Topic: Video Editing Software

[MsTree]

Avidemux
...
Despite all of its minuses, I still recommend getting this since it is an all-in-one package that handles so much and encodes brilliantly.  If you want to download a single free program that can make highlights out of practically anything, this is your best bet!

OK you inspired me to have a go with Avidemux, my source vid is mp4, using "copy" mode. I've deleted the sections I didn't want and even managed to save it all as a project file for when it crashed (which it did) and it's more or less how I want it to be. It plays fine in Avidemux's own player but when I try to save the video I get a file which I have to add the extension to in order to get it to play, and when it does my cuts have a totally mental after effect of the previous shot's pixels imprinting over the new shot until a change of shot on the original video. Any ideas?  Am I missing something obvious?

[fgzhu88]

yeah, you have to make cuts on i frames.  And you can jump between i-frames using the up and down arrows on your keyboard  
And remember the A marker must be one frame after i frame and B is on the i frame.  (I learned this while making the Beijing 2008 highlights)

In your situation you should just reencode, since you've already made cuts on p or b frames.  With the right settings you won't lose that much quality.

[MsTree]

OK I'll have another crack at it, I seemed to be lacking in I frames but I guess you can recalculate them at some point from the option on the Tools menu?
Thanks for your help (and inspiration lol)

[sdede]

hi pawan,

if i want to change from FLV to MPEG, any idea

This will convert just about anything to anything.

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

Maybe I didn't set it up properly, but SUPER worked for EIGHT DAYS (yes!!!!!) on converting an FLV 480MB file to WMV. And didn't finish, I pulled the plug. So in my case, SUPER it wasn't  

[fgzhu88]

No, you don't have to save in a bloated codec like DV or Huffyuv, etc.  By using the "Copy" option for video codec, and cutting only on Intra-frames (I frames), you can save the video in it's original format, without re-encoding.  It's like you simply deleted the sections you don't want, which is what video editing should be!!!

How do I do this??
obviously, you have to know the basics of avidemux first, found on http://www.tennis4you.com/forum/index.php?topic=9944.msg333620;topicseen#msg333620
when viewing the video, you can skip around on only the I-frames using the UP and DOWN arrow keys (up jumps to next i-frame while down jumps to previous i-frame).

Except now, each time you make a cut, the A marker has to be on the frame right after an i-frame (could be a p, b or i), and the B marker has to be on an i-frame.  After you make the cut, notice that two i frames are right next to each other at the point where you made the cut.  Avidemux (and most editors) cuts the A-marker frame plus all frames in between A and B but not the B-marker frame.  

You see, i frames are the only frames in a video that contain a complete picture of the scene.  So by cutting with respect to iframes, you will have smooth cuts and no weird left behind image residue from previous frames.  Thus you can copy the original video track plus original audio, or re-compressed audio, your choice, into preferrably the same container as the original.

note: this is easier for MPEG/mpg videos since they have a lot of i frames.  ASP videos work too (XviD/DivX/Generic MPEG-4), they just have less i-frames and you usually only need to have the B-marker on an i-frame. 
HOWEVER, AVC (h264/x264) videos are tough to cut losslessly if even possible at all.  Skipping around on i-frames will disorient the editor.

[Aces]

MPEG Streamclip + Quicktime Pro combo
It is proven and tested on a mac but these tools are available for windows as well.  Keep in mind this is a combo deal.  You must download BOTH quicktime and MPEG Streamclip as MPSC uses QT as its player.
What you will need:
- MPEG Streamclip: http://www.squared5.com/ (follow the instructions for installation)
- Quicktime Pro - PC (optional, you could just use normal quicktime + QT alternative):

Code: [Select]

http://www.rapidfind.org/upload/showthread.php?t=1949- Quicktime codec pack for mac: 

Code: [Select]

http://rapidshare.com/files/131387763/QT_Ultimate_Codec_Pack_July_2008.dmg.zip

Using MPEG Streamclip.
So open your video file in MPEG Streamclip.  If the picture pops up and you can play it, great.  If not, I will address this later.  So once the video plays correctly in mpsc's player, push the "i" and "o" keys (in and out) to highlight the portions you want to cut out (the region you selected will become darker) and when you are ready to cut, hit Apple + X (mac) or Ctrl + X (pc) to delete. 
screenshot (notice the darkened portion in the timeline):


You can also increase the picture resolution to seek more accurately. 
Once you are done, goto File-->Save as-->MOV file.  This will create a uncompressed highlight file, which you cannot post because it doesn't play smoothly.  But keep this mov file if you want to keep the uncompressed material (you can delete the full match at this point if you are sure you won't need it anymore)
Now you can open this .mov file in MPSC and this time you go to File--> and export it into whichever format you like. 

What to do if the video won't open in MPEG Streamclip
first off, it will not open mkv files directly.  What you have to do for mkv's is open it in quicktime pro (you will need the codec pack) and save that as a reference movie.  You can then open the reference movie in mpsc (although you might as well edit in quicktime since there is no audio cutting issues with mkv's)
Some avi's with ac3 audio won't play the audio in MPSC.  So you just open in QT and save as reference and open the ref .mov in MPSC. 
Now MPG files are another story.  if the codec is MPEG-2 you will have to purchase or obtain "unconventionally" the MPEG-2 component for QT (I'm still trying to do the latter).  The irony is that most MPEG files cannot be opened in a software called "MPEG" streamclip 

So I think that's about it.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask   

this software only plays audio and there is no video any idea about what do i have 2 do?

