CyberLink’s latest version of PowerDVD, PowerDVD 10 has just been released on to the market. Gushing PR blurb follows but through that… well you’ll get the picture!

<start-gushing-pr-blurb>PowerDVD 10 users will be able to enjoy a wide range of added features and functions, including:

Playing all their movies, video and music content with PowerDVD 10 – the universal media player .

Enhancing the playback experience with TrueTheater technology. Converting DVDs from 2D to 3D and enhancing video and audio quality for HD displays.

Be able to use more video formats including: MKV, WTV, FLV, RM, RMVB, 3GP, 3G2 video file formats, in addition to the broad range of formats supported in version 9.

Experience Blu-ray playback performance with optimization for GPU acceleration.

Write reviews of their favorite movie scenes and share them as MovieMarks on Facebook and MoovieLive. Share short comments of movies in real-time on Facebook, Twitter and MoovieLive.

Play any Blu-ray 3D movie on PCs (Please note this feature will be available as a free upgrade for PowerDVD 10 consumers in sync with the release of further Blu-ray 3D titles).</end-gushing-pr-blurb>

To learn more about the features and functions of PowerDVD just click on the little picture below. As an added note they are offering some discounts and stuff at their site but it depends on your area so hit the button and take a look for yourself.

DivX is the name of a specific video compression codec (compression-decompression) developed by DivX, Inc. The format was developed to enable users to create very high quality video with very small files sizes.

The DivX codec is currently the most popular MPEG-4 based codec because of its quality, speed and efficiency. As is usually the case the popular becomes more popular because… well… it’s popular! So as a result most modern DVD players and devices are now compatible with the DivX standard.

DivX is based on the H.264 standard which in itself is an MPEG4 variant. It is important to note that terms like MPEG2 and MPEG4 are not codecs in themselves although the terms are used in this context quite often. Both MPEG2 and MPEG4 are a set of rules or standards that dictate the manner in which particular video files are encoded and rendered (played back).

What is H.264?

To be blunt H.264 is probably the future. It is most likely that the current MPEG2 for DVD and DV avi video files types for camcorders will be phased out in favor of H.264 or something similar.

H.264 provides very powerful compression technology that delivers superior video at a low bit rate. It can run across many different types of platform and is suited to high definition production.

The H.264 standard reduces the amount of information required to reproduce a video…

How?

The H.264 encoder is able to divide each picture recorded into a set of blocks, it then searches the pictures in the video stream before and after the picture being encoded. It detects the changes between the before and after pictures as compared to the current picture and carries out what is called “motion estimation.” That’s just a fancy was of saying it makes a calculated guess as to what the changes are.

H.264 inspects the before and after pictures down to the level of one quarter of a pixel pixel for this motion search resulting in quite amazing quality.

Once it has done that it now “knows” what is the same and what is different and simply put, it throws out everything that is the same and only keeps what is different.

When the file is played back the decoder in the playback device will hit the picture in the example above. It will display a little of the total picture from the information in the file but mainly it will go to other pictures (before and after the current one) to find the rest of the information it needs to show the complete picture.

That is how it manages to achieve such small video file sizes.

It is a common misconception that H.264 is a format with only a single form. Not true. Mov files are H.264 and very often you will find that files you see that are marked as MPEG4 are actually H.264. H.264 can occur under a number of guises displaying a wide range of parameters.

For a complete look at this style of compression you can take a look at this post here under MPEG2 and MPEG4 Editing software or here for Video File Formats Explained.

As a video file encoding format H.264 represents probably the best quality for file size trade off on the market today and the DivX implementation of H.264 represents the best of the best.

The Downside

Like all highly compressed video file formats DivX was not designed in any way as an editing format. It is what is called a distribution format and is intended as the video file format to be used in the final product. Editing DivX files can be a nightmare and the reasons for this are explained in the links above in this post.

Compatibility with Other Video Editing Software

Because DivX is a specific codec it is easily implemented into your existing video editing software. All you have to do is download the codec from www.DivX.com and install. From that point forward when you choose to render a final video file of a project DivX will appear as one of the choices for file output.

Each type of video editing software will have a slighly different place in which you will gain access to imported codecs so just check your particular software documentation for details.

