Best Software to record for broadcast?

[dreslick]

Hello!

I'm a little over my head here...

Our church is trying to put together a media capture system so we can broadcast a recording of our service on the local cable access channel. I bought the K-WORLD TV883DVR-PROII video capture card. We capture composite video signal from our camcorder and audio directly from our soundboard.

I have been using the ULEAD software that came packaged with it, but it seems too cumbersome for the non-computer oriented to be able to set up and use.

Do you have any suggestions for a simple, professional video capture application? I have tried Windows Movie Maker with limited success. Main qualifications are: It has to work every time on time, and it must retain the preferences I load into it. It will not do to have to set it up properly every week.

I'm looking for something to record a live event for later broadcast. The only editing we may do at this time is to trim the ends of the service to make the file smaller. The cable company has asked us to submit the file in *.avi or *.wmv format (we prefer *.wmv due to size restrictions). The service is about 90 minutes long and needs to be compressed to fit onto a 5 GB thumb drive for transport. Software that has the ability copy the audio portion for conversion to mp3 for web upload would be superior to software that does not. Budget is around 70 US$$.

Thanks for looking at this! I welcome your advice.

[Baldrick]

Please change the subject so it better describes your topic. Just click on the edit button to change it.

Are you just looking for an editing software? Or something to broadcast?

[dreslick]

I made the change in the subject and updated the original post to better describe what I'm looking for.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Have you tried WME ?

[minidv2dvd]

you might try the free demo of CyberLink PowerDirector 8 deluxe. it has an easy to use capture setup. virtualdub is free but may not be as easy.

[JimmyS]

According to the specifications for your card, it says it records in MPEG1 or MPEG2 format. If this is correct, ask your cable company if MPEG2 would be acceptable. As it is one of the most prevalent formats in use today, it would surprise me if they could not use it. A standard 4.7 GB DVD will easily hold 90 minutes of material, so by recording your service at the proper bitrate (probably ~ 5500 - 6000 bit/sec), you should have no trouble meeting the stations desired size constraints. Doing this would save you the added work of re-encoding your video to another format which will degrade quality somewhat as well a require a fair amount of time. Once your video is captured, if all you need to do is trim start and end points etc., you could use Mpg2Cut2 (free) for this. If you want to do a bit more with it, MPEG Video Wizard ($49) will allow you to trim, do fade in/outs, adjust volume, add titles, transitions etc. plus much more. Best part is either app. does not require re-encoding of the video, so it is much quicker than a normal editing app.

[lordsmurf]

I don't see how AVI or WMV would be acceptable for broadcast. That doesn't even make sense to me.

Your budget is too low, and the quality of the video output would be really inferior to the broadcast standards. Most churches spend thousands, but you can get away with $200 or less. Maybe even under $100.

Ideally, at minimum, I'd opt for a Hauppauge PVR250 card (used from eBay for best price), to hardware encode to a decent MPEG-2 broadcast spec of 15000k, and then submit the file weekly on an external hard drive.

Of course, these days, with as much as they compress the hell out of everything, a 5500k MPEG-2 DVD-Video would probably suffice too. But WMV/AVI? That's insane. MPEG-2 audio is also more common than AC3.

I think the demand that you have software "convert" or "export" to MP3 is also a bit much. You can extract the audio from your video using freeware. Trying to add that features into editing software will probably limit you to some kind of crap software, as that is not something commonly needed, and therefore not found in mainstream quality software.

Edit MPEG with Womble MPEG Video Wizard.

Fianlly, time to rant...

I grow increasing frustrated by video these days. You have people that want to use ridiculous budgets (too high, or too low), cable co's ingest specs that vary from crap (WMV) to excessive (HD above BD specs), to studios that hire people who clearly have no idea WTF they're doing in the editing room. It's all over the map these days.

Then let's not forget about all the software out there, some of which cater to stupidity rather than providing visual quality. Or the misleading information found online from more people that don't really know anything. Argh!

[dreslick]

I appreciate the helpful comments. I thought it odd that the cable company would rather not deal with MPEG files. I just visited with the guy yesterday and specifically said it should be WMV or AVI format. That being said I tried WME this afternoon.

I liked being able to save the settings to a desktop file, thus eliminating the need to run through the setup each time. Just click and go. I also liked being able to change anything I wanted to. The help file from Microsoft was good and there was some help online as well.

I didn't like not being able to preview the input when the processor get behind encoding. I would like something that offers a preview (however small), as it goes. I realize I am asking a lot of the software. WME also hung up about forty minutes into the recording.

Another question (probably should be another post?) What size should we be using? I read 640X480 once upon a time. The community is older folks that likely don't have wide screen TVs.

I'll look at the other software after the kids are in bed...

