MediaStudio Pro 8.0 Part III - HDV on the run

[Terry Stetler]

As usual the features discussed below could undergo changes in their look/feel/function before MediaStudio Pro 8 is released because the beta is ongoing. That out of the way here we go again.....

Extensive HDV Support:

MediaStudio Pro 8 can batch capture HDV video from all the latest HDV camcorders and decks with device control. Once captured you can either edit HDV sources at their native format or you can turn on Smart Proxy to create Proxy files for editing on limited systems.

HDV sources can be freely converted between HDV Program Streams (*.mpg) to view them on your PC or HDTV and HDV Transport Streams (*.m2t) in order to write them back to an HDV camcorder or deck.

HDV projects can also be exported to WMV_HD or downconverted to the SD format of your choice including DV, WMV, Quicktime or MPEG 2 for DVD authoring.



Smart Proxy:

MediaStudio Pro 8 can now create and edit using Proxy files.

Proxy files are reduced resolution versions of your source video clips that facilitate editing high resolution (720x480 to 1920x1080) video on limited systems or even laptops. Once the edit is finished the changes are then applied to the full resolution source files to maintain the highest possible quality on export.

In the Smart Proxy control in Preferences you can set the cutoff resolution at which Proxy Mode will be automatically activated, the folder in which Proxy's are stored, choose from several pre-defined Proxy compression templates (MPEG or DV) or create your own templates using the codec(s) of your choice. Smart Proxy can also be toggled using a timeline control.

Downconversion is performed in the background.



Downconversion progress meter;



Real-time Mobile HDV editing:

MediaStudio Pro 8 can also edit HDV in real-time on mid-range or notebook systems using the Smart Proxy feature. These Proxy files can be edited in true real-time with low demands on system resources. This process is completely lossless since your final output always links back to the original full-resolution files.

This is the perfect solution for documentary producers who have embraced HDV and who want to edit on the go.

Smart Package:

Smart Package is an extension of the old Package function. The old Package function would let you copy or move all of a projects resources into a single folder to facilitate archiving, but Smart Package now extends this capability significantly. Now it not only does the "old stuff" but it will also include source clips from the new Nested Timelines but will also create and Package all Proxy files. It can also create Smart-Trimmed files and save their "handles" (trimmed material).



Collaborative Editing:

Smart Package mode is great for collaborative editing and archiving, not only in HDV but in other formats. Whatever your format of choice you can Smart Package and share Proxy files for collaborative editing then combine them as multiple timelines for assembly, referring back to the original footage for export.

Neat

[Madcypher]

I've just gotten an email today offering the upgrade to MSP7 for only $99!!!

I'd probably venture to guess that MSP8 is within a month or so of launch!

Anyway, thanks for the info. One of the questions I had posed earlier was wheter or not it would to HDV natively.

Thanks for the info and answering my previous question.

Troy

edit: Now all I need to know is a basic ballpark price range...I'm a VS user and want to upgrade very badly. I'm thinking of doing MSP7 w/ HDV plugin now and then doing MSP8 when it drops...

[Terry Stetler]

The upgrade from VS to MSPro is always a very competitative price, so keep the fingers crossed

[Charbax]

I just got my Sony HC1 PAL camera last friday, so I am extremely interested in getting to use an HDV editing software that is Smart.

And wow this ulead software seems to have some features that makes it leader over other softwares I am testing.

I really appreciate the prospect of Smart Proxy! wow that is awesome feature.

I hope it's handling of native HDV format files, means there is no re-encoding whats so ever if user doesn't clearly request re-encoding. Cause re-encoding of HDV 1080i video really takes forever with my 2,4ghz celeron (I've been like re-encoding video the whole week-end)

I hope Ulead will support DivX in a very user-friendly way, cause I prefer that codec for HD.. I like it's Insane mode and the DivX Helium and Fusion codecs from http://labs.divx.com that can take advantage of dual core processors to encode much faster.

So I hope exports in the Ulead program will manage perfectly the keyframes, choice of de-interlacing filter.. Would be nice with a resolution and bitrate sampler, something that could process very short test encodes to quickly be able to see different sample results of re-encodings to be able to better choose which compression settings/format to choose. (for example it could immediately encode small 3 second sample into DivX, wmv, at different resolutions, bitrates, and offer Zoomed in, true-res, resized display of what the result would be for 1-pass encoding) and with each codec having different encoding speeds (for example Insane mode for DivX).

