Video editing is tedious. Share Video Edit Tips?

[Alphawolf]

I have some good content from the backend of some sites.

You know they usually have the super shit quality vids to download or the broadband good stuff.

I always opt to abuse myself and download the broadband versions.

I have Blaze Media Pro and TMPGEnc.

So, I'm taking a 300MB MPG movie and converting it to a smaller more manageable file using this suggestion:

=========================
Size: 320 x 240
Constant Bitrate 500-550
Add a noise reduction filter to improve the image
Fool around with the audio settings to reduce a little more the final weight of each movie.
Use 25 fps
Of course MPEG-1

This should bring you a file around 1.4-1.5mb for 15 seconds
=============================

It will take about 1hr and 43minutes to covert on an AMD 2800.

I think I need to find out how to batch this for over night converting.

Then I have a bunch of fair quality WMV's I want to convert to MPG.

Anyone else work with video often? Care to share some tips?

Biggest hassle is converting 340kbps WMV's to a decent looking MPG. I screwed with a few settings and it doesn't look so great and file size bloats of course.

I wish sponsors would just use MPG.

[cd34]

Pinnacle is supposedly the dream tool

Alternatively, you could get a Mac G4 or G5 - the convert video phenominally well.

There are reasons sponsors don't use .mpg. Without a lot of experience, you can get a .wmv to look better with less hassle. If you know what you are doing, .mpg can look great, but, will still be larger than .wmv. To make the surfer download quicker, they use .wmv. Additionally, .wmv will start playing as it is downloaded -- not always the case with .mpg.

[Cleo]

I'm using compressor which come with Final Cut Pro. It works well enough but doesn't have a lot of options for Mpeg-1.

I have been thinking of getting Sorenson Squeeze which is suppose to give you more option when setting compression on Mpeg-1.
http://www.sorenson.com/solutions/index.php

I really wish Mpeg-4 was more accepted but it isn't so I do Mpeg-1.

This is what I'm using for setting these days.
Audio Encoder
Format: MPEG
Sample Rate: 44.100kHz
Channels: 1
Bits Per Sample: 16
Video Encoder
Format: MPEG1
Width: 320
Height: 240
Pixel aspect ratio: default
Crop: None
Frame rate: 23.976
Bit rate .6Mbps
Deinterlacing
Algorithm: Odd
Noise Removal
Apply To: Chroma Channels
Iterations: 1
Algorithm: Replace
Watermark
Position: Lower Left
Scale By: 0.400000
Alpha: 1.000000
File Name: /Users/terri/Jobs/copyright.psd

[Alphawolf]

cd34- I really don't want a full blown video suite. I just resize, chop and convert. TMPGEnc is doing a good job of resizing and Blaze Media does ok converting.

Cleo- I'm gonna try the trial of Sorenson Squeeze.

tmpgenc is half way through the second movie.

[RawAlex]

I have a full video editing setup here (matrox, premiere pro and all the tools, monitors, tape drivers, yadda yadda). Don't let anyone kid you - video editing is a royal pain in the ass, only made fun by the fact that you get paid for 90% of the time doing nothing mroe than watching tapes load and write.

For your conversion issues, the problem is quite simple: WMV is a compressed format. MPEG is all it's various forms is a compressed format. When you go from one to the other, you are getting all the compression artifacts from one, and then adding the second set on the top. That tends to make for REALLY crappy looking stuff. As you compress more, the artifacts become more noticable (especially if your movie has solid color backgrounds or similar stuff). More important, the decompression and recompression can often lead to not only adding more artifacts, but in fact amplifying the existing items.

Sorensen is nice. CleanerXL is decent. It's all good.

You might also want to consider recompressing the entire piece and then using a chopping tool to cut it up at the end. The compression will happen a slight bit faster.

Alex

[Alphawolf]

Thanks, Alex. I find what I'm doing to get good results. There's no magic 'easy button' so I'll plug along.

[Cleo]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

using a chopping tool to cut it up at the end.

Yeah that is what I do using a little $15 tool that is a front end to some open source *nix tools.
http://homepage.mac.com/major4/

[Panky]

Your problem is using a 340kbps WMV's and trying to convert to MPEG-1. You are using lower quality and trying to produce a high quality MPEG. That's very difficult, if not impossible to do. It's like trying to take a small image and blow it up into a larger one of high quality.

You need to have your settings at an 800-1,000 kbps in order to produce a decent MPEG-1.

I use TMPGenc. You need to use 2 lane audio encoder. Install it and define it as an external encoder in your options. You won't have sync problems and it's much more efficient. It will reduce your rendering time by around 50%.

[slutha]

I find unlead video editing software to work very well for converting, cutting and reducing size. It also allows you to convet mpeg into wmv and the other way around...as well as cd and dvd-- It also gives you numerous choices in your compression type and allows you to label-- ading animation graphics.....I consider it to be better than most editing software out there today..and the best part is a five year old can use it! if you have semi skills your on the road to success check it out at unlead.com I believe and read about it!

You will be amazed at what it can do!

unlead video o editing

[plateman]

I been reading this thread and will be soon doing the video thing also and have another machine to put together just to render and convert the video as it takes a long time in doing that way I can still work on my main pc and I used tmpgenc years ago and Pinnacle studio and I used my mini dv camcorder to make some nice dvds with background music, chapters and the whole nine yards, probably the lastest versions of tmpgenc is better than the stuff I first used, I think I remember converting a downloaded movie that took all night with tmpgenc and if I remember it had a overnight setting with it..

[modF]

For a batch project, I always say go w/ Cleaner. Otherwise, nothing works as well as Premiere imho.

[Barron]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

I have a full video editing setup here (matrox, premiere pro and all the tools, monitors, tape drivers, yadda yadda). Don't let anyone kid you - video editing is a royal pain in the ass, only made fun by the fact that you get paid for 90% of the time doing nothing mroe than watching tapes load and write.

Alex, are you editing your own raw video or taking in outside work?