Saving Movie Maker Projects

G

Guest

I have FINALLY figured out how to save in mm2. Thanks papa john for your help on your web site.....it seemed a little confusing at first but once I started splitting up my project it worked like a charm. My project was 224 mb long....I found that when I split it into two pieces it did not work....so I went back and split it into five pieces then the saving process was only 9 minutes long for each piece....However I did not cut and paste or delete any of my project. I made my project (224 mb long) and made a back up copy...... then went in to my original project and copied each segment and opened it to a new project....saving each project as "high quality video" as I went along.....then after I had each segment saved...I opened yet a new project and imported all saved pieces back into my project and pieced everything back together (which was not hard since it was only a few pieces). So, saving to my computer as dv-avi took only a few minutes then I burned to disc. If everyone would read your website on saving mm2 projects they would come to a better understanding of how mm2 works in general when trying to save a project. I've been reading the xp newsgroup messages quite frequently while putting my project together and it seems everyone had the same issues as me such as: hanging, generic error messages, source files and so on.....Also I called tech support and boosted my virtual memory to Initial 1024 and Maximum 1024....I never got another virtual memory message after that.......since I was saving pieces of the project and not the entire project all together. Hope this helps some of you with all these issues on saving....If you will do it this way your project will not hang and you won't get all those error messages......Thanks again papa john!!!!
 
P

PapaJohn \(MVP\)

Thanks for the feedback.... and I fully support all you say.

Dividing a project up is one of those things that seems too hard, until you
jump into it. Then it goes pretty easily. The more modular you make the
projects/sub-projects, the easier it is for your computer to handle all the
parts, and the easier for you to work on them.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..
leeleeah said:
I have FINALLY figured out how to save in mm2. Thanks papa john for your
Click to expand...
help on your web site.....it seemed a little confusing at first but once I
started splitting up my project it worked like a charm. My project was 224
mb long....I found that when I split it into two pieces it did not
work....so I went back and split it into five pieces then the saving process
was only 9 minutes long for each piece....However I did not cut and paste or
delete any of my project. I made my project (224 mb long) and made a back up
copy...... then went in to my original project and copied each segment and
opened it to a new project....saving each project as "high quality video" as
I went along.....then after I had each segment saved...I opened yet a new
project and imported all saved pieces back into my project and pieced
everything back together (which was not hard since it was only a few
pieces). So, saving to my computer as dv-avi took only a few minutes then I
burned to disc. If everyone would read your website on saving mm2 projects
they would come to a better understanding of how mm2 works in general when
trying to save a project. I've been reading the xp newsgroup messages quite
frequently while putting my project together and it seems everyone had the
same issues as me such as: hanging, generic error messages, source files and
so on.....Also I called tech support and boosted my virtual memory to
Initial 1024 and Maximum 1024....I never got another virtual memory message
after that.......since I was saving pieces of the project and not the entire
project all together. Hope this helps some of you with all these issues on
saving....If you will do it this way your project will not hang and you
won't get all those error messages......Thanks again papa john!!!!
 
F

fkemper

Can anyone help me using MovieMaker2 to compress a file
while saving it using DivX?

Or else avoid MM2 from compressing the file when saving a
movie, so I can compress it later or earlier using Virtual
Dub and Divx?

Thanks!
 
G

Guest

Thanks!

Do I select "DV-AVI" under "Other Settings" when I am
choosing how to save it to my computer? Does that keep it
from compressing the file?

How do I convert from Type I to Type II?

Also, I can just compress using Virtual Dub and Divx
BEFORE using MM2, can't it?

Also, I found an article that talks about creating
a "Custom Profile" for movie saving settings
using "Windows Media Profile Editor". Any advice on how
to do this if I want to compress using Divx or I have
previously compressed using Divx and don't want MM2 to
compress the movie at all when saving?

Thanks again. I have really been flummoxed by all this.
 
P

PapaJohn \(MVP\)

Yes, choose DV-AVI under 'Other Settings'.... that'll get you a file using
Microsoft's DV codec, not a compressed file..

See the Setup > Software page of my website... the last paragraph in the
Utilities section are pointers/links to some choices to convert the type I
file to type II.

Yes, you can compress with Virtual Dub and Divx before using MM2, but Divx
encoded files often give MM2 problems during importing and editing, so it
might not be a good idea. You can test it to see how well MM2 works with the
Divx codec on your computer.

