questions from new user

[Doug2006]

I bought the plextor convertx capture device and I am capturing from an analog camcorder. Convertx did come with Inter video and Ulead 8. I did make a movie (15 minutes ) with the Intervideo software and it did work. But I thought I would try Ulead because of this forum. Problem one is in the capture pain I have source and format. If I try to set it for avi or dvd in the format box the source box suddenly switches to Camtasia capture device. I have Camtasia by Techsmith on the computer but not running and it will not allow me to switch to the convert x box. Or if I have plextor in the source box and set it to dvd it just switches to DivX portable which I used once. Also number two . When I do capture a clip in what ever format I have experimented with and I make any changes to that clip it is ruined. For example I had two clips captured as AVI and I used Multi trim to cut out sections. Problem is if I just cut the video and then play it it plays choppy like in slow motion. The audio is fine and seems in sinc but there is noticeable problems with video. And this is with me just cutting a clip in half. If I add a transition between two clips than the clips play terribly and if I add a title to a clip then when I play the project the screen is black and you can hear the audio but cant see any picture. I guess I had to vent as I am frustrated now with this whole process. I have an Amd 2400+ with 512 megs and a dedicated 80 gig hard drive.

[DVDDoug]

I'd guess your problems are with the capture device and settings.

Analog capture is the trickiest part of this whole process. You probably need to use the capture software that's recommended by the hardware manufacturer. Does Plextor recommend Ulead Video Studio for this step? Was there other capure software included? Video Studio does come with capture features, but Plextor may have been included it for use as an editing tool only.

It appears that the Plextor device can only capture in various MPEG formats. These are all "lossy" formats. If I'm wrong, capture to AVI/DV, this will give the best results.

Of the choices you appear to have, MPEG-2 at the highest bitrate setting will probably give you the best quality.

If you do any editing other than cutting and pasting, the MPEG video must go through a second lossy decode/re-code cycle. This will degrade the video. This also applies if you convert to a different lossy format. (i.e From DivX to MPEG-2/DVD format). Video Studio has a check-box under Project Options that says Do Not convert Compiiant MPEG Files. (I don't know about InterVideo.)

BTW- Several Ulead users have reported problems with DivX files.