Archive for April, 2010
How to add Titles and Credits in Windows Movie Maker?
Apr 22nd
| You can use the same techniques that movies and TV shows do to begin and end their films. By using the title and credits feature in Windows Movie Maker, you can easily create an interesting title sequence at the beginning of your movie and provide a list of credits at the end. You can also place titles in between scenes of the movie.
Opening titles introduce your movie to your audience and provide background information about what they’re about to watch. For example, a good opening title might be, “Tom’s Fourth Birthday Party” or “Hite Family Vacation 2006.” You can show a title on a blank background or over your first clip.
Credits at the end of your movie provide a more satisfying ending while telling the viewer who was in the movie. This is also a great place to thank the people who helped you make the movie. You can show credits on a blank background or over your last clip. In Movie Maker, credits are considered a special type of title that can comprise many lines.
You can also use titles throughout your movie to introduce scenes or describe what is happening on screen. For example, in a vacation movie, you might add a title between scenes that reads, “Day 2: The Water Park”. Or you can use titles to introduce people. For example, the first time each of your family members appears on screen, you might display a title over the video that shows their name.
To add a title screen before your movie
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Windows Movie Maker File Conversion Tips
Apr 22nd
Question: I use Windows Movie Maker. When I use Windows encoder to convert files, it looks pixilated. How can I solve this problem? Answer: When you use…
We recently received this question sent in by a reader that we thought would be good to share as it expands upon the question of formatting and exporting.
I’m new to video as well as Videomaker magazine. I work for a small newspaper that, like many publications, is getting into video. We purchased a Sony SR80 camcorder. We also work off of PCs, mainly our Dell laptops. Please be aware that these are factors we need to live with. For video editing we’re using Windows Movie Maker which comes packaged with the Dell. We are putting the videos up in a Flash shell and that looks pretty good. My question is more for my knowledge and personal use. I’m finding that the WMV file, which for Flash I convert into an FLV file, looks pixilated when I want to just play that WMV on a friend’s computer using Window Media. How can I make that file look better when I just want to play it in Windows Media. The camcorder is giving me a MPG file. I have been using the Windows encoder to allow me to work in Windows Movie Maker. Any help and suggestions would be great.
Thank you, Randy Flaum
Exploring Randy’s problem can be useful to all of us. Randy’s camera uses an MPEG-2 video format. He needs to compress this format, and he can do this with a number of different products. The WMV and FLV files are called containers; think of a container as a package that contains the compressed audio and video. Different media players can read this package. The quality of a video’s playback really depends on the CPU. The faster the CPU, the easier it will be for it to play back video. Of course, there are a number of different things that could cause Randy’s video not to play back well. Let’s start with the software end of things.
Software Needed to Capture
WMV is short for Windows Media Video. Microsoft originally designed it for streaming video on the internet. Instead of WMVs, Randy should be making AVIs. AVI is short for Audio Video Interleave and is a Microsoft file format. AVI files will be bigger than WMV files and will usually give you better-quality video. They are more universally adapted and should be easy to play on a number of different media players. You will still be able to convert the AVI file easily to FLV. You may want to try another media player for your WMV files. There are many free ones that are small, and you can download them easily. We mention this because it could be a Windows Media Player problem, so viewing the video with another player like Media Player Classic or the VLC player will show you if in fact it is a software-only problem.
The only other issue could be with the computer’s ability to properly run Windows Media Encoder. It is possible that the computer does not meet the specs that Windows Media Encoder requires. If that is the case, you can try looking for different encoders online by doing a quick search. You may want to double-check to see if your computer meets the requirements.
Hardware Needed
Randy could also be getting issues with the video quality because of some hardware problems. Hardware-wise, his Sony has a USB 2.0 port. Depending on how old his computer is, he may have a computer that supports only USB 1.1. In this case, the video coming in will not be good, if it comes in at all. We are going to assume that he is using USB 2.0 so that should not be a factor.
Staying with the hardware side of things, let’s talk about the hard drive. We recommend getting a dedicated external hard drive for your videos. It’s always a good idea to dedicate a separate hard drive for the task, because you won’t have any other programs that the CPU needs to get from that hard drive.
