video editing/converting, am i doing this right?

matt

Newbie Joined: May 24, 2009 17:34 Messages: 12 Offline

Solved by

Jun 28, 2009 18:14

Hey all, I am fairly new at video editing and have a couple questions. I have two SD movie cameras. One saves the video format as *.MP4 and the other as a *.MOV file - both a quicktime video. Nice video, but terrible for any editing.

I am using power director 6. This program cannot open either extension, can only open .AVI, MPG, ect. So...here lies my question. I am using SUPER to do the conversion, but what is the best no loss settings to use, as well as extension. Is it better to convert to .MPEG or .AVI? What would be the best settings to use? I have tried both, but both seem to give a grainy, blocky picture and I feel its got something to do with my settings.

Any help is appreciated.

vn800rider

Senior Contributor Location: Darwen, UK Joined: May 15, 2008 04:32 Messages: 1949 Offline

Jun 29, 2009 02:35

Hi Matt,

Which version of PD6 are you using - Help>about.

I have 6.00.1731b on my dual core laptop and it handles .mp4 and .mov files fine.

Have you tried dragging and dropping the file into the media library rather than using the import file menu?

Cheers
Adrian
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

matt

Newbie Joined: May 24, 2009 17:34 Messages: 12 Offline

Jun 29, 2009 07:33

yes, I have tried the drag and drop. .MP4 files will work, however, .MOV files will not.

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Jun 29, 2009 12:06

Hi Matt,
Please can you create a 10 second (raw footage) clip with your camera. I would like to have the clip tested to see if the problem can be replicated and found. Let me know if you can and I'll PM you a CyberLink FTP location.
thanks
Dafydd
[Moderator]

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Jun 29, 2009 12:14

Matt,
I forgot to add. Please install FFDShow. It's a codec pack which will assist in file recognition. Do this before making available the 10 second clip.

For FFDShow and a number of other extras for PD Editors join and go to:
http://seemyworldonvideo.com/pages/extras-news-items.html

Dafydd
[Moderator]

matt

Newbie Joined: May 24, 2009 17:34 Messages: 12 Offline

Jun 30, 2009 07:28

thanks for the input. I downloaded the FFDshow, extracted it and installed it BUT i am having a hard time understanding it. Is it something that runs in the back ground? A little info on its function would be great. How to use, run ect.

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Jun 30, 2009 07:54

Hi matt,
Here's a brief resume:
FFDshow is a collection of decoding codecs which allow a media file to be read/displayed successfully on your PC. FFDs "kicks in" when you load or display a media file in PD for example.

I use FFDshow.

Dafydd

James W

Senior Contributor Location: Lakeland, FL USA Joined: Aug 18, 2008 10:36 Messages: 911 Offline

Jun 30, 2009 08:21

Hi Matt,

FFDshow is very complicated to actually use in the traditional sense. For example there are dozens (or more) settings you can adjust which controls how a codecs are used or how to change the deinterlacing settings. You can find hundreds of web posts about all this if you want to spend the hours researching this. I tried this and got pretty much nowhere.

Just do as Dafydd suggested and let it do its thing in the background. For 99% of users the default settings work just fine.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jun 30. 2009 17:57

Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

matt

Newbie Joined: May 24, 2009 17:34 Messages: 12 Offline

Jun 30, 2009 17:48

thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, how do you know its running in the back ground? Do i have to open each one of them up? (decode, encode, ect) Sorry for the confusion.

James W

Senior Contributor Location: Lakeland, FL USA Joined: Aug 18, 2008 10:36 Messages: 911 Offline

Jun 30, 2009 18:00

In some cases I've seen an icon appear in the lower right of the task bar (I use XP) indicating that something is being used. I wouldn't worry about it. If your video plays then FFDshow is likely working behind the scenes. You also may notice that formally unplayable files can now be played. Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

babindia

Senior Contributor Location: India Joined: Aug 16, 2007 06:11 Messages: 884 Offline

Jul 02, 2009 10:26

As Daffydd and James said FFD "Kicks in" when you start PD and import clips
which PD does not recognize. You will see a dark red icon on the right bottom corner, rightly as James said. Good luck ! PC specs :
OS Windows 10.0 Pro
MB - AS rock Z77 extreme 11
Intel 3770K @ 4.0 Ghz OC
Gskill 32 GB RAM 1800 Mhz
6 TB HDD, SSD bootable
nVidia ASUS GTX 660 Ti
BenQ 22" LCD monitor 1920x1080