When it comes to video editing software a common complaint I see on the video editing forums is that the software wont do what it says it will do!

Almost invariably the person making the complaint reveals by their question and subsequent conversation a basic lack of understanding about what they are doing and how the video editing software really works.

Of course in an ideal world you should be able to just point and click your way to cinematic success…just like the product marketing says… right? Wrong! The problem is we don’t live in an ideal world

In the past complaints were generally confined to problems that were being generated by computers struggling to handle the large amounts of data and the huge file sizes generated by the existing video file formats.

Many of those problems were relatively easily solved by advice that even today stands true. Turn off background programs, defrag your hard drive etc., all the things that would release computer resources back to the video editing program.

However the introduction of MPEG2 video, then MPEG4, H.264, and a slew of other very highly compressed formats has resulted in a huge increase in complaints about video editing software not doing the job. When you add in the complexity of the high definition versions of these video file formats, HDV and AVCHD then the excrement really has hit the rotary oscillator!

So, I am about to attempt the impossible in an effort to help you understand what is at the heart of this problem. This is really technical stuff and I am going to try to keep it real simple. For the technically superior amongst you please forgive me if my simplification offends you!

If you are a sucker for punishment there is even more to read here on video file formats explained.

To assist you even more I have attached two “post it” notes to the top of my computer screen. One says, “Keep it simple!” and the other says, “Stop rambling you fool!” Hopefully I will refer to these often and spare you from sinking into unconsciousness. So here we go!

The basic problem is this. The modern batch of highly compressed video file formats were exclusively designed for playback or distribution… not editing. It is as simple as that.

If those video file formats had been designed with editing in mind then right now hundreds of video editing software programmers would not be collectively jumping through hoops trying to nail down the definitive method of editing them.

It gets worse.

These new video file formats are not a strict set of rules and regulations that result in a very narrow set of parameters. They are very broad in their description an implementation. If you want an example take a look here at What is DVD? and you will see that within the “DVD Standard” alone there is a huge variation in what can be called DVD. Well, that’s just standard definition MPEG2 really but it will give you an idea.

For the programmers that means trying to create a video editing program that edits MPEG2′s (for example) BUT the question is what flavor of MPEG2…which one? The same applies to MPEG4 and others and is further complicated when we move to high definition video file formats.

And it gets worse…

The common modern video file formats you will encounter could essentially be described as derivatives of either MPEG2 and MPEG4. It doesn’t matter whether they are high definition or not they have the same inherent problem for video editors although high definition makes the existing problem worse.

These video file formats are all basically made in a similar fashion and achieve their very high compression rates by throwing away information. The word “compression” in a bit more marketing than reality! They rely on a system of throwing away data that is unnecessarily repeated in frame after frame of your video. The data is replaced by a reference to an earlier or later frame rather than the data itself.

(Note to self read keep it simple note)

So I am assuming you know that video consists of a series of pictures that are displayed one after the other at a set rate between 24 to 30 frames per second and from this you get the sense of motion… right?

In these modern video files there are three types of picture and this is how the compression is acheived.

I-Pictures.
These are easiest to think of as a complete picture. They are slightly compressed like a JPEG photo file is compressed but they are as close to complete as you will get.

P-Pictures.
These are incomplete pictures and only contain the infomation that has changed since the last I-Picture or the last P-Picture.

Imagine a bird flying though the air against a bue sky. The I-Picture is a record of the whole picture. The P-Picture is a picture of the bird in a changed postion only. To display the rest of the picture on the screen (the blue sky which has not changed) the P-Picture tells the playback software to go get the data from the previous I-Picture or P-Picture.

In the older video file types such as MPEG-2, P-Pictures can use only one previously decoded picture as a reference during playback. In MPEG4 or H.264 the P-Picture can use a number of previously decoded pictures as a reference during playback and this is one way greater compression is achieved retaining quality.

B-Pictures.
These ones are the most highly compressed because they can use information from previous I- or P-Pictures and forward I- or P-Pictures for reference in playback. This is a huge advantage over MPEG2 in calculating motion and so retaining smoothness in a much smaller file size.

This also explains the huge demands that are placed on any computer trying to edit or playback AVCHD video files. The B-Pictures are demanding the software retrieve the majority of the information from Pictures that have already passed or that are yet to be played.

