the program's "Instant Projects" feature. Nothing at all happens when I try using it.

I know that I've asked 4 questions in one topic, but hopefull they can be answered easily by someone. I'll be happy to reply with further information, if needed!

[Old_Friend]

Okay. As of this moment, 16 people have already read my post, but nobody has offered an answer to any one of the 4 simple questions I asked. I'm hoping for an answer to (at least) Question #4, before my Trial period runs out! LOL.

EDITED: Instead of "Question #4" my comment should have been "Question #2".

Thanks.

[BrianCee]

this is a "User to User" board and your questions are answered by other users all around the world - no one is paid to answer the questions and personal commitments may over-ride visits to the forum - so a rapid response is not always possible - in fact since none of us work for corel we're not even obliged to answer at all.

Possibly the main reason why you have not received any replies yet is because you have lumped four questions into one post - it would have been better to post individual questions so that users could answer those they know the answer to.

Anyway I'll see what I can do.

1. VideoStudio provides two ways to automatically apply crossfades to the join between your videos - but only as you insert them one at a time to the timeline - if they are all already in the timeline then you need to apply a transition manually to each join 9or cut the video to make a join).

To apply them automatically - first press F6 to open the preferences panel then at the top of that choose the 'Edit' tab - then look to the bottom of that and 'click to check' the "Automatically add transition effect" box. in the drop down next to it select the effect you wish to apply - crossfade if that is your choice. Now when you insert new clips a transition will be applied automatically at the join.
alternatively when inserting clips to the timeline overlap them and a transition will be applied.

2. I am only just starting into HD having recently bought an HD camcorder - I do not know what you have done in creating your video file - I just did a test rendering one minute of HD into a WMV 720 HD and I have a file of 80 MB - which is close to yours - what size was the file before you rendered it. ?

3. VideoStudio has up to 99 Undo's - with VideoStudio open press F6 and the preferences panel will open - under the 'edit' tab at the top you can set the number of undo's from 1 - 99 I can only assume yours is set to 3 for some reason.

4. I know in previous versions the help file was not included to cut down on the download size - I did think that had changed with X5 but obviously not from your experience pressing F1 should open it - I can if you wish e-mail you a copy of the user manual as a .pdf file.

You may need to provide a bit more information about how you are trying to use the instant projects - what have you tried doing to get them into the timeline - for instance have you tried clicking on the second icon down to the right of the preview screen which looks like a magic wand over a film frame - and then waiting 10 seconds or so for the library to load - what happens when you do that.

[Old_Friend]

Thanks, BrianCee, for replying to me.

When you said:

"Possibly the main reason why you have not received any replies yet is because you have lumped four questions into one post - it would have been better to post individual questions so that users could answer those they know the answer to."

I thought by providing 4 simple questions in that one topic, that anyone familar enough with VS could have answered "any one of them," even if they didn't answer any of the other three.

However, since my original post, I found (on a 3rd-party website) how to press "F1" to get the online help. Normally, every program written to run in Windows will have a "Help" button or link in its top menu. It wasn't there, so I thought there was no online help. The programmers apparently didn't follow conventions for Windows programs?

The most important question I want an answer to is the one related to getting the minimum filesize output with the best quality. And, as I stated in my OP, I'm having to e-mail the video to someone, and that's why it should be reasonably small enough to do so. I don't know which one of the available choices to select to accomplish that via the built-in "Share" options. I've tried several; .mpg, .wmv, etc. To get the better quality, either of those works, but now the final filesize is 140MB's, which would take quite awhile for uploading/downloading via e-mail.

BrianCee, thanks for explaining the "Cross-fades!" Much appreciated!!

In reference to your 'Item 2.' comment, here's my normal procedure:

-- I capture video using FRAPS (and, its default file is AVI).
-- I load that .AVI into whatever video editor I'm using, make my edits, and then output the file to (normally) a .wmv filetype, trying to maintain the aspect ratio of my widescreen file. I choose that because my brother uses Windows Media Player, and that filetype seems appropriate for his viewer.

