Video Editing

Fred's Audio/Video Editing Links

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FAQ

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"Official" resolutions and bitrates

	VCD	CVD 1/2 D1	SVCD 2/3 D1	DVD D1	DV	MPEG-4
Resolution NTSC/PAL Video pixels, NOT square computer pixels.	352x240 29.97fps 352x288 25fps	352x480 29.97fps 352x576 25fps	480x480 29.97fps 480x576 25fps	720x480 29.97fps 704x480 29.97 fps 352x480 29.97 fps 352x240 29.97 fps 18GOP 720x576 25fps 704x576 25fps 352x576 25fps 352x288 25fps 15GOP	720x480 29.97fps 720x576 25fps	whatever 29.97fps whatever 25fps
Video Format	MPEG-1 1151 kbps CBR	MPEG-2 up to 2600 kbps CBR or VBR	MPEG-2 up to 2600 kbps CBR or VBR	MPEG-1 MPEG-2 up to 9800 kbps CBR or VBR	DV 25000 kbps CBR	MPEG-4
Audio Format	MP1 224 kbps 1 stereo or 2 mono 44.1 kHz 16bit	MP1 32-384 kbps 1 or 2 stereo or up to 4 mono 44.1 kHz 16bit	MP1 32-384 kbps 1 or 2 stereo or up to 4 mono 44.1 kHz 16bit	MP1 MP2 32-912 kbps up to 8 streams mono, stereo, or surround 48 kHz 16bit	PCM 2 stereo 32 kHz 12bit PCM 1 stereo 32, 44.1, or 48 kHz 16bit	MP3, WMA
Surround Sound	Dolby ProLogic	MPEG-2 5.1 Dolby ProLogic	MPEG-2 5.1 Dolby ProLogic	Dolby Digital(AC-3) 64-448 kbps DTS 64-1536 kbps	None
Total A+V Bitrate	1375 kbps	up to 2756 kbps	up to 2756 kbps	up to 9000 kbps	216 MB/min	variable
80m CDR	80 minutes	35+ minutes	35+ minutes		3 minutes
4.7 DVD-R			Incompatible	2-4 hours	Incompatible	Incompatible

This chart is an incomplete general summary of the standards for standalone players.

1) Do you know of a good link? Send the link and why you think it is appropriate for this list to utils@mindspring.com.

2) Help from a friend on how to eliminate videotape squiggles with a JVC HR-S7600U VCR:

     turn OFF TBC on front of VCR
     turn ON video calibration in menu of VCR
     turn OFF Superimpose
     turn ON video stabalizer
     turn OFF blue back ( my choice ;) )

3) Advice from an acquaintance about how to set image quality with VirtualDub analog captures:

     Nope, there are no easy fixes that I have found. Instead, I capture at
     default settings (actually I raise the color saturation a bit from default)
     and then correct for any contrast problems by filtering. You can either
     play this by ear (and usually end up fine) or use the levels filter and try
     to get it exact. Using the levels filter, you would set output to 16 and
     235 , and input to whatever to correct "pure white" and "pure black" values
     are.

     The way you determine this is you use the "Copy source frame to clipboard"
     command and paste the frame into photoshop or any other image editor that
     tells you RGB values. Find a frame that has something that should be pure
     black and white, like a frame from the credits. You take a look at average
     values and set it. For instance, where it should be completely black, the
     RGB value might be 10. This is your input. Same for white levels.

     Note that it will probably appear darker on your monitor than it will on TV.
     But only a bit...

4) ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon settings I've found are best (determined using THX Optimizer):

Bright: 128 Contrast: 133 Tint: 137 Color: 140

My card is NTSC but it WILL accept PAL signals over the RCA or S-Video connectors:

    "Regarding capturing PAL input through s-video or composite: It is not an advertised feature
    of the card, however you should be able to capture PAL input. Launch ATI TV player,
    open TV player setup, click the video tab, change the broadcast standard from NTSC to PAL.
    Make the appropriate sound and audio connections to the AIW Radeon's purple input adapter
    and change the input signal to composite / s-video in the ATI TV player to view the input.
    Regards, Edwin Abuyuan Customer Service Canada ATI Technologies, Inc. http://www.ati.c"

JVC makes a number of multiple-format decks. I like the HR-J481MS and HR-J657MS

5) I have an ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon but have given up on using it for analog conversion.

