Editing Software

[GRussell31]

Hi,

I am after some software to edit my wedding which was recorded by my uncle on his cam corder.

So far I have managed to record everything onto a dvd (via my dvd recorder) and that is about as far as I have got.

I am now after some easy to use software that will read in the vob files from the dvd and allow me to edit out some bits that arn't needed so that I can then create a dvd and send it to my relatives.

Can anyone suggest some software that will help?

Many thanks,

-Graham

[BJ_M]

well step one would be to NOT use the material you recorded onto your dvd recorder - but use a capture or transfer from the camcorder ..

[mats.hogberg]

...or, if that's not an option, rip the DVD to HDD, convert to mpg (vob2mpg) and edit using your fav mpeg editor (VideoReDo?)

/Mats

[GRussell31]

well step one would be to NOT use the material you recorded onto your dvd recorder - but use a capture or transfer from the camcorder ..

Ah, shite.

Reason I used the Dvd recorder was that the streaming option that the camera software supplied required around 40-50 gigs worth of space for a one hour recording.
That just seemed an awful lot of space for a one hour recprding, so went with the Dvd recorder as it was an easy way to get what I needed.

I guess the only option is for me to convert it to MPeg using the software Mats suggested (as the camcorder wasn't mine and I've now given it back).

I've never done much like this before, so it is all fairly new to me. How easy is VideoReDo to use and can I then put the result from it onto a Dvd using Nero?

Thanks for your help thus far,

-Graham

[byteguy]

How easy is VideoReDo to use

Very easy, partly because it's fairly limited in what it does. You won't be able to do fancy things like transitions or adding titles and music. But it's PERFECT for cleaning up Mpeg files and removing stuff you don't want (like the idiot who stood next to the camera at my daughter's 4th birthday and told a dirty joke to another parent, sheez).

Best of all, it has a free trial period. Make sure you read a bit of the manual and feel free to post questions on the VideoReDo support forum. There are lots of posts about reading DVD recorder files.

Don't worry, you'll be fine with the DVD recorder stuff you have (they are already Mpeg2). I edit captures with it all the time and you don't lose any quality as long as your authoring/burning program doesn't act stupid and decide to re-encode it again for you (I don't use Nero, so I can't speak to that).

[mats.hogberg]

I suggest you try TMPGEnc DVD Author instead of Nero - it has a free 30 day trial and is much more reliable than Nero for this kind of stuff. It has also limited capabilities to import directly from a DVD and make cuts.

There are also lots of good (but perhaps not as noob friendly) free authoring software like GUI For DVDAuthor or DVDAuthorGUI.

/Mats

[GRussell31]

I would ideally like to add some simple fades (to black and back again). What software would you recommend?

I'm just about to convert the vob files with vob 2 mpeg.

Thanks!

-Graham

[byteguy]

I wish VideoReDo would hurry up with their next version; they've promised this exact feature (simple fades).

For anything more than simple cuts, I go all the way in to my full-featured editor: EditStudio. I think there are other tools that aren't so major (Womble?) but I have no experience with them.

EditStudio (and most NLEs) will re-encode. In theory, that results in a loss. I've been happy with the quality but YMMV.

[thefiddler]

If you're willing to put out a little money, I highly recomend using one of the Vegas sofware packages. Movie Studio+DVD and the Platinum Edition of the same: http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/vegasfamily.asp --both include raw DVD video editing (meaning you won't have to convert those .VOB's) as well as full DVD creation and burning support. You should be able to just pull the VOB's off and start editing them (with fades and all). Then use the integrated sofware to burn your newly edited video onto DVD. Its great stuff, easy to use, and may get you hooked on creating your own videos/home-made movies.

[dmr1]

I'm still new to all of this myself, so please take what I say with a grain of salt.

I too would also recommend Vegas. I started into this venture about a month ago and after testing several "All-in-one" products (Nero, Premier, etc) and a few stand-alone's I found that Vegas provided the feature that were important to me. It was also the most stable, in the case of "all-in-one" products.

To date I've created a few DVD's that have incorporated video from my digital camera (MPEG1), camcorder (DV-AVI), still's (JPEG's) and music (WMA's). Combining all of this on a single DVD with multi-level menu's, video's, background music, slide shows and motion buttons has been fairly streight forward. So far I'm a big fan of Vegas Movie Studio.

