Jerky start to video playback

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Colin & Gary

Thankfully I didn't get as far as a full install. I stopped it before the final stage, I will check later if it has left any remanents using Brian's sweeper. Thanks for the confirmation Brian.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Up date, installed free trial of revo & ran a check, as nothing was found I assume FreemakeUtilsService didn't get its teeth into me. Experience with Revo, take care, from what I've seen it would be very easy to delete something vital & not be able to recover it. It's not for the faint hearted.

Yachtsman1.

PS I had already downloaded the Video Prism software Brian suggested some time ago & forgotton about it. When I tried to re-install it, it advised me my 14 day trial had expired & unless I accepted the ASK toolbar I would have to pay, I declined.

Yachtsman1.

[RobertAlbright]

I had the same experience as Yachtsman with Video Prism.

The only free programme I have found so far that seems (a)good (b)doesn't try to take over your computer is VideoPad Video Editor. Interestingly it is made by NCH Software, the same company as makes Conflow's recommended program. But unlike Prism Converter, there doesn't appear to be the 14 day trial problem.

Another option is to download the free Beta version of Photoshop CS6. This now incorporates video editing, as will the full release version. I find it quite easy to use for basic editing which is what I think most of us want to do.

[davegee]

Do any of these options allow for editing of the Video's Audio track?

DG

[goddi]

Do any of these options allow for editing of the Video's Audio track?

DG

=================================

Eric,

If you did not complete the install of Freemake Video Converter, did the Funmood add-in actually get installed? If it did, it is very strange that you got an add-in and I did not, even with multiple installs. It is too bad that the Freemake might be sneaking in any add-ins. I have not had that experience and it is a very nice tool to have to edit video.

DG,

The only free program that I have found to edit the Video Audio track is the Windows Live Movie Maker. You can adjust the Fade In and Out and you can adjust the overall audio level. Look under the Video Tools tab.

Someone asked about being able to speed up a video. The Windows Live Movie Maker will do this too. You lose the audio but you can adjust the speed of the video and lots of other effects, too.

You can trim video too, but I haven't figure it out yet.

Gary

[fh1805]

However, I still need to find a video file editor that will trim the files produced by the Nikon D300s whilst retaining the existing quality. No conversion, no frame rate change, just take the start and end frames off at the points I specify and save the remaining frames as a new file of identical specification to the original.

Having previously given up on AVIDEMUX and ViewNX2, I have now tried Freemake Video Converter and Windows Live Movie Maker. Neither of these products, as far as I can see, meets my specification of requirements. They will both do a Trim of the video file but when I asked then to save the trimemd version, Freemake saved the whole file again whilst Movie Maker insisted on saving as a WMV file. So I'm still looking for a simple video editor that will do a trim and then save the trimmed file in exactly the same format and to the same specification as the original source file. Is this too much to ask?

Peter

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Having previously given up on AVIDEMUX and ViewNX2, I have now tried Freemake Video Converter and Windows Live Movie Maker. Neither of these products, as far as I can see, meets my specification of requirements. They will both do a Trim of the video file but when I asked then to save the trimemd version, Freemake saved the whole file again whilst Movie Maker insisted on saving as a WMV file. So I'm still looking for a simple video editor that will do a trim and then save the trimmed file in exactly the same format and to the same specification as the original source file. Is this too much to ask?

Peter

Peter Did you miss the one Robert suggested "Video Pad"? I downloaded the free version without haveing add ons & have just tried it with my one & only camera produced clip (Nikon D5000) it accepted the clip & I was able to run it & look at & play the audio track. The audio side looks a little like Audition which seems to be the favoured software at my AV group. I've taken a few screen shots of what to expect. I tried the edit out a click at the beginning of the clip, but as usual should read the book of words first.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[goddi]

Having previously given up on AVIDEMUX and ViewNX2, I have now tried Freemake Video Converter and Windows Live Movie Maker. Neither of these products, as far as I can see, meets my specification of requirements. They will both do a Trim of the video file but when I asked then to save the trimemd version, Freemake saved the whole file again whilst Movie Maker insisted on saving as a WMV file. So I'm still looking for a simple video editor that will do a trim and then save the trimmed file in exactly the same format and to the same specification as the original source file. Is this too much to ask?

Peter

========================

Peter,

You must be missing a step. I have been using Freemake for a long time with great success. After trimming the video, are you pressing the 'OK' icon? I works for me just perfectly. Give it another try.

Yes, with WLMM, you have to convert it from WMV to something else. That's where Freemake comes in handy, too.:)

Gary

[Lin Evans]

Hi David,

VideoPad Video Editor (free version) allows rudimentary audio editing. You can fade-in, fade-out, mute and adjust volume on audio tracks with it. I primarily use it to do fades....

Best regards,

Lin

Do any of these options allow for editing of the Video's Audio track?

DG

[davegee]

Lin,

The reason I asked was because if nothing else will do it, ViewNX2 is a tried and tested free option from a trustworthy source which does all that I want.

