New GZ-HD7- joining mpeg files

[Greg Huber]

I am a proud new owner of the GZ-HD7. I have had mine for just under a week now and am trying to get things set up and tweaked for my overall setup.

The camera saves each scene into a separate file. I am glad it does this- makes things easier to manage and archive. However, I'd like to be able to join all the mpeg files together so I can view them as one large recording. I've seen a number of freeware joiner utilities (ranging from "copy /b" native functionality of windows, to programs people have built). I also know the bundled software allows you to combine mpeg's, but you have the penalty of transcoding which takes significant time. My concern with using freeware joiner utilities is that many of them don't seem to take into account multiple headers in mpeg files- ie, each individual file has headers. What is a best practice / software utility that works well, supports industry standards for mpeg, etc. that can be used to join mpeg files? (preferably free if there is such a thing)

[Michael Ferreira]

Greg,

Do you want to keep the camera format(TOD) or end up with an MPEG file with all the joined clips.

Are you not going to edit any of the clips?

Reason i am asking.. a few of the higher end file converters do joining. But you will have to fix the time code in the files(most progs do it automatically just takes some coffee break time)

I love my HD7. I film everyday almost all day - i needed to not worry about tapes. With the HD7 it ended up taking longer converting then it would real time capture.

I now shoot CRB and build my playlist in the cam and then shoot it over firewire... not much decrease in quality ( i wont get into why to long of a topic)

Tell me what your looking todo and i'll try to help you out a little more.

[Barry Smith]

TOD is basically MPG with 4 bytes extra per frame. The bundled software removes the extra bytes and drops out an MPG without having to think about it. It is about 10X faster than 1394 because you can use USB and the conversion is lightning fast. I did a small "how to" which demonstrates the idea.

Look at my signature link.

Once the files are in MPG format they are in a common format acceptable to most editor packages.

[Michael Ferreira]

Barry,

Your guide is a must for anyone JVC hdd cams and windows os.

i just wonder if maybe he meant join them together as tod to dump back in later on or not...

I Still don't think the conversion on OS X would ever be 10X faster then firewire. Wish they would have given software for osx as well.

I think he tried the included software and was not very convinced with the waiting for results. I think the joining files was the important part for him.

Again greg any info you can give us to help you. what we are here for.

[Kaushik Parmar]

Dear Michael Ferreira,

I am glad you like your GZHD7 and enjoying everyday! I would appreciate if you can post your captured videos here!

I am using GZHD7 since last 9 months, I purchased from the very first day when it was launched in NA. I am using supplied CyberLink software for editing and etc. With PowerDirector 5, we are able to produce TOD files and I am doing same then I convert them in MPEG2! I am happy with supplied software!

I want to buy Sony or Adobe software but I am afraid they do not have one special feature for "Shaking" videos, PowerDirector has that feature and you can remove those shaky moments! If you wants to feel that see videos captured by me, how they look so smooth!

Here are links:


http://sharebigfile.com/en/file/1668...sion-divx.html

http://sharebigfile.com/en/file/1670...tion-divx.html

http://www.mediafire.com/?8t2aswcdcme

http://www.uploading.com/files/0TIFG...sion.divx.html

http://www.uploading.com/files/DJEE2...Side.divx.html

This is smoothest captured video in slow motion! (Must see!)
http://www.uploading.com/files/DATF...otion.divx.html

Highly appreciate feedback & suggestion from everybody!

Thanks,
Kaushik

[Greg Huber]

Thanks Michael, Barry, et al- I appreciate the info on TOD and joining.

A little more info and background - and I think I came up with a good solution. My choice of "playback" right now is an Xbox 360 connected to a Windows Media center (running Vista), which is hooked in to my Sony 40" LCD HDTV. From the Media Center computer I can stream video to my Xbox 360 and watch it in true HD quality at 1080i, directly from the MPEG's that are created from the import process (mentioned in Barry's workflow).

The problem that I was having is that when I wanted to view an entire "sequence" of mpegs I would need to go in and click on each file individually- which was really annoying, given that some files are only a few minutes (every pause creates a new file). So my first thought to solve this would be joining the files together, which would result in enormous transcoding and/or non-standard mpeg files, and additionally would mean a HUGE resulting file.

