CaptyDVD2 now available separately

[Frobozz]

I just visited the http://pixela-1 Web site and discovered that the full version of CaptyDVD2 is now available for download for $69.95. It used to only be available in the U.S. with LaCie's FastCoder. This is a rather impressive DVD authoring applciation because it accepts MPEG sources, does Dolby Digital encoding, offers 25 customizable motion menu templates, provides the ability to specify chapter points and chapter menus, and creates DVD slide shows that can display photo titles as well as have background music.

I've had the Lite version that came with my LaCie DVD drive (which lacks Dolby Digital encoding and has only 5 of the 25 menu templates). Good news for anyone else with the Lite version: you can now download the full version's templates for free at the pixela-1 site.

Also on the pixela-1 site - and maybe of more interest - is Capty MPEG Edit EX. This application can do frame-accurate MPEG editing. It does this by converting a GOP to uncompressed video at the point of the edit. It also does GOP editing (like the old PixeDV application). And it will join different MPEGs to a single MPEG file. It sells for $49.95 as a download.

[havema-1]

Great, finally more MPEG editors for the Mac.

Can you tell how the Capty MPEG Edit EX differs from the Japanese-only Capty MPEG Edit? Or are they basically the same?

http://www.pixela-1.com/capty_mpeg_edit_ex/

http://www.pixela.co.jp/products/mpeg/download_captympegedit.html

BTW, both Capty MPEG Edit EX and Pixe VRF Browser seem to support frame-accurate editing.

http://www.pixela-1.com/vrf_browser.htm

Pixe VRF Browser seems to have only bare-bones editing capabilities, right?

[Frobozz]

I'm not sure what the EX brings to Capty MPEG Edit. Possibly it is the additional features of being able to join MPEGs and to encode AC-3 audio. I do know that this is the first Pixela application that I give a 5-star rating. This thing works great! The only flaw I've noticed is that Toast 7.0.1 thinks the muxed MPEG stream saved by MPEG Edit EX is an audio rather than video file. Saving as separate .m2v and .ac3 streams fixes that issue. By the way, I am using it on an G5 iMac iSight running OS 10.4.3.

The editor in Pixe VRF Browser is not frame-accurate. Also, unlike MPEG Edit EX it doesn't play audio or allow preview of edits. In my opinion Pixe VRF Browser is unnecessary if you have Toast 7 because its only real value is in extracting MPEGs from VR-mode DVDs recorded on a standalone DVD recorder or a DVD camcorder.

[havema-1]

Thanks for the info!

The following page indicates that version 3.0 of Pixe VRF Browser now supports frame editing.

http://www.pixela-1.com/vrf_browser.htm

Do I understand right that Pixe VRF Browser has similar bare bones MPEG editing features like MPEG Streamclip?

[Frobozz]

I wasn't aware of version 3 of Pixe VRF Browser. I have version 2.6.1.1. It is unclear from the description at the pixela-1 site if VRF Browser actually has frame-accurate editing or if it requires Capty MPEG Edit for this. The image of the MPEG editor in the features description is the same as version 2.6 and does not have the frame display below the GOP display that is in the Capty MPEG Edit window. I'm suspicious of the frame-accurate claim for VRF Browser 3.0.

Unless you need something that extracts mpegs from VR-mode discs, I'd avoid VRF Browser. And even if you do need this you're much better off getting Toast 7 for $39 after rebate at macmall than spending $49 for VRF Browser.

Until I purchased Capty MPEG Edit EX I used MPEG Streamclip for my MPEG editing instead of Pixe VRF Browser 2.6. Even though the latter's interface was better, Streamclip was faster for me to use and I liked that Streamclip played the audio and let me preview my edit before saving. Editing with Capty MPEG Edit EX now surpasses using Streamclip for me.

Addendum: I see at pixela.co.jp that a Pixe VRF Browser 2.8 update is available. I've used it to replace my v2.6.1 and the windows now match those shown for version 3. The editing can be in half-second intervals, not frame accurate with 2.8.