Like a lot of other free options it does not do Audio editing but it's part of my computer software setup and, for those occasions when trimming is a good idea, works well with the MOV files that I feed it.

DG

[davegee]

Lin,

The reason I asked was because if nothing else will do it, ViewNX2 is a tried and tested free option from a trustworthy source which does all that I want.

Like a lot of other free options it does not do Audio editing but it's part of my computer software setup and, for those occasions when trimming is a good idea, works well with the MOV files that I feed it.

<br><br>It trims, splits and stitches movies with basic transitions in a a simple way that even I understand.<br><br>I'm not sure what Peter wants of it that it doesn't do but when I ask it to CREATE a Movie it gives me a perfectly usable MOV file in any one of 3 different varieties and 3 different frame rates each of which work well in PTE.

<br><br>DG

[fh1805]

You must be missing a step... After trimming the video, are you pressing the 'OK' icon?... Give it another try.

Gary,

I just have done. I thought I had been clicking on the OK button. However, this time around I realised that it isn't trimming; it is cutting! I have to make two cuts - one to remove the front end and one to remove the back end. I was thinking it would work like an "audio trim" in Audacity, where you select the bit you want to keep and trim off the ends with one click. It doesn't seem to work that way. You have to cut off the waste at the front and then separately cut off the waste at the back.

However, even when I get the cutting done correctly, when I then save that clip, it saves it at a much lower bit rate (under 3000 compared to over 38000) and the result doesn't play as smoothly. I want software that will allow me to remove the unwanted frames at the start and end of a video clip (a clip that exists in AVI format) and then save the result as an AVI at the identical bitrate that my source clip was recorded at. I didn't see any way in which I could modify the bitrate of the saved AVI.

I'm rapidly getting the impression that these free video editors and videoconverters are all aimed at those who want to reduce a video clip down to a size that will work well when played back/downloaded off t'Interweb or played back off an iThingy device. They do not seem to be interested in preserving the original quality of the file.

Peter

[RobertAlbright]

Peter

Did you try VideoPad Video Editor? Lin and Eric have confirmed it it achieves sound editing. I find it quite intuitive. You will need to test if it achieves your particular requirements.

[goddi]

Gary,

I just have done. I thought I had been clicking on the OK button. However, this time around I realised that it isn't trimming; it is cutting! I have to make two cuts - one to remove the front end and one to remove the back end. I was thinking it would work like an "audio trim" in Audacity, where you select the bit you want to keep and trim off the ends with one click. It doesn't seem to work that way. You have to cut off the waste at the front and then separately cut off the waste at the back.

However, even when I get the cutting done correctly, when I then save that clip, it saves it at a much lower bit rate (under 3000 compared to over 38000) and the result doesn't play as smoothly. I want software that will allow me to remove the unwanted frames at the start and end of a video clip (a clip that exists in AVI format) and then save the result as an AVI at the identical bitrate that my source clip was recorded at. I didn't see any way in which I could modify the bitrate of the saved AVI.

I'm rapidly getting the impression that these free video editors and videoconverters are all aimed at those who want to reduce a video clip down to a size that will work well when played back/downloaded off t'Interweb or played back off an iThingy device. They do not seem to be interested in preserving the original quality of the file.

Peter

==========================

Peter,

You are getting close. See my attachments and you can see that you can save the edited video 'As Original' or you can get into the Custom menu and make just about any changes you want.

In the trimming process, I trim out the beginning first; hit the Scissor icon; then I go to the end and trim out that part; hit the Scissor icon. You can also trim out portions in the middle. Piece of cake.

Hope this helps.

Gary

[fh1805]

Gary,

Thanks for helping me through the trimming phase and into the file save phase. Unfortunately, "As Original" is NOT as original at all. My original AVI file shows as 39813kbps in the Details tab of the Properties for that file. The so-called "As Original" shows as 2937kbps. The visible difference is that the "As Original" exhibits flicker and jerk that is absent from the original. The Custom options did not allow a bit rate higher than 32000. Even at that value, there was still flicker and jerk. I conclude that, under the covers, there is some other conversion activity taking place that is degrading the visual quality of the video clip. It is not giving me what I want, which is video that plays just as smoothly as the original but simply has a chunk of the start and of the end missing.

[goddi]

Gary,

Thanks for helping me through the trimming phase and into the file save phase. Unfortunately, "As Original" is NOT as original at all. My original AVI file shows as 39813kbps in the Details tab of the Properties for that file. The so-called "As Original" shows as 2937kbps. The visible difference is that the "As Original" exhibits flicker and jerk that is absent from the original. The Custom options did not allow a bit rate higher than 32000. Even at that value, there was still flicker and jerk. I conclude that, under the covers, there is some other conversion activity taking place that is degrading the visual quality of the video clip. It is not giving me what I want, which is video that plays just as smoothly as the original but simply has a chunk of the start and of the end missing.