So what the hell does that all mean!

Actually I am not finished yet.

These I, P, and B Pictures are arranged in a way so that the video file can be played back by software from a DVD drive, PS2, computer player or… whatever! The Pictures are arranged into groups that will allow the best playback quality.

These are called Groups Of Pictures… unbelievable they came up with that!

It would be too easy to call groups of pictures… Groups of Pictures right?… too self explanetary! So they are called GOPs. Why? Because geeky computer guys like that sort of thing and there is already a U.S. political party called the GOP so the possibility of confusion is ideal.

There are generally two types of GOP, Short GOPs and Long GOPS, the short ones are… well… short and the long ones are… long!

This is the sequence of a short GOP (very, very generally speaking) and would be typical of MPEG2 compression as in DVDs:

Short GOP: I-B-B-B-B-P-B-B-B-B-I-B-B-B-B-P-B-B-B-B-I

This would be a sequence from a Long GOP most likely found on MPEG4, H.264, AVCHD etc.:

Long GOP: I-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-P-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-I-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-P-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-I

Now that you I hope, have at least an idea of how these video file formats achieve compression and smaller file size let’s take a look at them from an editing point of view.

The first possible problem for the MPEG editing software occurs in the recording stage of the original file. In the short GOP example imagine there is the tiniest error or glitch that occurs in the first B-Picture of the sequence. Every Picture after that will snowball the effect of that glitch until we hit the next complete I-Picture because they use each other as reference points.

Now imagine the same glitch occurring in the first B-Picture of the Long GOP sequence…yikes that’s 20 Pictures of compounding error until the next I-Picture!

Video playback software will not usually be concerned by these errors because part of the playback software function is to detect and correct such errors on the fly so for playback… no problem!

However, it is not the task of video editing software to perform that function, it is designed to edit the video file which is a far more complex procedure. If it is trying to make a cut, insert a transition or apply an effect to a part of the video file that has an error then it may… and usually does, choke!

Similarly MPEG editing software is designed to render a new video file once you have finished your masterpiece. Very often you will get failures, glitches or computer freezes because the video editing software has hit some hidden data error within the original files… and just falls over when it hits that point.

Worse still you can get an MPEG2 or MPEG4 file that slowly goes more and more out of sync with the audio.

Finally let’s imagine you are doing some MPEG2 editing or MPEG4 editing and you want to make a cut at a specific point. Unseen to you is the fact that this particular cut will occur exactly in the middle of a group of B-Pictures.

We know already that these are not full pictures, they are a little data and reference to other pictures…right? So how is the video editing software going to do that? It is quite literally trying to make a cut where there is almost no picture!

Take that example and apply it then to the Long GOP sequence that you would find in the new very highly compressed formats especially in high definition. You would be trying to make a cut in the middle of nowhere.

To do that the video editing software has to use all the available information to create an I-Picture at the cut point so that a new GOP can be started… the miracle is that not only can it be done, it can be done on a consumer level video editor! Cool!

Another important issue in MPEG2 editing and MPEG4 editing is to ensure that the original video is NOT re-encoded. MPEG2 compression and MPEG4 compression have their existing flaws and every time they are re-encoded the image quality slightly degrades.

That is why is is vital to only use MPEG editing software that has a “smart encode” type feature that can identify those parts of your project that do not need to be re-encoded and to simply copy them to retain quality.

I hope that at least sheds some light on to the current difficulties in MPEG2 editing and MPEG4 editing along with all the other new highly compressed video formats.

My advice to keep you out of trouble?

Right now MPEG2 editing has been around for quite a while and most of the mainstream video editing software can handle it quite well. Time is on its side.

HDV is simply MPEG2 editing with the volume turned up to 11. Although currently it is still slightly glitchy it will settle very quickly and is a safe bet.

All the rest… MPEG4 editing , MOV, H.264, FLV, WMV… and on and on still suffer badly from the problems caused by long GOPs and very high compression. This will take longer to sort out but it will get sorted.

Clearly bottom of the heap for video editing (top for file size and quality!) is AVCHD. AVCHD is still a pig to edit and requires huge computer resources for both editing and playback. I know there is a lot of attention on it right now but a solution to its problems seem a little way off yet.