You can easily defragment and take proper care of the external video-only hard drive. Yes, a fragmented hard drive does affect videos. The more fragmented a hard drive is, the less efficiently the system will be able to import, edit or compress that video. Files that have come from a heavily-fragmented hard drive will sometimes not play back properly. You can get an external hard drive for only a small premium over an internal drive of the same capacity, and prices are constantly coming down. If your system has an eSATA port, that is your best interface choice for a single external hard drive. Otherwise, FireWire and USB 2.0 are both fine choices; though neither are as fast as eSATA. External hard drives are small and easy to store. The benefits of a separate video-only hard drive far outweigh any slight cost for purchasing one. Videos will be much easier to track, and, more importantly, if something happens to the computer’s hard drive or the computer dies, you can plug that hard drive into another computer.
Test It
Finally, before you decide to buy new hardware or software, first try playing the file with another player, preferably the VLC media player or Media Player Classic. Both are small and will not take up too much of your computer’s RAM to run. If the video is still of low quality, that’s when you want to do some of the other suggestions.
John Devcic is a freelance writer and videographer.
Side Bar: Questions?
As always, Videomaker has a large collection of technical and technique conversations going on 24/7 on our Forums in our online Videomaker Lounge. Go there first, and our many varied readers and users can help you out.
Originally from http://www.videomaker.com/article/14307/
Final Cut Pro HD vs. Final Cut Express HD
Apr 16th
Apple currently sells two different video editing programs under the name Final Cut. Final Cut Express HD and Final Cut Pro HD. On the surface it can be hard to determine what the difference is between the two programs except the price tag. For the most part Final Cut Pro HD is meant for video professionals, where as Final Cut Express HD is designed for consumers who want to be able to do a little more with their video editing than they can with iMovie which comes included with any Macintosh computer. The two video editing programs have a dramatic difference in price. Here are the main differences between the two programs to help you decide which Final Cut may be right for you. Many of the differences like no batch capture and keyframing can be very frustrating for professional video editors, but not such a big deal for hobbyists. If the differences don’t seem too big for you then Final Cut Express is probably the right program for you.
HDV Video Only
Final Cut Express will only support HDV video. Final Cut Pro on the other hand will support all HD formats. If you are shooting on a HDV camera at 1080i or 720p, MiniDV, DVCAM, or DVCPRO camcorder then you will be supported under Final Cut Express. DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO50, SD and HD card camcorder users as well as those shooting at 24fps will have to use Final Cut Pro HD.
Keyframes
In Final Cut Express HD you can only keyframe motion effects, not filters. Among video editors this is one of the most complained about disadvantages of Final Cut Express over Final Cut Pro.
Video Capture and Timecode
Final Cut Express HD will not display your timecode, nor allow you to batch capture or export video. Professional video editors will often want to batch record all of their clips at once onto the computer, with Final Cut Express each clip will have to be imported separately which can be time consuming for someone doing a large volume of video work.
Color Correction
In Final Cut Express you can not correct color using the three way color corrector. You can also not adjust the luminance or chrominance of your video or thin or soften your colors using Final Cut pro Express.
After Effects
One main draw of Final Cut Pro is its ability to work with Adobe After Effects Plug-Ins, Final Cut Express HD does not support After Effects plug-ins.
Keyboard
With Final Cut Express you can not custom map your keyboard
Convert TiVo files to MPEG with flawless quality
Apr 15th
If you are TiVo DVR user, and wanna make full use of your TiVo file like watch them on PC, iPod, iPhone etc, this guide is written for you. In the following paragraphs you will learn how to transfer TiVo file to PC, restore the protected TiVo show to MPEG file, and convert TiVo file to fit for your portable players. A step-by-step guide is displayed below:
Step One. Transfer recorded TV shows to your PC.
In the first place, you got to transfer shows from your TiVo DVR to your PC. TiVo Desktop software for the PC is required, and you can access the instructions on how to transfer TiVo file to PC from their website.
Step Two. Run Pavtube Video Converter and load TiVo files.
Pavtube offers free trial version of Video Converter for you to evaluate the software. So just go ahead, download and install Pavtube Video Converter and try it out! Launch the utility and here pops up an intuitive interface. Click “Add” to load recorded TV shows, or you just drag the files in.
