Video editing question

[JamesD]

What do people use for video editing ? Currently I'm using the Windows Movie maker (downloading video via Firewire) but the resolution seems rather crappy and I'm wondering if it's just an inherent feature with computer video or whether it's windows movie maker being sucky.

 

[devilfish]

James,
NLE ( non-lenear editing) computer based is a factor of the following.
Processing power, drive space, hardware, and compression code among other factors. Think of a jpg picture compressed, the more it is compressed the lower the resolution. Typically consumer dv cameras compress video 5:1. That is still good, you can't tell by eye. Then when you upload to a computer depanding on software etc there is further compression. From there resolution just gets worst. By the time it is output to vhs it can be pretty choppy. There are many systems out there, windows based, other platform based and dedicated editing (black boxes) stand alone nle's ranging from few hundred dollars to many thousends of dollars.
One of the keys is compression. Non compressed video needs approximately 1.3 gig of drive space. To edit a 30 minute segment you would need 40 gig drive just for video plus software plus sound. From there the more compressed video the less resolution. A approximately $4000 investment whould give you a fairly good quality video end product. I hope it helps.

 

[JamesD]

Is it possible to tell what compression rate cameras use ? I currently have a fairly cheap JVC digital video camera so imagine it's at best 5:1, however I'm thinking of getting a new camera at some point in the future and would like to try to get something maybe a little better than 5:1. Now that I have better editing software (which can take the DV straight off the camera without compressing it) I want to try to improve the quality somewhat.

Thanks for the info.

 

[devilfish]

You will have hard to find a camera with lower compression than 5:1. The next step is braodcast cameras, lot's of $$$$. As I said, 5:1 is good, no need to get lower unless you plan to broadcast. Software, hardware etc is the key. The best way to figure quickly. How much drive space does your video take once you upload to the pc. Figure 1.3 gig/min for uncompressed. What are your needs?

 

[JamesD]

1.3GB per minute... ok ouch, mine isn't doing that... it's currently doing 3.6MB per second (which is about 216MB per minute) so some compression... as for my needs, well I just want to create decent looking video to play on the PC, but it's kind of just for fun... so from the sounds of it I'll not bother with looking for other cameras, might eventually try upgrading the software again, but for now I'll play with Pinnacle Studio 7 some more and see what else I can do with it.