Video Editing Haardware & Software

[Snafu]

Looking for any guidance on video editing software/hardware.

Currently video editing on my old PIII. It's a bit slow to say the least. Any ways, downloading digital video from a Sony camcorder using firewire (1394a). I want to switch the video editing to my P4 simply cause it will be far faster for editing.

My first question concerns hardware. The P4 has the newer firewire (1394b) and the connection plug is different. Is there a 1394a to 1394b connector conversion plug? I have no concern if I am stuck downloading at the old 1394a speeds. As long as I can get it onto the P4 I'm happy.

On the software side I have MGI VideoWave 4 that came with the old firewire and I was running it on the PIII with Win98SE. It's not bad software for editing but wonder your thoughts on it or if there is something far better out there (and somewhate easy to use).

Thanks

[sodface]

Ulead just came out with a new version of VideoStudio - version 8. It got a good write-up in a recent PC magazine. I haven't done much video editing but I've tried a lot of different programs. I've always found Ulead's products to be easy to use and powerful, though not being considered 'professional' level. Sony recently bought Vegas from Sonic Foundry and is now called, orignally enough, "Sony Vegas". It's awesome, I think, but expensive. One thing goofy about Vegas though, and I don't know if it will apply to you, but if your camera encodes audio in AC3 then you are hosed for editing directly in Vegas. You'd have to convert the audio to different format to bring it in. My brother bought on of the newer Sony cameras that write directly to mini-dvd's. The audio is AC3 and apparently can't be changed on the camera. Vegas will import the video but there is no audio track. Did I mention that Sony made the camera and now owns and releases Vegas under the Sony name?! And it doesn't work with a full line of their newest cameras?

Didn't mean to rant. As far as the hardware side goes I can't give you much advice. Faster the better and the more storage the better I reckon. I've read lots of stuff about VIA chipsets and audio synch problems - I don't know if these issues have been resolved or not.

[Snafu]

Thanks Bud
Sony and MS - what a pair huh?.
I'm not sure what sound format my player uses but it does raise another question that I will have to look at when searching for video editing software - being able to easily separate audio from video (i.e., only one download required per tape). VideoWave lets you download video+audio, audio-only, or video-only. It does not look like you can strip the audio portion off the audio+video download. Or I have not yet learnt how to do this .

I will check out Ulead's version and see how well it is advertised to work. VideoWave is kinda nice but either lacks what you want or is a bit complex (& I have not found out how to do it). Not sure which.

Any leads on an adapter from 1394a to 1394b? Are these common pieces or hard to find? Might be best to go straight to Sony (?).

Cheers mate

[pointreyes]

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...oid=-10266&m=0

Works good for me on my P4C800E-D. Nice thing is that you can at least try it out first and return it if does not work with your system. I'm using the 1394a connection between my Sony DVD External burner and the board for burning the DVD. I'm not aware of 1394b being on the board.

I was considering the Canopus route but it is considerably more expensive due to the extra cost of the software. Hardware was $275. Canopus is of much higher quality though.

Other software to consider is Virtual Dub (freeware)-I haven't tried it simply because I hate reading online documentation.

It appears that Nero might be able to help out with video encoding but again you have to content with miserable online documentation. Sometimes I really like to read away from the 'puter.

[Snafu]

Thanks Bud. After your post I just realised that it is not 1394b but rather a 1393a 6-pin (powered) whereas the camera has a 1394a 5-pin (unpowered) connection.

Will take a look at these suggestions. DL software is kinda tough for the 56K modem. I will have to stick with something off the shelf.

[joeMan]

Snafu -
Adobe Premiere 6.5 is what I use. The current version is now Premiere Pro 1.5, a bit pricey at full retail, but I am a student in college so I got it cheaper in the bundle at the student price. Check it out: http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/main.html
It looks intimidating at first, but it is not. It is, in fact, really easy to use - you just capture all your clips, then drag and drop them and place transitions, etc. Then you can export to whatever program or plug-in you want for burning to DVD or whatever...it's very powerful and can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. I don't mean to dumb it down at all though, it has a HELL of a lot of bells and whistles - and you can go WAY in depth with it if you want...anyway, I use it and I'm no rocket scientist
Good luck on your search Snafu.

