VideoStudio X2 Pro sharing options and som confusion

[mustang958]

Hello all. Not my first post regarding VS but my first on the Corel Board. Thought I had this down but now I'm somewhat confused. Please excuse if I seem spacey on this but this version of VS really has me scratching my head. Running X2 Pro on a WIN XP Pro system with any unnecessary services disabled and a separate user config for video editing. It's a dual boot system so if it's better to run on Win 7 I can do that as well. I realize I'm a few version behind but I don't know that I need a newer version right now but that may change if I upgrade my system. My questions relate to the sharing option. I've been using VS since version 6 or 7. It's mostly family videos that I'm burning and saving. Old camera was a Sony digital tape model. I would capture the video, trim, edit and burn to disc. After burning to disc I save the MPG, VSP and any other files created as my backup. My current video camera is a JVC Everio AVDHD which records to MTS files. I'm okay with importing the MTS files and adding transitions and other editing features. Now when it comes to sharing, I know there's no hard rule but what is the accepted or most efficient way of doing this? The video I'm testing on is 47 minutes in length and when I burned straight to disc it took well over 3 hours. So I rendered to an MPEG first which took awhile but the burn was relatively quick. When I looked at the video file options again I really wasn't sure what was the best way to go. Is it better to render first then burn? Best practice to choose "same as project settings" or "same as first clip"? I don't really have the need for HD since it's family videos mostly, it would be nice but not mandatory. I'm not concerned with ending up with only one file if I render the clips since that makes for any easier backup afterward. Guess I"m just overwhelmed with the number of choices although I am probably making this into more than it should be. Also is there any place on the forum/knowledgebase/web where all of those "share video file" options are explained? I realize most are pretty obvious but it would be nice to see the hows and whys each one would be chosen. I have uploaded my system specs to my profile but if they are not visible please let me know so I can make that public. Thanks to anyone who can offer some insight and advice.

George

[Ken Berry]

The video I'm testing on is 47 minutes in length and when I burned straight to disc it took well over 3 hours. So I rendered to an MPEG first which took awhile but the burn was relatively quick.

I suspect you will find that if you actually timed the second option -- of first rendering to an mpeg-2 -- then add it to the burn time, the overall time would not be much different to the first option (burning straight to disc). In the latter, the project file is inserted into the burning module, not the actual video. Then as part of the burning process, the video is first converted from AVCHD to mpeg-2, and then the rest of the burning process proceeds as normal. But the rendering of the video will still take about as much time as it would if you had done it in the editing module.

But here's the thing. AVCHD is one of the most demanding formats in consumer level video editing. You only have a Pentium IV computer, though with the 3.0 GHz processor, it probably has hyperthreading. But that is the bare minimum required to even be able to play AVCHD video smoothly. So it is a good thing that at this stage you are down-converting it to standard def mpeg-2. But going from AVCHD high def mpeg-4 to mpeg-2 takes a long time, even on a more powerful computer than yours, so in a sense I am a little surprised that in your case, rendering and burning a 47 minute project is only taking 3 hours!

As for the options, given your current computer, I would recommend you first convert the AVCHD to mpeg-2 as part of the editing process. Then when you have that, you simply choose Share > Create Disc > DVD if the project is under 1 hour in length. The default DVD template includes a high quality (for standard def) bitrate of 8000 kbps and that will allow 1 hour of video to be burned to a single layer DVD -- and perhaps another 10 minutes if you use Dolby audio instead of the standard LPCM. If the project is longer, then you need to choose Custom, and lower the bitrate --- as a general guide, 6000 kbps will allow 90 minutes of video, and 4000 kbps will allow 2 hours, though the quality at that level will be no better than VHS tape.

Oh, and if you *do* use this workflow, then if you open the burning module and there is something in the timeline there, remove it as it will be your project file, and the conversion/rendering will happen all over again. The easiest way to avoid this is to start a new project after you have rendered your new mpeg-2 in the editing module. This will clear the editing timeline, so that when you go Share > Create Disc, the burning module will open with an empty timeline. Then you manually add your new mpeg-2 and proceed to build the menu and burn the disc.

[pvreditor]

My current video camera is a JVC Everio AVDHD which records to MTS files. I'm okay with importing the MTS files and adding transitions and other editing features. Now when it comes to sharing, I know there's no hard rule but what is the accepted or most efficient way of doing this?

FWIW, you can upload AVCHD video to sharing sites like YouTube. That way, you can render your AVCHD video as AVCHD, which should greatly speed up the rendering. Of course, the resulting file will be HD, but YouTube and other sites accept that and people can view your video there. With YouTube (and with other sites I'm sure, but my experience is only with YouTube), there are three different levels of security for viewing videos:

1. Public;
2. Accessible only if you have the URL;
3. Private. In this case, you have to list the YouTube members who can view the file, and viewing is restricted to only those YouTube members.

Of course, a 47-minute AVCHD file is HUGE and will take hours to upload. And YouTube restricts uploads of that length to established members in good standing (no "tickets"). On the upside, you don't have to deal with physical media and you get much better image quality than a DVD burned with VideoStudio. If someone loses a disk, they have to wait until you make a new one. If someone loses the link to a YouTube video, you just e-mail the link again.

As for the length, I'm slowly uploading videos of my neighbor reading the classic Charlotte Bronte novel, "Jane Eyre." The chapters are so long that I'm breaking them up into two parts. (We've only made it through chapter 4 at this point.) So if you have something that's 47 minutes, you can break it up into three parts and not worry about YouTube's time limits.

Don't know if any of this is practical for you, but I thought I'd mention it.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[lata]

Hi George

There is no hard and fast rule to burning the disc, but I prefer to convert/render the project to Mpeg2 first, then use those files to burn the disc. You have the opportunity to play the file prior to burning.

One thing to consider when using MTS files is the field order. HD video uses Upper Field First, I think VS 12 X2 default to Lower Field, this was changed in later versions to Upper.
If you use the standard templates Share Create Video File DVD then the order may be wrong.
Inadvertently changing the field order will impact on the quality
It is of course possible that the MTS files use “frame based”

Right click a MTS clip in the timeline and select properties, what are they, note the field order. If it does not indicate Upper/Lower, then its Frame Based, in which case there will be no Field Order problems

The easiest option is to modify the Project Properties to use Mpeg, setting them as your output settings and Upper Field, you can also set the data rate to match the length of the project.
Unfortunately you cannot set HD MTS properties as the Project Properties
Share Create Video File – Same as Project Settings will create a compliant Mpeg2 suitable to burn the disc.

When you burn the file you do it from a new project, nothing in the timeline, set the project properties to match the video file (Mpeg2) then share Create disc—Add Video File.