Jerky Canon 7D Video

[wingspar]

My other half recently bought a new Canon 7D. On my computer, video from the 7D is very jerky, but she says it is smooth on her computer and her laptop. (Win 7 on new Dell desktop and Vista on laptop)

My computer is a dual core processor with 2GB ram I built myself running XP SP2. I have a Canon G9, and video from that cam is fine. I also have a Canon VIXIA HV30 camcorder, and have no problems viewing video on my computer.

I’ve tried viewing the 7D files in QuickTime, Windows Media Player, and Vegas Movie Studio on my computer, and it is very jerky in all programs. They are .MOV files. What would cause this?

[edDV]

Are these 24p clips? If so a tripod is needed. Also narrow depth of field (low f stop) to blur the background.

[Soopafresh]

The h264 decoder built into Quicktime is very CPU intensive. The one built into MPC home cinema is very nice, especially if you can set it for DXVA decoding which will use your video card processor instead of CPU.


Use MediaplayerClassic Homecinema

Load MOV file into MKVmerge GUI

Create MKV file

Play MKV file in MPC Homecinema

[wingspar]

The h264 decoder built into Quicktime is very CPU intensive. The one built into MPC home cinema is very nice, especially if you can set it for DXVA decoding which will use your video card processor instead of CPU.

Well, viewing the video is only part of the problem. It is even jerkier in Sony Vegas, so the videos can not even be edited. I can stretch the frames out to where I can view individual frames, and several frames at a time are just skipped. It would be nice to be able to edit these videos.

[poisondeathray]

you won't be able to in vegas if your pc specs are correct, vegas 8 & 9 are not very well optimized

newer software can make use of cuda on some nvidia cards , like adobe premiere pro cs5, and edius neo booster 2.5 , and they would be able to edit it natively in real time, even with older systems (as long as you have a supported gfx card)

another option is to encode to a digital intermediate like cineform - this is what most people would do

[wingspar]

When I did my research a few months ago on which video cam to buy, and which software to buy, I decided to go with tape, and avoid H.264. I am now so glad that I did. However, in my research, I was positive that Sony Vegas could edit H.264 files. I am very disappointed that it can not. If there is a way to do it, I’m clueless. Only thing I could think of is to stretch the time line, and delete the frames that are skipped, but the 7D is not my camera, and I’m not upgrading my computer, or installing extra software just to work on a couple of 7D files.

another option is to encode to a digital intermediate like cineform - this is what most people would do

I’m fairly good at editing video, but when it comes to terms like that, I’m clueless. It’s been suggested to convert to proxy files, but even after doing some Googling on proxy files, I remain clueless on what a proxy file is.

[poisondeathray]

When I did my research a few months ago on which video cam to buy, and which software to buy, I decided to go with tape, and avoid H.264. I am now so glad that I did. However, in my research, I was positive that Sony Vegas could edit H.264 files. I am very disappointed that it can not. If there is a way to do it, I’m clueless. Only thing I could think of is to stretch the time line, and delete the frames that are skipped, but the 7D is not my camera, and I’m not upgrading my computer, or installing extra software just to work on a couple of 7D files.

Sure it can edit it natively, but you need a faster system to do it with 7D files. 7D files use a much higher bitrate ~45Mb/s

If you did more research or looked at various 7D forums - you would realize that all 7D have issues with editing in vegas. And you won't be able to edit it natively very smoothly with your system - this I am 100% sure of.

The decoder software in vegas isn't very well optimized, I suspect vegas 10 will provide a much smoother experience

I’m fairly good at editing video, but when it comes to terms like that, I’m clueless. It’s been suggested to convert to proxy files, but even after doing some Googling on proxy files, I remain clueless on what a proxy file is.

A proxy file is a smaller version (low res, low quality) so older systems can edit it smoothly. When you go to final render, you "swap" out the proxy with the full quality original. You can also search for "offline editing" which is another name for it

Proxy editing is more difficult in vegas than premiere, but if you search, some people have managed to get it to work. Some use 3rd party apps (I think its called gearshift)

Most people don't bother swapping out with cineform (i.e. they don't use it as a proxy), they just use that, period. Cineform is "visually lossless" and can stand multiple generations without much loss. You will find many professional workflows rely on cineform.

[Soopafresh]

Install the trial copy of Neoscene, convert your MOV to AVI using the app, voila.

[wingspar]

Ok. I appreciate the help, but this is all too much for both me and my computer to just edit a file that is from a camera I do not own. I wanted to help her learn how to edit video, but I see this isn’t going to happen. Her computer is new, running Win 7, and she says it plays fine on her computer. I can show her some editing basics with Sony Vegas on my computer with video from my own video cam, and then she can get her own software, and begin learning the editing process. (What software should she look at if Sony Vegas can’t handle H.264 files)? The other alternative is for her to buy a dedicated non H.264 video cam, which I think she is considering, but I don’t think she will use the video feature that much. Hopefully, after she has the video edited and rendered, I can at least view those on my computer.

I have already tried converting to AVI, and it is still jerky on my computer.

[wingspar]

Proxy editing is more difficult in vegas than premiere, but if you search, some people have managed to get it to work. Some use 3rd party apps (I think its called gearshift)

Thought I would give an update. With some help from another forum, and a few frustrating attempts, I was finally successful in creating a proxy file in Sony Vegas, and was able to edit and render the movie. It took a long time just to understand what a proxy file is, and be able to create one that worked. Once I created one, the whole thing started to make some sense, and fall into place. There is so much to video editing and rendering, and I do so little of it, there is so much I do not understand. Most of the help I got on this subject was way over my head for a couple of days, I was pulling hair out. Anyway, I got the 7D video edited and rendered.

[edDV]

Proxy editing is more difficult in vegas than premiere, but if you search, some people have managed to get it to work. Some use 3rd party apps (I think its called gearshift)

Thought I would give an update. With some help from another forum, and a few frustrating attempts, I was finally successful in creating a proxy file in Sony Vegas, and was able to edit and render the movie. It took a long time just to understand what a proxy file is, and be able to create one that worked. Once I created one, the whole thing started to make some sense, and fall into place. There is so much to video editing and rendering, and I do so little of it, there is so much I do not understand. Most of the help I got on this subject was way over my head for a couple of days, I was pulling hair out. Anyway, I got the 7D video edited and rendered.

Can you overview the proxy process you used? Was it wmv? Any issues loading and processing the original files?

I use Cineform Neoscene myself for this kind of project but I'll try to duplicate what you did as an experiment.

[wingspar]

Can you overview the proxy process you used? Was it wmv? Any issues loading and processing the original files?

I use Cineform Neoscene myself for this kind of project but I'll try to duplicate what you did as an experiment.

What I did was to open the help in Sony Vegas, and type in “proxy files” in the search box. Choose “Creating Proxy Files for High-Definition Editing” from the three topics that come up, and then just walk thru the steps. You will see that this feature is available only in Vegas Movie Studio Platinum software, and probably Sony Vegas Pro, so if you just have Sony Vegas Movie Studio, you won’t be able to do it.

Yes, I used wmv. I tried .avi first, but it was still choppy. You will just have to experiment to see what works. I did not have any issues loading and processing the original files. If I was to do it again, and I probably will, I will have to open the help, and walk thru it step by step as I did this time. Let me know how that works for you.