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Posted by Smarty on 02/14/07 23:31
Regarding GOP, this is an acronym for "Group of Pictures" and is the data
structure used in MPEG2 to efficiently store compressed video content. As
you might imagine, relatively little changes from one frame to the next in
video or movies, and the strategy thus used to compress this content is to
identify changes from frame to frame and only store the differences rather
than the entire redundant image entirely. This imposes an additional burden
on the editing software, since the editor views the content as a linear and
equally spaced sequence of frames despite the fact that the content is not
inherently stored in this manner for HDV material. For HDV material in
particular, the GOPs are longer and the frames themselves are larger than
standard def video, and thus HDV editing programs require more computer
power, better processing algorithms / programming, or both to work smoothly
compared to standard def.
Professional DV was released in 1994 and was soon followed by a consumer
version, mini-DV. miniDV tape-based camcorders were introduced about a
decade ago, and were the first consumer camcorders to record digitally. In
the ensuing 10 years, the very same tape format has been adopted to encode
high definition digital video primarily for consumer / prosumer use. The
recording of standard resolution digital video is commonly referred to as
"DV" format, whereas the newer recording of high definition video in formats
(720/1080) suited for prosumer use is referred to as HDV. Other high
definition formats already exist, and also will be introduced as time goes
on, and they are collectively referred to as "high definition" or "HD", a
somewhat generic term.
You might find these links a good starting point for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_video
Your approach to using the trial versions of these editors is very
beneficial, both to see how well the products run on your hardware and also
to see how suitable the feature set and user interface is for your needs.
There are considerable strengths and weaknesses to be compared, and price is
not necessarily a good indicator of quality / value to you . More than most
types of software, I would say that "You mileage may vary" considerably
based on how you intend to use the software and how your hardware performs.
Vegas 7 and a new Canon XH-A1 is an excellent way to come onboard, and this
newsgroup and others can offer further insights along the way as you need to
make your final decisions.
Smarty
"Beowulf" <beowulf@ancients.net> wrote in message
news:pan.2007.02.14.14.57.43.773746@ancients.net...
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:15:15 -0500, Smarty wrote:
>
>> Beowulf,
>>
>> Vegas 7 and the lite version 'Vegas Movie Studio' are great alternatives,
>> as
>> are Ulead's Video Studio 10 Plus which goes directly from HDV input to
>> edited and then authored HD-DVD disks for $89. The latter 2 suggestions
>> are
>> really capable, much less expensive than Premiere, and very smooth HDV
>> tools.
>>
>> For simple I-frame editing, by far the fastest and simplest HDV editor I
>> have ever used is VideoReDo. It handles the long GOP structure of HDV
>> video
>> effortlessly, sells for about $50, and trims footage faster than anything
>> else out there.
>>
>> I think Vegas 7.0d is just about the right balance of performance,
>> features,
>> ease of use, and price, and consider this to be a really strong contender
>> for general purpose use by a more advanced user. If I could keep only one
>> HDV editor, this would be it.
>>
>
> Please excuse my ignorance (someday I will repay by helping others once I
> learn), but what is GOP/GOP_structure? Also I am not clear on the
> difference between DV/mini-DV, HV, and HDV? (especially HD versus HDV, I
> thought they were the same but I guess not?). Are any of those "raw DV"?
>
> And yes I liking Sony Vegas as I play with the trial version; I am
> thinking of buying the VEGAS+DVD version that is more expensive but that
> includes more features. Vegas just fricken *works*, plays previews and
> such smooth, not jerky with stutter or even no audio like Premiere Pro
> does, and Avid just looked unappealing and very NON-intuitive to use and
> showed no waveform, I could not get a preview to play, etc. For my level
> of incompetence I think Vegas is the way to go, but I will play with some
> other trial version software until I buy my Canon XH-A1 in May.
>
>
>
>
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