Editing the video

[numlock]

Im importing old vhs tapes and have them in dv files on my computer. No problem there but some of these tapes have this thing on the right side of the screen (sorry i dont know the name for it) that really isnt visible on tv´s. Ive uploaded a pic. How do i cut that out, clear it out or make it black?

Another thing is there some simple program out there that lets you edit and save color changes in the video. For instance contrast, hue, sharpness?

[terryj]

the right side looks like overscanning
which is common on inputted video trying to re-display on a computer monitor.
Your right, it will not transfer to the final output
(TV) so don't fret about it.

As for your other question, AFAIK, there is none that are free.

[numlock]

but what good programs are there i could look at? and if i wanted to cut out the portion on the right side would they be able to do that as well?

[willrob]

iMovie can do simple corrections for color and contrast, and there are free plug-ins that will crop. But there isn't really a need to remove the overscanning, since a TV won't evry display that area and the cropping in iMovie takes a lot of rendering time.

[terryj]

If you have the cash, look at Final Cut Express
or Final Cut Pro, for your color correction.

And again, overscanning is NOTHING to worry about.
If you start worrying about overscanning, you might as well
give up now! It's VERY, VERY commonplace ( think: like
breathing is commonplace!) , and will be the LAST thing
you should EVER worry about.

Just look over three or four pages of this forum...Codecs,
frame issues, audio, cross compatability between platforms:
You'll have your hands full WITH THAT STUFF that you'll
be glad you don't have to worry about overscan!

[RatVega]

Everybody is right that the overscanning is no biggie unless you want the video to look good when viewed on a computer or other similar display (like projecting via a computer DVD player.) In that case, you can crop it and get a nice little black border (or color if you composite it in your editor.)

iMovie is free on new Macs or can be gotten in iLife. If you're more than casually interested in video editing, you should be looking at Final Cut.

FC Express is suitable for general use and has excellent color correction capabilities, along with a lot of other tools you'll come to value.

FC Pro (or Studio) is relatively expensive and probably overkill until you actually know what direction your editing will take. It's truly a professional system.