[Snafu]

Thanks joeMan. I will check out Adobe. I am into the title screens/text effects, transitions, dubbing over music, having pics appear over the video, etc. Mainly editing video for events such as parties and the like.

PS - I am such a doofus. I pulled the firewire out the back of teh PIII and discovered that it is different than the plug that enters the camera ( ). It does indeed plug straight into the firewire on the P4 system.

First plug-in attempt into the case's firewire connection caused an instant shut down - must have connected them wrong . It worked fine when plugged into the board's connection out back (whew). Downloaded some video but the audio now sucks (pops and stutters every once in a while). Gotta try something else.

[Snafu]

I was able to connect the camera to the board firewire and download some video (testing a couple of apps that came with the system). The problem I am encountering is mainly with the sound. There are some pops within the dowloaded track that are not on the original tape. They appear when trying both apps.

On the PIII everything downloaded without an issue. So now I am puzzled why the P4 dowloads with these pops in the sound track.

Anyone know if this is a board or cable issue? I cannot see it being the video camera cause it plays the tape without an issue and it was downloaded to the PIII without issue.

Thanks

[Snafu]

I'm looking for a recordable DVD player to record some home productions and can play them in a DVD player on the TV. I heard that there are different formats some of which will not play on a DVD player. What feature should I look for in a DVD recorder?

I currently have a DVD drive and CD-RW drive, There is room to add another optical drive but is there room on the board to hook up 3 optical drives or is it better if I replace one of the current drives?

[joeMan]

Snafu, I have read on Adobe support forums and I have heard from friends of mine that when you are capturing and editing video on PC, it does NOT like OC'd rigs. I see in your profile that the P4 rig you are using is OC'd considerably (righteous man - but ...) this might be the problem with the popping in the soundtracks...maybe...

[Snafu]

Thanks. That is something I never thought about. Will have to return to stock speeds and try again. I wonder if this holds true in the producing stage - I suspect so since it has troubles during downloads and edits. Very good info to know .

I had suspected a couple of demo software that came with the DVD drive - Intervideo winDVD and Windows Movie Maker (just to see if I coudl download). Both seemed to have a problem (manily sound) with the downloaded video.

Thanks again

[joeMan]

Yes, this could be your problem as I was once capturing/editing on one of my older AMD Athlon rigs and it was substantially OC'd and it was popping and stuttering too. So, I cut the OC back - not all the way to stock - but just to a slight OC and the problem went away.

Goes without saying too - but I will anyway, latest BIOS, chipset drivers and making sure all DMA modes for all capture and edit drives are at optimum speed...and then check for updates to your editing software too. Basically, preparing as smooth as possible a path for that data while it is streaming, be it from the firewire upon initial capture, or through IDE or SATA channels during subsequent editing, will save you many headaches. Double checking those DMA modes (make sure they are NOT PIO) on IDE channels in your device MGR. Also if you are running RAID and or SATA, just a double check on the most current of whatever your drivers are for the chipset/board you have etc. BUT YOU KNEW ALL THAT...!!!

This PC A/V editing is touchy stuff, but once you get your machine dialed - AND - with the right software package that YOU like, you will cruise right along.

QUESTION: Are you capturing firewire through the Audigy, or through the onboard ASUS firewire ? I capture all mine through my Audigy and have no issues - this way I can also disable the onboard 1394 on my ASUS in the BIOS.

[Snafu]

So, I cut the OC back - not all the way to stock - but just to a slight OC and the problem went away.

How far back did you detune the oc? I can easily change the FSB to 201 and still leave other settings as they are (hopefully without too much instability).

