19 Mar 2008
Still Trying to Figure Out How to Convert to .avi
I have half halfheartedly tried to find a program which will convert my canon hg10 video files to avi so I can edit them. It is definitely not an easy process on the user or the computer from the little I’ve read.
I put the intro on my website fitSF.com yesterday and I think I seem very nervous in both files. It is because I always try to rush things when I’m on camera. I think I have the constant thought of the battery being about to die, which is stupid because I have backups. I honestly think it’s just a marker of anxiety disorder.
I finished my 9th page (10 counting site map) for AskTheTrainer.com or AskPersonalTrainers.com I just ran out of steam and think it will be a better idea if I go to sleep and start the next page when I’m fresh tomorrow morning.
I still have videos and pictures (stills from videos) to add which will be a main draw to my site. Another thing I need is help designing calculators for my website’s fitness tools page. For example a form where people can fill out variables to get their bmi or calorie consumption.
I haven’t done anything with the camera in XP yet, but even on a Mac where things are supposed to “just work” (and usually do) it’s been a farking nightmare. Mostly this is due to the camera being 1080i and not 1080p. You have to de-interlace the video and that can be a real task getting that to actually happen.
I’m the co-founder of http://www.viddyou.com and we just launched a full 1080p HD service for personal video today! First kids on the block to do it too. It’s a tricky format right now since it really takes a lot of computer to power it.
The gist of what I went through to produce the 1080p content is thus:
01. Connect the camera and make sure it’s plugged into power or it throws a fit (lame)
02. iMovie 08 imports the clips you want to use for editing.
03. Create your project.
04. Export Using Quicktime and using the Apple ProRes 422 HQ codec with the video dimensions set to 1920×1080 HD.
05. Take the massive file (2min is 1.6GB) and open it in Compressor.
06. Compressor is part of Final Cut Studio 2 ($$$$) but will de-interlace and export amazingly high quality video.
Yeah it’s messy. I need to fire up XP and see what can be done on that side of things. I haven’t installed the bundled software yet but it’s on my agenda so I can do a proper write up on how to import, edit and export HD with the best results.
Hope some of that helps. As for how I did the screenshot? I had video playing full screen and did a screen grab and balanced the color and levels in Adobe Lightroom.
:: r y a n ::
March 20th, 2008 at 6:19 ampermalink