Originally Posted by TriggerHappy Hi all, I'm having trouble uploading videos to my smugmug site from my mac, and am wondering what works well for other people? What software are people using to capture video and edit and upload to smugmug? I'm using iMovie HD to capture from my Sony HDV camera. I edit in full HD res and then export to quicktime, web size. Quicktime movie plays fine on my mac, but after uploading using the latest MacDaddy uploader, the audio is garbled for the first 2 seconds, and then silence. Is anyone successfully using iMovie HD? Is anyone using Quicktime Pro? I see people are using Premier and Final Cut Pro, both a bit out of my amateur, just messing around with basic editing, price range. Cheers, Sheila

iMovie HD works fine for all basic projects. There nothing wrong with it.
Obviously, I can't use it for my projects or my professors will kill me, but if you're just cutting and using simple transitions, its great and simple software to use.
Its kinda ironic, because one of my professors at Emerson was like... "I use iMovie to edit my home videos all th time"

Originally Posted by vaio2006 Avid Media Composer: http://www.avid.com/products/media-c.../mcSavings.asp Its the best! and pricy....

If you're on a PC, yes, but if you're on a Mac, Final Cut Pro kicks butt.

Originally Posted by DavidTO If you're on a PC, yes, but if you're on a Mac, Final Cut Pro kicks butt.

I have both Final Cut and Media Composer... but still love using Media Composer, Adobe AE + ProTools!
I dont know, theres something about Final Cut that just doesn't seem "quite there"

I just bought a Sony HDR-SR12 HD camera which produces .m2ts files in AVCHD format. I'm looking for something that can natively edit those files (on Windows Vista) and can produce a good HD format that Smugmug can read (Smugmug won't take the .m2ts files out of the camera both because it doesn't handle the codec used in the Sony AVCHD and because it doesn't handle the 5.1 sound).

I'm looking for basic video editing and format conversion. I'm hoping to spend no more than $150, but would spend more if I had to to get something good. I don't expect I need really advanced features, but I would like to do basic scene editing, chopping, combining, be able to save the resulting video to lots of formats (for Smugmug, you tube, DVD, blue-ray disk, a format that Flash can play, etc...). Since all my video is intially in AVCHD, I'm hoping for something that doesn't have to do a length conversion on the video (with the resulting time delay and disk space consumption) before starting to edit it.

I had read the Pinnacle was one of the first to support native AVCHD editing so I check out their offerings. From the comments I've read, it looks like their software is horribly unstable and they've had a reputation for that in prior versions. Of course, I have no way of knowing if those issues would happen to me, but it doesn't look good in reading about it.

So, then I looked at ULEAD and I read about serious performance problems when working on AVCHD video.

Several of the previous threads had pointed me to Sony Vegas Platinum and I figured that at least I could be confident that it would read Sony AVCHD video. So far, it looks like my best choice.

I have a very old version of Premiere Elements that I once tried to use for constructing DVD slideshows and I was not impressed with that product back then so I'm not included to look at the current versions.

Any other thoughts out there? Is Sony Vegas Platinum a good choice?

Originally Posted by jfriend I just bought a Sony HDR-SR12 HD camera which produces .m2ts files in AVCHD format. I'm looking for something that can natively edit those files (on Windows Vista) and can produce a good HD format that Smugmug can read ... Several of the previous threads had pointed me to Sony Vegas Platinum and I figured that at least I could be confident that it would read Sony AVCHD video. So far, it looks like my best choice. ... Any other thoughts out there? Is Sony Vegas Platinum a good choice?

That's what I have read also. I don't have anything in AVCHD yet so I haven't tried it. I do have an older version of Vegas Video that I have used for DV SD. The Vegas user interface is, well, unique and takes a while to become familiar with it. Stability and speed are nice.

I think you can get a demo/trial version of the current software so I think that might make a good test for you.

The features list looks appropriate but you just never know until you (or somebody) try a project.

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/...diope/features

Basic training videos might give you some more hints to suitability:

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/...od=moviestudio

Originally Posted by ziggy53 That's what I have read also. I don't have anything in AVCHD yet so I haven't tried it. I do have an older version of Vegas Video that I have used for DV SD. The Vegas user interface is, well, unique and takes a while to become familiar with it. Stability and speed are nice. I think you can get a demo/trial version of the current software so I think that might make a good test for you. The features list looks appropriate but you just never know until you (or somebody) try a project. http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/...diope/features Basic training videos might give you some more hints to suitability: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/...od=moviestudio

Thanks ziggy. I think you're right that the trial version is a good way to go since it's impossible to tell how good something is from the spec sheets. It's good to know that performance and stability are good because those were the major dings with the other players.

MOD: oops I think i have posted in the wrong place again - sorry!

I have borrowed a camcorder to video an event next week but cannot get iMovie HD to recognise it - help!