[thefiddler]

The Vegas series really are great products. They're top-noch for power, ability, and ease of use. In fact Vegas does a lot of things in a way that is much more intuitive for computer users than either Premiere or Avid. People who have used those for years know digital video editing in the way that those two programs present it. But for most people, who are used to various Windows based software, Vegas comes much more naturally eventhough it may seem a strange approach for long time NLE gurus. For that very reason it is somewhat novel, though very competitively cutting-edge, in its approach. If you can spend the money get one of the Vegas packages! You won't regret it (at least not if you put a little time and effort into learning to use it).

[GRussell31]

Excellent, thanks for this I'll splash out some cash then! (anything to keep the wife happy!)


I think I need a new PSU for my computer as well, as it keeps crashing when it has been on for a bit.
Looks like an expensive month!

Thank you for all of your help, I will post back I've got the software!

Ta!

-Graham

[byteguy]

Ouch, that's a lot of money. It looks like you get quite a bit of power but... is this overkill for simple stuff like cleaning up a wedding video?

Before you drop that much, try the free trial of the program I've come to love: EditStudio. It's a lot less money and probably is missing some of Vegas' power features but I haven't run into any limitations with it yet.

Take a look at the menu movie I made for a DVD. It has snow falling, keyframed graphics moving behind each other, a lens flare for Rudolph's nose, and more.

[GRussell31]

Perhaps you're right. Didn't realise that Vegas was $450, perhaps I should have checked it first.

As I don't actually own a camcorder it will probably be forking out a lot for a product I'll only use once or twice (unless I get a camcorder!).

Cheers.

-Graham

[thefiddler]

Uh, not sure what you guys missed here, but Vegas Movie Studio+DVD and the Platinum Edition of the same are close to the price of your Editstudio. In fact Movie Studio+DVD is only about $15 more than Editstudio Home. And Movie Studio+DVD Platinum Edition is $20 cheaper than Editstudio Pro. Plus you get the value and support of Sony. Realy Editstudio looks similar to Vegas in a lot of ways, similar enough it seems like a bit of a knock off of Vegas. And judging by the info they have on the website, the Movie Studio packages will do everything the Editstudio ones will do, plus more, and do almost all of it better. In fact, with Editstudio you have to buy DVD-Lab Studio or Pro to go along with it, if you want to do DVD's with menus and all that. With the Vegas Movie Studio packages, it comes with the DVD Architect software.

So in reality byteguy, Vegas Movie Studio is a cheaper package all around. Compare apples to apples. The full blown Vegas editing suite is not for your average user and can't even be compared. Which brings up another advantage of Movie Studio. If you ever get real serious and want the full Vegas suite, you get an upgrade price from Sony, and you're already familiar with the interface and all that, now you just have a lot more power and ability.

GRussell31 I'm wondering what makes you think your power supply is causing your system to crash? And when you say "crash" what does that mean? A simple freeze, blue screen of death, or does it just suddenly shutoff?

EDIT: oh yeah and you can download free trial versions of both Vegas Movie Studio+DVD, and Platinum Edition to see if you like them before you buy them. http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/vegasfamily.asp

[ZippyP.]

Personally I use MVW to edit my DVD recorded material. It has transitions, titles, sound options and is reasonably priced.

[ZippyP.]

GRussell31 I'm wondering what makes you think your power supply is causing your system to crash? And when you say "crash" what does that mean? A simple freeze, blue screen of death, or does it just suddenly shutoff?

To add: Encoding is CPU intensive and any parts that are susceptible to heat can crap out, like memory chips and CPU.

[byteguy]

Uh, not sure what you guys missed here,

Simply missed noticing the different flavors of Vegas.

Yes, the cheaper bundle looks like a great deal since it includes the burning program.

[GRussell31]

I'll download the trial versions and see how I get on, thanks.

Reason I think my PSU is going is that I've replaced pretty much everything on my computer now. Motherboard and chip were replaced, new hard drive, and I just bought an additional 1 gig or ram (although I do still have my old 512 meg of ram in there which could be a problem). My machine freezes now after it has been on for a bit (an hour or two), then once it has frozen it sometimes freezes loading windows.
The CPU does smell a bit now, so my guess is that it is that, guess we'll see.

Thanks for all of your help!

-Graham

[GRussell31]

I've just seen Pinnacle Studio Plus 10 for £55, is that any good?

Thanks,

-Graham

[thefiddler]

It's a decent program. Some people like it. Performance wise, and the way it works, I don't personally care for it. It's like it tries to hard to dummy things down and make them "easy" when there isn't much need (at least not with customers in that price range). It doesn't have near the control or junctionality of the Vegas lineup though.

[thefiddler]

Newegg.com has a sale on MovieStudio Platinum if you buy right away. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832317005