Copying GL2 footage into Vegas at DVinfo.net

Leigh Hanlon · April 16th, 2006, 04:19 PM

I've been using my GL2 to capture footage for a friend's video project. Over at his place, we transferred a cassette directly into his PC using Vegas and, by default, I guess, the clips were .avi files. (I don't use Vegas, so I'm unfamiliar with its importing options.)

Recently, I shot footage at a remote location and it wasn't practical to go back to his place and plug the camcorder into his Windows machine, so I transferred the files into my PowerBook using iMovie HD 6 and then copied the .dv clips onto a DVD and shipped it to him. He says that the .avi files are not only much larger than the .dv files but that the .avi footage is much sharper.

So, my questions:

1. Can iMovie import clips as .avi files? Or save/export them as such?

2. Is .avi a superior format to .dv?

3. Why is this a problem -- isn't .dv the native, original format my GL2 is capturing?

4. Is it possible that the .avi footage is being tweaked somehow in Vegas and that's why it looks better and that once the .dv footage is similarly tweaked it'll look the same?

I feel bad about giving this guy inferior footage, if that's what's happening. Any suggestions from you Vegas folks would be appreciated.

Leigh

David Jimerson · April 16th, 2006, 04:26 PM

AVIs are just wrappers; the codec is DV. It's the same info whether captured as .avi or .mov -- it's just a straight copy of 1s and 0s. DV is about 13 gigs per hour no matter what.

Leigh Hanlon · April 16th, 2006, 04:57 PM

David,

Many thanks for the info. Any idea what could be causing my friend's perceived quality difference between the .avi files we transferred directly into his PC and the .dv files I copied onto a DVD for him?

Leigh

David Jimerson · April 16th, 2006, 05:03 PM

Did you burn it as a video DVD, or did you save the files as data? If you burned a video DVD, you sent him MPEG-2 files.

If you saved them as data and the the files aren't 13 gigs/hour, then you didn't send him DV files; you (or iMovie) used something else. MPEG-2? MPEG-4? Sorenson 3? H.264? All of these will be far more compressed than DV, will have smaller files, and the quality will be less.

Leigh Hanlon · April 16th, 2006, 05:13 PM

David,

I didn't burn a video DVD. All I did was copy the .dv files onto a DVD. iMovie wasn't even running at the time -- and these are the only files that were transferred from the GL2. If the files haven't been modified and have a .dv extension, they're original .dv files, right?

Leigh

David Jimerson · April 16th, 2006, 05:16 PM

How big are the files, per hour?

Leigh Hanlon · April 16th, 2006, 05:21 PM

I just checked -- an hour and seven second's worth of .dv files are 12.62 GB.

David Jimerson · April 16th, 2006, 05:22 PM

Well, that's about right -- I'd be wondering what the .avi files on the other end are, then, because if they're so much bigger, then they aren't DV.

Leigh Hanlon · April 16th, 2006, 05:25 PM

I think he's using Vegas 4, if that helps. My friend has a great deal of experience as a graphic artist, but, like me, is a relative newcomer to NLE editing. I was there when he transferred the files over and I think he pretty much accepted whatever options were defaults.

Leigh

David Jimerson · April 16th, 2006, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leigh Hanlon

I think he's using Vegas 4, if that helps. My friend has a great deal of experience as a graphic artist, but, like me, is a relative newcomer to NLE editing. I was there when he transferred the files over and I think he pretty much accepted whatever options were defaults.

Leigh

All Vegas does is transfer the DV bit for bit and put it into an .avi wrapper. Seems like he must have done something else if his file sizes are bigger.

April 16th, 2006, 04:19 PM	#1
Leigh Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Chicago, USA Posts: 64	Copying GL2 footage into Vegas I've been using my GL2 to capture footage for a friend's video project. Over at his place, we transferred a cassette directly into his PC using Vegas and, by default, I guess, the clips were .avi files. (I don't use Vegas, so I'm unfamiliar with its importing options.) Recently, I shot footage at a remote location and it wasn't practical to go back to his place and plug the camcorder into his Windows machine, so I transferred the files into my PowerBook using iMovie HD 6 and then copied the .dv clips onto a DVD and shipped it to him. He says that the .avi files are not only much larger than the .dv files but that the .avi footage is much sharper. So, my questions: 1. Can iMovie import clips as .avi files? Or save/export them as such? 2. Is .avi a superior format to .dv? 3. Why is this a problem -- isn't .dv the native, original format my GL2 is capturing? 4. Is it possible that the .avi footage is being tweaked somehow in Vegas and that's why it looks better and that once the .dv footage is similarly tweaked it'll look the same? I feel bad about giving this guy inferior footage, if that's what's happening. Any suggestions from you Vegas folks would be appreciated. Leigh __________________ Leigh Hanlon \| Chicago, USA GL2 - Final Cut Studio

April 16th, 2006, 04:26 PM	#2
David Jimerson Jubal 28 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 872	AVIs are just wrappers; the codec is DV. It's the same info whether captured as .avi or .mov -- it's just a straight copy of 1s and 0s. DV is about 13 gigs per hour no matter what. __________________ www.wrightsvillebeachstudios.com

April 16th, 2006, 04:57 PM	#3
Leigh Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Chicago, USA Posts: 64	David, Many thanks for the info. Any idea what could be causing my friend's perceived quality difference between the .avi files we transferred directly into his PC and the .dv files I copied onto a DVD for him? Leigh __________________ Leigh Hanlon \| Chicago, USA GL2 - Final Cut Studio

April 16th, 2006, 05:03 PM	#4
David Jimerson Jubal 28 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 872	Did you burn it as a video DVD, or did you save the files as data? If you burned a video DVD, you sent him MPEG-2 files. If you saved them as data and the the files aren't 13 gigs/hour, then you didn't send him DV files; you (or iMovie) used something else. MPEG-2? MPEG-4? Sorenson 3? H.264? All of these will be far more compressed than DV, will have smaller files, and the quality will be less. __________________ www.wrightsvillebeachstudios.com

April 16th, 2006, 05:13 PM	#5
Leigh Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Chicago, USA Posts: 64	David, I didn't burn a video DVD. All I did was copy the .dv files onto a DVD. iMovie wasn't even running at the time -- and these are the only files that were transferred from the GL2. If the files haven't been modified and have a .dv extension, they're original .dv files, right? Leigh __________________ Leigh Hanlon \| Chicago, USA GL2 - Final Cut Studio

April 16th, 2006, 05:16 PM	#6
David Jimerson Jubal 28 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 872	How big are the files, per hour? __________________ www.wrightsvillebeachstudios.com

April 16th, 2006, 05:21 PM	#7
Leigh Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Chicago, USA Posts: 64	I just checked -- an hour and seven second's worth of .dv files are 12.62 GB. __________________ Leigh Hanlon \| Chicago, USA GL2 - Final Cut Studio

April 16th, 2006, 05:22 PM	#8
David Jimerson Jubal 28 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 872	Well, that's about right -- I'd be wondering what the .avi files on the other end are, then, because if they're so much bigger, then they aren't DV. __________________ www.wrightsvillebeachstudios.com

April 16th, 2006, 05:25 PM	#9
Leigh Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Chicago, USA Posts: 64	I think he's using Vegas 4, if that helps. My friend has a great deal of experience as a graphic artist, but, like me, is a relative newcomer to NLE editing. I was there when he transferred the files over and I think he pretty much accepted whatever options were defaults. Leigh __________________ Leigh Hanlon \| Chicago, USA GL2 - Final Cut Studio