High Def

ericd2003 wrote on 12/27/2005, 8:56 AM
I just recently recorded a wedding and I recorded it in High Def.
After I captured the video and started to edit it, but the process was very slow. As I scanned through the video on the timeline it would take forever. Normally the footage that I was editing would have only taken me a few hours to complete, but this took me a few weeks.
It only happened with eh High Def. The regular DV video was normal
Please help, as this was hell to work on.
Thanks, Eric

Comments

MH_Stevens wrote on 12/27/2005, 9:09 AM
You need start from the beginning and learn about HDV - Spot's book is a good start. HDV is in mpeg2 form (the m2t stream as it's called) with a long GOP and can not be effectively edited with current computer power as you have found. You must convert the m2t stream to a "intermediary" form before editing, then on completion convert back to the full HD form. The Vegas manual addresses this subject as do many posts here. You will likely need a script from VASST called GearShift to easily use the Vegas built in intermediaries or the better but expensive CineForm ConnectHD suite that captures and converts in one operation and has an excellent codex. HDV is great when you get going so good luck and a happy new year editing.

Coursedesign wrote on 12/27/2005, 9:54 AM
And just to add something that apparently isn't as widely known:

MPEG-2 is a surprisingly good shooting and delivery format, but it is inherently a very poor editing format.

The few NLEs that edit HDV MPEG-2 natively (such as Apple's FCP) cannot reach the same quality that you can get with the CineForm intermediate format (unless they do cuts only, and even then only some of the time).

You should not convert back to HDV, but to a final viewing format instead, to avoid quality degradation.
GlennChan wrote on 12/27/2005, 10:48 AM
version 6.0c made MPEG2 editing faster. But intermediate codec is probably the way to go.

You can also make DV proxies... VASST gearshift automates that process.