need a quick refresher course/ conversation

[jameskiehl]

Hi folks,

Short story: I found some video from 8 years ago. I have a different computer, don't have any editing software and just need a quick conversation about what i've got, what i'm trying to do and how i should start doing it.

First thing: I've got video files with .mpg and .avi extensions that I shot myself on DV tape. can i tell which type of mpg compression was used? does it matter much? i can give some specifics from the Properties>Details for the files.

Thanks.
Jim

[aedipuss]

stop. take a deep breath and re-read what you wrote. what is it you want to do???? what's the final product going to be? for data on a video file use mediainfo.

[yoda313]

Actually aedipuss it needs to go one step further:

Recopy the tapes!

Edit - though your avi files MAY be the original digital transfer. Are these really large files? DV-avi transfers at 13gb/hr. If you have massive .avi files chances are these are your original transfers and you can work with these directly without any generational quailty loss. Again use mediainfo like aedipuss suggested or gspot will work too.

Assuming you still have the original tapes just recapture them and start fresh.

If you want to make a dvd thats playable in any player use avstodvd.

Since this is from 8 years ago I'm going to assume these are standard definition videos. Bluray is not really an output option. You could do it but upconverting sd software side is kind of pointless. Its much better to let your hardware player or tv do the upconversion from a regular dvd you make yourself - though I'm not sure you'll get any real kind of gain on home made camcorder footage from upconverting. You get great upconverting on commercial dvds but I've never tried with home movie stuff.

Anyway you can still convert your captured files to other formats like h264 or divx/xvid if you want to.

Format factory is a great choice for wide range of needs.

If you want avchd you can use multiavchd but again its kind of pointless and counterproductive to do that with standard definition material.

Oh and don't forget burn with imgburn to verbatim or taiyo yuden blanks if you are using optical discs.

[jameskiehl]

OK, that's a great start for me. Lots of info.

I do have the original tapes and camcorder, so i might try recapturing. Sounds like the best idea to preserve quality.

Thanks for the Format Factory tip, also.

For now, i'd like to edit some of what I have down into bite-sized pieces and play around. So....

Next two items: suggestion for your favorite free/shareware editor that would handle these formats? also, i'd like to strip the video from the audio and use each seperately. ideas on that?

Thanks, yoda!

-Jim

[yoda313]

suggestion for your favorite free/shareware editor that would handle these formats?

Well as we mentioned we need to know what you want to do with these. Do you want to make regular dvds? Avstodvd is probably the best choice.

Format factory is great for making mp4 w/divx or other formats. Ripbot264 is good for making h264 files (mp4 and mkv containers).

I'm not sure why you want to demux the audio and video. Is there any particular reason? If you want to ADD sound effects and stuff like that you would need a video editor to do that. You wouldn't need to replace the original audio unless its wholly unusable. And even then most editors would let you simply mute the original track and you would throw in your replacement (be it music or a voice over track or something).

For a free basic editor windows movie maker will probably be a good place to start. And if you recapture your video than you can work directly with the dv video in its original state. You can also output to dv-avi with windows movie maker. That way you can control your final output from the edit without relying on wmm to do the conversion for you.

[jameskiehl]

Well, eventually I will want to produce files (.vob and otherwise? - need info there) that i can use to play from my hard drive or to create a DVD.

I actually have a tiny bit of editing/filmmaking experience, so i'm looking to get somewhat artistic with the sound design. demuxing the audio and video will allow me to adjust the volume on the original track in various places to emphasize or deemphasize the native audio without just turning it on or off. While i'm doing that, I can use the audio editor to add the other layers of additional sound effects while allowing the base track to serve as the time-code or time base - not sure of the correct jargon there - so that the sound synchs back up proerly when i re-mux them.

In talking about changing formats, you used the work 'containers'. i know i can look this up, but if you want to give me an explanation, i'd certainly appreciate the effort. What is the difference between a container and the file itself? why do you need to worry about it? etc.

I think i will start with windows movie maker. Thanks for that, too.

Jim

[yoda313]

i can use to play from my hard drive or to create a DVD.

You can do xvid or divx or h264 or any number of formats for pc playback.

But to make a dvd that will work in a regular player it must be converted to mpeg2 for dvd creation. You author the mpeg2 and create a video_ts folder that has .vob files in it. Avstodvd can do this seemlessly in the background as do most other converters that author as well as convert.

you used the work 'containers'. i know i can look this up, but if you want to give me an explanation, i'd certainly appreciate the effort. What is the difference between a container and the file itself? why do you need to worry about it? etc.

The container holds the video. The video is created using a codec. That is compressor/decompressor. This is what tells a software player how to read the video and audio and how it should play it back.

The container is the file extension - be it .mkv, .mp4, .avi or .wmv etc. Just because it says those things in the extension doesn't tell you exactly what is inside. Each container has benefits and restrictions on what it can and can't do with video. Examples being a limitation or wide range of support of subtitles or audio tracks for example. Some can handle more than others.

I think i will start with windows movie maker. Thanks for that, too.

That should get your feet wet. It's not the most robust editor but it lets you know whats available. Also most of the major commercial payware offers trials for you to test. Than you could decide what you need and don't need in an editor.

[jameskiehl]

Shoot, man, that's great info. Thank you very much for the conversation. Any opinion on software for the demux/remux process? i worked on a bootleg of a concert years ago where i stripped the original audio out, took an alternate source, slowed it down ever so slightly so it would synch up, and then re-muxed the new audio and video, but i can't recall what program(s) i used to do it. (i didn't sell the bootleg nor did anyone else, it was just fun to check it out and see if we could do it. we did, and that was the beginning and end of my career as a concert bootlegger.)

[yoda313]

Regarding editing programs - there are a bunch listed under tools here on this website. Look at the links on the left of your screen.

The only payware consumer program I have experience with is Pinnacle Studio. My version is 12. But it is very good and I had upgraded it to the high def version to work with avchd (a lite version of bluray).

As for demuxing and remuxing I can't name any off the top of my head other than virtualdub. That will work with dv-avi files if you recapture your tapes. Virtualdubmod can work with mpeg2 files.

Again check the tools for more options. There are plenty of freeware and payware options to dig through. Again most payware software has trial periods to check it out. Usually they'll be limited with only a few minutes of output or perhaps certain features will be locked out until you pay - or a watermark on the final video.

Shoot, man, that's great info. Thank you very much for the conversation.

You're welcome. That's what we are here for. We pass on what we learn. I've gotten great help from the regulars here on the website and I'm only too happy to pass it on to others.

[jameskiehl]

One more question for now, then i'll put some of this to use and create some more questions.

People seem to have particular ideas about what works best for youtube. any thoughts on that? what changes in this equation if i want to prepare video for being hosted online (and thus streamed/downloaded by others) as opposed to PC or DVD playback? any tips?

my idea is to prepare one project and place it in several different formats and locations to see what happens to it.

[yoda313]

I'm sure there is a giant youtube thread on this website somewhere.

I've never uploaded to youtube so I can't offer first hand experience on this.

I would first check youtubes faq page. It would have general information for you. I believe it can also transcode anything you upload within certain restrictions. However I wouldn't do that as I am not sure they have a good transcoder - it would probably be a quality hit.

Also programs like format factory usually have a youtube preset for output settings. I would first make your video into a large format like for creating a dvd or xvid/divx. THEN after your "master" is created make a second file for youtube from that master and keep your master file for your regular viewing.

[jameskiehl]

thanks again, now i've got my weekend project set up!