tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-198262242024-03-16T15:57:40.721-07:00Blaine's Movie Maker BlogMovie making for the home video enthusiastBlainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19826224.post-52340465592392379772008-10-09T09:22:00.001-07:002016-11-18T09:18:42.968-08:00Aspect Ratios, HD and Windows Movie Maker<img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px;" src="http://home.wavecable.com/~movieblog@astound.net/hv20thumb.gif" border="0" alt="Canon HV20"/>I'm having a lot of fun with HD video. I'm hoping that others are seeing that HD video will be the standard for home video, but with that comes challenges. The hardest part is dealing with the tools we have for editing video; it's not a seamless environment yet. I can't take stuff I've captured in Sony Vegas and easily use it in Windows Movie Maker. Similarly, if I want to capture something in WMM, it doesn't come in seamlessly into Sony Vegas.<br />
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For example, recently our family took a camping trip to Mammoth Lakes. I had set up our camera and filmed 40+ minutes of us setting up the tent. Obviously, I didn't want to have people watch a full 40 minutes, I wanted to speed it up but with variable speeds, slower at the beginning, faster in the middle, slower at the end.<br />
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Windows Movie Maker only has the ability to increase the speed by powers of 2 (double, quadruple, etc.) by applying the Speed Up, Double effect up to 6 times. Even with my custom effects for speed (that allow other speed rates), I couldn't get the effect I wanted. So I switched to Sony Vegas Pro 8. For some reason it didn't like the dvr.ms format that I captured in WMM. So I had to recapture it in Vegas. That was okay, but then I found that Sony Vegas doesn't let you speed up more than 4 times. Since I wanted to get our 40 minutes down to about 1 minute, it meant I would need multiple passes.<br />
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My plan was to do the first pass in Sony Vegas with variable speeds, then do an overall speed up using Movie Maker. Things were going fine... I did the first pass and saved the clip in a high-bitrate WMV format. Then I brought it into WMM and applied the speed effect to get it down to a minute. I published the movie.<br />
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What I discovered was that WMM took only the top, left corner of the video. So rather than thinking I had 1920x1080 video, it saw it as 720x480 and only took those pixels in the upper right. I'm thinking it must be related to the format that Sony exports in that it must not be *true* WMV format, or is otherwise causing WMM to get confused.<br />
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In the end, I had to do all the work in Sony Vegas with about 3 (or was it 4) passes there. The result is great, but it took a lot more time than I thought it should. I hope we get to the point where things will be seamless and all formats will be recognized. Will we get there? Who knows?Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19826224.post-82791564978847409422008-04-17T12:21:00.001-07:002016-11-18T09:18:43.394-08:00High-definition (HDV) editing in Movie Maker works again<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px;" src="http://home.wavecable.com/~movieblog@astound.net/hv20thumb.gif" border="0" alt="Canon HV20" />I meant to post earlier that I was able to resolve my issues regarding editing of HDV video. I still don't know why the problem occurred, but I have a fix. After several calls and chat sessions with the <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?prid=11274&gprid=500921&ln=en-us&ct=2&x=13&y=13&tp=so">Windows Vista SP1 Support group</a> I found that loading the FFDShow codec fixed the problem. I can again see my HDV video (in dvr-ms format) and can edit it in Movie Maker.<br />
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Something about the steps still leaves a weird taste in my mouth because this did work before SP1, and the MPEG-2 codec and corresponding filters should have worked after the SP1 upgrade. Why I had to load some 3rd-party codecs for this scenario is still a little puzzling.<br />
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If I get a chance, I might restore the image from my Windows Home Server just before the SP1 upgrade and try it again... or I might just leave it alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it... right?Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19826224.post-75410161693527245532008-03-24T01:20:00.001-07:002016-11-18T09:18:44.929-08:00Still trying to get HDV video to work consistently in Movie Maker<img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px;" src="http://home.wavecable.com/~movieblog@astound.net/hv20thumb.gif" border="0" alt="Canon HV20" />Well, shortly after I finished my prior post, I realized I still had a problem. Though the Hotfix in <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943195">KB 943195</a> fixed my green video problem (captured HDV video (.ms-pvr format) would appear green during playback in Movie Maker, in Media Center and in Windows Media Player), I discovered I still had a problem during capture. I wouldn't get anything appearing in the capture preview, yet the video was coming in fine and I was able to edit the video after the capture was done. I decided I would live with the issue for awhile and see if Vista Service Pack 1 would fix anything.<br />
