I Need Help Steve
 

I am currently using the latest power director and it is ok. You can make a decent video and add subtitles,music, ect. However, the output quality is terrible. I am burning to a DVD which I know know is not high def and you lose quality, but it looks as if you were viewing a video posted on the internet. If I watch it raw in MPEG 2 form, it looks beautiful. So if I bought a better program like Pinnacle, Premier Elements, Ect. :
1) Would I have a better finished product
2) Can I back up from the HD7 to that program
3) Would I have to use Power Director to convert to MPG2 and import the video files
4) If I bought your online manual and am not a camera pro, would I understand your workflows

I'm not a pro and I dont always understand the discussions when everyone talks about convert it to this then back to that then put it back on the camera and so on. I think you know what I mean. I would really appreciate your opinion on what I should do next. Thank You so much! - Chad

Sorry you are having problems. I've not used PowerDirector to make a DVD so I'm not sure why your DVDs look so bad. I don't think they should. It sounds like you might have chosen a setting that puts more than an hour of video on a DVD. Try choosing the 30-minute or 60-minute setting and post your results.

I'm in the process of making a "novice" version of my Handbook. Expect to have it done by the end of the week. This would be better for you I think.

Thanks Steve
 

I went into the program and I could not find any setting to change the duration or "limit?" of burning capabilities. I think that I've had it with the program. It's very user friendly and easy to navigate, but when you want to get really creative, you are pretty limited and the effects are shaky and not as high quality as I was expecting. I guess I loved it at first because it got me going. The TOD files were a mystery to everyone at every store I went to looking for software so I felt out of options. I know you probably use a really fancy program yourself, but if you were me, which one would you get. As of now I have to back up to my computer using Power Producer and go in and individually rename each clip with the proper extensions so that I can keep them in chronological order. Then import them one by one to Power Director. When it backs up, it seems to randomly place the clips on the drive (in the same file but not chronological order). I know there has to be a better, more simplified way to get it done. I have read every thread on camcorder info and DVi (glad I'm here now) and the discussions seem a bit over my head. I'm not a computer idiot, but I lack the vocabulary of the advanced "video world" I guess you could say. I am pleased with the camera despite its lack of OIS but through your recs. over the past several months I have refined my shooting skills quite a bit and that makes a huge diffrence. I hope with your manual I will actually learn to use this thing. I will definitly purchase your novice manual but in the meantime, I guess what I really want to know is what software would you recommend to work best with the HD7? Or give me several. I do not have a mac if that helps. Once again, thank you so much for your time. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! - Chad

Chad M. Bell,

I would like to give you one advice; I don't know whether you are doing that step or not while compiling DVD. As you said you are using latest software of PowerDirector, so you are using Power Director 6, right? Now after drag your file on Timeline press no 4 feature it is called "Magic Fix", this will fix your shaky videos, believe me this works wonder, I was not aware about this feature but one day I was doing experiment and once I used this and result was fantastic, even so many guys admitted that my videos look different than others, mean that they are not as shaky, so credit goes to that feature, I would recommend you to use one that so you will come to know.

After doing this then press create disc, and then you will see left corner of your screen "preference" button just press it and you will have some option select DVD HQ mode then compile it, this is highest setting if you want to create DVDs, believe me I checked my created DVDs on big screens like 55" and 60" the quality was really good!

Try out this, and I have posted before so many videos in various forum, maybe you have gone through it, but I am going to post some more videos.

Kaushik

I have been using PD for a while now and it does have some pretty neat features like "magic fix." If you are panning on a fast moving object though, it makes everything real choppy as it steals pixels from the outer edges to correct the shakiness. (I think) Seems like its too much for it to handle. For instance, I was driving a stock car at Texas Motor Speedway going by at 150 mph and my wife was filming (not smoothly and zoomed too much) and I tried to fix the shake with magic fix and actually made the video 100X's worse. I haven't noticed the DVDHQ setting though. I will give that a shot. I still feel like I need somthing more though. Maybe I am looking at it all wrong. It just seems like a lot of steps to rename clip by clip to keep your footage chronological, convert, then import. Then wait 2.5 hours for it to compile a 30 min video for it to say "error@#*% burn failed" and you have to start all over. Granted, this doesn't happen all the time, but it will piss you off big time! From what I have read and researched, it seems like PD6 is of the most user friendly software, but when the HD and Blu Ray burners become cheaper and more available, I have read that PD can't burn in HD. Maybe that's myth. I am excited to see what workflows Steve comes out with for a non- pro user. I think we all bought this camera ahead of the times waiting for high definition burning capabilities to become a little more mainstream. When you plug the camera into your HDTV through HDMI, it is unbelievable. Getting it edited and to disc like that is the real chore. I know that Blu Ray and HD DVD burners are out there, and I've heard that by January the industry will somewhat decide which way they are going (Blu Ray or HD DVD)but I haven't heard of anyone talking about using them too much yet. So hopefully this manual will help set us up to have better workflows as the technology changes. I may sound like an idiot, not sure, but this is the way I see it. Thanks for the advice! - Chad

The BD HD DVD war is going to continue for at least another year. The real problem is that the BDAV you can burn on BD-RE can only be played on a few BD Players. That's why I use HD DVD which I can burn on any red-laser burner. (BD burners are still very expensive.)

PS: Did you try HQ Quality?

I see. I guess I didn't know that you could burn HD DVD with a standard DVD burner. I thought since it was a separate player, it had to be a separate burner too. Am I getting this right? If so what editing software would you recommend that will burn HD DVD. I have the XBOX HD DVD player. Would you recommend Vegas, Premier Elements, Pinnacle... Thanks!

Ulead MovieFactory Plus version 6 is great at about $50. Output either 1440x1080 or 1920x1080 HDV from your editor and import it into MFP 6. Then burn it as "HD DVD" to any DVD. Use 4.7 or 9GB blanks. Then buy the cheapest Toshiba HD DVD and you are all set.

Did you try burning another DVD being sure Quality was set to HQ?

I did try it and it was already set to DVD HQ. Burned it again and still wasn't impressed. Last 2 things. 1) Is MFP 6 a good editor? I really want more than what I have for editing. 2)I have the additional HDDVD apparatus for my XBOX 360, do I still need to get the toshiba player? Is it easy to edit say a 30 min movie in one program then import it to another? That is where I start to get lost. I can use PD 6 to convert, but I would rather have a program that reads the tod files raw, edit them, and burn to HD DVD. I read somwhere that Vegas does that I think. Let me know. And once again, I apologize for my ignorance and thank you greatly for your imput! - Chad

You are all set to play red-laser HD DVDs.

Before switching editors, try this: After clicking the PRODUCE button, click the Make File icon.

Try to export an AVI file that's either HDV or 1920x1080, 60i, VBR, MPEG-2, at about 27Mbps. Try playing it and see how it looks. Please post back.

Steve, have just downloaded your wonderful guide but havn't read it all yet.
But just wondered if by backing up all my files with the JVC CU-VD40 can I now wipe the cameras hard drive? Is there a way to upload the files from the VD40 into the Avid? I am concerned as I have still not found a way to upload onto my Avid Media Composer in true HD or with sound.
Thankyou for your time and hope to hear from you.
Frustrated from England.