How to edit a video?

How to capture/edit video from camcorder in excellent quality?

• I recently did video recording for an event using a camcorder. In next phase, I need to upload them on the event website. For that, I need to transfer the digital files into my computer and then upload it to our website. The default option of file format is DV/ AVI format with excellent quality. However, I was shocked to discover that 1 hr of video coverage corresponds to around 13 GB file!! I tried other formats like mpeg2 and wmv (windows media). They occupy much less space of around 700 MB per 1 hour. However, the video quality is pathetic compared to original video or AVI files. I wonder how commercial video sellers and video editing experts bundle up hours of video in excellent quality into 4 GB DVDs and 650 MB VCDs? Do they use special conversion or compression software? If yes, is it freely available? Or do I need to change my settings while capturing video into the computer? I mean if I can get mpeg2 or wmv format video while not losing the video quality. Any tips?

• Answer:

  Commercial DVDs also use MPEG-2, but not all MPEG-2 encoders are created equal! If you're doing the conversion while you're capturing it's a near certainty that you're using a bad one. If you get an app like the Ulead one mentioned above, or Sony's Vegas Movie Studio, they'll include a good quality encoder that will produce very useable output with little or no effort on your part. If you want to wring the absolute best quality out of your video, you'll need to understand how MPEG-2 compression works - googling for terms like "I frame" "P frame" and "GOP" will bring up loads of information. You need this because the better encoders give you lots of control over what they're going to do. Have a look at the link below, it's got reviews of encoders ranging from $48 to $25,000 - guess what the pros use ;-) In fairness, despite the review comments, the $48 one (TMPGenc) is well respected by amateurs.