    Canopus has a converter that is far better for about $300. Not only is video quality far superior,
    audio is clean because the sampling isn't done inside the computer case which is full of radio noise.
    Here's a link: ADVC-100

You can also use a miniDV camcorder with pass-through conversion.

    TigerDirect had factory-refurbished ADS Technologies USB Instant DVD bundles for $100.
    There are a lot of mixed reviews but all the problems seem to be from old software or
    low-end computers. I've bought one of these and will post my impression soon.

6) The RadLight team highly recommends using subtitles which are time-based, not frame-based.
They suggest SubRip and SubViewer 2 formats.

7) Be careful with DivX5 Pro. I've had nothing but trouble with the Gator ad-support version. The registered
version uses a hardware-specific key making it a royal pain in the butt. Shame.

8) VirtualDub wish list:

        Native MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (DivX, XviD) and tystream support
        Intra-GOP editing with unmodified GOPs NOT recompressed, edited GOPS converted to I frames
        Option for source and destinations to show in different windows (for dual monitors.)
        User-defined colors for the crop bar edges (they're currently black only)
        "Tolerant" framerate comparison, not byte comparison
        "Save states" for capture settings

9) I'm working on a new links list. It will be for AVISynth and VirtualDub filters/plug-ins/utilities.
Each will be sorted by function and have a lot more information than what's on this page.
Expect that page sometime in March.

10) Reply from Avery Lee:

        > I am consistently getting an error -2 when trying to use the Histogram
        > function during captures with an All-in-Wonder Radeon card. Drivers being
        > used are the most recent as posted at ATI's site including the new capture
        > driver.

        > At one point this function worked, now it doesn't. There's got to be
        > something I'm doing wrong. What do you think would make the histogram work
        > again?

        The capture driver probably switched video format on you -- set it to
        YUY2. You need a decompression driver for the format you are
        capturing.

11) "Hidden" utility to set custom capture settings for the ADS USB Instant DVD (ADS email):

For Advanced users only

To Find this utility, explore the CD: D software\help\backup\StreamMachine Diagnostic\Setup.exe

When this installer runs, be sure to select SAA7121 as the video encoder, or you will be royally messed up!

We hid this on the CD for tech support purposes and also for the off chance people wanted to mess with the capture configurations.

To create your own custom settings:

        1.) Click "Use Advanced Settings"
        2.) Click Create Parameter file"
        3.) Select NTSC/PAL and Resolution
        4.) Click MPEG Parameter tab
        5.) Change Bit Rate

Don't change anything else! If you uncheck Top Field First, your output to TV will be very shaky.

You can change the GOP (group of pictures), but this is set for optimum.
Lower setting makes quality worse. Higher setting might not help much.

We are doing CBR (Constant Bit Rate) because USB works best with this setting.
We are not trying to support variable bit rate on this product.

So you can set a parameter to SIF resolution for VCD and up the bit rate to 2,000,000 (2Mb/sec),
click OK and name it VCDX and give it a whirl.

Be sure to save to the ADSTECH Instant DVD folder. Then this setting will appear in Video Studio Video Properties.

        Depending on your PC, the goal of capturing at 8 Mb/sec., may not be possible.
        USB 1.0 is only 12 Mb/sec. and not all of that is actually usable.
        I have captured at 6 and 7 Mb/sec, but I then had to tweak audio synch and I have found that 5 Mb/sec. works best.
        The chip can do up to 15 MB/sec., which is the highest bit rate for SD (Standard Definition) TV standard for MEPG-2.

Keep in mind that many Hollywood DVD's are created at 4.5 Mb/sec.
This allows 233 minutes of DVD video to fit on a 4.7 GB single sided disk.

* I have a localized version of this site. Email me if you want a copy and a ZIP will be attached to the reply.

Adobe	Commercial Demos	Real Media
Animation	DV	Reference - The Best
Audio	DVD	Reference - The Rest
Audio - MP2/3	Final Cut Pro	Sonic Foundry
Audio - Ogg Vorbis	Laserdisc	Subtitling
AVI	Miscellaneous	Subtitling - MicroDVD
AVI - AviSynth	MPEG	Subtitling - Sub Station Alpha
AVI - VirtualDub	MPEG-4 (DivX, XviD)	Television
Axogon Composer	MS Media (ASF, WMV)	Ulead
Canopus	Pinnacle	VCD/CVD/SVCD/CDR
CODECs	Players
Collection Managers	QuickTime	FAQ (please read)