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So late last week, the update to SP1 happened on my computer. The first thing I checked was playback of HD video. It worked fine. Then I tried capturing and *it worked!*. I was so excited, at least until I tried to edit the video. It now appears as all black (sound but no video) when I try to edit. This is true straight from the collection or from the project timeline. It's even true when I open up a project that just last week was working fine.<br />
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Hmm... anyone have an idea? Could it be related to the ATI HD2400XT video card or the drivers? It seems likely since swapping video cards to an nVidia got everything working as expected. However, I have the latest Catalyst drivers for the card.<br />
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Oh well, the saga continues.Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19826224.post-71447968477526150882008-03-10T17:02:00.001-07:002016-11-18T09:18:45.306-08:00What it Takes to Edit High-Definition (HD) Video<a href="http://vimeo.com/770538"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px;" src="http://home.wavecable.com/~movieblog@astound.net/hv20thumb.gif" border="0" alt="Sample Video Footage from HV20" /></a>Back in 2006, I <a href="http://movies.blainesville.com/2006/08/smallercheaper-hd-camcorder-coming.html">reviewed the Canon HV10</a> and toyed with the idea of purchasing a high-definition camcorder for our family. At the time limited availability, high cost and limited editing options were all issues. Fast-forward 18 months and these issues are being resolved. Perhaps <i><b>this</b></i> is the year when HD video finally turns the corner with respect to general consumer acceptance. At least it has in our family.<br />
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I've been following HD camcorder choices for awhile. I've had my eye on the HV20 since it has garnered praises from reviewers and consumers alike. But finally last month several things happened. First since Canon announced the release of the next model (HV30), the prices on the HV20 began to decrease. Several sites reduced the price a lot, and certain stores even had clearance sales where the HV20 went below US$300. That's when I picked up ours. <br />
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The second factor is that software now regularly supports editing of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDV">HDV</a> tapes. The latest packages from Adobe, Pinnacle, Sony and Ulead can handle HDV. In addition, the Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions come with a version of Movie Maker that can handle HDV capture and editing.<br />
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Since we had one PC in the house with Vista loaded, I figured it would be a good time to test the process of capturing and editing the video. Just like standard definition video from a mini-DV camcorder, it is a simple process. You connect your camcorder via a firewire cable, turn it on and set it to VCR/Playback mode. From there on, after a prompt or two, Windows Movie Maker will automatically rewind, capture the footage and place it in your WMM collection.<br />
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Things were going well at this point, so I figured editing would go as smoothly. I was wrong. What I discovered was that our Pentium 4 (3.2GHz) with 1GB of memory was not enough to prevent some skipping and lagging in the video during editing. While I probably could have managed well enough to get it edited, I figured a new PC was in order. Several online forums recommended going for a "quad core" processor, 3 to 4 GB of memory, lots of disk space, a decent video card, etc. so that's what I got. After a hiccup or two with an incompatible ATI video card and a Windows hotfix, the system was finally able to preview and edit the HD video.<br />
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So there you are, with an HDV camcorder, a suitably modern PC and the included version of Movie Maker, you can edit HD video. If you'd like to see the results, I've uploaded some video I shot last weekend.<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/770538">Windy Day Fun with Granny and Gramps</a><br />
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No doubt over the next few months I'll have more experiences to report, so stay tuned. This is only the beginning.Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19826224.post-1154670370795695112006-08-03T22:44:00.001-07:002016-11-18T09:18:52.543-08:00Smaller/cheaper HD camcorder coming from Canon!<a href="http://home.wavecable.com/~movieblog@astound.net/hv10/CanonHV10.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px;" src="http://home.wavecable.com/~movieblog@astound.net/hv10/CanonHV10thumb.gif" border="0" alt="Canon iVIS HV10" /></a>Dear Canon, I'm ready to be a beta tester for the U.S. market. Feel free to send your latest iVIS HV10 HD camcorder my way!<br />
