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Home Video Editing

Home Video Editing

Last Updated: May 29, 2008


Purchase a 1080p Video Camera

  • Interlaced video (1080i) looks bad compared to progressive scan (1080p).  YouTube exaggerates the problem by dropping every other frame to keep the video file size small.  Watch the A-10 radio controlled model airplane video.


  • Almost all video cameras are 1080i.  There are only a few 1080p video cameras.  Some only record 1080p in 24p mode (24 frames per second = movie theater while 30 frames per second = TV).
  • Sony, Canon, Panasonic and JVC make HD video cameras starting at $500.  Camcorder Review rates their favorites.

Editing High Definition Videos

Here are some things to consider if you are interested in High Definition Video:

Video Editing Software

My impression of software under $150 is not as good as software that costs $200 and up.  The less expensive software doesn't have the intermediate to advanced features that people want after making a few videos.  I've also heard of complaints that the audio and video get out of sync with older versions of the software.  I don't know if that problem has been fixed in the latest version.


Here is a list of 30 must-have video apps.  They typically do one thing and one thing very well.  Most are free or low cost.  The favorites are VirtualDubMod and Video MP3 Extractor.


Video editing software will capture video from a video camera and edit it, but it can't do both at the same time.  If you're under a time constraint, use Scenalyzer Live for $40.  It captures video and saves each scene as a separate .AVI file.  This means you can use the video editor to start editing video as Scenalyzer runs in the background capturing more video.  When you are done editing the first scene, Scenalyzer will have finished capturing the second scene.  Since the second scene is a separate .AVI file, there aren't any file sharing error messages.  I'd highly recommend a dual core processor to prevent dropped frames.


Codec

Codec is short for compressor/decompressor.  It's software that allows audio and/or video to be PLAYED on the computer.  For example, if you wanted to watch a DVD or video encoded as MPEG-4 or H.264 (video iPod), then the computer needs a codec in order to play it.  Windows and Mac OS have some codecs built in, but some may need to be added.  See free-codecs.com for free downloads.  Software that converts one format to another usually costs money.


Shooting and Editing Wedding Videos The Same Day

This seems like an impossible feat, but EventDV wrote an article about how Frogman Productions in Wisconsin, USA is able to do it.  A lot of neat tricks come into play in a short period of time.

  • The photo montages, the bride and groom's favorite song, and list of desired scenes are compiled before the wedding.
  • Two people work three cameras. Two cameras are stationary while the third is mobile.
  • A third person is capturing video and editing during the wedding on a laptop.
  • Each tape has a hand written table of contents with a minutes:seconds reference.
  • Not all video is captured.
  • Four wireless microphones plugged into MP3 players (iRivers) that can record audio produce some/all of the audio.
  • A monopod, tripod and handheld stabilizer keep the video cameras still.
  • Scenalyzer Live ($40) captures video in the background which allows capturing and editing of video almost at the same time.
  • Canopus Edius Pro is used to edit the audio and video. It’s a "need to get it done now" kind of editor.
  • The exchanging of the rings scene is recreated after the wedding.
  • The rough draft is finished before the reception starts.
  • The final version is rendered to tape and shown on a projector after dinner at the reception.
  • Tears follow.

Processor Speed

The table below shows the time it takes to render a video as tested by Tom's Hardware.  The time is shown in seconds.  Shorter times are better.  The table is sorted highest to lowest price.


Cost Processor GHz # Cores Premiere Pro 2.0 Studio 11 DivX 6.6
$1030 Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3.0GHzquad core 136 79 75
$280 Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5GHz quad core TBD TBD TBD
$220 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz quad core 154 88 90
$200 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz dual core 224 85 91
$160 Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz dual core 288 99 TBD
$153 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz dual core 264 102 132
$57 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ 2.1GHz dual core 371 118 181
  Intel Pentium D 830 3.0GHz dual core 432 119 190
  Intel Pentium 4 631 3.0GHz single core 612 143 253
  AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz single core 639 153 276

Other Web Sites

CamcorderInfo - all about consumer and professional video cameras.

CamcorderInfo Blog - great source of the latest hardware, software, how to recommendations, and more.

EventDV

Digital Video

DVGuru (no longer updated, but good info)


Hard Drive Space Required

40GB of free hard drive space will hold 3 hours of DV or HDV video.  Per DV.com (see table 2/3 through the article), Digital Video (DV) on Digital8 or miniDV tapes takes 13GB of hard drive space for every hour of video.  High Definition Video (HDV) on miniDV tapes takes 11.5GB/hour.  The Canon Vixia HF10 is a 2008, AVCHD, flash memory based video camera that records at 17Mbps, which translates to 7.5GB/hour.


Converting Rates

Converting from megabits per second to gigabytes per hour takes a few steps.


Start: 17Mbps (17 megabits per second)

17Mbps / (8 bits/1 byte) = 2.125MBps (2.125 megabytes per second)

2.125MBps × (60 seconds/1 minute) = 127.5MB/min (megabytes per minute)

127.5MB/min × (60 minutes/1 hour) = 7650MB/hour (megabytes per hour)

7650MB/hour / (1024MB/1 GB) = 7.47GB/hour (gigabytes per hour)

End: 7.47GB/hour


Family Vacations

On family vacations, I transfer the video from miniDV tape to the laptop's hard drive every night.  I can watch parts of it during a flight or transfer it to the desktop computer much faster once we get home.