[Alan Andrews]

Thanks Dave
I actually went and got the Tascam DR-1 then returned for a DR-07 it was better in my opinion and $100 less and they both do MP3 in addition to WAV.

Yup long cables, ground lift etc that’s where direct boxes help also.

Cheers
Alan

[Alan Andrews]

Actually I just went to look at the Tascam DR-1 at guitar center it has great reviews so I will be purhcasing one in a couple of days.

With directional and optional mic inputs this offers great flexibility

$299 but saves me lugging a laptop for good audio

[Alan Andrews]

Folks thanks for these useful responses.

My Camera is actually a Vixia HF20, I think I was dreaming on the 11 🙂 Now worries its still a good camera.

Well I plan to build a Quad PC in the near future, this I am sure will improve things alone. And yes I will probably stick with 180 – 24p. I am staying 32 bit O.S. / 4Gb Ram because of other software besides vegas.

I actually use Cakewalk Sonar for additional audio but plan to get the Zoom H4 as a more portable recording medium. Though I do use Cakewalk for studio recording music etc.

You are right audio sucks from most cams especially in wind.

I’ll look at the TX5 upgrade also.

Being in my infancy with the video recording I obviously want to spend frugally on equipment, but measuring time wasted versus time saved, I understand its a combination of good planning, recording etc a reliable editing system PLUS investment.

I am meeting with a guy who uses Final Cut on a MAC but I sense that just opens the wallet further than I want to. I do have faith in Vegas once I trim the time wasting.

Seems you folks who have dealt with tape etc over the years see the digital editing as a luxury where speed is concerned so I understand that I will still need to have rendering patience.

But can someone please explain cineform more for me in laymans terms.
By principle, starting high allows me to finish high or low as far as whatever output I choose to render

Basic how to ..

In other words for exmaple:
I have my MTS files from the camera, I now want to edit my movie clips into production. Should I convert them first? To cineform? Not sure what is meant I am still wrapping my head around codecs intermediate codecs, my grandmothers kodaks bla bla .. I thought about neoscene?

I set my vegas project to the highest (HD 1080-24p(1920 x 1080) But seeing as MTS are VERY compressed maybe I should batch convert all my clips to something more editable beforehand? If so I need to do without loss nor audio being out of synch. Some of my shots still use the camera audio cos it sounds fine or because the sound wave is my time synch if I use dual camera so I need to convert without any slip.

So the question again:
Should I batch convert my MTS files first for editing efficiency, and if so how (what do I use? Neoscene?) so that it produces NO loss NO audio slip.

I thank ALL you ladies and gents who have offered great advice once again.

Cheers
Alan

[Alan Andrews]

Sorry I Installed VISTA Codec pack NOT K-Lite. This works for XP also

[Alan Andrews]

Sorry I installed the VISTA Codec pack not K-Lite this works with XP also

[Alan Andrews]

Thanks Rob.
I’m a little low on par for the vegas app. I use a laptop AMD Athlon 64 x 2 and plan to get a dedicated machine next month. (Quad core like you or an I7 .. whatever). This machine is also used for music recording/prodcution with Cakewalk Sonar but not at the same time.

My best solution thus far was this:
I installed the K-Lite codec pack, and a file called “quickthumb.dll” as I have 2 cameras one HF20 (not HF 11 as I intially stated) and a Lumix TZ5 that output MOV files. At least now I can preview in explorer the thumbs and clips so I can be selective in my project folder to keep lean on the files and locations. To me this has been the most efficient way to get the clips, quick check and drag into my project then I can delete the crap and clear the cameras.

I’ll get my new horses next month !!

Cheers
Alan

[Alan Andrews]

Old Man? Old Man I hear you say ? … hehehe When I was in the mines turning nuts n bolts Eh by gum … Actually I was a coal miner for 13 yrs but thats back in time. 46 yrs on but happy to have been part of it, even the 1984 strike.

Yeah I buy what you say about the rendering Eric. However I did try MP4 (Main Concept’s H.264/AVC ) but this wouldn’t even play when trying to view in QT player and worse in WMP 11. I’m still pretty clueless in this whole codec world its a mass confusion. WMV seemed to give me best and reliable outputs thus far, mayber it was luck? The MP4 was also evil grainy when I brought it into a new project ??
So WMV is lossless then ?? I’m LOST 🙂

Being these days an IT consultant (though I am trying to be a video pro now haha) I know all too well about constant change its a real pain for everyone.

I installed the K-Lite codec pack, WMP registry fix and a DLL that thumbnails MOV files (quickthumb.dll). At least now I can thumbnail and preview both MOV & MTS files (2 cameras) so I can sift through my files via explorer to be more selective for my projects.

I always use the Shift+B to do some quick previews to check my FX etc. Great use for it yes.

My laptop is slightly under par AMD Athlon 64 x 2 + 2Gb ram, I plan to get a new machine next mth. Quad core.

Thanks again for your input keep it coming if you have the energy!!

Cheers
Alan

[Alan Andrews]

Thanks Eric, clear & good answers and maybe obvious after more researching of the whole issue myself 🙂

I did some further testing, recording with various bit rates and formats and then did some editing/rendering etc. 9/10 planning 1/10 work I guess ;-). Thats the IT professional side in me.

I found pretty much the same conclusions:

I now decided to record in 24P (cinemode) at the 1080p res using 12kbps (known as SP+ on the Canon HF11). The difference to the eye is very neglible between MXP & SP+. I actually might go 17kbps to be sure but I dont think the MXP is really offering a huge improvement unless I was videoing a fleas bollox. The file size difference between MXP & SP is about 3 to 1. File ratio between MXP & SP+ about 2 to 1.
Space is not a major issue but it adds some accounted efficiency doing data transfers.

I ran some video tests and rendered WMV at 6.8 1080 and 720p and saw nothing major such that the eye could detect differences (unless this was a scientific analysis). The eyes can be fooled when the movie is rolling along. Good scripting & good timing I think play a major part here, though I’m not a qualified film maker I say this from common sense and creative thought.

To improve rendering/editing and review times Do you know if the following idea hurts the video quality?

I thought to render satisfactory takes including all and any FX to sectional WMV files then sticth these together in a larger edit thus having the video compiled without all the FX processes to deal with: Render say at 1080p so its quality.

Reason for this is obvious, the previewing etc is all slow. I am thinking to do the network rendering, so I can work on other parts then do the “stitching” (is this a correct term?) as another edit.

Another point to this is even though I have plenty space I have many redundant files. Some I’ll keep for stock footage, but most I want to shred to keep my archives lean.

I have yet to find a reliable previewer for the MTS files. Just about everything sucks beside viewing direct from the camcorder (screen or TV hookup) BUT I cannot find simple way to index the files for reference. Right now I preview them either with VLC or within Vegas (neither produce a smooth strem preview). I go shoot many different parts/scenes and yes maybe I should list on a scene chart, but still the cam has no real easy way to give me the file reference. (name xxx, date & time this is not a great cross reference). I wish some smart fella would write a quick & dirty previewer program so I can QUICKLY view/thumbnail the 100’s of takes then pull what I need. I am planning to get a Class 4 SD card, and habitually train myself to record to that and use the internal cam memory for odd bits. Anyway ignore this bit of a rant, I digress.

Thanks for your input I’m sure there’s more from me to come.

Cheers
Alan