What seems to be the best all in one video tool?

[ingeborgdot]

What seems to be the best all in one video editing, authoring etc. tool? I have edius pro which is not an all in one, the adobe suite, but really need something fast and easy for a bunch of videos I do. I have been using PowerDirector 6 and it works ok and have also tried Roxio EMC 9 which is also ok. Am I missing the best? All you experts, please help me out. Thanks.

[edDV]

I'm doing most on Vegas Pro 8. I find it faster than Premiere Pro but I would expect Edius to be faster yet for certain types of work.

[ingeborgdot]

Thanks, but do you know anything about an all in one like powerdirector 6?

[lordsmurf]

The last two PowerDirector's I used were unstable crap.

[edDV]

Last PowerDirector I used was v3 or v4. It wasn't ready for prime time then.

[guns1inger]

VideoStudio 11 might suit you. It's light and fast, although it is aimed at the beginner so you might find it limiting.

[ingeborgdot]

For some of the things I need light and fast. I will need something for next football season. When we have a game I have to capture the game and get it put on to 4 dvds by early morning. The thing is if we travel sometimes we get home at two and I have to have it done by 6 or 7 am. That's not a lot of time. I have tried doing it on the trip home with the laptop but PD6 just seemed to have too many dropped frames with the laptop. None on my home computer but a 1000 or more with the laptop. I will take any advice into consideration. Thanks for your time in answering.

[ingeborgdot]

Is there any word of some new one on the market? Are there any out there that operate on the 64bit level?

[guns1inger]

Yes, but we keep it a secret until your post count gets to 1000

If there was, it would have been suggested to you by now.

The best way to meet those deadlines is to either use a DVD recorder, or capture directly as mpeg-2, then use a dedicated mpeg-2 editor such as womble. This takes the encoding out of the equation as it has already been done up front. This would mean getting an mpeg-2 capture device that encodes using a hardware encoder and feeds though USB-2. I'm sure someone here can recommend one.

[Marvingj]

I'm still using Sony Vegas 7d but I find that Edius is very good, not very friendly but I like it. I have Edius 4.

[Soopafresh]

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=60&subcategory=96&product=15739&nav=1

Speed up the encoding to Mpeg2 ?

[ingeborgdot]

I just took a shot that's all. I guess it would have been recommended if there was one. I am just looking for options. When I make the dvd I have to add chapters for easy access to certain parts of the video. I also make a menu for the access part.

[ingeborgdot]

The problem with edius is that it doesn't make menus.
I have the Canopus ADVC 55 but I am not sure how it compares to the one listed above.

[zoobie]

you're in luck
VS11+ is evidently being bundled with hardware and they're dumping them on ebay for as little as $30 brand new
happy holidays

[ingeborgdot]

I am not finding any for $30.

[ingeborgdot]

What is so different about Ulead DVD Workshop 2 along with MediaStudio Pro 8 compared to VS11 Plus? I know this may be silly but I just had to ask.

[ingeborgdot]

What about adobe premiere elements 4.0?

[guns1inger]

Given your time constraints, you really need to look at an application that doesn't need to re-encode the entire timeline

[ingeborgdot]

So the option you are suggesting is capture directly as mpeg-2, then use a dedicated mpeg-2 editor such as womble like you suggest? What is womble? Sorry? I don't know for sure where to start with all this. I am a little confused right now but I will keep looking and checking. If you could further explain to me about what capture device. I have and advc55 from canopus. I am not for sure if that does what you are suggesting. I will double check.

[guns1inger]

Womble is a dedicated mpeg-2 editor. It isn't as powerful as Vegas or Premiere, but it does titles etc. The advantage is that is only re-encodes open gops and video you have altered. If you just make simple cuts then very little encoding takes place. I use it to remove commercials from mpeg-2 program streams from our OTA SD digital broadcasts. There are two main variants. Womble Mpeg Wizard is just the editor. Womble Mpeg Wizard DVD has a built-in authoring tool as well. It's pretty simple, but it depends on your needs.

ADVC's only convert to DV, which is great for general editing, but you then have to re-encode everything to mpeg-2 for authoring.