Step Three. Set output format and A/V settings.
Click on “Format” bar and follow either Copy-> Directly Copy or Common Video-> MPEG-1/ MPEG-2/ MPEG-4. If you select Directly Copy, the converter will remove the protection by TiVo and restore the files to MPEG file (*.mpg) without any quality loss. As en-decoding progress is left out, the conversion speed will be much faster than the later. The converter will generate files right what they used to be before they were made into TiVo files (an inverse progress of encryption). If you select Common Video-> MPEG, you will be able to customize video and audio parameter to be compatible your portable player. You can adjust the video codec, resolution, bitrate, frame rate, audio codec, sampling rate etc by clicking “Settings” to enter the panel. Next you specify location for generated files in “Output” box. After conversion you may click “Open” button to find the converted MPEG files.
Step Four. Convert TiVo shows to MPEG files.
Now Click “Convert” button and wait. The ViewLog will show you all the info such as conversion progress, conversion state, elapsed and estimated conversion time, and generated and estimated conversion file size. You may check “Shut down computer after conversion” and leave it be.
Tip: If you have some TiVo files from your friends but you’re not a TiVo user yourself. The app will remind you to put in the key when loading TiVo files. Type in your friend’s code and you will be able to convert them.
Originally from http://www.pavtube.com/guide/tivo-to-mpeg.html
How to Edit, Convert and Burn HD footages to Blu-ray disc?
Apr 15th
The HD video clips taken with new HD cam can not be imported to Premiere for editing? Have shot some magnificent footage with your AVCHD camcorder and wanna to burn the video clips a Blu-ray disc? Here is the right place for you. We’re talking about how to convert your HD footages, ie HD MOT, TOD, MTS, TS, MOD, M2TS to be compatible with editing software and all right for burning.
Part 1. Convert HD footages to fit for editing software/ Blu-ray burning with Pavtube HD Video Converter.
Here you need Pavtube HD Video Converter, which will transcode the HD videos to be compatible with overwhelming editing software (Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, Cyberlink Power Director, etc) at high quality and decent sync. Download trial version of Pavtube HD Video Converter, install and run the app, when the below interface pops up, click ‘Add’ to load the HD video clips, or directly drag the files into file list. By default, the files are selected. You could view the files in preview window, simply highlight the file and click play button. Tick off the box of ‘Merge into one’ so that the files will be combined together.
Adjusting audio and video settings
Click ‘Settings’ and customize advanced audio and video parameters. Now that we are converting HD files for editing software, you may choose Adobe Premiere/ Sony Vegas or DV label and select a desired format fit for your Premiere or other software. For the users who would like to burn the files to Blu-ray disc without editing, a recommended configuration could be HD Video-> MPEG-TS HD Video (*.ts), 1920*1080p, 25mbps, 24fps, AC3 codec, 5.1 channels. (click ‘Settings’ button to it).
When you set everything well, click ‘Convert’ button to start converting HD footages to editable or Blu-ray compatible formats. Ripping Blu-ray takes hours and you have to be patient. To locate the converted files, click the ‘Open’ button next to output path. After editing you could still import your project into the app and burn to Blu-ray compatible formats. The Blu-ray Ripper itself features some editing facilities too, such as cropping, trimming, rotating, adding watermarks, replacing audio, adding effect etc. You may click ‘Edit’ button to enter the editor. Here you could switch to Effect tab and check ‘Deinterlacing’ box to remove the interlacing lines from the video clips.
Finally, click the big ‘Convert’ button to starting ripping Blu-ray movie to be fit for your editing software or right for burning (TS format). Blu-ray ripping could take hours, you got to be patient. After ripping completes, click the ‘Open’ button to locate converted files.
Part 2. Author Blu-ray/ Create Blu-ray structure with tsMuxeR.
