Smartphone videos

andreas-v wrote on 11/24/2016, 2:42 PM

Hi,

I'm having two issues with editing videos from a smartphone

1) I cannot pull iphone 4s videos into the timeline (trimmer, play the movie ...). No problem with files from Samsung S4 or S7.

2) Files from smartphones (iphone 4s, Samsung S4,S7) are being auto rotated

Videos recorded in portrait mode should be played horizontally, but are being auto rotated and displayed with black bars on the left and right side. So far, I have to rotate the videos manually in Vegas.

In addition, it's the same problem in the windows explorer. Smartphone videos are being auto rotated (that's not the case with Panasonic GH4 / Nikon D800 files).

Interestingly, the auto rotate in the windows explorer only happens on my new computer with a clean Windows10 installation. On my old computer with win7 (no auto rotate) and the win10 free upgrade no auto rotated happened. But Vegas13 has the same auto rotate issues as Vegas14 on my new computer.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Comments

vkmast wrote on 11/24/2016, 3:28 PM

While waiting for someone to come along, you might read what you'd get with Search(es): rotate iphone or iphone 4s

Musicvid wrote on 11/24/2016, 5:24 PM

Last time I read, iPhone rotation flags are not well supported by Windows based decoders.

PeterDuke wrote on 11/24/2016, 7:57 PM

I don't understand. If you record in portrait mode it SHOULD display in Vegas as portrait mode, with black bars each side, should it not, at least for TV or computer viewing? I suppose if you view the result on a phone in portrait mode you don't want the black bars, but how is Vegas to know how you are going to view it?

NickHope wrote on 11/24/2016, 11:07 PM
1) I cannot pull iphone 4s videos into the timeline (trimmer, play the movie ...). No problem with files from Samsung S4 or S7.

iPhone videos are known to cause problems in Vegas. You might need to transcode the file or re-wrap to another container. Some suggestions here. Quicktime possibly might help.

Videos recorded in portrait mode should be played horizontally...

Did you mean "landscape mode"?

andreas-v wrote on 11/26/2016, 10:24 AM
1) I cannot pull iphone 4s videos into the timeline (trimmer, play the movie ...). No problem with files from Samsung S4 or S7.

iPhone videos are known to cause problems in Vegas. You might need to transcode the file or re-wrap to another container. Some suggestions here. Quicktime possibly might help.

Yep, Quicktime did the trick. When I tried to pull a .mov file into the timeline from a different source, Vegas opened a message asking me to install Quicktime. Interestingly, I did not get that message when I tried to move original Apple iphone .mov files...

Videos recorded in portrait mode should be played horizontally...

Did you mean "landscape mode"?

Sorry, yes, I meant landscape mode. Apparently there is no known solution to my problem. Before I decided to post here, I did extensive online searches, the problems exists, but no solution. Must be one of those things where software makes decide what's good for the customers without leaving them a choice.

andreas-v wrote on 11/26/2016, 10:32 AM

I don't understand. If you record in portrait mode it SHOULD display in Vegas as portrait mode, with black bars each side, should it not, at least for TV or computer viewing? I suppose if you view the result on a phone in portrait mode you don't want the black bars, but how is Vegas to know how you are going to view it?

No, it should not. None of the video files from dedicated video cams to still cams with video function (such as Panasonic GH4, Nikon D800, Olympus e-M5) is being auto rotated when the video has been recorded in portrait orientation.

john_dennis wrote on 11/26/2016, 10:58 AM

What the world needs is a cultural movement for smartphones and other cameras like the Dutch Reach to encourage people not to use portrait mode when shooting video. Maybe in a generation or two we could influence half the people.

NickHope wrote on 11/26/2016, 11:10 AM

andreas-v, could you post one of the landscape iPhone 4S videos somewhere online such as Google Drive or Dropbox public folder? I would like to see if I can get it into the timeline.

PeterDuke wrote on 11/28/2016, 8:08 PM

What the world needs is a cultural movement for smartphones and other cameras like the Dutch Reach to encourage people not to use portrait mode when shooting video. Maybe in a generation or two we could influence half the people.


How often do we see news reports on TV where videos in portrait mode from somebody's smart phone has been used. They don't use black bars each side to fill the screen, but add enlarged and blurry fill from the video itself. And we are heading towards Ultra High Definition, High Dynamic Range TV... Yuck!

ushere wrote on 11/29/2016, 2:53 AM

unfortunately we live in times when everyone wants to post video but very few actually know how to shoot it...

i recently gave up teaching because (among other things) i was sick and tired of explaining that if you shoot in portrait you get bars either side AND there's nothing you can do afterwards. hating to sound like the old fart i am, but people just don't care anymore. 

Serena Steuart wrote on 11/30/2016, 4:54 AM

Indeed. And they pan back and forth trying to cover the subject, when it would have fitted in a landscape frame. I'm not sure if they don't care or merely don't think.

Arthur.S wrote on 11/30/2016, 1:36 PM

What the world needs is a cultural movement for smartphones and other cameras like the Dutch Reach to encourage people not to use portrait mode when shooting video. Maybe in a generation or two we could influence half the people.

The very first 'habit' of learning to drive; Check your mirror before opening the door! I teach my learners that on the very first lesson, when they swap from the passenger side into the drivers seat for the first time...and ever after!

john_dennis wrote on 11/30/2016, 2:51 PM

...and opening the door with the hand away from the door forces one to turn their head.

john-brown wrote on 12/1/2016, 12:53 AM


How often do we see news reports on TV where videos in portrait mode from somebody's smart phone has been used. They don't use black bars each side to fill the screen, but add enlarged and blurry fill from the video itself. And we are heading towards Ultra High Definition, High Dynamic Range TV... Yuck!

Magix just included this as a new feature in Movie Edit Pro Plus/Premium. Scroll down to New in November.

Vegas Pro 18 Edit, Vegas Movie Studio 16 Platinum, Magix Video Pro X16, Magix Movie Studio Platinum 2024, Xara Designer Pro X19, Samplitude Pro X8 Suite, Music Maker 2025 Premium, SF Audio Cleaning Lab 4, Sound Forge Pro 16 and more.

Arthur.S wrote on 12/1/2016, 12:53 PM

...and opening the door with the hand away from the door forces one to turn their head.

Don't want to hi-jack this post with something so faaaaar off topic, so let's make this the last post on it. In the UK, we just call that "opening the door safely". Hold the door with the hand nearest, then open with the opposite. Should be taught on the first lesson. A problem building up though, is the errrr lack of a real handle on some models to actually hold on to - they've been 'designed out'.

Movement of the head sure doesn't equal observations. It's amazing how many young drivers will look at the correct mirrors without actually taking in what they show! The odd sneaky question now and then, such as "what colour was the car in that mirror just now?" or "which way did the cyclist turn?" gradually reinforces observations. It doesn't happen in 5 mins though. 😉