Pinnacle Studio 9.0 questions

[shadytree]

I've just installed a copy of Pinnacle 9.0 on my PC. The controls are pretty straight forward, but what is the best format to record in ? mpeg or avi ?
(what's the main differences etc ?)
Also any other good tips using this software that I should know about?
I guess Luca Brazzi is the expert here, but I thought I'd open it up to the wizdom of the PH forum

[FourWheelDrift]

As short as possible explaination

MPEG-1 (used for VCD) and MPEG-2 (used on DVD's) use a standard video codec, so anyone who can view MPEG videos can view them. There should never be a compatibility problem.

AVI's can use lots of different codecs for compression eg. DiVX, XVid, Indeo, Cinepak etc... and you need the correct codecs installed on the playing PC to view them. AVI's can produce smaller sized videos using higher compression rates compared to MPEG but you start to notice the degrading of the quality if you go too far.

If you are planning on saving the video to play on DVD always use MPEG-2 and keep the quality as high as possible (big HDD needed).

If you are planning on creating smaller videos, possibly for the web use AVI for initial save, then if you want it any smaller use Windows Media Encoder to convert it to WMV for greater compression.

[shadytree]

Thanks for that explanation FourWheelDrift

I've got loads of good footage that I would love to upload at some stage. It's just a case of finding the time.

[luca brazzi]

Thanks Darren, saved me the explanation. (plus mine would have been rubbish anyway )

LB

[shadytree]

FourWheelDrift said:

use Windows Media Encoder to convert it to WMV for greater compression.

What software do you use to convert to WMV ?
Is it part of standard Windows Media in XP, or do i need another program ?

[FourWheelDrift]

If you have XP then load the completed AVI into Windows Movie Studio and save it again, you can change the size/bitrate of it quite easily in there. Windows Movie Encoder can do the same thing but it's a downloadable application off the Microsoft site.

[thatphilbrettguy]

FourWheelDrift said:

If you have XP then load the completed AVI into Windows Movie Studio and save it again, you can change the size/bitrate of it quite easily in there. Windows Movie Encoder can do the same thing but it's a downloadable application off the Microsoft site.

Here in fact :-

www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5691ba02-e496-465a-bba9-b2f1182cdf24&DisplayLang=en

Cheers

Phil

[shadytree]

Cheers chaps. Just need to build a website now

[stin hambo]

Can you import direct from a Camcorder into Pinnacle?

I have a MiniDV camcorder (Sony) connected via Firewire to the laptop.

Cheers guys!

[shadytree]

stin hambo said:

Can you import direct from a Camcorder into Pinnacle?

yes, you can. Using DV to USB or Firewire (I knew that one )

[shadytree]

thatphilbrettguy said:

FourWheelDrift said: If you have XP then load the completed AVI into Windows Movie Studio and save it again, you can change the size/bitrate of it quite easily in there. Windows Movie Encoder can do the same thing but it's a downloadable application off the Microsoft site. Here in fact :- www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5691ba02-e496-465a-bba9-b2f1182cdf24&DisplayLang=en Cheers Phil

Ok , what am I doing wrong ?
Trying to convert from .mpeg to .wmv
Windows Movie Maker under the accessories menu in XP, is this the same as Windows Movie Studio ?
I imported an mpeg file and tried a 'Save Movie As'function, only seemed to let me 'save as' a .WMA file.
(Also installed Windows Movie Encoder).
Sorry, but am I being thick here ?

[Emmap]

Get to bed!