I have to edit the video. otherwise it wouldn't be a problem as my friends PC will burn it OK onto a dVD and that plays ok on my mac, but neither of us can edit it

As I understand it I need to have a firewire-in cable but the camcorder has s-video out ( so the shop I asked told me) and there are no s-video to firewire adapters that I can find

I have asked shops and as many people that I can , including daughter's fiancees, friends with PCs and/or camcorders and the local MacUsersGroup, but no answers so far

any thoughts anyone?

I have a dual 2.3 ppc mac with 10.4.11

thanks

Originally Posted by I Simonius I have borrowed a camcorder to video an event next week but cannot get iMovie HD to recognise it - help! I have to edit the video. otherwise it wouldn't be a problem as my friends PC will burn it OK onto a dVD and that plays ok on my mac, but neither of us can edit it As I understand it I need to have a firewire-in cable but the camcorder has s-video out ( so the shop I asked told me) and there are no s-video to firewire adapters that I can find I have asked shops and as many people that I can , including daughter's fiancees, friends with PCs and/or camcorders and the local MacUsersGroup, but no answers so far any thoughts anyone? I have a dual 2.3 ppc mac with 10.4.11 thanks

What exact model video camera is it?

Originally Posted by I Simonius I have borrowed a camcorder to video an event next week but cannot get iMovie HD to recognise it - help! I have to edit the video. otherwise it wouldn't be a problem as my friends PC will burn it OK onto a dVD and that plays ok on my mac, but neither of us can edit it As I understand it I need to have a firewire-in cable but the camcorder has s-video out ( so the shop I asked told me) and there are no s-video to firewire adapters that I can find I have asked shops and as many people that I can , including daughter's fiancees, friends with PCs and/or camcorders and the local MacUsersGroup, but no answers so far any thoughts anyone? I have a dual 2.3 ppc mac with 10.4.11 thanks

I think you will need a converter box similar to something like this:
http://www.synthetic-ap.com/tips/fir...onverters.html

If anyone can get the raw footage off the cam and burn to DVD then I think you could just load the DVD footage (if it is files like MPEG not video_ts/dvd conversion) into iMovie that way.

Originally Posted by jfriend What exact model video camera is it?

I don't have it here at the moment but it says sony Hi8 on the side `i remeber- any use?

Originally Posted by darkdragon I think you will need a converter box similar to something like this: http://www.synthetic-ap.com/tips/fir...onverters.html If anyone can get the raw footage off the cam and burn to DVD then I think you could just load the DVD footage (if it is files like MPEG not video_ts/dvd conversion) into iMovie that way.

well i tried that and I was able to copy the DVD onto my mac but iMovieHD doesn't want to play with it

looking at the video formats on SM help I see it is thios one that comes off the DVD and that it's not supported [vob MPEG2 PS format (VOB) No}

Originally Posted by I Simonius well i tried that and I was able to copy the DVD onto my mac but iMovieHD doesn't want to play with it looking at the video formats on SM help I see it is thios one that comes off the DVD and that it's not supported [vob MPEG2 PS format (VOB) No}

You could try downloading a trial version of Adobe Premiere and see if that will recognize it.

Originally Posted by I Simonius I don't have it here at the moment but it says sony Hi8 on the side `i remeber- any use?

Hi8 is an older analog format and, yes, it will only have S-Video and Composite video output, as well as analog audio. It predates the digital video formats.

If you want to edit the video on the computer it will have to be digitized. I believe the best format for that is either direct into the computer using an A/D card or using a DV camcorder as a converter and transfer device. At any rate you want a video format on the computer that has discreet frames, not a DVD format. DVD format is a dialect of MPEG 2 and does not use discreet frames. It is a delivery and presentation format.

Discreet video formats might include AVI and MOV and DV. While DV is both a wrapper and a codec definition, AVI and MOV are simply wrappers and would also require a video codec. I suggest staying with DV.

If you can borrow a DV camcorder that has video inputs, that's probably the best method. It will have an IEEE-488 connection (firewire) and either allow conversion from the analog source on-the-fly or you might have to record the source video onto DV cassettes first, which might not be a bad idea.

It's also a good idea to first noise filter the analog video because DV has a fixed data rate and if you don't filter the noise, much of what you record will be noise. I suggest a high-end VCR that has video DNR or Faroudja video noise reduction to do the filtering.

Once you get the DV files on the computer it should be easy to find a suitable video editor, but it may not already be on your machine.

Likewise there are many DVD burner software available that can handle DV video as the source.

Next time, just use a DV camcorder and save yourself a lot of trouble when you want to edit on the computer.

