Thanks spaz, that's a big help. Working on it now.

very informative thread.
now all i need to do is convert you to Sony Vegas and a PC so you can walk me through all my issues

Or maybe once you are converted to Mac, ya wont have any issues?????

Yours would most likely be a CODEC issue, I reckon!!!!! When I did have a PC many moons ago, video problems were always related to havin the right CODEC's!!!!!

SONY Vegas have no documentation in it's help section regarding CODEC's?????

Most codecs are downloadable for free. You just need the one related to your files, software and final product intention.

Macintosh developed digital video and grew out of that industry (since the 1990's). PC is for gamers.

There are some quite compelling arguments on Digital director forums saying the Apple has fallen way behind the game on the digital video editing front, its almost the consensus on there....although most of those guys are tech heads and I don't understand a lot of what they are on about....either way it doesn't matter to me, ive got a PC and I'll have to work out the problems I have on it I guess.

Anyways my main beef is that there are so many formats and that you need to convert files at all to use them....the average joe just wants to be able to plug in their 3 different cameras and start editing, not have to stuff around converting them.

Mizu Kuma - 16 April 2012 01:30 PM

Or maybe once you are converted to Mac, ya wont have any issues?????

Yours would most likely be a CODEC issue, I reckon!!!!! When I did have a PC many moons ago, video problems were always related to havin the right CODEC's!!!!!

SONY Vegas have no documentation in it's help section regarding CODEC's?????

yes but its a pain in the arse

At the heart of all computers they are the same, build quality and software are the major differences.

Video (and audio) have always had the problem of multiple formats. Some people may remember the Beta vs VHS days or even 8track vs cassette. It's all very political and the winner is usually decided by what the consumer ends up buying the most until the competitor is driven out of the market. Rarely does the best become the industry standard.

Sony play particularly hard at this game and have been the winning team (CD, and dvd formats). HDdvd vs BluRay is still ongoing - different codecs.

Video camera companies develop their own codecs for their own digital cameras. Some won't even play back video without installing that companies software, often this means paying extra. Similar to having the right driver for your printer.

The reason I suggest Mpegstreamclip is that it accesses any codec you have on your computer, it's a very simple and efficient program. You will likely need to install the right codec for the files your camera makes (it often comes with the camera on a disc).

Your editing software will already have the codecs it requires installed on your computer, so mpegstreamclip will find them.

Rule #1 with digital graphics. The more times you re-compress the more quality is reduced. The idea is to get it in the right format from the beginning. EG: if your going to burn a PAL DVD (for playback on your Australian dvd player) your camera should be set to that standard (720X576@25fps - 4:3). You should edit in that standard. Export in that standard.

These days that's near impossible for a consumer. So stick with the standard your camera produces throughout the process until final export.

In your case crackers, the standard Sony Vegas likes, convert all your files to that.

Oh, yes Apple has fallen behind because they are building systems more consumer friendly that the average joe can just plug in their 3 different cameras and start editing.

That's iMovie and the new FCP. There is more money to be made selling to the average joe than the editing pro.

spaz - 18 April 2012 01:09 AM

At the heart of all computers they are the same, build quality and software are the major differences.

Video (and audio) have always had the problem of multiple formats. Some people may remember the Beta vs VHS days or even 8track vs cassette. It's all very political and the winner is usually decided by what the consumer ends up buying the most until the competitor is driven out of the market. Rarely does the best become the industry standard.

I have heard its mostly decided by which one the Porn companies decide to use?

deanobruce - 18 April 2012 12:37 PM

spaz - 18 April 2012 01:09 AM

At the heart of all computers they are the same, build quality and software are the major differences.

Video (and audio) have always had the problem of multiple formats. Some people may remember the Beta vs VHS days or even 8track vs cassette. It's all very political and the winner is usually decided by what the consumer ends up buying the most until the competitor is driven out of the market. Rarely does the best become the industry standard.

I have heard its mostly decided by which one the Porn companies decide to use?

haha - the old beta vs vhs!

ozgirl - 18 April 2012 05:12 PM

deanobruce - 18 April 2012 12:37 PM

spaz - 18 April 2012 01:09 AM

At the heart of all computers they are the same, build quality and software are the major differences.

Video (and audio) have always had the problem of multiple formats. Some people may remember the Beta vs VHS days or even 8track vs cassette. It's all very political and the winner is usually decided by what the consumer ends up buying the most until the competitor is driven out of the market. Rarely does the best become the industry standard.

I have heard its mostly decided by which one the Porn companies decide to use?

haha - the old beta vs vhs!

Yeah, VHS won that battle cause the players were a lot faster in ejectin the tape when ya parents pulled into the driveway!!!!!

i'm looking at buying FCP at some stage. Does anyone know if you can use those iTunes store cards for software? You can often buy the cards on a good deal, eg. 20% off or sometimes more.

Just go to iTunes!!!!!

If it's available as a download on there, then the cards are good to go!!!!! They just go to ya account balance when ya redeem them!!!!!

Well it's in the Mac app store. I guess that is the same thing?