multiple file format support?

DiscCoasterPro · Post by **DiscCoasterPro** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 7:29 pm

Hello, I recently purchased VS9. I've been having less than satisfactory luck with it so far. I would like to ask a question please. Does VS9 support editing of multiple file formats at the same time? For example can I import an AVI clip, then an mpeg clip and edit them, perhaps insert a transition, or even a voice over recording and expect a successful encode to file so that I may continue on with my authoring in DVD Workshop?

thanks,

Post by **Ron P.** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:41 pm

Yes you are able to import mulitple formats (as long as VS9 supports it) and edit then render.
Now that being said, you should read the top sticky post and follow it very, close if you don't want problems. The people posting those recommendations know how VS behaves and what works and what may not.
MPEG is generally not a format for editing, where DV-AVI is better suited.

So again while it is possible to import different formats ( I just tested this by importing an avi, wmv, and an mpeg) it is not recommended to do...

Have fun

DiscCoasterPro · Post by **DiscCoasterPro** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:55 pm

oops .. thank you for your reply. I was discussing some of the VS9 error failures I got in another thread and asked this question there. Sorry I posted it twice. Yeah, I don't know if VS9 will support and recognize the different formats on the same timeline. We'll see. I have little choice, based on my analog capture device.

I did read that mpeg wasn't really a good format to edit. I have a mickey mouse external analog to digital capture device that only saves to mpeg. I'm very strongly considering buying the Canopus model 300. I get so #$& frustrated that I don't care what it costs, I just want it to work.

This capture device I have saves to its own program to a file on my HD in mpeg2. It is also a tv tuner, and uses usb2.

I know the Canopus uses firewire, which I also understand is preferred, but what I have not yet found is whether it can save to AVI or not.

weeks and weeks of learning answers to questions that would only take a few minutes if I could only kidnap the right person .... LOL

PeterMilliken · Post by **PeterMilliken** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:36 am

I am not sure of this - perhaps other more knowledgable people might want to offer an opinion?

My video camera allows "pass thru'" i.e. it can take analog video signals in and either record it to mini-DV tape or just pass it thru' to the firewire output of the camera. So I have successfully read and captured VHS-C home movies on my computer as .avi files using this method.

I just looked at the price of the Canopus 300 and you might be able to purchase a video camera for that kind of price that has the appropriate feature? Or perhaps there might be cheaper (and just as effective

) alternatives to the Canopus 300.

Peter

DiscCoasterPro · Post by **DiscCoasterPro** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:51 am

Hi .. I do have a Panasonic GS200. I'm pretty sure it has pass through. I assumed that was basically for what my converter did and I didn't want to use my camcorder for everything, so I bought this thing

http://www.compusb.com/xtv20usb20tv.html

(thought it would help the camcorder last longer) LOL wrong again

. In fact after experiencing an audio sync problem with long converts, I read that this is a common problem among analog to digital converters. The Canopus is supposed to have a "lock" feature that remedies this problem. The model 55 is a consideration, I just liked the touch up feature on the 300 and if I EVER figure this stuff out, I thought that this old retired guy could do this as a kind of sideline at home. Right now, I'd starve trying ...

PeterMilliken · Post by **PeterMilliken** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:01 am

If it has pass thru' - and doesn't require first recording to tape and then playing the tape for capture (which would definitely affect the life of your camera!) then that is the best way to go.

My father originally helped get me into video editing, he purchased Pinnacle Liquid Edition 5 - which came with an analog capture system. He had nothing but trouble with capturing old VHS-C tapes. Then I purchased a Panasonic MX-300 and discovered the pass thru' feature in it. My father then went out and bought a new mini-DV camera and made sure it had pass thru' - and hasn't looked back since

So my experience is that the pass thru' feature in a mini-DV camera offers the best capture mechanism for older tapes/other formats. But perhaps other people have good stories to report regarding systems such as the Canopus 300?????

Peter

DiscCoasterPro · Post by **DiscCoasterPro** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:43 am

Thanks Peter, I'm going to give it a try before I do anything else. Sounds promising.

Post by **Ron P.** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:55 am

I'm currently working on several old home movies, that are on VHS-C, VHS, and Sony BetaMax. I've been using my TRV-120's pass-through to capture as DV-AVI. It's been working great!!

DiscCoasterPro · Post by **DiscCoasterPro** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:13 pm

Thanks.. this sounds great. I want to capture in AVI format anyway and my particular external capture device only captures to mpeg through usb no less. This may be the whole problem with my VS9 and the errors editing and my audio sync problems with the captures.

Are you using VS9 as the capture software or are you using a better application for that?

thanks,

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:45 pm

I capture with VS9 with absolutely no problems. It may not be the be all and end all for you, but capturing AVI via firewire will go a long way towards solving your problems.

kebrinton · Post by **kebrinton** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:43 pm

VideoStudio does accept different formats on the Timeline. Otherwise there wouldn't be such a fuss and bother about selecting "don't render compliant MPEG" material, and preserving precisely the same settings/preferences from start to finish of a project.

DV-.AVI is not a lossy format so you can edit to your heart's content without worrying about degradation. MPEG-2, while lossy, has been tested impressively by jchunter who reported last year on this forum that ten consecutive editings and renderings of MPEG-2 footage resulted in essentially imperceptible degradation. I have not done this myself but his process sounded very rigorous.

If you take a JPEG photo, crop a thin slice off the edge, save, and close, and then do this again five or six times with your photo software, you will easily see the loss of quality throughout the photo. That's "lossy" right in your face.

Apparently the problem is not so bad when we use MPEG-2 format.

Keith

Post by **Ken Berry** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:59 pm

Previous versions of Video Studio did not seem to be able to handle mixed Field Orders i.e. they all had to be either Lower/Field Order A or Upper/Field Order B, though I think you could use Field Based with either. I confess, though, that I don't know if this has continued in VS9. Certainly DVD Workshop can handle input with mixed Field Orders.

DiscCoasterPro · Post by **DiscCoasterPro** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:41 pm

Yes, being a newbie and not knowing the source of some of my VS9 problems even after following the directions on how to set it up, I ultimately have been finding myself scrapping the project and just doing it directly with DVD Workshop, no problems at all.

(Tell you the truth, I've been looking over that new version of Pinnacles Media suite) That sounds like a nice program now that it uses the high end editing engine. I called pinnacle and spoke to a rep who said its an entirely different animal than anything prior. Of course I had to take the information from where it came.

He said pinnacle made this move to the Liquid edition engine specifically to overcome many of the stability problems.

The question is, can it overcome my stupidity when I use it ... hahaha

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:29 pm

I have never had the need to use mixed content on the time line. Furthermore, I use MSP 7.3, not VS although I have VS7.

It's always been my understanding, I might be wrong though, that your project settings for editing should match the properties of your source material. Given that, how could you mix avi and mpeg footage in the same project? I would never even try this. There are enough problems being reported by various users who have not mixed content on the time line.

If your capture device is causing you the grief with mixed content, my advice would be: Can it!

I have mucked about with different analog capture devices, none of them really successfully, and was pointed into the AV through function of digital camcorders by Terry. My Panasonic DA1 did not have that function, hence, I went and bought the cheapest DV camcorder I could find with that function. It worked beautifully. Since then I have upgraded to a Panasonic GS 400 and got rid of the cheapy one. Never looked back.

Post by **Ron P.** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:49 pm

DiscCoasterPro wrote: Are you using VS9 as the capture software or are you using a better application for that?

thanks,

I've been using VS9 to capture.