I've heard talks about 24p being cool for cinematic look.. Maybe it would be nice if the ulead software capture from a PAL HDV camera directly into 24p 1440x1080 mpeg2 100% quality video. Or somehow managed the original 1080i50 mpeg2 file to do all this post-processing maintaining audio pitch and going for 24p film-look.

For easy archivage, maybe it would be nice if when capturing the HDV, it could split the mpeg2 files to fit a DVD, so one can decide to easilly backup HDV captures on DVDs to make up space on the harddrive. Thus someway of telling the Sequence editing that the Linked HDV file is not on the harddrive anymore but is backed up on DVD/DVD-DL/DV-tape/Harddrive/hd-dvd/bd number something and one can easilly get that archival medium into the drive/connect the external harddrive, and be able to immediately use the file and choose to for example transfer the file back from DVD onto the main harddrive while still doing some editing.

I hope the marketing people of Ulead are determined to be lots cheaper than all the competitors. It's not because I just payed nearly 2000$ for my HDV camera that I should be ready to spend over 300$ at once to bind myself to one editing software. How about providing a sort of membership, something like 10$ a month, and thus people would get automatic software updates, tweaks, optimizations and so on.. it might be users will be subscribed during many months and thus finalizing in the same amount as having to pay over 3-400$ upfront.

[Terry Stetler]

Whew...that covered a lot of turf

Sorry to say but much of it is still in NDA territory (non-disclosure agrement), so I can't respond. That said I'll try to hit some of the major points that aren't;

1. MSPro has always had Smart Render, meaning the only portions that get rendered are those with applied effects or in a format not matching the project settings. The rest is just copied unless the whole thing is being transcoded to another format. Even then MSPro is quite fast with its renders vs. programs like Premiere Pro etc.

As for rendering HDV for use on DVD, that will require full transcoding for the moment since the current DVD standard only supports less than half of HDV's bitrate, resolution and uses a different stream type. Once HD_DVD and Blue Ray player/burners hit much of this will change, but not yet.

2. MSPro has always been capable of rendering just a preview range, wich should help in evaluations of the type you discribed. It also supports dual-head display devices in the Preview, Source and all effect windows, which means their previews can be sent to a production monitor if your display card supports video overlay. Most do.

[Charbax]

Okay thanks.

Do I understand correctly that this software basically means people can edit HDV with a 500mhz pc?


I guess you kind-of loose the feeling for the details of the video while you are editing, but is there a way to upgrade the Smart Proxy files at certain parts of the Timeline which would be more interesting to see the more pixels also at full screen..

My understanding is that most flat-screen LCDs today have a maximum resolution of 1280x1024 anyways, so it doesn't really make sence to preview 1280x720 resolution widescreen video on those.. So I guess an upgraded Smart Proxy file at 1280x720 would be good to preview details quickly, for example somekind of zoom-in on the face of the actor to see if the face-expression at full HDV quality is better in one take than the other..

[Terry Stetler]

MSPro 7 requires 500 mhz as a bare minimum with 2 ghz recommended. I think it's safe to say that MSPro 8's system specs will not be less that these.

I think a 500 mhz system would be a bit light for HDV editing if for no other reason than just the time it would take to generate the proxy files. Conversion or rendering times of any kind are directly tied to the CPU clock no matter what sorftware you're using, so faster is always better.

[irished89]

Hi - I posted this also elsewhere hoping to get other replies:

I currently own VS9 and am happy with program so far...

question: is it worth spending $99 USD to get MediaStudio Pro 7? I would primarily be interested in better performance (improved rendering quality), audio editing, and dvd authoring. Do I get that much better features with MediaStudio Pro 7?

I'm guessing that VS9 to MSPro7 to MSPro8 will be best cost upgrade path vs. VS9 to MSPro8...thoughts on this?

[Terry Stetler]

In matters of pricing for MSP8 the betas are just as much in the dark as you are, including for updates. Sorry.

That said; yes, you get much more in the way of features and control with MSPro 7 than VS9 with a few exceptions. These involve features like Multi-Trim and SmartSound, mainly because VS is used by Ulead as a testbed for such new features before they're included in MSPro service packs or new versions of MSPro.

[remapp]

Terry,

I saw your message about some of the advantage over VS9, but what will I loose by not upgrading to VS9 and upgrading to MSP7 instead. I am not a beginner to editing, but not an expert either.

Robert