Converting MPG to AVI type2 (batch)

[statman24]

I have a hard drive video camera that we use to record High School Football games. Everytime we start and pause the camera, it creates an MPG file for the recording we just took. This is good, as after the game, I can connect to the camera via USB and download 100+ football plays to my laptop.

We just bought a piece of football coaching software. I'm told by the developers that the software will import AVI Type 2 files.

So, I'm looking for the best method to take all of my MPG files after each game, run them through some sort of batch conversion program (free or commercial) and convert them to AVI type 2 format.

Any ideas of what software I would need to accomplish this?

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[redwudz]

I'm wondering what they mean by 'Type 2 AVI', but my guess would be DV AVI, Type 2. You could use VirtualDub Mod to convert the MPEG to DV, Type two by adding a DV encoder like the Panasonic DV codec. VDM will probably do batches, but I haven't tried that.

But I am also wondering about your camera. MPEG or MPEG-4? Probably if you gave us the name and model of your camera and the name of your coaching software (Assuming the maker is on the net), one of our members may be able to give you better information.

And welcome to our forums.

[statman24]

The camera is a Sony DCR-SR40. I looked it up and it looks like it's MPEG2.

I did load one of the MPG files into GSPOT and here's what I got:

DVD "VOB" format
MPEG-2 Program Stream << { 1 vid, 1 aud }
Sys Bitrate: 10080 kb/s VBR

The football video software I'm using this this:

http://www.webbelectronics.com/html/EditingSolutions/Gameday.html

[redwudz]

Thanks, that info is helpful. Just taking a quick look, it seems the software is geared to a DV camcorder. Your camcorder outputs DVD format MPEGs. If you don't mind the conversion, you could use the MPEG camera, but it looks like a regular DV camera might be easier.

From what I saw, the program may be able to load the video directly from a DV camera, most likely through a FireWire cable to a FireWire card. The downside of DV is it uses about 13.5GB per hour of hard drive space. The good news is that it's high quality and very good for editing, compared to MPEG and other AVI type formats.

If you are using the laptop for the MPEG>DV conversions there is also a matter of the time it would take for the conversions. But you might try VDM and see how it would work with one of your MPEG files. DV is a fixed format, in that for NTSC (US) video the framesize is 720 x 480, but your MPEG camera is probably outputting the same framesize. That would help, as you won't need framesize conversion and the framerate should also be correct.

BTW, that Gameday software looks pretty impressive. I'm sure the company can give you good advice on the setup that would work best for you.

[statman24]

True...(regarding using a DV camera), but the nice thing is that with the Hard Drive camera, all of the plays are broken up into individual files, so we don't have to do the manual process of breaking up the tape (as they call it).

I still have not gotten a file to convert properly to what will work with the software. I'll keep trying and will call the software company for assistance.

[thecoalman]

This is the long way around but you can use Windows Movie Maker to convert to DV-AVI type-1 , Use Canopus DV converter to convert to type 2.

Note that the only difference bertween type-1 and type-2 is the way the audio is stored. The second step should be quite fast and won't result in any quality loss.

To go directly from MPEG to DV-AVI type 2 try Ulead Video Studio but thats payware.

True...(regarding using a DV camera), but the nice thing is that with the Hard Drive camera, all of the plays are broken up into individual files, so we don't have to do the manual process of breaking up the tape (as they call it).

DV supports this too depending on your softwre which includes most, even as a single file. There's a timecode embedded in the video stream, Date, time etc. You may want to inquire about the software you are considering because it may support it as well, if not no big deal. Even Windows Movie Maker will do this for you. Just to add you'll get better quality out of the DV cam and you won't get any loss in quailty through the extra conversions. Only downside compared to your current cam is has to be transferred real time, I'm assuming the USB transfer is quite a bit faster than that.

[statman24]

Does Ulead Video Studio allow me to convert 100 video files from MPG-2 to AVI type2 in batch mode?

[thecoalman]

I'm not sure if it does batch conversions, I use there prosumer editor which will do batch conversions but hardly worth the cost for that alone. Video Studio is a consumer product, you can download the free trial to see if it fits your needs. You can load as many clips into the timeline as you want but that won't keep them seperate.

As suggested above VirtualDud or some derivative is probably your best bet for this, thats a very powerfule program in the right hands. Best part is its free but does require some learning.

[DarrellS]

VirtualdubMod will do this.

Open one of the clips and choose streams > stream list > right click on existing audio file and choose full processing mode (this will convert the audio to an uncompressed wave. Omit this step if there is no audio).
Choose Video > Compression and choose a DV codec.
Click File and choose Job Control. Choose Process Directory and then Output Directory and then click Start.
It will convert all the files in the Process Directory and move them to the Output folder.