I can edit the commercials from a 2 hour broadcast and have the video ready for burning in under 15 minutes. Womble will also encode standard avi files to DVD compliant mpeg-2, but it seems slow in comparison to HCEnc.

The two slowest points are going to be capture, which is real-time no matter which way you go, and encoding to mepg-2 for authoring. If you can do both of these in the same pass, you save yourself several hours (potentially).

Normally I would not recommend real-time mpeg-2 encoding because I believe you can get better quality from using a well tweaked software encoder in most cases. However if you want to get a 3 hour game onto your machine, edit it, encode it and author up to 4 discs, and do it in 5 - 6 hours, you have to give up on some of the luxuries.

[lordsmurf]

What is so different about Ulead DVD Workshop 2 along with MediaStudio Pro 8 compared to VS11 Plus? I know this may be silly but I just had to ask.

DVDWS2 is an advanced authoring software with many options to control output, VS11 is not.

I would not consider either to really be an "all-in-one", although each can perform several tasks.

I highly suggest AGAINST using DVDWS2 to capture or encode video/audio, for example. Just use it for authoring, that was it's original purpose, not all the other crap. Those other tasks are more of an afterthought, and are not as quality as dedicated software for those other tasks.

[thecoalman]

What is so different about Ulead DVD Workshop 2 along with MediaStudio Pro 8 compared to VS11 Plus? I know this may be silly but I just had to ask.

Ulead has two lines. The cosumer line and the prosumer line.

DVDWS and Media Studio Pro fill out the prosumer line. DVDWS as mentioned is pro level authoring application, quite easy to use I might add. DVDWS also has some minor editing abilities. Media Studio Pro is prosumer level editing application, by itself it cannot author a disc but last I checked it comes with a LE copy of Ulead Movie Factory for authoring.

Video Studio and Movie Factory fill out there consumer line, Video studio is heavy on editing, the editor itself is probably worth the price. It has minor authoring ability. Movie factory has minor editing ability but some pretty advanced authoring capabilities, ironically it does have some more features tham DVDWS because DVDWS hasn't been updated in a while, what it does lack is total control for menu creation. You get blank slate or templates with DVDWS , MF has only templates.

--------------

Out of all of them if I had to choose I didn't need advanced editing capabilities I'd go with DVDWS.

[ingeborgdot]

Editing is something that is also crucial because every game I do I also have to take all the highlights and compile them throughout the season and make a highlight video. My best bet might be to just use several things. One for the quick edit and burn and another for the serious edit, compilation and burn.
On game night there is no actual editing that has to be done. I just add chapters for easy access and a menu. That's all I need. The editing comes later when I do the compilation. So on game night I need something that actually gives me a menu to make and add even chapters of every 3 min.

[ingeborgdot]

When I go into the section that lists all the video editing choices it just gets overwhelming at all the good choices. I just don't know what will work best. I think I may do some philosophy changes to what I am doing. I always liked to add a menu just for a little show but that just takes up time in the long run. I do need to be able to divide the video into chapters for easy navigation so we can jump from place to place more quickly. So the decision I have come to is no more menus unless there is an easier and faster alternative than PD6 or some of the other choices of software that has a menu maker. Even though I won't have a menu I still will need to make small chapters for quick navigation. This will be the game night software I need to use. No real editing involved except to make chapters. Nothing to cut out, just capture and put in chapters unless like I stated earlier, there is something that anyone knows about that can do this quickly.
I do have a question about capture. When I do capture with the laptop using PD6 there would always be a LOT of dropped frames. Does anyone have an answer to why this could be? Could it be the processor? On my desktop I get 0 dropped frames with PD6. What would be a good choice for just capture so I can get it captured on the trip home that won't have such a problem with lost frames. What about windows Movie Maker?
My last part now is about after the game throughout the week and after the season I do need to make a nice looking edited DVD using all the compilations of highlights I created. I want something powerful, with some nice menu choices, easy editing options, music options, neat transition choices, some cool effects, title choices are also important. I don't want it to be too complicated that it will take a year or classes to learn it. What can you suggest for this?
Well, this post has become repetitive and I apologize for that. I haven't been doing this for long enough to be as good at this as many of you are. I am just searching for the right tools to help me do several different jobs. Some of the all in one options just don't cut it I guess. I'm sure I have confused some of you on here with my babbling and lack of knowledge and understanding and again I apologize for that but give me a break as we all have to learn before we can become good at it. Finding the right one or ones is not an easy task as I am finding out. I have asked for suggestions and gotten some and really appreciate it. I hope with what I have just written it clears up a little more of my mess. Maybe someone could take me by the hand and lead me through this (lol) or give me a little nudge (off a cliff perhaps) to help me through this.
I have canopus edius pro, PD6, Pinnacle Studio 9, WMM. What would your idea of the best for my useage be? Thanks for all your time and effor to help me out on this. I really do greatly appreciate it more than you know.
Oh and by the way I will be using vista 64 with virtual pc and xp pro inside of that so that some of my software will work because some is not compatible with vista. I don't know for sure if a dual boot would be better than virtual pc??