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This new Canon model (HV10 - which I think stands for "High Vision" if I've read the katakana on the <a hrefhttp://cweb.canon.jp/e-support/qa/1055/app/servlet/qadoc?qa=045273">Canon website</a> correctly) is claimed to be the smallest/cheapest HDV camcorder to date. The HV10 can record in standard definition DV mode, or high-definition HDV mode on a mini-DV cassette. They claim their CMOS chip can capture full 1920x1080i HD resolution video. And it has true optical stabilization, rather than just digital stabilization.<br />
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In terms of size, the camcorder is a mere 2¼" wide x 4" long x 4¼" high. That's about the size of your hand. It can take <a href="http://cweb.canon.jp/ivis/still-sample/images/sample/hv10-1.jpg">3.2 megapixel stills</a> on a mini SD card (not included).<br />
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The camcorder will be available in Japan starting September 2006 for the equivalent of $1,300. It appears to come either in <a href="http://home.wavecable.com/~movieblog@astound.net/hv10/CanonHV10.gif">silver</a> or <a href="http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-HV10-Photo-Gallery.htm">black</a>. I personally prefer the silver, but I suppose it will be moot. No plans for a U.S. release have been announced, though if Canon is listening, I'm willing to be the first to try it out on this side of the Pacific.Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19826224.post-1134469987890664902005-11-28T08:05:00.000-08:002007-01-16T18:05:22.123-08:00To quote Donald Trump, "You're Firewired!"It is now Monday morning after a long Thanksgiving weekend. There are many things I am thankful for, but my ordeal with my Firewire ports is not one of them.<br /><br />For the past year or so, I've been heavily into capturing video and editing it on the computer to make fun, watchable videos for friends and family. This has been a passion of mine, and I've gotten relatively good at it. I enjoy the process and the creativity it allows... except for <i>this</i> weekend.<br /><br />It all started the day after Thanksgiving. I had planned to take some of our recent footage and make a short movie that I could show on Saturday afternoon. We were all set to go to my parents and see some of my cousins that have been away in Spain for several years. Mum asked if I would bring some of our recent camping video to show them. It should have been an easy enough task.<br /><br />I've been able to capture video without problem in the past. On this day I went to capture a new set of video using Firewire and it gave the following error:<br /><blockquote>"A video capture device was not detected. Verify that a device is turned on and connected properly, and then try again."</blockquote>I first suspected hardware settings, but my IEEE1394 ports showed they were acting okay. Next I suspected some conflicting software/codec/whatever, so I tried a System Restore to a point where I know capture was working...no help. I uninstalled the drivers, reinstalled, same symptoms.<br /><br />Next I thought it might be the cable, so I took the camcorder and cable down to the computer store and asked them to try them. If it worked it would point to my computer. If it didn't it would point to the cable or camcorder. Well, the guy testing said it didn't work. And he then tried another Firewire cable and he said it still didn't work... <br /><br />So that told me it was the camcorder, right? I went out and bought a whole new camcorder, took it home and you know what? It still gives the same error, after all that. <br /><br />Consequently, I go back to thinking it is the configuration of the ports, and I get this great idea to use the recovery CDs to reload the OS, but keep the data. Well, that just led me to a whole new problem where it said that it could no longer log me on... It keeps giving an error that it has "detected a problem where the license key cannot be accurately verified (80004005)" or something like that. This is a valid copy of Windows XP so I shouldn't be getting this error, but apparently the hardware/software looks different to Windows and it won't let me in. When I do, it immediately logs me out.<br /><br />After hours of searching the web (obviously on another PC), and trying several suggestions such as checking boot partitions, etc. I tried Safe Mode again. Finally on one try I can at least log on and see my data, but I can't do anything with it. I'm stimied at this point. I go to bed and decide to work on it again in the morning.