However, I found a better solution that effectively joins the videos for Media Center, but still keeps them separate on the file system. You can create a media play list file, which is a simple XML file, and stick it in the same directory as all your clips. In your playlist, you simply specify the sequence of clips that you want to watch in the file. When you go to Windows Media Center, you click on the play list (as opposed to the individual mpeg) and you are able to watch it like it is one video. I actually wrote a quick C# program to do this and plan on making it freely available. I'll post a link when I've got it polished in case anyone else is interested (currently it is command line only, I was planning on putting a windows forms interface for non-command line users).

So.. I am happy as a clam. My workflow is something like this:

1. Capture your video (in separate scenes, however many you want)
2. Connect camera to PC via USB. Do a simple "file copy" from the camera
3. Open the PowerDirector tool and "import from folder" (minimal time to import, which converts TOD to MPEG) *
4. Run my playlist generator program that automatically sequences the mpeg's in the order they were created into a playlist (takes roughly 1 second to run)
5. Hit the media center button on my Xbox 360, browse to videos, and pick the playlist- sit back and enjoy in full HD.

In my experience, for about an hours worth of content, this entire process takes around 10-15 minutes or so- the largest time sinks are copying the file from the vid cam, and running the import. SO Much better than the days of using firewire to save content! This is exactly why I wanted to buy the JVC, and I am very glad I did.

* Note, I am also "sharing" the file folder that I import my videos to so they are available to Media Center.

Another releated questions- Is there any benefit to keeping them other than being able to move back to the camera? I don't think I'll need to do that- mpeg seems like it will be fine. I don't ever plan on using the camera to play back once I am done- will simply convert to MPEG and delete the TOD files off the camera.

One last thing to mention- for probably 75% of my content, I don't plan on editing it (ie, the simple stuff like filming the kids). For the other 25% (weddings, dvd's I want to make, etc) this isn't really an issue since I will end up transcoding the entire thing as I'll be cutting content, adding transitions, etc. I've used ULEAD in the past but it seems like there are probably some other great packages out now days.

Originally Posted by Michael Ferreira

Greg,

Do you want to keep the camera format(TOD) or end up with an MPEG file with all the joined clips.

Are you not going to edit any of the clips?

Reason i am asking.. a few of the higher end file converters do joining. But you will have to fix the time code in the files(most progs do it automatically just takes some coffee break time)

I love my HD7. I film everyday almost all day - i needed to not worry about tapes. With the HD7 it ended up taking longer converting then it would real time capture.

I now shoot CRB and build my playlist in the cam and then shoot it over firewire... not much decrease in quality ( i wont get into why to long of a topic)

Tell me what your looking todo and i'll try to help you out a little more.

[Michael Ferreira]

Greg,

I'm super excited for you. The feeling of enjoying your videos in HD in the living room(ect) is the best.

I also used to use the Xbox360 to view my content. Now with the new update they make it even better with divx and xvid support.

I hope you continue to enjoy your JVC.

[Barry Smith]

Originally Posted by Michael Ferreira

Barry,

Your guide is a must for anyone JVC hdd cams and windows os.

I found that my enjoyment of the JVC hardware was much greater when I was able to resolve the question of generic MPEG formats into MP4 players.

Obviously, it helps greatly to enjoy the technology if you can find a simple way to import the files into an editor or linear manager. That is the reason why I decided to make the page with the significant input of the local experts in this forum.

I have updated the link and its contents and I have not answered the question of what happens with 1440CBR files. As I understand it the USB method and the software conversion may still work but I prefer not to mislead anyone.

I myself use networked MP4 players with no hard drive running over a Gigabit LAN to a Synology NAS product. I get 4TB of video with multiple users over an "entertainment LAN".

I believe some of the better known MP4 players are Korean made and Mediagate is one of the early adopters. There are many new players now.

Recently I was in Europe and Asia and I used the link I made to assist others who were taking copies of the footage I made. This way I dont have to worry so much about explaining it many times.

I hope everyone keeps their own copy of the HTML. I might also consider posting the link to a permanent site if someone can suggest a location. If anyone wants to make it in European and in Asian languages it would be great.