If you do happen to go for MPEG2 editing or MPEG4 editing whether high defintion or not then your needs may well be served best by specialist MPEG editing software.

If that is the case then there is no question as to which one.

Although it has never been part of the mainstream of video editing software Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD was the first video editor to really nail down how to edit MPEG2′s and their development has continued.

It really is a superb piece of software for dealing with MPEGs in any form. It is not as well known as some of the usual suspects in the video editing software market because of its specialist nature but if your video editing needs are mainly confined to MPEG2 editing or MPEG4 editing and you want a simply great MPEG editor then Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD is well worth a look.

Click on this link to take a look at it for yourself at Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD or you can click this link for a full review of Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD.

Still awake….?

This is an archived page for Magix Movie Edit Pro 15. You can get information on the latest version by checking the menu on the right.

With the release of Magix Movie Edit Pro things really seem to be hotting up in the consumer video editing software market and by the looks of it the consumer is going to be the clear winner.

As I have noted in a few earlier posts, Cyberlink Power Director 7 transformed itself last year from a semi-automated “point and clicker” to a fully fledged home video editing program to rival some of the best. It became my number two choice for someone seeking to enter this market with a rich feature list and an easily learned interface.

Well things have certainly changed quickly because this latest offering from Magix is quite exceptional and has raised the bar again.

Magix are a European company and although they have been around for a while they have never really tried to penetrate much beyond that. About two years ago they began what appeared to be an earnest attempt to break out of that market and hit the U.S. and others.

Their first attempts involved pitting the existing features if their Movie Edit Pro product against the existing competition but in all honesty they simply didn’t do anything to separate themselves from the crowd. The Movie Edit Pro 11, 12 and 13 versions were ok but a bit buggy and they still hadn’t quite nailed down some of the new video file formats.

Part of the problem seemed to be that they were overreaching, too many features to try to entice users without really getting those features working stably on a wide range of home computers.

Well I have to report that with the release of Movie Edit Pro 15 they have come full circle. This version not only has one of the best feature sets around at the moment but it appears to be rock solid for stability and usability.

The bottom line is that if your are just starting out in home video editing then the Magix Movie Edit Pro would be a great train to jump on right now.

Here are the main features at a glance and some of my impressions but some of the key points are the sound quality control, the 3D titling module, the wide range of video input and output compatibility and the multi-cam editing feature. Finally it comes with its own screen capture module which is a huge plus point for those of you who like to do screen capture videos.

Click Image to See magix Movie Edit Pro

I personally look for REAL features in video editing software not just stuff that looks cool! Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 does have a bunch of bells and whistles but it also has some great, great features. Well worth a look.

DV Camcorders and Webcams
Real-time scene recognition for custom capture, compression and preview, batch processing and single image recording for DV camcorders.

Videos from DVD
Imports video DVDs from DVD camcorders and recorders as well as from the DVD reader of your computer and recognizes the .vob file structure as well.

Analog Recordings
VHS Copy Assistant for automatic scene recognition and chapter markers + MPEG2 recording/burn automation.

AVCHD/HDV Editing *Key Feature
Optimized import of AVCHD recordings but please remember for any video editing software this video file format is heavily dependent on processor power. Make sure you have more than the recommended minimum.

Catooh – Online Content Library
This is an online content library you get access to. You can get loads of music, effects, styles and DVD menus for your video projects.

Customizable Interface
The individual windows can be re-sized or repositioned any way – even across multiple monitors.

Video Image Optimization
Picture stabilization filter, auto exposure, auto color, selective brightness, focus, brightness/contrast, color adjustment, cropping

Video Effects
Video effects including Key frame automation control for dynamic transitions.

Video Scaling
Precise image size, position, rotation, mirror, picture-in-picture

Color Correction
Color correction controls.

Chroma keying
Chroma keying with alpha channel (Blue Screen/Green Screen)

Overview, Storyboard, Timeline *Key Feature
Easily sort, arrange, and add sound to scenes (99 tracks). It is vital to be able to switch from timeline to storyboard in any video editing software. Storyboard allows an overview of your project, timeline allows fine editing points to be made.

Scene Recognition
Automatically splits videos into individual scenes as desired.

