Editing
videos on your desktop PC
Overview
Video Source
PC Requirements
Video Editing Hardware
Software
Editing Your Video
You
may think that editing home videos using a standard desktop PC would be
a bit of a bind. Well, the truth is that it's really very easy and above
all, not that expensive to get great results. Whether you want to send
video e-mails, stream granddad falling out of his chair on the Internet
or go the whole hog and create a digital masterpiece on DVD, it's all
possible with a bit of time, some creative juices and the right hardware
and software. Find out what you need and where to get it in this
Amazon.co.uk introduction to desktop video editing.
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Overview
Until recently, desktop video editing was an exclusive pastime reserved
to those with wads of cash. Today, it's possible to get
semi-professional results with little out-lay. Manufacturers have seen
an opening in the home video editing market and they've stuffed it full
of peripherals and software packages aimed at making everyone a desktop
director. So, whether you just want to send a few video e-mails to the
other side of the world or you want to edit next year's Oscar winner,
there's a video editing solution on the market to suit your needs.
Video editing itself is relatively easy, on its most basic level you
transfer your video footage onto your computer, cut out all the bad
bits, splice it all together with a few cuts and fades, add some titles
and output it to the desired media. This buying guide by no means tells
you how to edit your home videos, it's just a guide to understanding
what's involved when it comes to becoming the next Alan Parker (he's a
famous director in case you were wondering).
Video Source
  Before
you buy a video editing solution for your home computer, there are a few
important factors to take into account. One of the most important
questions to ask yourself is "what am I using as a video source?" If you
already have a video camcorder, look at what audio/video output
connectors the unit has. If it is a new
digital camcorder, it will probably have a FireWire (or IEEE 1394)
connector on it. If you have an older analogue camcorder, the unit may
have an S-Video and phono connectors. The type of connectors on your
video source will determine what video editing solution you need to buy.
If you are about to invest in a camcorder, think about going digital
as the quality is considerably higher than older analogue camcorders.
Also, make sure that your
digital camcorder has an IEEE 1394 connector on it. Sometimes called
FireWire (Apple Trademark) or i.Link (Sony Trademark), FireWire
transfers data from device to computer up to 400 Mbps, more than 30
times faster than standard USB. Because of this speed, FireWire is fast
becoming the standard interface for intense data transfer operations
such as digital video editing. Do be aware that there are also
FireWire-compatible CD recorders, hard drives and scanners and they all
benefit from a high transfer rate.
PC Requirements
 Video
editing is a huge beast that requires lots of feeding--all of the time.
It has a staple diet of three things; memory, hard drive space and
processor power. And the more you feed it, the easier it is to manage.
In an ideal world, you should get the most of everything, but you don't
need to if you're only creating a couple of quick video messages once in
a while. A bare minimum PC for this type of work would be a Pentium II
400 processor with 128MB of RAM and a 20GB hard drive.
If however, you're going to be using raw DV footage, opt for a larger
80GB hard drive. It's worth noting that five minutes of DV
footage--before editing--will take up 1GB of hard drive space. Fill your
PC with as much memory as possible; 256MB should be a minimum. As for
processor power, a 1.0GHz Pentium III would suffice.
Video Editing Hardware
 Deciding
on the type of video editing solution depends entirely on what you want
to do. If you want to create some small video files to send as e-mails,
a USB-based device with composite inputs costing under £50 would be
sufficient. If you want to put your finished masterpiece onto an
external storage media such as VHS video tape, get a capture device with
audio/video-out. Again, this could be an external USB or FireWire device
or an internal PCI card.
 Although
there are several different types of video capture device available, we
would recommend FireWire. All current Apple Macintosh computers have
FireWire ports as standard, and even some new PCs have them. Don't worry
if yours doesn't, as an internal FireWire card is cheap as chips. A
complete FireWire system with decent software would be a bit more
expensive, but well worth the money.
The final key piece of hardware would be a CD-RW or DVD-R drive, both
serve to make backups of files and to make distribution copies of your
finished movie on CD-R or DVD. Burners are available as both internal
and external devices, but if you have invested in a FireWire interface
already, we suggest you take advantage of its high transfer rate and
portability. It is worth noting that USB2 is fast becoming the interface
of choice for external CD-RW drives due to its high transfer .
Software
 When
you buy a video editing solution, it will inevitably come with some form
of software. Sometimes it will be the full version of a leading package,
but it could be a cut-down or "lite" version--essentially the full
version minus a few options or add-ons. The software that is included
with video capture devices is a great place to start. If you find it all
a bit basic, then look to upgrade to a more advanced package. Some are
targeted at casual users who want quick results with a minimum of
effort, while others are for those who aspire to perfection and need as
much control as possible to aid them in their quest. A little research
with this in mind will help with finding the software that's right for
you. Take a look at the
Amazon.co.uk video editing software section for some ideas.
Editing Your Video
 The
video editing process is essentially the same no matter what video
editing software you use. First you capture the required footage and
store it on your hard drive. Then, using the available editing tools,
you drag it onto the timeline and slice and dice the individual files,
arranging them in the desired sequence. You then add any special effects
such as fades or transitions between scenes and any video titles or
credits you wish to include. Most software packages allow you to add
additional audio such as background music or sound effects.
Once you've edited your video, it's time to compile it into a
standalone file and output it to its final resting place. This could be
VHS video tape or back onto a DV tape if your camcorder is DV-in
enabled. Or you could burn your video on a CD or post it on the
Internet. If you are outputting to a digital tape or analogue source,
the footage doesn't need to be compressed. However, if you want to put
your creation on a CD or on the Internet, you need to compress the
footage to make it smaller in file size in order for others to view it
effectively. This is done with the help of CODECs
(Compression/Decompression)--algorithms that reduce the file size of
your finished product by allowing you to specify smaller image sizes,
lower frame rates, lower image quality, etc. There are different CODECs
for different media formats, so check which one is suitable for your
destination media before you start compiling your data. If you're
serious about your work, get hold of some professional compression
software such as
Cleaner 5.0. |