PC Editors and Codecs for MP4

[Buster Schmellman]

I've never done video before but I am a photoshop expert. I just purchased the HD1. Assuming money is no object and I'm likely to use professional features, what vid editing software for PC would be best for importing and manipulating MP4?

My other question is, what is a good, hopefully free, MP4 codec to play these movies efficiently? My machine is a Athlon64 3200+ with 2 gigs of ram and frames are skipping during quick movements. Sound sometimes goes out of synch in larger files. I'm using the newest ffdshow with all the filters and whistles turned off. All my players are using it except Nero Showtime which seems to use its own MP4 codec (which is asks me to relicense with each usage) which runs the movies perfectly smoothly. If there is nothing better than Nero's, how can I get my other media players (media player classic, ATI Player) to also use this codec?

Thanks guys, this forum has been a great resource so far.

Mark

Edit: I just tried 3ivx and it's even worse. The video skips all over the place. Uhggg!

[Chris Wells]

There is a thread here on improving playback... make sure to search the forums before posting. That said, install VPC player and try using it. Report back if you still have issues.

I've got a new version of Pinaccle Studio. Can't get it to run reliably and I could likely build a house in the time it takes to recode my clips. I'm planning on switching to Vegas. There's a thread here on what people use to encode and how well it works for them... give it a read; you'll find what you're looking for.

[Graham Jones]

"what vid editing software for PC would be best for importing and manipulating MP4?"

In my opinion, Vegas 6.0d

It accepts the HD1's MP4 files without fuss.

Use the HDV projects settings, even though your files aren't HDV.

Also, you can create what Vegas calls a 'HDV Intermediate' to work with. This was created to speed up Mpeg2 cutting in Vegas and will also speed up Mpeg4 cutting.

Then, when you render, you can conform the original MP4 files.

As far as rendering or outputting goes, there are a number of options. You can do great SD outputs, including converting the HD1's 30p to 25p for anyone who lives in PAL land. I was pretty impressed by the frame rate conversion.

You can output as HD in WM9, but it's incredibly slow.

Of course, when HD DVDs (or Blu-Ray or whatever) becomes standard, I'm sure Vegas will allow easy output to that format too..

I tested Vegas 6.0d myself with HD1 files about a month or 6 weeks ago and did all of the above successfully. I haven't needed to cut anything since, but it's nice to know it's there...

[Buster Schmellman]

Thanks so much Graham. I was thinking Vegas was prob the best choice. I'd just hate to own anything Sony :-). So the only way to have a finished product in HD resolution is a WM9?

Edit: Anyone have any experience with Premier Pro 2.0? I hear its an improvement.

[Graham Jones]

"So the only way to have a finished product in HD resolution is a WM9?"

In the context of Vegas, right now, I think so..

If you're willing to convert the HD1's files to AVI, then obviously there are other options. If you read through this forum you'll find ways to make that conversion without recompression, i.e. with no quality loss.

I like the Vegas option because it means I use one application only.

[Bo Lorentzen]

Graham,

I might as well just stop ask. (smile) I have been downloading editors like broadband is going away next week. Clearly none of the "consumer" choices do real editing... they all just seem to be a way to stack a series of clips into a continued event and then burn the stuff with a nice DVD menu...

Personally I think of editing as being able to do "insert" video overlays... on top of a continued video layer.. Maybe Im explaining this wrong, but I learned editing using Umatic Highband to 1" years back and this is what one did, shoot the event, then go and get a bunch of inserts to cover when the camera dashed for next position. (smile)

Will Vagas do this...? Video track, audio track, insert editing. Im guessing Im just going to have to spring for the money and get it. He He.. but might as well check first.


Bo

www.bophoto.com/HDV

[Steven Mingam]

Originally Posted by Buster Schmellman

My other question is, what is a good, hopefully free, MP4 codec to play these movies efficiently? My machine is a Athlon64 3200+ with 2 gigs of ram and frames are skipping during quick movements.

There is something fishy there, my Athlon XP 1600mhz perfectly handle 720p video with ffdshow, and things like post-processing turned on. You've to configure correctly your video renderer (wmr9 or overlay mixer) and make sure you don't do too much formats conversion in the process. Btw, you can use the Nero Decoder with media player classic too.
You could also try a win32 mplayer build or The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) which have some blazing speedy decoder for AVC(h264) and perhaps ASP now.

[Graham Jones]

If you want to make simple cuts to MP4 footage with no rendering, Quicktime Pro is even more suitable.

It will leave you with mov. files, but these are probably just packaged MP4s.

Make your cuts using the simple Quicktime interface, then don't render, just save.

[Victor Ngai]

Ulead MPEG-4 Plug-in + video studio/media studio


"the software saves time by rendering only the edits made to the MPEG-4 video content, without rendering the entire file"

http://forum.doom9.org/archive/index.php/t-78551.html

[Calin Brabandt]

Originally Posted by Graham Jones Senior

It will leave you with mov. files, but these are probably just packaged MP4s.

Yes, the mov container is very similar to the mp4 container.