"Just the FAQs, ma'am"

Labatt50 wrote on 8/6/2002, 1:39 PM

I can't help but notice the many frustrated VF users (me included) searching for answers to what to the "pros" are very simple questions related to making movies. What we novices need is a detailed but clear and concise virtual "booklet" on everything there is to know about the process.

a. the basics about analog and digital formats
b. what's the difference (if any) between DV and mini-DV
c. mpeg-1 vs. mpeg2
d. quality of mpeg1 and when to use it; problems, advantages
e. quality of mpeg2 and when to use it etc. etc.
f. How to burn VCDs and DVDs; what is needed; what specific
programs in addition to VF/VV are required
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
etc etc

These are just a few of the many things I'd like to know...I've been "copying" and "pasting" many of the questions/answers in here and printing my own book, but it is very hit-and-miss at the moment with huge, gaping holes. And lots of searching on the net has produced pages of unrelated, too-specific, overly-complicated and in many cases mystifying material thrown into the mix.

Perhaps someone could point to such a knowledge base (hopefully it's in BASIC, KISS format)...perhaps the folks at Sonic Foundry would be kind enough to include this information, if it exists, on their main page. If it does not exist, maybe the very knowledgable and friendly members of this forum might consider producing something along these lines. I bet in a month or two, an up-to-date interactive knowledge base (video editing/burning FAQ) could be built which could become the de facto "book" on all things video.

I started thinking about this when I came across the superb turorial prepared by a user of the free filter for Adobe/Paint Shop Pro called Sinedots...the gal has produced detailed, step by step instructions, including screen captures, on how to use the filter to make unusual works of art.

For anyone interested, here is her web page:

http://www.essexgirl.uk.com/tutorials.htm

Something along those lines, while it would be far more complicated and difficult to produce, would surely help those of us who really should be out in the field, taking videos, rather than bothering people in here with our sometimes repetitive and often amusing questions.

brian

Comments

MyST wrote on 8/6/2002, 2:23 PM

"Labatt50" Now there's a beer lover!! :)

laz111 wrote on 8/8/2002, 4:49 AM

It's a very good idea. I had a similar idea with producing pc troubleshooting tips, but it takes some big organising.
There's quite a lot of info on this site which you might find useful: http://www.cspry.co.uk/links/video_digital.html

Labatt50 wrote on 8/8/2002, 9:54 AM

Hey, Hey laz111--there's a lot of good stuff there. Tnx for the link. One thing about the Net: Every bit of human knowledge is there. The trick is to find what you're looking for.

brianthanks laz111. I'll look it up. I still think there are some great

Labatt50 wrote on 8/8/2002, 10:00 AM

Oops....for some reason I can't "see" what I type in these "form" boxes. Don't know why. Guess I should go out to Notepad, type a note, and copy and paste. I was also going to say I think there is a lot of knowledge in this group. Somehow it should be gathered up and put in one place.

brian

johnmeyer wrote on 8/11/2002, 3:13 PM

If you have questions, just ask them. People are eager to help. For example:

a. the basics about analog and digital formats.

If you have a DV camera, do everything in DV (which is digital). If you own a camera (like the Sony cameras) that has "analog pass through" simply connect your VCR or other analog source (like 8mm video) to the analog inputs on your digital camcorder, pass that through to the computer, and edit in DV format. If you need to make analog copies (e.g., to distribute VHS tapes to friends that don't have DV camcorders), simply run the digital output to your camera, and attach the VCR to your camcorder.

If you don't have a camcorder with these capabilities, then purchase a Hollywood Dazzle that provides analog to DV conversion (and vice versa). My advice (and others will surely disagree) is to not bother with the hassle (and expense) of analog capture cards. Do everything in DV.

b. what's the difference (if any) between DV and mini-DV
DV comes in three physical formats: DV, DVCAM, and DVCPRO. The basic video encoding algorithm is the same between all three formats. Thus, if you feed an external signal into a $20,000 DVCAM DXC-D135, a $17,000 DVCPRO AJ-D700 and your own DV camcorder, they will all encode and record exactly the same way, and the quality will be identical. However, the tape speeds, sizes and physical formats are faster and larger in the pro versions of the DV format, resulting in more ruggedness and fewer dropouts when the tape is used over and over.

c. mpeg-1 vs. mpeg2

MPEG-1 is limited to 352x288 as its maximum resolution. MPEG-2 supports higher resolutions as part of its standard profile, including resolutions like 480x480 and 720x480 which are used for TV playback.

MPEG-1 compresses each frame as a single picture. MPEG-2 fully understands interlacing and can take advantage of this knowledge by creating better compression by compressing across fields, rather than frames.

MPEG-1 is optimised for use with Video CD applications and works with bitrates around 1.5 Mbps. MPEG-2 is typcically used between 4 Mbps and 9 Mbps, which is necessary to store the extra information that is typically present in the higher resolution video.

MPEG-2 also allows variable video bit rate so that the overall bandwidth can be limited to 4 Mb/s or less without loss of picture quality. Broadcast applications, currently using MPEG-2, generally use 6 to 8 Mb/s fixed data rate.

e. quality of mpeg2 and when to use it etc. etc.

See my comments about TMPGEnc at:

My TMPGEnc recommendations

John