Originally Posted by ziggy53 Hi8 is an older analog format and, yes, it will only have S-Video and Composite video output, as well as analog audio. It predates the digital video formats. If you want to edit the video on the computer it will have to be digitized. I believe the best format for that is either direct into the computer using an A/D card or using a DV camcorder as a converter and transfer device. At any rate you want a video format on the computer that has discreet frames, not a DVD format. DVD format is a dialect of MPEG 2 and does not use discreet frames. It is a delivery and presentation format. Discreet video formats might include AVI and MOV and DV. While DV is both a wrapper and a codec definition, AVI and MOV are simply wrappers and would also require a video codec. I suggest staying with DV. If you can borrow a DV camcorder that has video inputs, that's probably the best method. It will have an IEEE-488 connection (firewire) and either allow conversion from the analog source on-the-fly or you might have to record the source video onto DV cassettes first, which might not be a bad idea. It's also a good idea to first noise filter the analog video because DV has a fixed data rate and if you don't filter the noise, much of what you record will be noise. I suggest a high-end VCR that has video DNR or Faroudja video noise reduction to do the filtering. Once you get the DV files on the computer it should be easy to find a suitable video editor, but it may not already be on your machine. Likewise there are many DVD burner software available that can handle DV video as the source. Next time, just use a DV camcorder and save yourself a lot of trouble when you want to edit on the computer.

so much information *whimper* - but thanks...just get a DV camcorder.. wish it were as easy as that.. I have had three offered but none are DV, at least I don't think they are .. how can you tell?

None have firewire that much I do know

Originally Posted by jfriend I just bought a Sony HDR-SR12 HD camera which produces .m2ts files in AVCHD format. I'm looking for something that can natively edit those files (on Windows Vista) and can produce a good HD format that Smugmug can read (Smugmug won't take the .m2ts files out of the camera both because it doesn't handle the codec used in the Sony AVCHD and because it doesn't handle the 5.1 sound). I'm looking for basic video editing and format conversion. I'm hoping to spend no more than $150, but would spend more if I had to to get something good. I don't expect I need really advanced features, but I would like to do basic scene editing, chopping, combining, be able to save the resulting video to lots of formats (for Smugmug, you tube, DVD, blue-ray disk, a format that Flash can play, etc...). Since all my video is intially in AVCHD, I'm hoping for something that doesn't have to do a length conversion on the video (with the resulting time delay and disk space consumption) before starting to edit it. I had read the Pinnacle was one of the first to support native AVCHD editing so I check out their offerings. From the comments I've read, it looks like their software is horribly unstable and they've had a reputation for that in prior versions. Of course, I have no way of knowing if those issues would happen to me, but it doesn't look good in reading about it. So, then I looked at ULEAD and I read about serious performance problems when working on AVCHD video. Several of the previous threads had pointed me to Sony Vegas Platinum and I figured that at least I could be confident that it would read Sony AVCHD video. So far, it looks like my best choice. I have a very old version of Premiere Elements that I once tried to use for constructing DVD slideshows and I was not impressed with that product back then so I'm not included to look at the current versions. Any other thoughts out there? Is Sony Vegas Platinum a good choice?

I know total video converter (http://www.effectmatrix.com/total-video-converter) can convert m2ts file to any formats file you need.
And maybe you can also try this tool total video2dvd ( http://www.effectmatrix.com/total_vi...thor/index.htm)

Originally Posted by videospot I know total video converter (http://www.effectmatrix.com/total-video-converter) can convert m2ts file to any formats file you need. And maybe you can also try this tool total video2dvd ( http://www.effectmatrix.com/total_vi...thor/index.htm)

When I look at Total Video Converter web site, it doesn't list m2ts as a supported format. And, I know that many things that say they support m2ts can't handle the Sony variant that my camera produces. Do you have other information or experience that this actually does work with m2ts or with my Sony camera specifically? I'd love to find something that works.

I just shot a Quicktime .MOV with the DW's P&S Nikon and need to edit the 243M file down to a manageable size. Are there any free vid editors out there that can dice a vid? I only need about the first 2-3 mins.

Oh, almost forgot to mention... Running W2k.

Thanks...
(didn't find anything about this in a DGRIN search)


UPDATE: Found MediaCoder v0.7.0.4399... works great!

Originally Posted by Seymore I just shot a Quicktime .MOV with the DW's P&S Nikon and need to edit the 243M file down to a manageable size. Are there any free vid editors out there that can dice a vid? I only need about the first 2-3 mins. Oh, almost forgot to mention... Running W2k. Thanks... (didn't find anything about this in a DGRIN search) UPDATE: Found MediaCoder v0.7.0.4399... works great!

No clue if it works on your ancient operating system, but folks are happy with MPEG Stramclip: http://www.smugmug.com/help/video-sharing

Originally Posted by Seymore Are there any free vid editors out there that can dice a vid? I only need about the first 2-3 mins.

There's also the freebie add on from Microsoft.

Originally Posted by Andy No clue if it works on your ancient operating system, but folks are happy with MPEG Stramclip: http://www.smugmug.com/help/video-sharing

MPEG Streamclip "ROCKS"

Andy suggested this to me awhile ago and I have been using it since. Since it is free you may want to give it a whirl