3D titles
Choice of over 100 animated and static templates (e.g. flowing opening/closing credits, subtitles). Not a key feature but a great way to give your final production that extra “something.”

Multi-cam Editing * Key Feature!
Synchronize 2 cameras and select the best scenes with live preview. This task of sybchronizing two cams is a royal pain in the b**t with other software, in Movie Edit Pro it is a snap.

Animated GIF file import
Animated decorative elements from Internet graphics, ClipArts, etc.

Magnetic Objects – Huge feature here! *Key Feature
Automatically set decorative elements, picture-in-picture and text objects to follow moving objects in the background video. In most video editing software at this level of the market this feature is missing. The only way to work around it would be to “frame by fame” keep re-positioning a mask or overlay to follow the object in the base video. It takes hours to do that! E.g. Your child is in a team and they are playing football, you add an arrow to the overlay track, mark your kid’s head as the object to follow and the arrow follows his head around! Cool!

Overdub & Synchronize
MAGIX Soundtrack Maker Creates individual background music mood changes to match your individual scenes, nice feature great for video files that have bad sound.

Audio Restoration
Remove overmodulation & distortion, denoise and normalize.

Audio Mixer
With real time automation for volume and panorama.

Sound Effects
60 templates (for example, karaoke, telephone, pitch) + VST® plug-in support

Integrated Sound Studio
With equalizer, compressor, stereo FX, reverb, echo, and more.

Dolby®Digital 5.1 sound
Create movies with genuine Dolby®Digital 5.1 sound

Interactive Menus (4:3 and16:9)* Key Feature.
30 uniquely customizable templates with intros, backgrounds (videos/music), animated buttons and 3D titles. Also for Blu-ray Discs.

Custom DVD Backgrounds
Templates for automatic DVD background animation using motifs from your video project.

Multi-Copy, disc splitting, ondisc editing
Creates double-layer DVDs (+R), multiple disc copies, divides movies onto several discs, creates attachments to DVD-/+RWs, and much more

Universal Data Burn Module
For video disc copies, project backups, etc.

Real Time DVD Burning
Burn directly to disc during analog capture from TV card, camcorder, DVD player or VHS recorder.

Batch Processing
Automatically convert multiple videos and projects into other formats. Now available for whole folders.

Smart rendering (also for videos with Dolby®Digital Sound) *Key Feature.
Import, capture, edit, and burn to disc in original format without recalculation. (requires a free activation via the Internet)

Easy Burn Mode
Now you can burn it directly to DVD even faster.

Export to Mobile Devices (.mov, .wmv, .rm) *Key Feature
For video players, SmartPhones, PDAs, mobiles, etc. Export of MPEG-4 profiles for mobile devices with corresponding codec (for example, PSP, iPod).
Transfer films to digital picture frames (MJPEG format)

YouTube Upload
Upload movies and slideshows to YouTube directly.

MAGIX Online Album
Present personal videos on your own web page – for free. Export your films as a WebDVD or as a mixed-mode album.

MAGIX.info Community
Share your knowledge with other users directly from within the program.

Extensive Multimedia Archive
2,000 universal templates: 7 thematic intros & outros, 150 decorative elements, 100 video, image & colour effects, 200 fades, 60 videos & complementary motifs, 60 audio effects, background music, new overdubbing sounds and much more.

As always with video editing software…mileage may vary! Make sure you take advantage of the free trial to be certain it will play nice with your computer set up.

Click here to check out Magix Movie Edit Pro 17

Or…you can read a full review here at Magix Movie Edit Pro 17 Review.

Video File Import and Export Choices

As I mentioned in another post in this series on how to choose the best video editing software for you one thing to keep in mind during the selection process is, “What is it that I am REALLY going to do with this software?” There is absolutely no point in spending extra money on software that handles all sorts of exotic video file formats because it seems cool to be able to have that capability if you are never going to use it.

Many video file formats available today are owned by software companies and this involves paying a license to use their technology. Paying all sorts of license fees that are included within the video software package that you have no need for makes no sense at all.

Similarly, incurring extra expense for High Definition Video features or Blu-ray features when you you don’t have a Blu-ray burner or player and don’t have a High definition TV or camcorder is just wasting money.