If there's a better filetype (which results in a smaller filesize, and still works with Windows Media Player), please recommend anything that works well.

Thanks again for replying! (Note: I'm going to edit the post I made before this post, due to an error in my text).

Any suggestions on how to accomplish what I'm trying to do, please?

[Old_Friend]

2. I am only just starting into HD having recently bought an HD camcorder - I do not know what you have done in creating your video file - I just did a test rendering one minute of HD into a WMV 720 HD and I have a file of 80MB - what size was the file before you rendered it. ?

I'll try to answer your question. Not sure if I can, adequately.

-- I have 2 clips (both are .avi) loaded into VS.
-- One is small, but on the larger one, I had to 'clip-out' a chunk from the middle of it, since it wasn't going to be in the final movie.
-- Without doing any further editing, I right-clicked on each one of those clips on the timeline, and tried to get the filesize of each, but couldn't. For some reason, each one of them gave the same value in their respective "Properties" dialog. I expected two different values; a smaller value for the small clip, and a larger value for the larger clip. Doesn't work that way.

Anyway, the value it gives is 850,985 KB, (apparently for the combined 2 clips).

On my HDD, the two raw AVI files were:
-- Smaller one: 285 MB (299,471,220 bytes)
-- Larger one: 831 MB (871,408,636 bytes)

After I did my edits and output the movie as a .wmv, my HDD reports the file size to be:
-- 81.1 MB (85,115,374 bytes) -- Note: this is for a 1-min, 6-second movie!

The only editing I did was to add a couple of overlay screens (1 with static text only) and a couple with animated text.

I may be wrong, but that seems like a rather large filesize for a 1-minute movie. Is it normal, or are my expectations wrong? I've received e-mails with attached videos that run up to 5 or more minutes, yet their filesize wasn't anywhere that large. I'm confused as to how they did it and how I can do something similar! LOL

[BrianCee]

As you are working with HD files the file sizes are always going to be quite big - a video file is a compromise between image quality and file size - you can have perfect quality but at the expense of a large file - or you can have a smaller file at the expense of a loss of quality.

I have just rendered another one minute collection of videos with transitions into a 720 HD wmv and got 139MB so it would seem that yours are about the same as mine , then I rendered the same collection as an mpeg4-HD video (which I have read is supposed to give good quality at low file size) and this time got a file size of 102MB which is an improvement - but I am not an expert on HD videos which is why I did not attempt to answer your questions when I first saw them - lets hope some one else more used to working with HD can provide the answer to the optimum file format.


incidentally pressing F1 for help is not that uncommon in Windows programmes - I have several which use it including Microsoft Office.

[BrianCee]

What are the properties of the files your friends have e-mailed to you - can you put one of them into the timeline of VideoStudio then right click over it and choose 'Properties'. If you could then post a screen shot of that properties box we can see what frame size etc they are using.

[Old_Friend]

Hi BrianCee,

I'm attaching 2 screenshots. I'm aware of one thing that's different between what I've been creating as the ones listed in the screenshots. And, that is that most of theirs are not proportional to my widescreen format, but I don't think that little bit of extra width should make such a noticeable difference in filesize. Maybe I'm wrong.

I also have to mention that some of those videos, even the ones at 320x240 still look very good even at Full-Screen size. Mine at that size, do not look good at all!
I hope you can gather some ideas from these screenshots.

---------------
NEVER MIND! THIS FORUM DOESN'T ALLOW ME TO ATTACH SIMPLE .JPG'S UNLESS I GO TO A 3RD-PARTY WEBSITE TO DO IT! I'm not going to do that. Corel certainly could allow users to attach images from the user's own hard disk drive, like many other forums do. It's not as though they can't afford the space to do it, for the benefit of their own products and to offer better support to users.

