Export choices? Which is the correct one for me?
SLG !
Thanks for the plug. Question: Will your family view these videos on a PC or a TV?
If TV using a DVD, then, by all means, use the VCD tips above.
Or, just send out a VHS tape. Don't laugh. With a decent JVC VCR like I bought for $168, with an S-Video input, I get some pretty darn good VHS tapes. And, I can make them two hours long and pay less than $1 per tape at Sams Club.
By the way, nobody has ever put my tape in and called me complaining it would not play on their new/old/cheap/expensive VCR. Try that with a DVD. Or, a VCD.
Also, with that much time, I can add in the outtakes, play the entire Karaoke session they wish I hadn't taped, or the entire Arlo Guthrie concert at EPCOT that is too long for a single CD.
Now, if they want to watch it on a PC, I suggest that you download the latest codec from Microsoft with the WM8 encoder. I actually use the WM8 option that is now showing up in my Advanced Windows Media menu. I am not sure how you can tell the quality of their video card or their CD-ROM drive, but I would guess that 700Kbps or more will be OK, and it is better quality by far than what I used in the Disney stuff.
If Quicktime is what you are after, I heard that the "Pro" version of the Sorensen codec is better than WM8. So I heard.
For a reference point, the EPCOT video is just under 3 minutes and is under 7.2MB. That is at 350Kbps.
The hippo, at 705Kbps is 32 seconds and 2.7 MB
They seem to be about the same quality, but since the EPCOT stuff was shot using a tripod so the only things moving were us, it compressed pretty well. But, the hippo is in water, and didn't compress nearly as well. SO I went higher on the bit rate.
So, you see, you can get a LOT of stuff in 700MBs on a $.25 CD for a PC. At pretty good quality. And even more on a $1 tape.
Tough decisions, I know. Sometimes I start with the VHS tape, and then cut the heck out of it for the web. Sometimes I do the web first, and then put in everything I wish I could have for the VHS.
Have fun, and good editing
Steven
Jeff Bellune
Just remember that regular VHS is stored natively as composite video. Which means when you use S-video as an input, you are trusting your vcr to put the luminance and chrominance back together before it writes to tape. Better (subjectively, of course) to create a composite signal with your video card and just pass it through to the vcr in the format in which it will be stored. SuperVHS tapes are a different story. But I don't think you can get those for a buck apiece at Sam's. :) Happy taping.
Jeff
SLG !
You think? Hmmm. I have a DVStorm, and I just always assumed that the S-Video output to an S-VHS recorder would be cleaner than composite to composite.
I use the VHS mode, and just use S-Video cables for transport. So your point makes sense.
But, if I understand you correctly, you are saying I need to decide which is better. Composite from the DVStorm, or letting the VCR do the job?
I'll take a look when I get home from DV Expo East. Thanks. But, I'll bet it is hard to tell. Hmmm... Can't wait to try. I wonder if the length of the cable and where it has to run among all of the RF in the room will be the deciding factor?
Steven
Jeff Bellune
That's where comb filters and display devices come in. So far we've talked about getting the video in to the vcr, now we have to talk about getting the video out of the vcr and on to your display device.
For display on a standard definition NTSC tv, a composite signal (VHS or laserdisc) must be separated into luminance and chrominance information. This is done using a comb filter. If your vcr or laserdisc player has a killer comb filter, then you want to run S-video out of the player and into the TV. If the TV has a state-of-the-art comb filter, then you want to run composite and let the TV do the separating. Usually, but not always, you can decide which device has the best comb filter by which one is newest. Differences of only 2 or 3 years are probably not significant, so an A/B comparison is in order. DVD and SuperVHS are different (for those watching at home, there is also a difference between S-video and S-VHS. One is a connection and one is a recording/playback format). For S-VHS you want to run S-video, period. For DVD, you want component, S-video or composite, in that order. Progressive component for DVD only comes into play if you have a progressive display device like an HDTV-ready television, not the standard def NTSC we're discussing.
The whole point of my boring soliloquy is that you try to minimize any extra processing of the video from creation to display. Ideally, creating a RGB video, maintaining that format through the NLE process, exporting via RGB component to a RGB component television would provide the least signal degradation. Assuming all other factors were equal, of course.
And yes, I know, this post belongs in a home theater forum...
Jeff
SLG !
Steven