editor for 720 at DVinfo.net

Rob deJong · August 19th, 2010, 04:29 AM

Hello,
My father in law bought this Lumix DMC LX3.
It has HD 720 MOV files.
Now he is converting them to MPEG to be able to work with them, because his editor (powerdirector) and neither WindowsMovieMaker accept the MOV files.
Is there a simple and cheap editor available that accepts MOV directly, and which is not too demading on the pc?
Thanks,
Rob

Jay Massengill · August 20th, 2010, 11:43 AM

It may look daunting when compared to Windows Movie Maker, but you can download a free trial of the consumer versions of Sony Vegas. They handle MOV files (depending on some recent oddities with which version of iTunes you may also have loaded on your computer, all fixable though), and are around $50 and $95 US for the two lowest versions. If he likes the free trial, get on the mailing list for sale prices that come out periodically to buy or upgrade.

Rob deJong · September 1st, 2010, 02:07 AM

Many thanks for your recommendations. I have downloaded Vegas and that works like a charm. He's very happy now, though there is some stuttering, probably because he doesn't have the strongest notebook or maybe because of videocard. Anyway thanks.

Jay Massengill · September 1st, 2010, 10:56 AM

You're welcome!
It is true that newer, highly-compressed HD file formats generated by cameras take a lot of computer horsepower to play smoothly in preview during the editing process.
There is substantial activity in the Vegas forum here on this board, he should check out the threads there regarding this issue. Converting the camera files to an intermediate codec is usually the best solution for smoothness if you don't have a really fast computer, but there are other benefits to this workflow as well.
Don't be discouraged though by the claims that you absolutely must have the latest i7 processor and huge amount of RAM if he wants to use the files directly. That would certainly be ideal, but I routinely edit with Vegas on an i3 notebook with 4 Gb of RAM and I make do just fine with 1440x1080i AVCHD files. My Canon camera records all footage as 1080i, I shoot at 30p.

August 19th, 2010, 04:29 AM	#1
Rob deJong Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Saly Hungary Posts: 169	editor for 720 Hello, My father in law bought this Lumix DMC LX3. It has HD 720 MOV files. Now he is converting them to MPEG to be able to work with them, because his editor (powerdirector) and neither WindowsMovieMaker accept the MOV files. Is there a simple and cheap editor available that accepts MOV directly, and which is not too demading on the pc? Thanks, Rob

August 20th, 2010, 11:43 AM	#2
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	It may look daunting when compared to Windows Movie Maker, but you can download a free trial of the consumer versions of Sony Vegas. They handle MOV files (depending on some recent oddities with which version of iTunes you may also have loaded on your computer, all fixable though), and are around $50 and $95 US for the two lowest versions. If he likes the free trial, get on the mailing list for sale prices that come out periodically to buy or upgrade.

September 1st, 2010, 02:07 AM	#3
Rob deJong Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Saly Hungary Posts: 169	Many thanks for your recommendations. I have downloaded Vegas and that works like a charm. He's very happy now, though there is some stuttering, probably because he doesn't have the strongest notebook or maybe because of videocard. Anyway thanks.

September 1st, 2010, 10:56 AM	#4
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	You're welcome! It is true that newer, highly-compressed HD file formats generated by cameras take a lot of computer horsepower to play smoothly in preview during the editing process. There is substantial activity in the Vegas forum here on this board, he should check out the threads there regarding this issue. Converting the camera files to an intermediate codec is usually the best solution for smoothness if you don't have a really fast computer, but there are other benefits to this workflow as well. Don't be discouraged though by the claims that you absolutely must have the latest i7 processor and huge amount of RAM if he wants to use the files directly. That would certainly be ideal, but I routinely edit with Vegas on an i3 notebook with 4 Gb of RAM and I make do just fine with 1440x1080i AVCHD files. My Canon camera records all footage as 1080i, I shoot at 30p.