***** Anyway, here's some text, but it's not nearly as complete of a description that the images offered.

(1) One .wmv file shows: 4,225 KB's with a run-time of 1:11 min/sec's at 320x240.
(2) Another .wmv files shows: 6,464 KB's with a run-time of 3:20 min/sec's at 320x240.

(3) An .mpg file which I created... (the best I can get) is: 24,744 KB's with a run-time of 1:3 min/sec's at 720x480. Note: It's only doulbe the size WxH, but it's 4 or even 6 times the filesize of the other two!

I give up, unless you or someone else knows the procedure to take RAW .avi files, process them and convert them to .wmv or .mpg, or whatever -- before adding them into the video editor.

[BrianCee]

Don't understand your problem attaching images - they are uploaded to the forum server and viewed from there - you do not need or use any third party at all. - What makes you think you need to use a third party website - did you get some sort of error message ?

to attach images :

Under the box where you type your post click on "Upload attachment" - a box opens with a 'choose file' button in it - click on it - a 'browse' window opens - browse to and select the image from your hard drive - choose 'open'

takes you back to the forum page - click on 'Add the file'

After a few seconds the boxes under the typing box change and two new buttons appear - put the text cursor where you want the image to be in your text and click on 'place inline' - the words [atachment=0]file name.jpg[/attachment] appear - job done - click the submit button and your post appears in the forum together with the image - which is now on the Corel server.

[BrianCee]

HANG ON

720 x 480 is nearly FOUR TIMES the size of a 320 x 240 image.

are their videos HD or standard definition ?

4 times the data per frame by 30 (fps) by 60 seconds is an awful lot more data - have you tested what file size you get if you make a standard 320 x 240 frame size wmv.

[lata]

The size of your video file depends on the data rate (Bit Rate) Kbps
Reducing the data rate will reduce the file size but also affect quality.

Your PC monitors resolution will be over 1000px across, so a HD video 1280 x 720 will display full size at full quality.ish

The option Share Upload to You Tube will create a good quality video using Mpeg4 at about 33 mb per minute.
This uses 5000kbps.

Use Make Movie Templates manager to create a similar template as below
MPEG-4 Files
24 bits, 1280 x 720, 25 fps
Frame-based
H.264 Main Profile Video: 2000 Kbps
44100 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo
MPEG AAC Audio: 128 Kbps

The rendered file will be smaller at 15Mb using 2000kbps but lower quality compared with the 5000kbps version.

One minute of video is not very long, e-mailing however may be a problem,
Consider using a share program to upload/download the video to your brother, Some users on the forum use 4 Shared

VLC Media Player is quite good and will play most video types. Oh its free..........

Note my settings are using Pal not NTSC..........

Using the standard HD WMV template one minute created a file size of 12 Mb
You can use WMV and create your own templates, the process is a little more involved but i doubt that you will do better considering file size and quality.
The standard WMV template Neptune Medium Quality uses320 x 240 349 data rate---2 Mb per minute---on good for full screen viewing.

By the way render times seemed longer than using MPEG4, then again it may have been the watched kettle effect............

[Old_Friend]

To BrianCee

Thanks for both of your replies.

In your first reply pertaining to attaching images by using this forum, it looks like I opened my mouth and stuck my foot in again. heh heh. This forum's Text-Editor dialog has only "web links" to attachments in its MAIN MENU. (I never expected that function would be almost out-of-site, at the bottom). Using this forum's attachment tool is not shown with the others, therefore I figured the forum wouldn't allow it. Thank you for pointing out that I can attach images here. I'm very happy to know that it is available!

In your second reply pertaining to file sizes and dimensions ratios, I thought that since "240 x 2 = 480" that everything within an output file would increase proportionately larger if I chose to make it double; ex: 480 x 960. I was wrong again. I did mention in my original post that I'm absolutely novice about video protocols, etc. I appreciate your explanation.