In choosing the correct video editing software for you probably the first point to consider is (realistically),

“What will be the main video format (or formats) of the raw video files I will be importing into the program for editing?”

Secondly,

“What will be the main video file format that I will be producing so as to playback, store or distribute my final productions?

Here is a quick round up of the current video formats you are most likely to be using as input into your video editing projects:

1. Standard Definition (SD)

DV.avi
This is the video format recorded to mini DV tapes on many camcorders. As a format it is still very popular because it is a virtually uncompressed video format and provides the best quality in standard definition video combined with the greatest suitability for editing. The video format itself was developed specifically for this purpose which is why it is so video editor friendly. It requires the least amount of computer resources of all the various video file types.

MPEG2 video recorded to mini DVD either on a camcorder or DVD recorder.
MPEG2 video recorded to an inbuilt hard disc drive on a camcorder or DVD recorder.

MPEG2 was originally designed as a distribution video file type for the DVD standard. It was never designed to be edited so of course as soon as it became available on the original Sony DVD camcorders…everyone wanted to edit with it!

What ensued was about three years of heartbreak and a lot of whining and moaning from the public until the video editing software engineers finally got the format sorted out and presently this is the easiest of the compressed video file formats to edit.

It is reasonably easy on resources but because of the compression involved can be a little twitchy if your computer gets stressed. Provided you don’t keep re-copying and re-compressing the files the quality will maintain pretty well.

MPEG4, H.264, H.263, .MOV, .WMV, .FLV, DivX, Xvid and on and on and on!
This group represents the rest of the pack and all fall under a general heading of highly compressed files most often used for distribution online (YouTube etc.) or for replay on a computer monitor. They produce tiny files and considering the size of the video files they can produce some excellent quality.

The main point to remember with these files is that they were specifically designed to be video distribution formats, the final product after you have used a more video editor friendly input format. There is nothing in their design specs that included how to edit them. So it is important to note that editing with these formats will always be a hit and miss affair and should be avoided if possible. (See the note at the end of this post.)

2. High Definition (HD):

HD MPEG2 recorded to mini DV tape on a camcorder. This format is called HDV and is kind of like MPEG2 on crack! Of all the new HD formats this one has proven to be, by far, the most conducive to video editing.
AVCHD (an MPEG4 variant) usually recorded to inbuilt hard disc drive on a HD camcorder.
AVCHD recorded to DVD on a camcorder.
AVCHD recorded to solid state (flash etc.) memory on a camcorder.

AVCHD in any format and from any device is the baby of the bunch and is currently the bane of the video editing forums. It’s day will come but for now is beset with editing problems and requires huge processing ability from the computer.

On to output formats:

DVD.
This will be in the form of MPEG2 files authored (organized and written) to DVD in standard definition. It is possible to write a high definition video file structure to a standard DVD and have a High Definition player and HDTV handle it however compatibility at present is is not widespread.

Completed projects or edited material written back to the original recording device. E.g. A completed project written back to a tape camcorder for archival purposes in the original format.

High Definition material written to a Blue Ray disc or what is called a “hybrid” disc. This is an AVCHD file and file structure that can be played back on a Sony Playstation connected to a HDTV.

Finally, any of a number of very highly compressed formats for viewing on computers, hand held devices or loading on to internet services such as YouTube.

As an added note here you also need to be aware of the various sound recording and playback formats. If your particular recording device, camcorder or DVD recorder uses Dolby Stereo (AC3) or 5:1 Surround or you wish to output these audio file types, a license for that technology is needed. Check the software to see if it is included in the purchase price or whether it must be purchased as an add on.

A note on video compression.
The term compression when speaking of video files tends to give an incorrect impression regarding exactly what is happening to your files. You would think that what is happening is that your video file is being squashed in some way so as to occupy less space. Nothing could be further from the truth! The truth is that the compression software is throwing away a large part of the original information and it is this point that causes the problems in video editing.

Of course if the software marketers called it video trashing, or data dumping I don’t think, somehow, it would convey the hi-tech sexiness that they are trying to promote!

So, your first task in deciding on what video editing software is suitable for you is to work out what your most common source files will be and what your most common output will be. That represents the core of what you will be using the software for and should be your main focus. After that look through any other formats you may need to narrow down the choice.

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