The custom profiles don't let you use a Divx codec as a choice in the
Profile Editor.

Divx files are highly compressed, so you should do your MM2 work before
going to that level of compression if you can.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..
 
B

Bob [MVP]

FYI, DV-AVI most certainly IS compressed.

The bit rate for uncompressed NTSC video is ~248 Mb/sec.
The bit rate for DV video is ~2.5 Mb/sec.

The DV video is compressed at a ratio of approximately
10 to 1, and the audio is not compressed. So the overall
compression ratio of DV-AVI is approximately 8.6 to 1.

--
-Bob
____________________________
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Media Center Edition
www.microsoft.com/ehome
 
B

Bob [MVP]

Oops... sorry about the typo... :-O

I meant to say that the bit rate for DV video
is ~25 Mb/sec (not 2.5 MB/sec).

--
-Bob
____________________________
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Media Center Edition
www.microsoft.com/ehome
 
P

PapaJohn

Hi Bob,

I don't disagree about the compression of a digital video file when it's
first put onto a digital camcorder tape. But my understanding is that a
DV-AVI file on the computer is the same as that on the tape. From a
practical way of talking about it, especially when comparing it to something
such as a Divx compressed file, I tend to call it uncompressed.

Here's part of a paragraph from my Saving Movies > Intro page. I'd
appreciate any suggestions for a better way to word it:

"DV-AVI files are type 1 (versus type 2), not compressed and are equivalent
to the digital video that comes from a digital camcorder or goes back to it.
DV-AVI files are higher quality than WMV files; however, their large file
sizes often make them impractical when saving, storing and distributing
movies."
--
PapaJohn
Movie Maker 2: www.papajohn.org
PhotoStory 2: www.photostory.papajohn.org
..
..
 
G

Guest

By the way, you guys are great!

Thanks!

I am starting with HUGE (GB per minute) movie files
captured directly from a computer screen during a MMPORG
computer game using FRAPS2.2. DivX can compress it to
almost 1/30th of the original size and still look
fantastic.

(Good news is I'm only trying to make 2 - 10 minute
movies.)

I'll try using both (i) a DivX compressed file and running
it through MM2 and see how it looks after saving in DV-AVI
and (ii) running the uncompressed files through MM2 and
then compressing later with Virtual Dub and Divx (after
converting Type I to Type II). I have had no problem
manipulating the DivX compressed files in MM2. My problem
has been the dramatic drop in picture quality after saving
the movie using MM2 (with almost no corresponding decrease
in file size.) Of course, God only knows what I was
saving it in. :)

Would you recommend any Custom Profile as being better
than DV-AVI?

Thanks again!

-----Original Message-----
Hi Bob,

I don't disagree about the compression of a digital video file when it's
first put onto a digital camcorder tape. But my understanding is that a
DV-AVI file on the computer is the same as that on the tape. From a
practical way of talking about it, especially when comparing it to something
such as a Divx compressed file, I tend to call it uncompressed.

Here's part of a paragraph from my Saving Movies > Intro page. I'd
appreciate any suggestions for a better way to word it:

"DV-AVI files are type 1 (versus type 2), not compressed and are equivalent
to the digital video that comes from a digital camcorder or goes back to it.
DV-AVI files are higher quality than WMV files; however, their large file
sizes often make them impractical when saving, storing and distributing
movies."
--
PapaJohn
Movie Maker 2: www.papajohn.org
PhotoStory 2: www.photostory.papajohn.org
..
..
Bob said:
Oops... sorry about the typo... :-O

I meant to say that the bit rate for DV video
is ~25 Mb/sec (not 2.5 MB/sec).

--
-Bob
____________________________
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Media Center Edition
www.microsoft.com/ehome
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
P

PapaJohn \(MVP\)

Thanks for the positive comment.

I don't think you covered who your audience is or what your final
distribution method(s) of getting your movies to them will be.... that
should determine the practical quality level you want.

If you're heading toward DVDs, then DV-AVI is the best choice.... with High
Quality (NTSC or PAL) WMV files second. If it's not via DVD, then the
subject/guidance is wide open.

PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..
By the way, you guys are great!

Thanks!

I am starting with HUGE (GB per minute) movie files
captured directly from a computer screen during a MMPORG
computer game using FRAPS2.2. DivX can compress it to
almost 1/30th of the original size and still look
fantastic.