<br /><br />I call the computer manufacturer's toll free number. After wading through the menu options, and after listening to over-amplified (bad) hold music for about 15-20 minutes, I get a technician...who tells me his department's system for checking serial numbers is down and he can't help me. He suggests calling back to see if I'll get routed to a different location. Again the 15-20 minute wait, and the voice call system finally clicks and says it is routing my call... then dial tone. <br /><br />The third call only takes 10-15 minutes to get to a human, who tells me that I can't call their toll free number because I purchased the computer at a retail store. I'm given a toll number and told to try that. The technician on the fourth calls says my only option is to lose all my data and do a destructive restore. Wonderful.<br /><br />So I'm back to the electronics store to buy an additional internal harddisk to hopefully backup my data, and a second firewire cable, just to eliminate one more variable. <br /><br />I manage to get the new 300GB SATA drive installed and get all my documents, pictures, fonts, captured video, etc. moved to the new drive. I've also gotten the computer restored back to its original state (did a destructive install using the System Recovery CDs). I'm feeling pretty good!<br /><br />Now I go back to trying my two camcorders, the two cables, the firewire ports that show as 'working', etc. And not a single combination works. I try the front ports, the back port, the old cable, new cable, old camcorder, new camcorder, etc. All the same error! Ack! Still no capture device detected!<br /><br />I finally bundle up both camcorders and both cables and head down to the local electronics store once again. I have several people in several departments scratching their heads also. We try several of their computers, with both cables, and both camcorders. No luck! <br /><br />So at this point we have a couple possibilities, both cables are bad, or both camcorders are bad. The repair group couldn't find an extra firewire cable to try, so there was no easy way to test that. Finally, I went to the camcorder department and told them my dilemma. I told them I was willing to buy a 3rd camcorder, if they could prove to me that it had a functioning DV-out port that would work. The manager of the department finally got one of the technicians from the computer department to take one of their camcorders over to the computer department and try it out. With my cable, their PC and their camcorder, it worked! <br /><br />Okay, so I've now proven that the cables are okay and the problem is both camcorders. What are the odds of that? So I return the "new" camcorder with the non-functioning port, and buy the one that is shown to be working, and take it home... <br /><br />But does the story end here? Unfortunately not. With my 3rd camcorder in hand and my cables that are proven to be functioning, I take everything home. I spend some time reorganizing the PC, reinstalling fonts from the extra hard drive, moving projects, copying previously captured video, resetting configurations, doing updates, etc. What I haven't done is actually try the camcorder but I'm confident it will work. <br /><br />So I am all ready to do the capture that I first started 4 days prior and what do I get? The same darn "video capture device was not detected" error! <br /><br />And then I <b>smell something funny</b>... like the smell of <b>burning electronics</b>! I immediately disconnect everything, turn off the computer, etc. <br /><br />Now when I muster up the courage to restart the computer, it shows <b>no</b> firewire ports active. I try a redetect of the IEEE1394 ports from device manager and nothing! It's as if they have been removed from the PC! And finally it dawns on me that the root problem had to be the ports all along! <br /><br />I now theorize that one of the ports developed some sort of electrical short. They all showed as functioning to the system, but one port was waiting to wreak havoc. When I plugged in my original camcorder, I suspect that the electrical issue caused it to fry my camcorder DV-out port. This matches with my symptoms, since the tech at the store suspected it was the camcorder port. <br /><br />Now when I bring home the 2nd camcorder and connect it, I'm sure it was immediately disabled by the same process. Again, tests at the store confirmed that this camcorder had a non-functioning Firewire port also. <br /><br />So here I stand, probably having fried the DV-out port on the 3rd camcorder, with a service call into the computer manufacturer. It appears the electrical problem has finally done the firewire ports in so they aren't even visible to the system, but not before having fried the ports on two, more likely three devices. You can bet, I'm not plugging anything else into them right now... <br /><br />I got confirmation that the computer manufacturer will be sending out a postage paid box for me to ship back the computer (under warranty) so they can repair the ports. Of course, I'm going to be a little wary of doing anything after this, even when they return it. <br /><br />I'm not happy and just hope no one else ever has this level of frustration with their firewire ports. Donations for a fourth camcorder or a new computer are genuinely welcome. :-)Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com4