ULEAD puts together a nice MPEG file that I can convert, but it is too cumbersome for me to train on. Is it OK to to encode and then convert, or is it better to go directly to AVI or WMV? I have dabbled in this a little at home, but this is the first time putting something together for others to use.

[guns1inger]

When using a DVD recorder is beyond the capabilities of many people, why do people keep expecting that it should be easier on a computer.

Like it or not, and despite the best advertising of everyone from Apple to Ulead (dec.), video requires effort and time on the users part. It is not a set and forget activity. The less time and effort you put in, the power the quality of the output.

If you are leading this project, whether by volunteering or being volunteered, then you need to do a lot reading. You also need to ask "the cable guy" exactly what specifications he requires. Yes, it is possible to produce high quality WMV and AVI files. It is also possible to produce low quality crap. And believe me, crap is by far the easiest to produce.

So ask your cable guy these questions

1. What video codecs are expected in either the WMV or AVI container
2. What audio codecs are expected
3. What resolution is expected
4. What are the videos to be delivered on (dat tape ? DVD ? portable HDD ?)

If he cannot give you very specific answers to these very basic and rudimentary questions then you are talking to the wrong person.

Remember, the smaller the file, the more you have to compress it, and the lower the quality you will get. When it comes to broadcasting, never choose a format based on size.

[lordsmurf]

The fact that the "cable guy" gave such limited near-useless information, I would suggest that he is already the wrong person to speak with.

[edDV]

Community access cable usually want S-VHS tapes, MiniDV tapes or DVD as input media but this varies locally.

Never heard of one wanting wmv but that is possible. "AVI" is non descriptive. That could be any of dozens of codecs.

98% of community access cable is on analog NTSC channels which are all 4x3 aspect by definition. Never heard of one broadcasting wide or high def.

[lordsmurf]

The local cable takes 16:9 and stretches it to 4:3 -- it looks terrible.

The cableco the next county over uses Goldwave on local events, very aggressive filtering, and all the audio pops and tinkles with electronic noise really loudly -- I'd rather hear the hissy version.

Some of these folks simply don't know WTF they are doing.

[dreslick]

OK, I'm happy to read up on this. Can you direct me toward some basic resources? I can read the advanced stuff as well as the next person, but it appears I need to start over in order to be even a little competent.

My confidence in the all knowing cable company is really taking a hit here...

Our cable guy is the only one to talk too Just talking to him, I get the feeling that he is just happy when it works right, and is unwilling to learn more about it. We have tried submitting in MPEG, and the picture quality is outstounding, but the sound sounded like we had gravel in our mics.

His only suggestion was to use aiseesoft to convert it (it is what he suggested for the other church in town that records to camcorder and it works OK). I actually asked him about the codecs and said that the above *.avi or *.wmv "should have the correct codecs." We tried to sit down with him earlier and were told by the company that they don't have time to help us out. So, we really are just shooting in the dark here. I just need help taking the best shot.

[edDV]

Will he accept a DVDR? How long is this program?

You could put uncompressed PCM audio on a DVD and still get 90 min of MPeg2 video @ average 5000 Kb/s bit rate.

[JimmyS]

Could the bad sound quality be a result of the output level from the sound panel being to high for the capture card? Sounds like the captured audio may be badly clipped. If this is the case, does your panel have a separate level control for the output you are using?

[lordsmurf]

To be quite blunt, the cable guy sounds like a complete f--ktard, and should find another job. That's beyond pathetic. He clearly doesn't know a thing. He recommended crap Chinese software to you (their site is written in Engrish), and then doesn't even know what an AVI is.

In fact, the more you listen to that guy, the dumber you'll get. So sad.

It sucks that you're in this situation. I would complain up the chain of command. That's unacceptable.

[JimmyS]

6 weeks ago i couldnnt even spell teknishun. now i are 1.

[dreslick]

He wants a data file he can transfer to his computer and schedule. My impression is that it needs to run automatically. In his defense, he is in charge of everything technical in the office from making service calls to troubleshooting this stuff - so he may be overburdened. Probably should look at hiring some more help. Did I mention it's a phone company too?

In any case, we had planned to use 5 GB USB drives to transfer the files, but are willing to upgrade we need to.

I thought about the line level being too high with the sound, but it truly sounds fine when we play it back using Windows Media Player on any other computer (I've tried several to see if I can duplicate the problem). Would this matter? That's what got me thinking it was a codec issue. We do have independent control of the volume going into the computer (line off the sound to line in on the computer), but no real way monitor strength of signal.

The service lasts between 60 and 90 minutes.

I'll explore the PCM route and see if that helps.

Thank you for all your suggestions! Any thoughts on reading material?