Help me, I'm a newbie

[Shadowmistress]

Now I know I've been away for a while.... ok, a long while, but I never dreampt things would change soooo much.

First off, where is everybody? It's so dang quiet in here lately.

Now, back before I left the scene, I had some basic understanding of editing, converting and authoring - I stress basic, but I could at least get the job done one way or another - and I knew I could always pop in and do a quick search of the forum whenever I got stuck.

This is not the case anymore.

Now it's like you're all speaking a different language. Like a cool, hip 30 year old overhearing some teenyboppers and not understanding a word they say. I feel.... so.... old.

Formats have changed, codecs have changed, programs have changed, platforms have changed. Instead of making things easier its made them more complicated. Trying to run a search around here is like trying to speak a foreign language using only a dictionary to translate each word.

And dare I post a thread to ask for help? I feel like I'm crossing some imaginary picket line - I know I shouldn't but I do - from the helper to the helpee. (Do people still post rants around here during newbie rushes?) Yeah Supreme, I'm looking at you.

It's not like I'm trying to bite off more than I can chew, all I'm trying to do is edit a bunch of clips together which use the same framsize, rate, and audio. I used to do this in my sleep. But my programs have suddenly decided not to work together, not to work alone, and to give me the finger from time to time. It's put me off so much I'm at the point of giving up my project entirely. This is a point I never thought I'd come to again. I've come full circle. I feel like a lonely voice crying out in the dark. A total newb.

And I don't think I can learn it all again. It's too much. I spent years learning what I had and now it's mostly all obsolete. To do it all over with the knowledge that I could end up right back here at square one... don't ask me to go there. (does this make me lazy? or just overwhelmed?)

So I'm posting to share my newfound perspective. Hats off to all you brave clueless newbies that ask what seem like inane questions to some, but have the perseverance to keep trying to learn. And my deepest respects to all you pro's, whether you've recently gained the knowledge or have stuck in there for years, adapting with all the changes. You truly have a rare gift of dedication that should be honored. You are the lifeline in the dark and I want you to know that I deeply appreciate you.

And Baldrick? You are like God. I thought so when I first joined VH and I do so again now.



Thanks for reading my rant. I feel better now...

[guns1inger]

Don't panic. Best piece of advice ever committed to literature. There is also the old adage "The more things change, the more they stay the same". Sure, there are a few new tools in the kit, but when you actually start looking into it in detail, most of the new formats work just like the old, only better. The major encoding methods are exactly the same, but the quality is improved. To drop one final cliche into the post, it is just like riding a bike. It may be a new bike with shiny new gears, but once you on it, you will find you still know how to ride.

And welcome back

[yoda313]

Yes welcome back.

Don't forget you can still use directshowsource and load the video into virtualdub so the old standby can still work

For simple format conversions I recommend format factory.

For authoring avstodvd or multiavchd can handle just about anything and do the conversion as well.

Be sure to have dvdfab on standby if you don't own anydvd. Also have avidemux, eac3to, mp4toolbox, and xvid4psp as standby tools for support.

And guns1inger is right the procedures are more or less the same.

Are you referring to high def video I guess? h264 is a bit different from mpeg or divx of course. And if you want it done in a reasonable amount of time you'll need at least a dual core processor - quad or faster is better of course otherwise expect to tie your computer up for a long time on hd conversions.

Also be sure to get an inexpensive video card that has h264 decoding support. That should significantly reduce the load on your cpu during playback. Don't forget nvidia has cuda processing support now but I guess the jury is still out on that benefit as far as quality is concerned. I believe its deadrats who is high on nvidias cuda but I think some regulars here have questioned its quality with whatever encoder it uses.

edit - also have you changed operating systems? Are you running a 64bit os now? You'll need to get the 64bit versions of the programs and the codecs to get them working properly.