...latest BIOS, chipset drivers and making sure all DMA modes for all capture and edit drives are at optimum speed...

I am staying away from teh latest bios for the board - did not hear anythign good about 1017 and 1016 was only updated for Prescotts. The latest chipset driver from Intel is installed and running fine (no measurable difference for me).

Double checking those DMA modes (make sure they are NOT PIO) on IDE channels in your device MGR. Also if you are running RAID and or SATA, just a double check on the most current of whatever your drivers are for the chipset/board you have etc. BUT YOU KNEW ALL THAT...!!!

DMA modes ? I'll check the device manager and see what thier settings. Well I know that now .

This PC A/V editing is touchy stuff, but once you get your machine dialed - AND - with the right software package that YOU like, you will cruise right along.

Yeah, it can be tough. The worst part is deciding what format to publish the movie. There are many choices none of which are very obvious . My PIII is dialed in perfectly and makes some great movies but the HDDs are a small compared to current standard. The P4 has access to a drive that's >100GB (hope it's big enough ).

Are you capturing firewire through the Audigy, or through the onboard ASUS firewire ? I capture all mine through my Audigy and have no issues - this way I can also disable the onboard 1394 on my ASUS in the BIOS.

The Audigy does not have a firewire connection (el cheapo version) so I am running off the Asus board (the case firewire is not connected correctly as the rig immediately shut down when I plugged in the firewire - scary but luckily statred right up).

I plan to upgrade the card one day but at the start I just wanted decent sound without bells/whistles and thought to focus on the proc, board and ram. The newer cards are just too much bling for me such as remotes, eats up a 5.25" bay, etc. I have a home theatre system that I use for movies so I do not plan to use it for watching movies. What card would you recommend that has decent features without the bling and <$100USD?

[joeMan]

I had cut my OC back from 175fsb to 169fsb or there abouts, just a few GHz over on an older Athlon XP chip I was running on my Gigabyte GA-7VAXP.

Good call on the BIOS, it's a judgement call for each user/board/situation.

Re DMA Modes, what I meant was in Device Mgr under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers click on Primary IDE Channel (and Secondary IDE Channel too) and check under Advanced Tab, look at Device 0 & Device 1 and make sure both are set to "DMA if Available" under Transfer Mode. Of course, since you are running RAID, this won't apply to your HD's, probably only to your CD/DVD ROM drives (still good for them too).

GREAT sound card here with IEEE1394 for <$100USD ( $20 mail-in rebate going currently as well) and $5 Fed-Ex Saver Shipping from NewEgg. Check it: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...102-162&DEPA=0
Whoooweee...

[joeMan]

Snafu - This guide I found on TweakTown.com has been extremely helpful to me ever since I became a Windows XP tweaker. I have used it to tweak all my PC's, my family's, friends, and business associates PC's. It is Windows XP Tweaking: from Reformat to Relax. I first used it back in the day when I was having trouble running Morrowind - after I used this guide I could run any dang thing I wanted practically (barring hardware failure!).

A couple words of caution regarding it:
1 - I don't do ALL of the registery tweaks or group edit tweaks listed at the very end, only the ones I feel suit me or the person who's PC I'm tweaking.
2 - The Services section is a very good tweak BUT ONLY FOR A SINGLE USER NON-NETWORK stand alone PC. If you are running a stand alone PC that is not on a network then follow his Services tweak section. I have my own Network specific XP Services tweak developed from Black Vipers website and personal research.

Anyway, this guide has made all my installs, and my personal PC's run real sweet for A/V editing and for Gaming (I mean, hey, why else would I be so concerned ). I've about got the darn thing memorized by now. If you start on Pg. 3, and go through it step by step (it's very well laid out and simple to follow) - I would hope your PC should run very much at it's optimum potential for ANY purpose you throw at it.

I will link you to page one of the guide - but I recommend you start on page THREE as the first two pages are jibber jabber about benchmarking and stuff (good to read though)...

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.ph...review&dId=324