Which Editing software do you use?

[Sasq]

Nope, I did a quick whip around to ask about which editors I should Include, and that was the list that was suggested.

Pinnacle Studio 8 duly noted

Dan

[Flying dutchman]

Just finished my first 36-minute DVD project in Pinnacle Studio 8.5 and I must say, I'm VERY impressed with this affordable program, but it has a few quirks:

1) The mpeg encoder is pretty good at 8 mbps full-res, but it produces files with completely wrong luminance levels (0-255 instead of the CCIR 601 standard that dictates levels 16-235 for digital video) even if the input material is DV.

2) I could perfectly correct this by simply selecting all clips on the timeline and set the contrast slider to level "44" but stumbled upon a bug: you must absolutely exclude all overlays from this contrast correction or they become black... The easiest way to do this is by "locking" the overlay region of the timeline. It took some experimenting to find out that "44" is the ideal position. Trust me on this one.

The brightness and contrast sliders behave differently than in other programs. In most programs they are equivalent to offset and gain, but in Pinnacle Studio they are used to adjust the median and amplitude of the video signal: reducing the contrast alone will increase the black level and decrease the white level but leave the median at the same position (in this case, 128).
I personally would prefer a simple checkbox in the encoder to convert SRGB levels to CCIR601, because the brightness/contrast sliders weren't designed for this purpose. I'd rather use them for correcting scenes that are too dark or too bright.


3) The mpeg encoder is not too quick. It needed 4 hours to render 36 minutes (celeron 900). The "preview while encoding" feature is completely rubbish, though, it lags behind a factor two -the encoder was almost finished while the preview was halfway...
The encoder supports PCM and mpeg-1 level 2 for the sound channel, not AC3 unfortunately. NTSC users may need to use PCM, PAL users will be happier with MP2.

Burning a DVD+RW was straightforward and worked first time, even on cheap "Platinum" disks. The result is very pleasant to the eye, no visible artefacts even on interlaced material, but a tiny little bit "soft" without actually being unsharp. The end result on a DVD player is comparable to a good S-VHS/HI-8 original but lacks the ruthless sharpness of mini-DV or commercial DVD's.

Pinnacle Studio 8.5 is enormous fun to work with. I really enjoyed myself the past two days while composing my video clip. The program was always fast and responsive. I gave it a really good beating for two days and it never crashed. I imported my source material (DV) directly from the camera, and Pinnacle split it into scenes while capturing everything into a single large AVI (10 gb) file. It features an internal "Jingle generator" (I wouldn't know how to describe it otherwise) that can generate a piece of music of the exact length of the clip(s) you select. I don't know if the sounds are based on actual samples or if they are synthesized, but the instruments sound very realistic. About two dozen tunes are included with the program. You get one video timeline, one overlay timeline and two audio timelines (in addition to the original sound of the video). Also included are many dozens of transitions and a very nice title generator that can make both still and moving titles. You can switch between timeline and storyboard display. The program can create AVI, Mpeg 1/2, and some web-based audio formats.


What I'm missing, though, is a place where I can specify the field order of the input material. Maybe this is no longer needed for DirectShow AVI's, I don't know.

[wkulecz]

I've yet to find an NTSC DVD player that rejects my MP2 DVD-R or DVD+R but plays a PCM encoded disk -- so I think the "need" for AC3 is way over rated.

If you have the recording setup to create full 5.1 audio great, but if all the software does is encode 5.1 from stereo, every 5.1 "theater sound" system I've looked at also will synthesize 5.1 from stereo.

--wally.

[Dr Mordrid]

NTSC DVD players don't necessarily "need" ac3 since they support multiple audio standards, it's just that you can get the same qualty at a lower bitrate than the other formats.

This leaves more room for the video to have a higher bitrate, especially vs. LPCM.

Dr. Mordrid

[Brian Ellis]

The poll results at the top need interpretation. As I write, 101 persons have voted for 126 softwares, but the % is relative to the number of votes and not the the number of persons. So 50 persons out of 101 use MSPro or 49.5%, not the 39.68% shown. Makes quite a difference. This is a microbug in the poll programming, I fear.

[Sasq]

Yes, it doesn't cope particularly well with multiple choice polls. I'll add that to my todo list.

Any suggestions as to how to tweak?
(to tired at 1am to think about math

Dan

[Hulk]

I agree with Wally regarding the AC3 thing. Increased compatibility is really the only reason to go with AC3 if you are not doing 5.1 mixes, which are really quite complicated.

Wally says that he hasn't seen the increased compatibility of using AC3 over MPEG layer II, I haven't either.

That leaves the merits of AC3 compression vs. MPEG layer II compression as the main advantage for either format.

Doing some informal testing between the two I haven't noticed a difference at identical bit rates. Perhaps if I get the time I'll do some serious comparisions.

Since MS Pro 7 has the ability to do AC3, I have been using that format for DVD audio since I switched to MS Pro 7, but I don't think those not using AC3 are missing out on much. Unless we see some proof of increased compatibility or quality/bit rate for AC3 that is.

Mark


Dan,

Here's my suggestion:

The current "Total" should be renamed "Number of Participants in the Poll," or something like that. Percentages should be calculated by dividing the number of votes for a particular sofware by that number, i.e. 50/101 for the MS Pro percentage.

Another footer could be added called "Number of votes," which would be the total number of votes for all software in the poll.

-Mark

[bitz4brainz]

I have Premiere, but I also am using Ulead VideoStudio for simple and Q&D things.

[Flying dutchman]

Could you re-run this poll and also include some lower-cost products like Pinnacle Studio, Powerdirector etc ? Pinnacle claim they outsell everybody else, btw.

[Sasq]

ok, give me a full list of all options you would like to see in the poll
and I'll see what can be done
Dan

[Will Hay]

I'm just starting with Pinnacle Studio 8, and having major problems.
Will

[Patrick]

What is your point?

I'm just starting with Pinnacle Studio 8, and having major problems.

Judging from your picture, I’m not surprised.

Seriously though, are you simply stating your present situation, are you asking for help, or are you condemning a piece of software you’ve just started with?

[Flying dutchman]

@sasq: It would be nice to include Pinnacle Studio, VideoStudio, Powerdirector, Aist MovieXOne/MovieDV, Roxio VideoWave, Sonic MyDVD in the poll.

@WillHay: What problems do you have? Maybe I can help.

[Will Hay]

Originally posted by Flying dutchman
WillHay: What problems do you have? Maybe I can help.

Thanks for the offer
I made a seperate post on or around the same day I posted here (I didn't want to lay my troubles here and hijack the thread!).
Problems with huffyuv and PS8
Thanks,
Will

[Flying dutchman]

There's a checkbox in HuffYuv for the rare programs that crash with it ("Always suggest RGB format for output").



PS you may need to mark all clips and set contrast to "44" in Studio in order to get CCIR601/DVD compatible brightness levels, or else all output is too bright.