(Good news is I'm only trying to make 2 - 10 minute
movies.)

I'll try using both (i) a DivX compressed file and running
it through MM2 and see how it looks after saving in DV-AVI
and (ii) running the uncompressed files through MM2 and
then compressing later with Virtual Dub and Divx (after
converting Type I to Type II). I have had no problem
manipulating the DivX compressed files in MM2. My problem
has been the dramatic drop in picture quality after saving
the movie using MM2 (with almost no corresponding decrease
in file size.) Of course, God only knows what I was
saving it in. :)

Would you recommend any Custom Profile as being better
than DV-AVI?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
 
F

fkemper

I think my endgoal is (i) to save 500 MB movies to CD's
and (ii) to upload 50 MB versions to a website. But,
again, I'm only talking about 5-10 minute movies.

I looked at your website and it was very helpful.

If I plan to compress with DivX, couldn't I set up a
custom profile that specifies "Full frames
(uncompressed)". Wouldn't this work well whether I was
working with Divx compressed files or whether I wanted to
compress with Divx later?
 
P

PapaJohn \(MVP\)

Yes, you should be able to do it that way.... as long as you have the hard
drive space to deal with the uncompressed files.

I just made a custom profile and tested it in MM2. Saving a 10 second video
clip resulted in a file size of 156 MB. Maybe the frames are in it, but it
plays back in WMP and MM2 as just blackness. Guess I'd need to tweak the
settings in the profile to actually see something.

Another factor would be this getting you uncompressed WMV files... can you
use them in Virtual Dub or wherever you want to?
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..
 
R

Rehan

PapaJohn said:
I don't disagree about the compression of a digital video file when it's
first put onto a digital camcorder tape. But my understanding is that a
DV-AVI file on the computer is the same as that on the tape. From a
practical way of talking about it, especially when comparing it to
something
such as a Divx compressed file, I tend to call it uncompressed.
Click to expand...

PapaJohn,

I would disagree with you. It is misleading to call DV AVI an uncompressed
format since the format not only uses compression, but is lossy too. So if
you encode your video using dv avi several times, each time using output of
last encode, you will get a degraded quality in increasing order.

It is also not the best quality output format from WMM, in all cases. For
still pictures slideshows, a higher quality WMV, produces better results
since it can maintain 1:n pixel mapping (where n is an integer >=1). However
for video captured from dv sources it is the best quality format available
for output from a standard WMM setting. However, with custom profiles, one
can surpass even that using WMV as one can use Uncompressed video + audio
encoding in an wmv profile.

In short I would recommend making this distinction clear on your website and
use term like "practically best quality format" rather than "uncompressed
format" which is not justifiable as explained above.

Rehan
 
R

Rehan

Papajohn,

You see a black video since the data throughput required is massive... Your
media player needs to catch up. You will be successful if you play again
after the first time play finishes showing black.

Furthermore, if the input and output frame/pixel aspect ratios do not match
up, you would get garbage.

Rehan
 
B

Bob [MVP]

Hi PapaJohn,

It is true that MM2 does not further compress the
video when it is captured from a DV camcorder. The
compression is done by the camera as it records to
the tape in DV format.

But you were not talking about capturing from a DV
camcorder - you were talking about saving a movie
using the Microsoft DV codec. So even though you
know and I know what you mean, your statement that
you'll get a file that's "not a compressed file",
was simply not accurate, and probably misleading to
those users with little video knowledge.

As far as wording for your web site, you could
just say that DV video is compressed using an
encoding method that produces high-quality video,
but very large file sizes (or something to that
effect). :)

--
-Bob
____________________________
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Media Center Edition
www.microsoft.com/ehome
 
G

Guest

Hi! I am using wmm for the first time. I worked really hard on compiling a movie for my class, only to find that it won't burn on to a DVD. When I burn it to a CD, I can onlyopen it on computers that have WMM. Is there a way I can save it in another program. I have a "My DVD program and Roxio. I used WMM because it was so simple but now I'm stuck. Thank you for all your help.
 
R

Rehan

Please do not jump into another discussion in future. It confuses everbody.
For your problem, I would advise you to patiently go through the information
provided on Papajohns website. www.papajohn.org

Shortly, You cannot burn any of the output from movie maker directly onto a
dvd. First, output from WMM in preferably dv-avi format. Create your dvd
project in mydvd and import the dvavi in there. It should re-encode it into
MPEG2.
 

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