Multicam Editing

Robert Smith wrote on 9/11/2009, 1:28 PM
I shot an event with my camera, a Pana DVX100B and two Sonys that were loaned. I encoded my own video to AVI as I always have for use in Vegas. The Sony footage was encoded by the owner to MPG-2.

As i am setting up for editing, ie: aligning the video streams, i am finding that playback of the MPG2 video is really poor and choppy. it is so bad that I am wondering if I will be able to multicam edit at all.

I am running a Quad Phenom 2.2G with 3Gigs of ram and normally, work is really easy. Can you please adivse me on a possible solution?

Do I need to have someone else encode the Sony footage to AVI?
Does Vegas work better with AVI over MPG2?
Is it because I have 2 types of footage - AVI & MPG2?

Thanks for any insight.
Rob

Comments

jkerry wrote on 9/11/2009, 6:30 PM
Robert,

It could be the way they rendered it.

I would suggest to have it rendered in an avi format and see if you get the same results. If so it was possible someting with the camera.
Arthur.S wrote on 9/12/2009, 10:55 AM
Have you tried lowering your preview quality?
musicvid10 wrote on 9/12/2009, 11:05 AM
Editing high-bitrate MPEG-2 (like HDV) used to be the biggest complaint on these forums, that is before AVCHD came along.

The fact that AVCHD is harder doesn't make MPEG-2 any easier to edit. There both long-GOP formats and fraught with problems in editors. If you can't get your hands on the original video, transcode it to an AVI intermediate and go from there.
Arthur.S wrote on 9/13/2009, 6:02 AM
Agreed, mpeg2 isn't as nice to work with as AVI, but I regularly have 2 m2t files (which is mpeg2) and another AVI in the multicam, and it previews fine. Roberts system should easily cope with just 2 bog standard mpeg2's.

Robert, have you tried lowering preview quality? Or how about using Vegas to set the template for your mpeg2's, rather than one of the standard templates? Can make all the difference.
Robert Smith wrote on 9/15/2009, 2:51 PM
Thank you for all the replies.

I have 3 streams of video... 2 MPG-2 from my helper and my AVI from my panasonic. When I mute or disable the MPG2's, everything is peachy.

I have tried all resolutions on playback with mixed results. If I am to multicam edit this, I will have to have steady playback. In this position, I don't have that.

I guess I will try taking the sony tapes and rendering them in my panny.
Rob
johnmeyer wrote on 9/15/2009, 4:49 PM
You can edit at "full speed" with MPEG or other files if you follow my technique posted here:

MPEG-2 edit using DGIndex

Read through my other posts in that thread for various links. Here's the crude tutorial I posted in that thread. It talks about VOB files, but the exact same technique works for pretty much any flavor of MPEG file, including the ones you are working with.





Earl_J wrote on 9/15/2009, 4:57 PM
Hello John,
something you recorded several years ago... the Smothers Brothers and Jonathan Winters? ... that's more like several decades ago... (grin)

Good tutorial. . . thanks for sharing.

Until that time... Earl J.
johnmeyer wrote on 9/15/2009, 5:37 PM
The E! network re-broadcast many of the Smothers Brothers episodes back in the early 1990s. Obviously I couldn't tape them when they first aired back in the late 1960s (although I did watch many of them back then). I wish I had taped more of them, because like so many other things, either neglect or copyright issues have kept most episodes from DVD or subsequent broadcast. It is really too bad, but fortunately some people had their VCRs going 24/7 back when some of these shows were strip programmed back in the 1980s and early 1990s. I just traded for the entire 58 episodes of the "Johnny Cash Show," which originally aired about the same era as the Smothers Brothers. Wow, what an amazing array of talent he had on his show (and he was an unusual, but nonetheless compelling talent himself).
Earl_J wrote on 9/21/2009, 10:45 AM
Hello John,
understood. . . traded your wife of 23 years and two pesky teenagers, did you? lol
* * *
Most excellent. . . I really did love the Smother Brothers *and* Jonathan Winters - he was our generations' Robin Williams - King of the Ad Lib! ... growing up on Maui in those days, Country and Western wasn't high on the listening chart... more like the Beach Boys, the Ventures, and Frankie Valle ... grin
In fact, our major leagues sports were all two-week delayed broadcasts... don't think anyone lives with that these days - except perhaps the deployed military in combat zones. . . well, depending on where they are on the battlefield... some are better wired than others...
* * *
Thanks again for sharing the video...

Until that time. . . Earl J.
Robert Smith wrote on 9/22/2009, 7:59 PM
Thanks guys for the information and tutorial.

My situation just got more interesting. For the immediate project, I am re-rendering the suspect clips to avi. I am a bit spooked about trying something new in addition to everything else that is new. ;)


...to the point...


We just finished a fundraiser for video equipment. I am looking at purchasing 2 HD cameras. So far, it seems the Panny AG-HMC40 is the bang for the buck camera. In going to AVCHD, will i have editing issues in Vegas 8 and more specifically, 2 camera, multicam editing?

Thanks for the help!!
Rob
musicvid10 wrote on 9/22/2009, 9:29 PM
"In going to AVCHD, will i have editing issues in Vegas 8 and more specifically, 2 camera, multicam editing?"

Please post your complete system specs.
Robert Smith wrote on 9/23/2009, 7:45 AM
System
AMD Quad Phenom 2.2 with 3gigs ram

Graphics
Radeon HD2400XT - 256ram

Thanks for the help.
Rob


Also, I am open to any advice on the cameras. We are looking to move from a single DVX100B to a twin HD cam situation. It looks like AVCHD would be great but I don't know too much about the gear.