Can someone tell me about video editing software? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 12:39:41 am
content: Ok, so years ago I used Pinnacle studio... which never worked with the proprietary MicroMV format of my Sony Camcorder. Then I had Sony Vegas years ago - don't remember why I gave that up. Then I just now bought Cyberlink PowerDirector - and I'm thinking I want to return it.I think what I want is simple.I shoot product videos, then I edit/add titles/background music, etc. And then I put them on the website. We used to use FLV files and Flowplayer, but now that HTML5 video is widely used, I want to use that.From some investigation, I want to be able to make MPEG4/H.264 with AAC or MP3 encoding, and OGG+Theora, and WebM+VP8. PowerDirector can't export to any of those formats, so I'm faced with buying *another* piece of software to do that.Is there a video editing program that can export to those formats natively? I was really shocked at how atrociously bad the export formats are in PowerDirector - just abysmal.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 01:23:57 am
content: iMovieSeriously, it comes for free with all macs and really is the easiest way to do video editing.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 01:54:37 am
content: Quote from: Someone on June 22, 2013, 01:23:57 amI don't have a problem the ease of use of other software - the problem is that their export formats are limited.iMovie is the same, it's not able to export to OGG or WebM, and appears to only support one flavor of MP4 (presumably H.264/AAC).

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 03:01:08 am
content: Maybe try Cinelerra?

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 03:18:53 am
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on June 22, 2013, 01:54:37 amIf exporting to obscure formats is your thing expect to have a workflow that has a conversion/compression step, VLC or handbrake?

author: adnewhouse
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 03:22:30 am
content: Yeah edit in whatever program you're comfortable with, render it, then transcode to whatever format you need with handbrake (http://handbrake.fr/).

author: ampdoctor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 03:26:51 am
content: Don't know what OS you're running but if it's just a file format issue causing you grief, and you're on either a Linux box or M$, then check out winFF athttp://winff.orgthat thing will convert pretty much any file format into any other format almost effortlessly. Occasionally it'll hack up a hairball with certain flv files but that's usually because of a codec issue. I've got no experience with handbrake but winFF is probably about as idiotproof as you'll ever get.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 04:50:52 am
content: It makes no sense to look for a editing software that does all those formats. Better one that does a single format well, instead of a "jack of all trades, master of none".It also makes no sense to render to 3 different formats... render once in a high quality format then convert that file to the other formats, if it's really needed.For example, I currently use Sony MovieStudio Platinum, you can find it on Amazon for 30-40$ and the previous year version (version 11) is even cheaper. Render the video, export to h264 at a very large bitrate (something like 24 mbps) and ac3/aac 320 kbps and then convert this video to theora or webm using Handbrake or other applications.Anyway, it's nice that you think about webm and ogg/theora but if you're still going to offer h264+aac/mp3 you negate all you did.and as long as you offer h264 on your site, in theory you have to pay license fees to mpeg-la for producing content (check the license agreements to various software apps, unless you get something expensive like premiere or sony vegas you'll probably find some terms saying h264 export is for home use/ non-commercial something)h264+aac/mp3 in flash is most compatible and gives you most quality per file size, plus you can optimize it for constant download speed (so video won't buffer a lot)ogg/theora needs much more bitrate to get the same speed as h264 and is only supported in a few browsers so you'd still need another format to fallback towebm is afaik google chrome only and again is about the same quality as h264 (if you add maybe 20-30% bitrate so again larger file size). it's not 100% safe patent wise and you can be sued if you use it.. though chances are small. Google already released VP9 so the old vp8 in webm is already a not so good choiceIf you're going to keep offering h264 for compatibility you might as well use only h264 as it's the best quality/file size.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 06:50:47 am
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on June 22, 2013, 12:39:41 amThat is standard with all video editing packages.That is why I have to do a 2 step process to output the files I want.I have yet to find the perfect video editing package. I use Sony Movie Studio because it's the lesser of the evils.If you want really simple and easy to use, try NCH VideoPad. I've done a few videos with it, but it has some file compatibility issues with my Canon camera.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 06:58:22 pm
content: Thanks for the info, gents!I spent some time looking through the available software and while none of them support all the formats, Sony seems to support more than most. I understand the whole "export in the best format, then convert" - and thanks for the suggestion on Handbrake! I was very underwhelmed by PowerDirector's lack of export formats, and it was annoying that it was loaded with ads - even in the paid version! I just installed the trial version of Sony Vegas Pro and while it's expensive, it seems really nice - I think I will splurge on that and use Handbrake for conversion.Amazing we are still dealing with all these format issues in this day and age

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 07:54:59 pm
content: Just fyi ... on my computer, the default Sony codec for h264 crashes randomly so i can't use that to create a h264 file (when you render/export media/whatever it's called). It may work great on your computer.Luckily, there's another coded there that does the same thing, made by "Mainconcept" if i remember correctly and that one works great.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2013, 08:00:49 pm
content: If you also use GNU/Linux have a look at OpenShot.Alexander.