home movies in DV-AVI, now what?

[oneoffrandy]

Hey all,

I just finished capturing all my family's old 8mm tapes with WinDV. While I'll probably keep the DV-AVI versions on the external HDD I captured them to for backup purposes, I'd like to cut up the videos into clips and convert them to a more manageable format (size wise) to put on my parent's computer which doesn't have 500GB of free space.

So a few questions:

-When converting from DV-AVI, which format offers the best compression while maintaing as close to original video quality as possible? (I tested 2.1mbps .wmv with Movie Maker 2.6 and while acceptable, I'd prefer a better quality and non-proprietary format) And what software should I use for the conversion?

-Should I cut up the files before or after they've been converted from DV-AVI? (I don't care if the backup DV-AVIs are cut up or not)

-What software is best for quick cutting up of files? (that's all I need to do, editing wise) I have access to XP, Windows 7, Snow Leopard, and Mountain Lion machines.

Thanks!

[Baldrick]

You could try virtualdub. You can cut out sections(set start and stop, press delete), add filters, convert to for example avi with the xvid codec or avi with h264 codec / x264vfw.

Some other free tools you can use to both cut and convert to several formats are avidemux, freemake video converter(be sure to decline the toolsbars).


Or just cut with virtualdub, under video and audio choose direct stream copy, save as a new dv-avi. Then convert to a smaller format with any software.

[jagabo]

h.264+aac in MP4 is probably your best bet for small file size and good compatibility with a lot of devices. I prefer MKV as the container but fewer devices can handle it (the Xbox 360 and PS3 don't support MKV, for example). DVD compatible MPEG2+AC3 in MPG won't be as small but can be quickly authored to DVD for the widest compatibility.

Be aware your source is interlaced and should be handled as such.

[oneoffrandy]

h.264+aac in MP4 is probably your best bet for small file size and good compatibility with a lot of devices. I prefer MKV as the container but fewer devices can handle it (the Xbox 360 and PS3 don't support MKV, for example). DVD compatible MPEG2+AC3 in MPG won't be as small but can be quickly authored to DVD for the widest compatibility.

Be aware your source is interlaced and should be handled as such.

Thanks! I had been thinking MKV would be the way to go, I'm more concerned with saving space rather than compatibility with a wide range of devices. What software works best for conversion from DV-AVI to MKV?

And what are the handling precautions that need to be taken with interlaced content? (compared with progressive)

Thanks again!