To answer your question about: "are their videos HD or standard definition ?", I'll have to say "probably standard definition."

BrianCee, you asked me earlier to post images of files that other people sent to me. I can upload only 1, since the other is too wide. Although it's no longer needed, because you and lata have explained things so well, I'll post it merely for a test. The one that wouldn't upload, had much more pertinent info. Oh, well.

This pertains to our previous conversation about our "1-minute" video filesizes.

[Old_Friend]

Thank you, lata! This is what I have needed, but It's going to take some time for me to fully understand some of the technicalities.
I'm going to place my comments inside your quote, to save me from having to retype so much. I hope you don't mind.

The size of your video file depends on the data rate (Bit Rate) Kbps
Reducing the data rate will reduce the file size but also affect quality.

Your PC monitors resolution will be over 1000px across, so a HD video 1280 x 720 will display full size at full quality.ish

The option Share Upload to You Tube will create a good quality video using Mpeg4 at about 33 mb per minute.
This uses 5000kbps.
Does the option Share Upload to You Tube result in a file on my local HDD, or does it upload the file automatically to You Tube? I do not want personal videos going out to the world.

Use Make Movie Templates manager to create a similar template as below
MPEG-4 Files
24 bits, 1280 x 720, 25 fps
Frame-based
H.264 Main Profile Video: 2000 Kbps
44100 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo
MPEG AAC Audio: 128 Kbps

The rendered file will be smaller at 15Mb using 2000kbps but lower quality compared with the 5000kbps version.

I'll have to experiment working with the Templates manager, since I have never used it. But, I'm wondering if I understand you correctly. Will that template setup result in my having a movie 1280 x 720 and still be under 25MB's? And, does it work only if my Timeline has an .mpg video in it, or will it work if I have inserted an .avi file to edit (in the Timeline)? Which parameters in your example template control the actual final filesize? In other words, what should I change to get my movies to be 25MB'S, or smaller - if needed? Actually, smaller than 1280 x 720 would be suitable for me, as long as they aren't as small as 320 x 240 and don't exceed 25MB's. And, I want to keep the aspect ratio of my original widescreen file.

One minute of video is not very long, e-mailing however may be a problem,
Consider using a share program to upload/download the video to your brother, Some users on the forum use 4 Shared

VLC Media Player is quite good and will play most video types. Oh its free..........

I have used VLC Media Player for years, but my brother refuses to use it. He uses only Windows Media Player, so I need to make certain my videos display properly for that.

Note my settings are using Pal not NTSC..........

Using the standard HD WMV template one minute created a file size of 12 Mb -- What are its proportions?
You can use WMV and create your own templates, the process is a little more involved but i doubt that you will do better considering file size and quality.
The standard WMV template Neptune Medium Quality uses320 x 240 349 data rate---2 Mb per minute---on good for full screen viewing.

From my understanding so far, it looks like the movies I create have to be more brief (shorter in length) to keep them under 25MB's. That's a bummer, since it's difficult to do almost anything creative in less than a minute or two, and still keep the filesize down, without losing tremendous quality. Am I correct, or not?
From your experience, can you offer me some kind of guideline that I can keep in mind to know approximately how many minutes of a movie (in the Editor) will result in a decent looking video I can attach to an e-mail? That might help me construct them initially, instead of having to go back later and delete or 'cut' sections out to reduce the size. Just wondering.

By the way render times seemed longer than using MPEG4, then again it may have been the watched kettle effect............

Your post is quite helpful!

[lata]

Hi
A couple of pointers to forum attachments, you are correct that the option is hard to find , hidden at the bottom of the post.
If you use Alt + PrtSc this will copy the active window only, allowing you to attach only the details you require, the image will be smaller, the size limitation on attached images is the files size of 256Kb, I do not think there is a limitation to the pixel dimensions for attachments. certainly you should be able to attach the full screen. I save as jpeg and reduce the quality to medium (8ish).