[ozymango]

I have canopus edius pro, PD6, Pinnacle Studio 9, WMM. What would your idea of the best for my useage be?

The trouble is, sounds like the best program that would fit your needs would be Pinnacle Studio in terms of features and ease-of-use -- if the darn program actually worked! I managed to make a few decent DVDs in my time on older versions of Pinnacle, I personally find the "workflow" of their software rather to my liking, it's just that the chances of actually getting final results (a working DVD) is sort of a crapshoot.

I think Edius is way overkill, and if Power Director isn't working for you I'm hesitant to recommend Ulead Video or Media Studio ... though maybe video studio might be workable, you can try downloading a trial ... and WMM is nothing I'd spend more than two minutes on before moving on to something else.

Being you've got something of a two-phased approach here -- first, get a quick DVD for immediate use, then maybe come back and do further editing -- I've got kind of an off-the-wall answer: Check out VSO ConvertX for making "quick-but-not-too-dirty" DVDs, with easy chapter marking and you can even do basic menus, if you drop a bunch of clips into the panel you can title each clip.

You can go from AVI capture to actual working DVD in record time, and the converter ain't too shabby, all things considered. Again, if you're going for pure speed and decent quality, unless you go through the whole NLE-encode process, this is about as fast as you're gonna get (and still be watchable).

But the wildcard is the capturing/editing process: If you just do a straight capture, say using WinDV, and you want to edit, you'll have to open the file in some kind of editor and there's just no way to get around having to sit there and watch where you wanna make the cuts. It's never the encoding time or capture time that slows me down, it's the darn editing. And no matter your tools, you still got watch to see where to make the cuts.

For going from raw AVI to DVD in record time (with chapters! And even simple menus!), it's hard to beat ConvertX, though. Good luck in any case!

[ingeborgdot]

I will buy anything that is needed to make this work. I don't have to use what I have. I know that edius may be overkill but could it play a part in what I am doing? As for time constraints I don't want to sacrifice any quality for speed. The 2 o'clock issue is a rare extreme but it will happen once in the year where we do get home at 2 and we need the film at 7. That gives me 4-5 hours of travel which I can get the capture done for sure if I can get around the lost frames that PD6 was giving me with the laptop. If I could find something that would capture and make chapters and even a simple menu in the 4 hour time frame that would be great (without the lost frames.) Some trips are only an hour and some only two which make it difficult because total film time is total capture time.
I do want something very good for the highlights that I make though. This is very important to what I am doing. This year I waited until after the season to put all the video into highlights and create the highlight video. It took over 24 hours of editing (adding music, putting in transitions, finding the right clips etc). Next year I plan on doing it weekly so when the highlight video needs to be done I won't have to spend 24hours in a 2 day period doing it.

[ozymango]

I will buy anything that is needed to make this work. I don't have to use what I have. I know that edius may be overkill but could it play a part in what I am doing?

Oh, yeah, absolutely -- like I said, you've really got a two-phase problem and if you've already got Edius, I say use it for your "end of the year" DVD, the big compilation disc where you wanna do creative editing and all that stuff.

For authoring DVDs (making menus and all that fun/not fun stuff), I still use DVD Workshop, it'll do everything I want and it does it really easily, I'm not one for having to diagram my menus, it's all drag-and-drop and it makes me happy. It's pricey, but for me, it does just what I want.

