[Mike Cohen]

I would get Virtual Dub and try converting the clips to AVI. It is free.

Of course you will add a generation of file conversion, but people need to learn you can’t make a bag of apples out of apple sauce.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

On more than one occasion I have had a client e-mail me or call saying “The video looks terrible on my computer screen.”

I tell them what I told you, which usually results in “Well my Shrek 2 DVD looks great on my computer”

So I respond with “Well Hollywood movies go from film resolution to DVD, they have more bits to work with from the git go. DV is about 25% the resolution of film, or less.”

By this time my words fall on deaf ears.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

presuming people are not talking over one another, I usually razor the track between speakers, and then use Fill Left or Fill Right to make the audio full track, and that works pretty well.

[Mike Cohen]

video quality when played full screen on a computer is often less than you might hope for. Remember video from DV is 720×480, but most computer diaplays are 800×600, 1024×768, or bigger. So you are making 720×480 video double, triple or bigger in size. It is going to fall apart.

Hollywood DVD titles start with film or HD, so the image quality is better when played full screen.

How does it look on a standard definition TV? That and a computer at 800×600 are the target playback scenarios for SD DVD.

I check my burned DVDs on my computer using 800×600 display settings.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

seeing as more and more people either have a DVR or download tv shows (legally or otherwise) commercials are becoming a less effective tool. No way to edit out a product placement (yet).

I’m surprised networks have not introduced the ticker for advertising during network shows.

Mike

[Mike Cohen]

time spent encoding is time NOT spent editing, which makes you more money – so you have to find a way to be compensated for not being able to do anything else while the video encodes. If you have already set a precedent of $75/clip, good luck going back to hourly rates with that client.

[Mike Cohen]

for about $1300 you can get the Edirol switcher and a ADVC-110 – you’ll be using S-Video and then converting on the fly the switcher output to DV, which you can then record to a laptop no problem.

You could probably get a cheaper vertical interval 4 input switcher.

Or rent something like an MX-50 or equivalent for $250/day from Bexel or your local rental house

The Tricaster is an all in one solution which works pretty well, but costs $5000

[Mike Cohen]

we have been using plasmas and crt monitors on a few shoots recently.
One the first one, the shutter speed on the camera had to be set to match the screen, to prevent flicker.

On another one we had to adjust the color temp of the monitor so the graphics looked good, but then if we were running video we had to set it back.

I have not thought to adjust the graphics themselves, but that is a good idea. It would be interesting to know from someone at a network what they do, aside from having a lot of money!

[Mike Cohen]

can’t say I have any of those problems, but whether I open a 1.5 project or start a new one, I get an error when making a disc image, so the program is totally useless.

Someone suggested adding frames of black on each timeline to remedy this but I have not tried that yet.

[Mike Cohen]

I have seen that device advertised – amazing that it works, but it pretty cool. I keep 2 keyboards/mice on my desk and it can be confusing if you forget which computer you are trying to use.

Sounds like Axio is the system to go with.