You Tube
When you use the option Share Upload to Web -- You Tube the program renders the video file and saves it to your HDD. On completion a window opens prompting you to upload, simply close the window.
I chose the Up Load to Web option as it was the easiest option to create a Mpeg4 using 1280 x 720. This is HD using 16:9 ratio, your sample uses 4:3 ratio.

Some thoughts..........
You may wish to reconsider using You tube as you can make your videos Private, only you will be able to view them.
Simply give your brother the log-in details, and he will view them as well.
Others will be able to view only after you give permission. The downside is you have to be on-line to view the video.
4 shared will allow you to upload download your video, and make them private.
Both options will allow you to create higher quality video.

E-Mail option is limited to 20Mb ish, this affects the length and quality of your video.

----------------------------------
Share Create Video file is the path you take to convert the project to a new video file.
Video Studio provide a large selection of templates, some for standard DVD, others for bluray HD and some suitable for the internet.
The templates may not be suitable for you, and indeed if you wish to reduce the frame size and bit rate in an attempt to create a smaller file then you have to manage the templates. By manage I mean create a new or modify an existing template.

Share Create Video File - Custom will allow you to modify the templates.
Windows Media Video provides templates installed to the pc, Video Studio also add to these making them available from the Custom option.

Run a test for yourself
Create a project using the video file you showed in your attached image its 71 seconds long. crop it to 60 seconds.
Share Create Video File-Custom opens a window
Change the Save as Type to use Windows Media Video
Choose the Options button--This opens a window called Video Save Options
Ignore the first and last tabs.
Click the Profile tab--some details will show.
The profile panel shows the template being used-press the down arrow to select another template.
choose one called Ulead_Neptune

There are 4 with the name Neptune, Best , Good, Medium, and Low, try the first three in turn
Ok when you have selected Ulead_Neptune_GoodQuality, press Ok closes that window.
Now view the details in the Save Options panel, sometimes may be called Video Properties.
Create a video of each type to test the file size each will be 60 seconds long.
Now you shoukld be able to estimate how many minutes for 20 Mb to allow e-mailing.

[Old_Friend]

lata, thank you for the verbose and complete reply. The additional comments you added are really helpful to me, and are appreciated very much!
Yesterday was my birthday, and I was away from the computer quite a while. I have managed to experiment with many of your suggestions, and I've had much better success after trying some of your methods. For that, I'm really grateful. With your 'modified' template, I am now able to produce videos that look fairly sharp and still produce an output under 25MB. And, I've even created movies that were longer in run-time length than 1min; I even had one that was over a minute and a half, and it still resulted in a fraction less than a 25MB download. That's good!

I'm sure that it will take more time for me to learn the user interface, but to far I'm finding it a bit convoluted and less than "user-friendly." Many of the things I expect to find aren't in what I consider "logical locations." I have to hunt for for them, and after finding them, there's no pop-up help or explanation text to figure out how to use them. It has been LOTS of trial and ERROR.

Note: I added my own further comments within your quoted text, below.

Hi
A couple of pointers to forum attachments, you are correct that the option is hard to find , hidden at the bottom of the post.
If you use Alt + PrtSc this will copy the active window only, allowing you to attach only the details you require, the image will be smaller, the size limitation on attached images is the files size of 256Kb, I do not think there is a limitation to the pixel dimensions for attachments. certainly you should be able to attach the full screen. I save as jpeg and reduce the quality to medium (8ish).

According to the error message I got, the jpg width does have a limitation. The forum wouldn't accept what I tried to upload. My graphic was extremely small vertically (like 2 lines of text), but it was reportedly too wide.

You Tube
When you use the option Share Upload to Web -- You Tube the program renders the video file and saves it to your HDD. On completion a window opens prompting you to upload, simply close the window.
I chose the Up Load to Web option as it was the easiest option to create a Mpeg4 using 1280 x 720. This is HD using 16:9 ratio, your sample uses 4:3 ratio.

