Capture -> Edit -> Publish using what programs and set

[Nozmo]

I have somehow amassed a load of different programs for capturing, editing and (I believe) posting to DVD. I’ve been tinkering around with different programs and I was hoping I could get input from experienced users on what program to use for what function. I have the following setup:

Hardware:
P4 3.06
512 dual channel RAM
ATI AIW 128
Firewire card
Sony TRV 250 Camcorder

Software:
ATI’s software MMC 8 (I think)
Pinnacle Studio 8
ULead VideoStudio 6 SE Basic
Adobe Premiere 6.5
VirtualDub


I will be doing two different things:

1.) Downloading video from my TRV250, making very simple cuts and maybe add titles then Burn to DVD.
2.) Download old VHS video, make the same edits and publish to DVD.

So far I’ve read LoardSurfs suggestions on capturing using the MMC TV recorder. But to be honest, I’m still pretty overwhelmed by the options.

Should I capture using Firewire to an AVI format or go right to an MPG format and at what resolution and what compression if any for the new Digital video and use the S-Video for the VHS stuff?

Should I edit using ????? program?

I should publish with what program and at what resolution for 4:3 TV viewing?

Thanks,

p.s What is a .m2v file and why when I publish to DVD with Premiere does it create 2 different files M2V and Wav?

[sacajaweeda]

Should I capture using Firewire to an AVI format or go right to an MPG format and at what resolution and what compression if any for the new Digital video and use the S-Video for the VHS stuff?

Should I edit using ????? program?

I should publish with what program and at what resolution for 4:3 TV viewing?

Thanks,

p.s What is a .m2v file and why when I publish to DVD with Premiere does it create 2 different files M2V and Wav?

Try capturing to MPEG. If you are happy with the resulting quality, then go with it. If you want to clean it up, try fiddling with the settings you can control for the incoming video. MPEG is encoded on the fly, so it's pretty much what you see is what you get. If you can't get something acceptable to you, then capture to AVI if you need to do any filtering or tweaking to clean it up.

VirtualDub is as good an editor as there is out there. Go with it.

Your question about 4:3....that's just an aspect ratio. You can use whatever program you want to encode at whatever resolution you wish, just makes sure to check the aspect ratio setting. This is something that is done durring the encode process. Publishing - or authoring - isn't where you make this setting.

Your question about compression & frame size....use a bitrate calculator. Which settigs are best will depend on how long your movies are.

The two files being outputted by Premiere are elementary streams. You will need to convert the WAV file to MP2 or AC3 and then multiplex the resulting stream with the video file. This can be done either before or durring the authoring process, depending on what software you choose to author with.

HTH