Demo?

[Chaz Kempter]

I have an hdr-hc1 and a new computer. This may not be the place to post this question but here goes. I am having trouble finding a free trial version of ANY program that allows you to capture in HD. PP and Vegas don;t let me capture HD and that is really what I would like to try. Any one found a trial version that lets you capture HD?

[Wolfgang Winne]

Capture Tool CapDVHS v0.3.0.6 http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=CapDVHS is for free. this program capture your HDV nativ in the best quality ....... with http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ VLC Mediaplayer can you good play hdv video....

[Chaz Kempter]

Thanks Wolfgang... and yes, the stuff you pointed out did indeed allow me to capture HD with no problem. However let me back up a step. I'm not looking for freeware. I am looking for a editing program (that I will buy) that will edit and capture HD. But before I lay down the big $ I would like to actually capture some HD stuff using it's demo... you know, kind of like a test drive... to see how it looks and works. I know I can capture SD with the trial versions of PP and Vegas but what's the point? That's like test driving a honda so you can decide wheather or not to buy the corvette.
I would like to know if any of the big dogs have demo's that allow HD capture.
Thanks.

[Jon Omiatek]

You can test drive Connect HD which will make your Vegas experience a good one. Trying to edit the captured HD M2t files in impossible. I tried with my Dual Core 3.2, 2.5 gigs of ram and it wasn't very fun. With Connect HD(free trial for 2 weeks) then it's 199.

Jon

[Chris Barcellos]

I'm not sure, but you might be able to download Premiere 1.51 with HDV ungrade, and then get the Cineform Aspect trial version to test editing.

Vegas trial may work with Cineform HD Connect too.

Check out David Newman in the Cinneform threads. He will be able to tell you for sure.

But I agree with you about Premiere Pro. Why do they give us a trial download, without HDV capability?

[Chaz Kempter]

Yes Jon. but the trial version of Vegas dosen't allow HD capture ,so the connect HD is useless until then. And Chris the HDV upgrade in 1.51 is not offered as a free demo to my knowledge.
I guess I was looking for one program that would do it all nice and simple...but I guess the software people haven't caught up with this fast little beauty? (the HC1). I'll check with David to see what he recommends. The first program to hit my desktop, that actually works, will probably get my money. I'm not tough to please.. just want to get this show on the road before I'm up to my "you know what" in minidv tapes.

[Dave Herzog]

Let us know what you find, Chaz... I'm wondering about the same issues, and am disappointed (and surprised) to find out that the free trials don't include HD-catpure ability.

Thanks,

Dave

[Chaz Kempter]

Well, so far, I've downloaded both premier pro 2.0 and vegas 6c with cineform HD added just to see if it helped and still nothing. Oh yes it will capture and edit SD great but turn on the old HD and buckle your seat belts folks. In the case of PP my computer would freak it's beans when ever I just hovered my pointer close to the PP icon. (almost) But...if I was dumb enought to click on it ...yikes! the screen would go black in an instant ... the computer would shut down and come back saying" we have recovered from a serious error" or something ... Very bad attitude. Big stink.
Sony Vegas 6c works fine if you output SD but cannot capture if you output HD. It just sits on it's little computer hands and looks at you like "what?"
I'm sure someone will get on the stick and come up with a real demo sooner or later. Until then... the tapes are piling up.

[Dave Herzog]

Do you think you'll wait until the demo actually comes out? Does one or the other already seem easier to use? Are you able to see an improvement with the Cineform in just SD, or do you need to be in HD to see the benefits?

Also, what are the specs on your new computer? Or at least: what do you think is necessary to run these programs efficiently, with minimal "attitude?"

Thanks!

[Chaz Kempter]

Hey Dave, all these programs seem complicated to me and there probably isn't any improvement with cineform in SD, SD works fine as it is.