Comment: That "sample" you are referring to is not one of my own creations. It was a simple file sent to me by someone else, and I mentioned it only because it was around a 1-minute video. We can forget it now, since I've gotten somewhat past the issue it was used for.

The You Tube method does produce larger and sharper viewing output, but its filesize is double of what your modified template produces, yet they are both 1280 x 720.

Some thoughts..........
You may wish to reconsider using You tube as you can make your videos Private, only you will be able to view them.
Simply give your brother the log-in details, and he will view them as well.
Others will be able to view only after you give permission. The downside is you have to be on-line to view the video.
4 shared will allow you to upload download your video, and make them private.
Both options will allow you to create higher quality video.

I understand that using You Tube (or other online sites) would allow me to upload longer movies, but the fact still remains that THEY have my movies on their HDD's. I don't produce anything illegal, so I don't have anything to hide, but neither do I want private stuff (password protected, or not) in the 'hands' of people I don't know. It's bad enough already that Yahoo has access to my personal stuff, and I NEVER use Google-anything! They are even worse. I don't trust any of them. Maybe I'll try something at a later date, so I won't rule it out.

E-Mail option is limited to 20Mb ish, this affects the length and quality of your video.

----------------------------------
Share Create Video file is the path you take to convert the project to a new video file.
Video Studio provide a large selection of templates, some for standard DVD, others for bluray HD and some suitable for the internet.
The templates may not be suitable for you, and indeed if you wish to reduce the frame size and bit rate in an attempt to create a smaller file then you have to manage the templates. By manage I mean create a new or modify an existing template.

Share Create Video File - Custom will allow you to modify the templates.
Windows Media Video provides templates installed to the pc, Video Studio also add to these making them available from the Custom option.
I have a question about my custom templates (like the one you outlined for me). Where on my HDD does the program place those templates? I can see it in the program, listed at the bottom of one of the screens, but the actually template does not appear in the same path (subdirectory) as the default one. Here's an example:

The following path is to the program's default template (UserTemplateStyle.vpt): (It's in a folder named "001_HD-Project")
C:\.....\Documents\Corel VideoStudio Pro\VSPTemplate\001_HD-Project
But, my new template isn't shown there, and after creating it according to your steps, I saw no way to choose a path to save it to.
image:

Program shows the Template name

1A-Template.jpg (31.5 KiB) Viewed 5582 times

Run a test for yourself
Create a project using the video file you showed in your attached image its 71 seconds long. crop it to 60 seconds.
Share Create Video File-Custom opens a window
Change the Save as Type to use Windows Media Video
Choose the Options button--This opens a window called Video Save Options
Ignore the first and last tabs.
Click the Profile tab--some details will show.
The profile panel shows the template being used-press the down arrow to select another template.
choose one called Ulead_Neptune

There are 4 with the name Neptune, Best , Good, Medium, and Low, try the first three in turn
Ok when you have selected Ulead_Neptune_GoodQuality, press Ok closes that window.
Now view the details in the Save Options panel, sometimes may be called Video Properties.
Create a video of each type to test the file size each will be 60 seconds long.
Now you shoukld be able to estimate how many minutes for 20 Mb to allow e-mailing.

lata, if you would be kind enough to answer, I'd like to know what could be causing the "tearing" in finished movie while it's being viewed, and possibly, maybe a solution? It happens rather infrequently, and happens within the video where there are no transitions or other effects. The "tearing" effect resembles a narrow group of vertical whiteish lines which are more or less centered on the movie clip while it's playing. They run almost from top-to-bottom of the video. It lasts for only a couple of seconds at the most. It does not appear in the original clip, nor even during the preview within the program. So, I'm only guessing that it's probably something to do with the encoding, or else my onboard video (Intel corei5 2500K).

Thank you very much for your guidance. I've already decided to purchase the program, but haven't done that, yet.