Divx Editing

[Nikos]

I currently have a bunch of Divx Files with Basketball games on them. I would like to just edit out some highlights out of each file and make sort of a highlight video of my own using Adobe Premeire.

I have done this before but different files seem to run VERY SLOW, or barely at all. And never has the sound worked (only video).

How can I edit a Divx using AP, and make it nearly identical in quality to the original, without experiencing SLOWNESS and LACK OF AUDIO?

(My computer specs are very good etc...). I just get the feeling maybe AP isn't a good program to edit Divx? Or maybe I am going about the Project the wrong way?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[redwudz]

It might seem a step backward from Premier, but give the old standby VirtualDub a try. It's a very good simple editor for AVI formats.

But even with Premier, seems like it should work better. Maybe a problem with the format of some of the Divx files?

[Capt.Video]

I agree, VirtualDub, use Direct Stream Copy for Video and Audio, clip out the unwanted parts, and Save! Fast and easy.

Premiere and Media Stuido Pro both appear to choke on anything that is *not* DV format. Oddly.

Good luck,
Andrew

[Nikos]

Direct Stream Copy is a certain option within the program?

Which quality or file format should I use to compress it without the picture appearing much worse (if any) at all?

[yoda313]

Direct stream doesn't compress it again. It just keeps it as it is.

[Nikos]

I am at a different computer right now, but is this process of clipping the video easy? Is it like cropping or making edit points and just selecting CROP or something like that?

[manono]

Hi-

Yes, it's simple. Here's a guide:

http://www.doom9.org/vdubmod-procedures.htm

The editing section is down at the bottom. I do it somewhat differently though. I set my start and end cut points with the 2 little black arrows at the bottom right, and then up at the top, Edit->Cut. Make as many cuts as you like, but they will all be at keyframes. That's for VDubMod. I think it's the same for VDub.

[Nikos]

Man, this seems to stutter a bit too when I try to scroll through the AVI file.

(I have Divx and Avi files).

Isn't there a simpler program then this? It seems that this can be used to make a bunch of strips, but what I really want to do is crop out most of the avi and just save 10 second highlights here and there. Can I make marks on those spots and delete around them similiar to premeire?

** I tried running the tutorial, but for some reason the PREFERENCES section isn't layed out the same, nor does it have the same exact options. Is this an old version tutorial?

Any help would be great thanks! Sorry for my lack of knowledge

[ZippyP.]

There are many versions and variations of virtualdub. You choose where to mark the in and out points, you can then delete between the points (delete button) or you can save out that portion (save segmented avi). If you're using direct stream copy then it saves it as-is but you can only cut at key frames, use the gold key buttons to locate them.

[Nikos]

It just keeps running fairly slow.

Is there anyway I can convert the avi to something that Premeire can read in terms of video and audio and not freeze?

(I tried the CUT that you mentioned, but I just keep seem to find a comfort level doing it that way, I have certain edit points I know, but when I crop the edit points will obviously change so it basically confuses everything, along with the fact it runs slow).

[manono]

No, it's not slow. It's damn fast. You just don't know how to use it yet. When seeking, hold the Shift Key on the keyboard while scrolling the Slider. It'll scroll very quickly then. If you want to save small sections, rather than cut out sections and save the rest, cut before the section you want, cut after the section you want, and then save what's left. Or do it as ZippyP. said.

You can only cut on keyframes. These are usually the scene changes, or what the original encoder set, usually 10 seconds. You can't just cut on any frame you like. To find the keyframes once you get near the area you want to cut, advance or go back using the gold key keyframe buttons.

And don't forget to set the video for Direct Stream Copy so you don't reencode anything. VDub and it's varients is far and away the best AVI editor. DivX is a kind of AVI. You don't want to convert it to anything and unnecessarily degrade the video further.

[Nikos]

Thing is there are no 'scene changes' in my avi file. If I want only 2-3 seconds of a highlight I can't just take those 2-3 seconds? I need to take a whole 10-11 seconds just to edit it out? Premeire seems to be able to take a split second etc....

[manono]

You can only cut DivX or XviD AVIs on keyframes when using VDub. But you said Premiere (which I've never used) doesn't work well with your DivX AVIs.

Maybe next time convert to uncompressed AVI, such as HuffYUV or Lagarith. With those every frame is a keyframe, and they can be cut on any frame. They'll create pretty large filesizes, though.

[jagabo]

To clarify: When running VirtualDub in Video Direct Stream Copy mode, you can only start a segment on a key frame. You can end it anywhere.

In any of the other modes you can start and end wherever you want. But you'll be reencoding the video. I recommend you use Xvid in Target Quantizer mode at Q=2, Motion Search Precision "5 Very High", and VHQ mode 0 or 1. That will be relatively fast and the output will be nearly indistinguishable from the input.

[Nikos]

Is it possible to convert these DIvx/Avi's to DV and then be able to edit it in Premeire?

I really want to be able to edit the video to the split second....is that possible with ANY program? Even one that is not free/shareware?

Thanks

[ZippyP.]

You can do it in Vdub but you must use full processing and then select an output compression type...like DV, or if you want to avoid quality loss it would be better to use something like huffyuv

[jagabo]

Given how picky Premier is about source formats you're probably best off converting to DV AVI. Put VirtualDub in Video -> Fast Recompress mode, select a DV compression codec, save.

Fast Recompress mode is a little faster and will give slightly better results than Full Processing mode because it leaves the video in YUV colorspace.