Smartsound and the like

smcroy wrote on 3/11/2004, 11:35 AM
I'm in the process of moving over here from Pinnacle Studio 8, like many of you have. I sucessfully burned 5 DVDs with Pinnacle, and I don't seem to have the crashes or failure-to-render that so many compain about, but I definitely have the OOS problems, which is why I'm bailing out. Most of my sucessful DVDs had OOS at least once, and I just kept re-rendering them until I got a good one. What a strange bug - the OOS position would move from place to place without my changing anything.

Anyway, one feature of Studio 8 I like very much is integrated Smartsound, and it's ability to create music clips of any length with a nice tasteful ending. My principal application is transferring home movies and stills to DVD, and I used Smartsound in several slideshow segements of my DVDs, plus in the menus. But now that I'm converting my operation to Screenblast, I'lI no longer have integrated Smartsound. So I'm interested in knowing what other people do to create both music loops for menus and timed music clips for slideshows. Related questions:

1. Can I continue to use Pinnacle to create Smartsound clips and import them into Screenblast? Is it easy to do?
2. Does Smartsound sell a stand-alone app for creating audio clips?
3. Are there other Smartsound-like products out there, maybe for less $$? (each add-on CD is like $30!)

I'm still pretty new to video editing, with Pinnacle being my only experience, but my requirements are pretty simple. I'm not looking to produce professional-grade DVDs, just pictures of the kids that I can look back on from my nursing home 40 years from now and say "ah, those were the days". Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

Comments

cbrillow wrote on 3/11/2004, 12:35 PM
How about rendering your Smart Sound-containing files to AVI from Studio, and then import them into Screenblast? Or does your OOS start at that point?
smcroy wrote on 3/11/2004, 1:28 PM
That's a possibility. I'm not sure where the OOS is originating from. I'm starting with AVIs from my camcorder, not MPEGs, and they are in-sync when I preview them. I assumed the OOS was in the AVI to MPEG2 conversion. I've never tried exporting an AVI from Studio, is it quick? Of course, I'd like to minimize the number of jumps between software packages, and I'd still need an authoring tool. Too bad Pinnacle doesn't work - it's all in one. I'm hoping the added features of Screenblast will soften the hurt. The software arrives today.

I'm hoping one of these methods will work:

Method 1: Start in Pinnacle; capture, edit, add Smartsound, export AVI to Screenblast, make more edits (eg. pan and zoom), export MPEG to maybe DVD-lab, add menus, render and burn.

Method 2: Same as above, but export MPEG back to Pinnacle, add menus, render and burn.

Method 3: Start in Screenblast; capture, edit, export AVI to Pinnacle, add Smartsound, render and burn.

Method 4: Start in Screenblast, capture, edit, import Smartsound clips from Pinnacle or elsewhere, export MPEG to DVD-lab, add menus, render and burn.

Ow, my head hurts.
dand9959 wrote on 3/11/2004, 2:02 PM
In S8, when you create music using smartsound, that music is saved in a temporary .wav file. You can rename this file and move it wherever you want. No rendering required. Here's what you do:

1) Determine what length music you need. Let's say 45.25 seconds.
2) Create a new project in S8. Name it: "SmartProj" or something.
3) Add smartsound of your choice, length 45.25 seconds, to the empty project.
4) Save project.

Now navigate to the directory where S8 saves your aux files. (You can set this value, or see what it is by clicking menu Setup, then Edit... and look at the bottom of the screen. By default, s8 stores in :

My Documents\Pinnacle Studio\Auxilliary Files
Find that directory and look in the subdirectory called "SmartProj".
You'll see a .wav file called "_z0000.wav". This is your music. Copy that file to a safe place, rename it, and you're good to go.

note: you might have to hit "play" before you save the project to insure the .wav file is generated.
JohnnyRoy wrote on 3/11/2004, 2:59 PM
I use Pinnacle Studio 8 for SmartSound and Hollywood FX Pro all the time. As dand9959 suggested, just create a blank project in Studio and add SmartSound and stretch to the duration you need it. I never even both with the aux wav files, I just render to AVI and drag and drop that on the Screenblast timeline where I need it.

SmartSound does make a stand-alone version called Music Maestro for $49. You can download a trial version from their web site.

~jr
cbrillow wrote on 3/12/2004, 9:22 AM
Great tips from you guys who got here before we did! Thanks for the information.
cbrillow wrote on 3/12/2004, 9:31 AM
LOL -- the only thing quick in Studio is the buildup of frustration...

Writing an avi file requires rendering, of course, and that takes time. Whether or not it's too much time is subjective.

By now, I'm sure you've read the posts from JohnnyRoy & dand9959 -- that simplifies things for you a lot. Cool!

Personally, I'll try to do as much as I can in Studio, since I have pretty good luck with it. I do have some tasks which are either more easily done in Screenblast or can't be done in S9, so I'll use it where necessary.

Former user wrote on 3/12/2004, 11:06 AM
You can also just render to a WAV file.

Dave T2
JohnnyRoy wrote on 3/13/2004, 8:19 AM
I don’t think Studio 8 can render a WAV file. The only options I see are Tape, AVI. MPEG, Stream, Share, and Disc. I don’t see how to just save something as a WAV file.

~jr
merkelck wrote on 3/13/2004, 9:26 AM
A week or so back, MovieMaestro was priced at $39 and it comes with a different set of sound files than are included with my S8. So you get some more selections and just move the sound files from S8 into the same folder and you can use them all.
Former user wrote on 3/13/2004, 2:10 PM
Go to Make File (avi). Uncheck include Video. You might need to choose another codec such as Indeo. It doesn't matter because you aren't using the video. When you type in the filename to save add .WAV as the extension. It will now save as a WAVE file. I have done it lots of times and it is documented on the Pinnacle forum.

Dave T2
JohnnyRoy wrote on 3/13/2004, 4:31 PM
Very cool (but not obvious). Thanks I didn't know that.

~jr