[ingeborgdot]

Ok, so for capture of the DV you are saying to use convertx for making the dvd. This will give me the oppurtunity to make chapters and a menu, correct?.
I do use the HQ when putting to DVD. It is usually about 60-70 minutes of tape. Does convertx have a smart fit like PD6 that you know of? I don't like to sacrafice quality because we have to watch it sometimes on smaller viewing areas and sometimes on not the greatest projectors so quality is important.
When capturing is there a better way so when the video is saved on the hard disc that edius will work with it easier or better?
Now when it comes to the editing you are saying the edius pro is a good program. I like it but you can not author with it. You say to use DVD workshop which I would try. So that would give me what I need to do. Good authoring and editing software.
Is there any one product you would recommend that does both? I will be switching to vista 64 in a couple of weeks. Do you know of any that work with vista 64? I think PD6 does and even Pinn 11 too. Thanks. You guys are great.

[ozymango]

Ok, so for capture of the DV you are saying to use convertx for making the dvd. This will give me the oppurtunity to make chapters and a menu, correct?.
I do use the HQ when putting to DVD. It is usually about 60-70 minutes of tape. Does convertx have a smart fit like PD6 that you know of? I don't like to sacrafice quality because we have to watch it sometimes on smaller viewing areas and sometimes on not the greatest projectors so quality is important.

Yes to both of these -- Convert gives you the option of a main title page, plus entries on that page (in just plain text options, but you can change the fonts a bit if you want) for sub-entries (i.e. if you just drop one big AVI file in the program, you can have a main title for the DVD and then a single chapter title, or if you drop in the AVI in sections, then each section can have its own title).

The program will generate chapter stops based on time (i.e. X minutes apart, you decide what X is), and when you encode it'll calculate what the compression rate needs to be to fit everything on to one DVD. I wouldn't go much more than 2 1/2 hours on a disc, just for quality's sake.

When capturing is there a better way so when the video is saved on the hard disc that edius will work with it easier or better?

I use WinDV, a freeware DV capture program that's pretty simple and basic, I don't know what edius' capture is like but no use in firing up a big program to do a simple DV stream capture. So that's why I like WinDV.

Now when it comes to the editing you are saying the edius pro is a good program. I like it but you can not author with it. You say to use DVD workshop which I would try. So that would give me what I need to do. Good authoring and editing software.
Is there any one product you would recommend that does both? I will be switching to vista 64 in a couple of weeks. Do you know of any that work with vista 64? I think PD6 does and even Pinn 11 too. Thanks. You guys are great.

DVD Workshop is great but it's pricey, about $400 I think. But again for me, it's worth the $$$ because I really find it's a natural tool for the work I do, I'm much more visually oriented than script oriented, DVD Lab and Encore give me headaches. :P

If I had to chose and all-in-one program, based on what you say you need to do, your skills and interests, I lean heavily towards Ulead, either Videostudio (for simple DV work) or Media Studio (which does even more, probably more than you need at the moment but you could grow into it). Video studio is about $60 and Media Studio is $199, I think, and you can download trial versions from Ulead's site. So check 'em out and see if maybe one of those might do ya.

Good luck and have fun!

EDIT: One thing about Ulead stuff, support from the company ranges from terrible to even more terrible. BUT, there are forums for Ulead users (on the Ulead site) who can help you figure out almost anything; whenever I have problems I always check the forums, because somebody else has already encountered whatever bug you've found (or "feature" that is or isn't working right) and they'll help you figure out a work around.

Also there is one program I cannot live without: Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD. I don't use it all the time but it'll save your life in a pinch.

[ingeborgdot]

So I will need to get a capture piece of software. I guess I will try windv and see. All I need to do is capture the files and then use convertx to make the dvd and burn it right? The capture length is never longer than 70 minutes. I will only put one game per dvd.
DVDWS does not capture right? It is just an authoring tool if I understand right.
So let's see
Capture with windv
Edit with convertx adding chapters and menu.
Use this when time constraints are short.

When time is no problem
Capture with edius pro
Author with DVDWS or some other recommended authoring program and burn


Or for an all in one
Media studio will do it all
cature, edit, author and burn.

What do you use womble for and what would you recommend me to use it for? Thanks.