===================

Peter,

I think it might default to a lower bit rate, but if you get into the Custom menu, you should be able to override the default lower setting and input your 39813. I remember now that it does this but I have not seen any quality difference or problems with flicker or jerkiness. I don't convert my videos to AVI; I seem to have no problems converting to 1080p MP4s or playing them in PTE. No flicker or jerkiness. Much to learn.

I have even converted to HD720p and the quality is really good. See if you can set your bit rate to what the original is in the Custom menu.

Gary

[fh1805]

See if you can set your bit rate to what the original is in the Custom menu.

Gary,

Re-read my previous post. I wrote:

The Custom options did not allow a bit rate higher than 32000.

And I don't convert my videos to AVI either: that's how they come out of the D300s.

I've thought of a much better solution than trying to find a suitable video editor. Give me ten or fifteen minutes then check the Ideas and Suggestions part of the forum.

regards,

Peter

[goddi]

Gary,

Re-read my previous post. I wrote:

And I don't convert my videos to AVI either: that's how they come out of the D300s.

I've thought of a much better solution than trying to find a suitable video editor. Give me ten or fifteen minutes then check the Ideas and Suggestions part of the forum.

regards,

Peter

=====================

Peter,

Yes, I see what you mean that the limit is 32000. But isn't that pretty high enough??? Just wondering. I have videos SOOC from my Nikon D7000 and some of the highest bit rates vary from around 12000 to 20000 kbps.

What I was trying to say was to convert your original AVIs to HD1080 MP4s and see it the quality improves without flicker in PTE. Kinda strange that you get flicker. I have used both AVIs and MP4s and don't get any flicker or jerkiness. But what do I know? There are so many variables. Just trying to figure this stuff out...

Gary

[fh1805]

...Just trying to figure this stuff out...

You and me both - and no doubt many others, too!

[Guest Yachtsman1]

As there have been no comments about Video Pad, only from me & Robert I have done a little more checking & found a couple of short tutorials on the software. See http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/tutorial.html

A couple of other items that come to mind, video on DSLRs is relatively new, it wasn't on my original D200, so I assume it was introduced on the 300 series, so if Peter has an earlier version of the 300s is the Firmware up to date?. One other item is the memory card, I was looking at cards this morning & Sandisc have an Extreme Pro range, specifically for video, should these be used for best quality video? I've just bought an 8 GB Extreme Pro from Amazon, not because I want to record video, but because it was the smallest in that range.

Yachtsman1.

[nobeefstu]

Eric,

I was looking at cards this morning & Sandisc have an Extreme Pro range, specifically for video, should these be used for best quality video?

The different types dont really affect the quality. Different cards have various data read/write speeds. The faster cards are required for certain devices/functions to ensure full data captured is saved. All cameras have different requirements ... read the manual for its recommendation for particular outputs/functions.

See these differences from Sandisc:

-Extreme Pro

*Up to 95 MB/sec (633X) read speed. Write speed up to 90 MB/s (600X). Based on SanDisk internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes. X = 150KB/sec.

-Extreme

* Up to 45 MB/sec (300X) read/write speeds. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes. X = 150KB/sec.

-Ultra

* Up to 30MB/sec read speed; write speed lower. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes.

**Not all devices support SDHC™ or SDXC™ memory cards. Contact your device manufacturer for details.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Nobeefstu

The card I ordered is specifically for a DSLR, see http://www.sandisk.com/products/dslr/sandisk-extreme-pro-sdhcsdxc-uhs-i-memory-cards

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Nikon UK a bit vague re my D90, don't think the Extreme Pro was available when the camera was introduced. It's an Amazon purchase so it can go back if it doesn't work.

See https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26795

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[fh1805]

OK folks, here's an update!

I have now found time to capture a video with the camera mounted on a tripod. What a difference in sharpness and overall quality! As far as I'm concerned, hand-held video is a big "No!, no!". (The old advice was true: it's the subject that moves, not the camera"). Even displayed at 1920x1080 (i.e. interpolated up from 1280x720) the quality is just about acceptable; especially if used as a background to still images overlaid in "picture in picture" style.

I ran the clip through PTE's video converter and trimmed off 4 seconds from the front and 11 seconds from the back. The file came out much smaller, as I had wanted all along. Placing the two versions (ex-Nikon and ex-PTE converter) on the same slide and doing Preview, showed no loss of video quality but a slight loss of colour saturation. The converted clip now looked very slightly over-exposed. Investigation of the File Properties of the two files showed that both were 24fps 1280x720 AVI; the original Nikon was written using MJPEG codec, the PTE converted one was written using MPEG4 codec. Presumably the loss of saturation is a consequence of the change of codec.

So, the bottom line is that I now have a video workflow that I can use for my "field trials" later this month and next month. It would be nice to regain the colour saturation (or not lose it in the first place). Anyone any thoughts on that aspect?

regards,

Peter

[davegee]

Underexpose your video a little.

I also noticed that slight shift in saturation.

You have a D300s with Pic Controls - you could make your own PC with a slightly more saturated version?

If you are now using Neutral - use Standard.

If you are now using Standard - use Vivid.

After conversion you'll be back where you wanted to be in the first place.

DG