[fgzhu88]

umm are you using quicktime or quicktime alternative (http://www.filehippo.com/download_quicktime_alternative/?2615)

because you can only use one or the other.  And if you're using quicktime and a green screen appears with no audio, then

This may happen with some graphic cards. In this case, go to your control panel, open QuickTime settings, select "Advanced" and, in Video settings, disable DirectDraw acceleration. Please do not disable DirectDraw, but only DirectDraw acceleration; keep DirectDraw enabled or MPEG Streamclip will not display the player.

well first off are you on a mac or pc, that will help diagnose the problem a lot.

Sorry to answer your questions with more questions, but I hope I can help

[Aces]

i am on pc
i have uninstalled quicktime and i still see it in control panel

[Aces]

now i don't have any quicktime
which is better for pc?
quicktime of quicktime alternative?

[Aces]

but i also want to know how to use Avidemux

[madmanfool]

I use Sony Vegas Pro now. Great program, loads of options. You can download a 30 days trial (with full options) at their site. And there are obviously (illegal) ways to get it for free.

Making a highlights video is not too hard. Just open the video and make sure you have it loaded at the timeline as well. Split the video at the places you want to (shortkey = S), delete parts you don't want ("delete" obviously) and drag pieces together to make it one entity. Render it at the desired format (mp4, wmv, whatever) when done.

I recently made this with it, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0iKmRkgbA

[fgzhu88]

@Aces, I'd say quicktime alternative is better for pc's because it is less bloated and it's just a windows media player plugin.

For avidemux just see the earlier post in this topic on page 1.

I use Sony Vegas Pro now. Great program, loads of options. You can download a 30 days trial (with full options) at their site. And there are obviously (illegal) ways to get it for free.

Making a highlights video is not too hard. Just open the video and make sure you have it loaded at the timeline as well. Split the video at the places you want to (shortkey = S), delete parts you don't want ("delete" obviously) and drag pieces together to make it one entity. Render it at the desired format (mp4, wmv, whatever) when done.

I recently made this with it, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0iKmRkgbA

that is absolutely awesome!!  both in terms of video quality and volley winners

[Aces]

Avidemux
Best program for handling MPEG files and most avi's
I recommend getting the latest Qt4 SVN build (Qt4 more user friendly interface than GTK)
and I recommend using avidemux only on mpg's and DivX's/avi's.  h264 encoded mp4's often have i frame issues and audio sync problems.
Mac: http://www.avidemux.dyndns.org/index.php?lang=en&subject=Avidemux&texttag=Avidemux
PC: http://avidemux.razorbyte.com.au/

although I do not like this program as much as MPEG Streamclip or QT pro, it is one of the most powerful standalone programs out there, able to open practically any type of file and export with extremely advanced settings.  The main drawback is that it crashes very often

As with all video editors, Avidemux is based on setting markers and deleting the portion that is highlighted.  For avidemux's case, you use "[" and "]" keys on the keyboard.  As you look at the screenshot below, the section highlighted by the blue rectangle is the portion you will delete



To open your video file, click the folder icon on the top left.  To save your project as (basically saves all your editing so you can resume later) click the green button on the top (may be different for pc's).  You will notice there are TWO save buttons, the left one is for creating your final video file and the right one is for saving your already created project.

If you start editing, you will notice that after every cut, the video playhead is placed to the point where the cut was made, forcing you to rewatch the point.  However you can skip on iframes using the UP arrow, kind of like fastforward if you wish.  

Also for most avi's you will have to wait for avidemux to unpack bitstream and/or build VBR map which takes forever but is necessary to keep syncronization.  For h264 files, it will ask you to use Safe mode and then Tool-Rebuild Frame?   Click yes or no for Safe mode (doesn't really matter) and click NO for rebuild frame

You might also notice that it crashes often, like 1/3 times you open a video and mess with it, it will crash at unexpected times and you must save after every cut, sometimes after every marker set just to be safe.

Despite some of its drawbacks, I still recommend getting this since it is an all-in-one package that handles so much and encodes brilliantly.  If you want to download a single free program that can make highlights out of practically anything, this is your best bet!

why use no?

[fgzhu88]

I don't know, it crashes for me.  If you can rebuild frames without crashing then click yes, I guess.

by the way, for the x264 settings, the most important ones are:

- two pass, 1000-1200 kbps average
- NO b-frame pyramids
- multi hexagon search
- max refs: 4, range: 28

you should be fine if you just change those and leave everything else on default

but if you want a really detailed guide check this out: http://avidemux.org/admWiki/index.php?title=H264

[Aces]

just a question can u tell me where exactly in the program to change these i changed the first one

[RF]

I remember we talk about audio sync issues somewhere, can anyone suggest a way to fix such a problem, when everything is synchronized at the beginning but becomes more and more out of sync all along the video?
And without the need to re-encode the video stream.