Now you need tsMuxeR to help. It is a powerful freeware and you can download it via this link. Run tsMuxeR, load TS file under Input tab. Click ‘add’ button and browse to converted TS file(s). Tick Blu-ray disk as Output result, and browse to desired directory to save the Blu-ray structure. Then you could switch to Blu-ray tab to arrange chapter info and Subtitles tab to set subtitles (if there are) for your Blu-ray disc. Once the settings be done, click the ‘Start muxing’ button and tsMuxeR will create a Blu-ray structure for you. It consists of two directories, namely BDMV and CERTIFICATE. You will need them to burn Blu-ray disc.
Part 3. Burn the contents to Blu-ray disc with ImgBurn.
ImgBurn is a recommendable freeware to burn Blu-ray disc.
Run the app, and click the ‘Write files/folders to disc’ button and insert a blank (or erasable) Blu-ray disc in your burner.
Add the files/folders you want to burn to the ‘Source’ box. For a Blu-ray video disc that’ll be the BDAV / BDMV folder and the CERTIFICATE folder.
To add those folders you can type their names in manually (one at a time) and click the ‘+’ button, or click the ‘Browse for a folder…’ button, navigate to and select the appropriate folder, or drag and drop the folders from an Explorer window into the ‘Source’ box.
When that’s done your source box should look something shown below. You could configure the program for burning a compliant Blu-ray disc, just switch to the ‘Options’ tab and configure the settings. Back on the ‘Information’ tab, you can now click the ‘Calculate’ button if you want to see the size of your compilation.
Now we’re ready to burn so click big ‘Build’ button! If you’re prompted for a volume label, you can either use the one suggested by the program or type in a new one. Click the ‘OK’ button when you’re happy with it. When the ‘Image Information’ box pops up, assuming everything looks all right, click the ‘OK’ button.The program will then burn your files to the disc.
Originally from http://www.pavtube.com/guide/edit-convert-burn-hd-footages-to-blu-ray-disc.html
Convert HD MOV, MTS, TOD to be editable for MEP 14
Apr 9th
Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 is quite popular among DV cam lovers and film amateurs due to its flourish video effects and powerful editing and burning features. Yet it does not work with all the footages created by HD camcorders, even if you have activated MPEG-4/H.264 codec. For instance, when you try to import the HD MOV footages (H.264 MOV, 1920*1280p) took with Canon EOS 7D or MTS (MPEG-4 MTS) shot with Sony HDR SR10 to MEP14, an error message will definitely pop up to tell you it is not a valid AVCHD format. Actually footages taken with AVCHD and some other HD camcorders cannot be transferred to Movie Edit Pro 14, as the app does not recognize them. What you need is to transcend the files (HD MOV, MTS, TOD etc) into something more editable for MEP14, like AVI and WMV. Here I would like to recommend an easy-to-use but powerful converting tool to you, Pavtube HD Video Converter. It focuses on HD Video conversion and will enable you to handle videos of any formats in MEP. A step-by-step guide is displayed below for your reference:
Step One. Getting started
Transfer the footages you’d like to edit from camcorder or memory card to PC. Install and launch HD Video Converter, click “Add” to load the HD video clips, or directly drag the files into file list. By default, the files are selected. You could view the files in preview window, simply highlight the file and click play button.
Step Two. Adjusting audio and video settings
Click “Settings” and customize advanced audio and video parameters. Now that we are converting HD files(MTS, MOV, TOD) to edit in Magix Movie Edit Pro, it will be just ok to set output format as Common Video->AVI/ WMV, 720*480p, 25fps. For the users who are unwilling to degrade the HD video quality, a recommended configuration could be HD Video-> DivX HD (*.avi), 1920*1080p, 25mbps, 30fps or HD Video-> WMV HD (*.wmv), 1920*1080p, 25mbps, 30fps. You may set audio channels to 5.1 in order to get surround sound.
Step Three. Converting HD footages to editable formats
Finally, click on “Convert” button to start converting HD footages to editable files for MEP 14. You could set auto shutdown in progress window or leave it there and come back later.
After conversion the videos can be easily loaded to Magix Movie Editor Pro 14 and above version for editing. To locate the converted files, click the “Open” button next to output path. Enjoy editing and burning your own DVDs!
If you are interested in Pavtube HD Converter, you may download its free trial or buy it online via the below links.
Originally from: http://www.pavtube.com/guide/convert-hd-footages-to-edit-in-magix-movie-edit-pro-14.html
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