DVDMovieAlbumSE 3

[corryn]

I have DVDMovieAlbumSE - it came with my Panasonic DVD-RAM drive. It can edit the video on the RAM disk or copy it to the hard disk. As far as I can see it cannot edit the video on the hard disk though. This seems a bit bizarre. Can anyone confirm this?

[wingnut]

Morning,

there are two ways around this one of which I know works the other I haven't tried but could work depending on the way dvd moviealbum expects to open the dvd ram device.

1.) Take a blank RAM DISK (or blank it using moviealbum) then drag the files back from the hard disk to the dvd ram and edit it there

2.) **I Haven't tried this ** mount the directory containing the dvd ram files as a hard disk image using something like imgtools then open the virtual drive as the dvd ram device, e.g. mount X as d:\temp\dvdramfiles then open x: as the dvdram device.

Cheers

Edz

[corryn]

The thing is I actually do want to do the editing on the hard disk if possible.

The situation is as follows. I have a dozen or so analog videos I want to copy to RAM, delete some parts then archive as my 'original' source copies. I could do the editing on my video recorder but I'd rather do it on the pc and keep the results on my hard disk as source material for later work like creating DVD-Rs. If I edit on the DVD-RAM and mess it up I'll have to go back to the tapes which is a pain. I could duplicate the RAM disk but it would be better to just edit on a hard-disk copy. Unfortunately it appears that DVDMovieAlbum cannot do this - though depending how one reads the manual it suggests that you can ( relevant menus appear greyed out when I try to 'import' the file ).

Another pain is that the editing capabilities of DVDMovieAlbum are really crude. The only way to remove a few seconds of unwanted video is to split the program twice ( on either side of the unwanted section ) so that you have 3 programs, delete the middle one then join the other two! So far all the nicer editting tools that I've seen edit further downstream after importing from DVD-RAM. This means that the editing would have to be repeated everytime I wanted to go back to the originals.[/quote]

[wingnut]

DOH!

That'll learn me to post before having my coffee !

If you want to edit then visit www.womble.com and try mpeg video wizard or mpeg2vcr. Both will open the VRO file natively on the hard disk. I have had some small issues with mpeg2vcr but I suspect those are caused by a combination of media and source.

Since you effectively want to edit rather than just cut your recordings you are probably better off trying video wizard but both are available on a 30 day trial version.

Both versions do not re-encode unless necessary, (i.e. if a transition is added or text overlayed for titles - video wizard only)

Cheers

Edz

[twolf]

Corryn, Can you tell me where you found the lf-621 drive? I am in the US and can't find it but at one place and there it says it comes with nero instead of moviealbum and moviealbum is what i want..thanks..t

[dburroughs]

I can relate to your frustration regarding DVD MovieAlbumSE 3. While I have an Hitachi DVDCAM and you a Panasonic, the software issue is equally frustrating. Hitachi DVDCAMs also shipped with various versions of this software. Fortunately I still have the original disk, but really this is an over-rated program with very little if any support. I have been hounding Hitachi for a WinVista update and for whatever reason they seem to have decided to not provide a patch to those who CAMs are three yrs. old or more. Very poor customer servicing if you ask me. I also looked through various regional sites of Panasonic as they are the writers of the MovieAlbum software vis-a-vis their Matsushita division. Just recently, I saw Sony's Vegas Movie Studio 8.0 on sale and so earlier in the week I went and downloaded the demo to see if it was compatible with my Hitachi. Viola!, When I went and tried it I found out that if I imported with the dvdcamcorder disc command, it worked! It actually works and it is a much better program complete with editing of audio as well as video tracks. Try the demo of Sony's Vegas Movie Studio 8.0. I would bet that Panasonic used the same development extension as Hitachi (.VRO). If and when I do buy another DVDCAM or HDDCAM, it will notbe an Hitachi and from the sounds of it not a Panasonic either.

[oldfart13]

I use the copy tool in DVD Movie Album to transfer the contents to the computer HDD, then edit with TDA3 (https://www.videohelp.com/tools/TMPGEnc_DVD_Author). Then all you have to do is save the edited file(s) and burn to disc. Very simple.

[oldfart13]

Oh you can use Movie Album to erase the DVD-RAM disc. This will give you 1:03 in XP and 2:07 in SP when re-recording the disc. Faster and better than using a DVD recorder....