My pc is about two weeks old. Its a HP media Center PC with a dual core 2.8mhz 920 intel chip; 2 gig ram, and a 300 gig hard , with a rippin' V. card. So the attiude part didn't come from having a slow computer. I think it freaked from trying to capture hd files when it wasen't set up to do so. Which is my whole point ... I would like to see how HD works before I sink the big spleef into a program. If it's still a hassle to work with the HD format...fine, I can get a SD program for much less and wait for the HD waters to calm. You know, wait until things work themselves out a little. (I really don't want to)

My biggest fear is that sometime in the near future someone will develop a must have ,simple, quick, effecient, HD edit program (which someone has to be working on as we speak) and I will have blown a wad on a recipe HD program I don't want anymore.

(recipe HD program: Ok.... start with this ,add two of that , fold in this addon to make that work better, beat until smooth, go to this web site and upgrade those, bake in the motherboard at 34C until firm and have everyone in the family cross their fingers and hope the cake dosen't fall.....)

Meanwhile , the tapes pile higher.

[Graham Wright]

I think the Vegas demos have HDV disabled because the Mpeg codec needs 3rd party licensing.

[Tyler Pruitt]

Originally Posted by Chaz Kempter

My biggest fear is that sometime in the near future someone will develop a must have ,simple, quick, effecient, HD edit program (which someone has to be working on as we speak) and I will have blown a wad on a recipe HD program I don't want anymore.

there is a program like that.... its called iMovie HD for OS X ;)

[Chris Barcellos]

For around about $100 Sony's Movie Studio + DVD Platinum will capture HDV, and perform most needed editing, in a limited version of Vegas, and it has a stripped down version of ACID, and DVD Architect.

Pinnacle Studio 10 Plus also has similar capability. In October, it was a new release with a lot of bugs, but a recent beta update seems to have resolved a lot of those. That program is also under $100, and has an easy to use interface. It is also is designed specifically to edit the .m2v video directly, and not in an intermediate form, and utilizes the Liquid editing engine. The pro boys in this forum don't want to acknowledge it, as it stems from a consumer editor, but it does do a good basic job..

If you have any version of Premiere from 6.x up, you can get the Premeire Pro upgrade of about $200.00. And it also edits directly in .m2t without intermediate capture if you want to go that route. Everyone seems to be still pushing the intermediate capture formats, ie., Cineform though, as being easier to edit in, and being easier on your processor, and providing some color correction enhancements. However, it requires 4x the space for capture as the .m2t hdv files that are captured with the direct capture programs.

[Graham Wright]

Chris, have you used Studio 10 for HDV? I've not been able to, nor find anyone able to output and HDV project back to the HC1 cam with it. Lots more complaints about this on their German forums. Even with the latest beta patch, Studio is far from stable for many. It doesn't have the Cineform codec for rendering to intermediate files and editing m2v files directly makes my PC struggle

[Chris Barcellos]

Originally Posted by Graham Wright

Chris, have you used Studio 10 for HDV? I've not been able to, nor find anyone able to output and HDV project back to the HC1 cam with it. Lots more complaints about this on their German forums. Even with the latest beta patch, Studio is far from stable for many. It doesn't have the Cineform codec for rendering to intermediate files and editing m2v files directly makes my PC struggle

Yeah i have been do so on just on a mess around basis. No real projects-- and how many people really do in HD. I just checked, and on February 9, 2006, a new Beta update was posted. Before I checked I learned I couldn't print my edited 1 minute, 40 second clip to my FX1, as you indicated. I had not tried that before. I went to the site, and the latest upgrade shows that it is repairing that issue. So I downloaded and reattempted, and my edited version tranferred to tape without a problem.

To be sure, there are glitches still being worked out. I took the same project and tried to create a new hdv2 file on my system, and it did, but there were some artifacts.

My experience with Pinnacle over the last five years is that they will release things early, and work with Beta updates and eventaully smooth out their programs. Looks like this is going that way too.

As to Cineform, with a dual core processor, I am wondering if we need to really use the intermediate file. While I understand the claim that Cineform intermediate allow easier editing and can create some benefit in the color rendition and correction areas, I just wonder if we need all that for every project... That is why I trying Premiere Pro 2.0 in the native format editing too-- I'll be doing that when my trial of Aspect HD runs out.