[balkan]

Can someone please clarify the what Pixe VRF Browser is needed for? I want to take a DVD-RAM from a Panasonic HS2 (.vro file) to my Mac primarily to edit and add chapters in Capty MPEG Edit EX and Capty DVD2. There seems to be some overlap in the capabilities of the browser and MPEG Edit. Do I really need the browser?

[Frobozz]

PixeVRF Browser can extract MPEGs from your DVD-RAM discs that can then be edited in Capty MPEGEdit. There also is an editor in PixeVRF browser but it doesn't do frame-accurate editing. Capty MPEGEdit also does AC3 encoding (which you don't need because your DVD recorder does that) and can join MPEGs.

If you have Toast 7 you don't need PixeVRF Browser because Toast can extract the MPEGs.

[phase52001]

I have the Japanese version of Capty MPEG Edit. And it works pretty well, however it only accepts "MPEG Program Stream", which have a suffix of ".mpg". Any other type of MPEG2 file just gets rejected.

eg; using EyeTV** I record a program and export it as an "MPEG Program Stream". Capty MPEG EDIT is quiet happy with this file and I can edit it as much as I like. However if I open the same EyeTV file in MPEG Streamclip and export it as "MPEG" or "MPEG With MP2 Audio" Capty MPEG EDIT won't recognize it as a file it can use. I tried changing suffix from "mpeg" to "mpg" and Capty started to load the file, but then rejected it.

So is Capty MPEG EDIT EX just as temperamental, or will it accept most forms of MPEG2?
(I'd like to use it to re-edit some family DVDs I made without having to convert back to Mov).

Or is it just an English version of the Japanese product?
From what I've seen of the screen grabs it looks to be the same thing.

Could an actual user of Capty MPEG EDIT EX tell me. I'd like to buy the English version if it does works with all/most MPEG2 files.

**EyeTV can only be used to export programs it has recorded.

[Frobozz]

The English version of Capty MPEGEdit EX has the same limitations you describe as to file type and .mpg extension. I don't recall if it has any problem with a file exported from MPEG Streamclip. I'll check into it. Of course, you can do the trimming in Streamclip instead of MPEGEdit.

[AntnyMD]

Capty MPEGEdit EX is especially sensitive to GOP structures and bitrate spikes. MPEG Streamclip is more forgiving but started causing me sync issues (which is why I pounced on MPEGEdit EX as soon as I heard about it).

[phase52001]

The English version of Capty MPEGEdit EX has the same limitations you describe as to file type and .mpg extension. I don't recall if it has any problem with a file exported from MPEG Streamclip. I'll check into it. Of course, you can do the trimming in Streamclip instead of MPEGEdit.

Disappointed to hear the english version is the same as the Japanese regards limitations in file type.

And yes Capty MPEG Edit does have issues with MPEG files exported from MPEG Streamclip. It doesn't like them at all. It won't recognise them if you attempt to import them.

I have been using "MPEG Streamclip"; which handles all file types, but I'd really like to be able to, on occassion, do the frame accurate MPEG2 editing that Capty MPEG Edit offers.

Does anyone know if there is a way to make a file exported from Streamclip acceptable to Capty? Or for that matter anyway to make any MPEG2 file acceptable to Capty?

[Frobozz]

I just did a test where Capty MPEGEdit handled a Streamclip exported MPEG 2 without difficulty. The MPEG 2 file was created by Toast 7 and authored to DVD. I dragged the VOB to Streamclip and chose Convert to MPEG. After changing the .mpeg extension to .mpg the file loaded in Capty MPEGEdit.

[phase52001]

I just did a test where Capty MPEGEdit handled a Streamclip exported MPEG 2 without difficulty. The MPEG 2 file was created by Toast 7 and authored to DVD. I dragged the VOB to Streamclip and chose Convert to MPEG. After changing the .mpeg extension to .mpg the file loaded in Capty MPEGEdit.

Thanks for that info Frobozz.

I'll have to do some testing at this end.

To date no MPEG file I've ever exported from MPEG Streamclip has imported into the japanese copy of Capty MPEG Edit that I have.

I report back in a few days ...