text:
Adobe Premiere preview video lagging
I am attempting to edit video in Adobe Premiere CS6. When I create a sequence and try to play it back in the preview screen, the video is extremely choppy, which makes editing very difficult (dance videos, i.e. trying to sync with music properly).
After some searching, two things seem to work for others - either changing playback quality to 1/4 or 1/2, or rendering the work area before playback. The former seems to have no effect, although the latter (rendering) does create smooth video.
Unfortunately, when the render finishes, the video is now playing in super slow motion, and is therefore completely out of sync with the music. Any ideas on how to fix this?

Does the audio play back smoothly before you render?  If the source video is being interpolated incorrectly (say 2.4 FPS instead of 24 or something similar) then it would preview as very "jumpy" since it was only changing frames every 10 frames, but the audio could still play back correctly in certain formats.  The rendering could interpolate the intermediate frames and make things appear more smoothly, but would appear very slow.  Even if this isn't the case, something very odd is clearly going on with your project which may make it hard to diagnose remotely (but I can give it a try.)

I tested it on another computer (powerful desktop, as opposed to my laptop) today, and confirmed. audio and video are fine beforehand - slow and choppy on my computer, but good enough on the desktop to edit the video.
when I select a work area and try to render it, audio remains fine, and video slows down. i.e. if I select 30 seconds of video to render, the result is 30 secs of audio and about 20 secs of video stretched to fill 30 sec in slomo.
if its pertinent, my raw files are 1440x1080, 59.96 fps. I've never worked with anything past basics before, so I may have made beginner's mistakes.

ok, well that's a very weird resolution and very high frame rate.  It isn't all that surprising that it is causing problems with playback on a lower end system since the data rate is probably far too high for the hard disks to keep up with and may well be too much for the CPU to keep up with as well.  As for the slow down, it may be a problem with how the footage is being interpreted.  Have you tried rendering the project on your desktop to see if you have the same slowdown problem?

yeah, its very high (wish i could've chosen the camera!). it is too taxing for my laptop, which is why i tried a desktop today - the same problem is there. i may be importing (and subsequently exporting) the videos with bad settings, i think. as a side note, the video preview without rendering is smooth enough on the desktop for me to edit, but i can't seem to find the right export settings (smooth, but artifacts in the video) - im searching for common solutions to that, but it may be related.

You may have accidentally unlinked your video from your audio and stretched the footage. If you rendered it for a preview and it plays choppy then that is your computer unable to keep up. If you rendered it as a preview and it plays in slow motion and is actually stretched out longer than it actually is then you probably accidentally stretched it somehow. It's easy enough to do with the Rate Stretch Tool (R).

1440×1080 is the resolution for HDV (non-square pixels). 59.96 fps might mean that it's interlaced. Check your interpretation settings for the file.

How much ram do you have on your computer? It could just be a simple hardware issue. Premiere Pro suggests at least 8gb

It sounds like a combination of two things from the comments discussion.  First, with the very high frame rate, your laptop simply can not handle the high data rate.  If you need to edit on the laptop, I would suggest re-compressing the video down to a smaller size and then when you are done, you can replace the low quality footage with the original for the final output.
The second problem is that it appears Premiere is interpreting the footage wrong.  There is an  Interpret Footage option if you right click on the clip and go to Modify, Interpret Footage.  You can confirm the frame rate is correct on the source.  If it is, then you also want to check the framerate on the sequence itself.  Right click on the sequence, choose Sequence Settings and verify that the frame rate is correct there as well.  If both of those are correct and you are still getting the issues, then I am unsure what could be happening.

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

I used to get stuck with this problem. I finally solved it by changing the "video playback settings" from "the sequence settings" in the "sequence" menu. The default resolution is 1920 x 1080. I changed it to 640 x 360, and after that playback was always 100% smooth, even while using a mixture of .mts and .mvi full HD files, with contrast and brightness effects on them, without even having to render at all, even while the bar is red.

I was going through the same problem, after rendering video, it would slow down to half speed. Not sure why, but the only way to get back to the whole clip was to click "Sequence" "delete render files"
Doesn't solve the problem of rendering, but it gets back to the original full speed clip.

Go to sequence menu - sequence settings - check if timebase is correct with video metadata - display format (under video) - choose frames/nondropframe timecode.
BROUGHT MI FRAMES BACK!!!

You guys are overthinking it. Simple solution
-Right click on your sequence
-Select Sequence Settings
-Under Preview File Format select "P2 1080i"
basically anything but the default "I-frame"

If video is choppy and laggy, like some of my gaming videos that are at least an hour long....
They are lagging when I'm mining in Minecraft. It may be how much video you are putting in there all in one clip. For example, when I put in my one hour gameplay, when I first start to mine, it is laggy.
To all of the new comers, use Adobe Media Encoder. Use the settings that you want, and it will encode the video and make it less choppy. When I did this, it made my videos less choppy. Although it takes a couple of hours for a long video, it is well organized when it is finished.
I know I sound like I'm not explaining, this app from Adobe is really helpful, but it can get annoying at some times. So, I might find a new way soon. But, this is my suggestion to everyone who is new to this.


text:
Why recorded avi speeds up?
I recently recorded an avi using VirtualDub with Microsoft's LifeCam Studio 1080p HD. However, when playing back the video and audio keep accelerating as the video progresses.
When I tried to edit the frame rate in MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 17 Plus, the audio track seems fine, but the video track is accelerated.
Any ideas what could have caused this or how I can go about fixing this?

How to you record with VirtualDub? Do you capture the screen? 2. Do you have the same strange effects when operating in a lower camera resolution?

@Fred42vid This is the tutorial I used to record.

According to the symptoms it seems that the workload is too much for VirtualDub. That does depend on the CPU, but also on the hard disk. Sometimes VirtualDub has to drop frames and resync between video and audio. But in the file header there are only static values that MAGIX and other video editors expect to be constant throughout the video.
You should try setting a smaller frame size and a lower frame rate in Video->Capture pin. And in Capture->Timing there are some other important options. Try the "Sync video to audio..." alternative under Resync mode, or the "Automatically disable resync..." option.
When you find a combination that works, then you can increase the frame size again. I hope this helps.

That was very informative. However, I find myself trying to sync the video/audio for an already recorded video.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


text:
how to do an amplitude modulation in Ableton Live
What I want is simple: I want to modulate the volume (amplitude) of one channel, with the amplitude of another channel.
There's the vocoder effect which does something vaguely similar to what I'm looking... but it splits the audio in bands to (obviously) create the vocoder effect.
A sidechain compression/gating won't do it either.
So how can I do this?

For migration to SD please Tim

If you have Max4Live (included in Live9 Suite), it should be easy enough to build a Live device that does the amplitude modulation exactly the way you want.
Otherwise, look for Ring Modulator and Amplitude Modulation VST plugins. The easy way to write a Ringmod plugin is to just do amplitude modulation. So the free plugins are likely to do what you want. Actually modeling an analog ring modulator takes more effort, but maybe that is the sound you are really looking for.
If you happen to have Absynth, I'm pretty sure you can accomplish AM or ring modulation on arbitrary incoming signals with that.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Join videos through concatenation
Which video format allows concatenation simply by joining files?
cat out1.mp4 ou2.mp4 >out.mp4

These videos are created from images using ffmpeg:
ffmpeg -loop 1 -f image2 -i image.png -s 640x480 -vcodec libx264 -t 30 -y out.mp4

If you can give me a running example it'd be great.

From FFmpeg FAQ:

A few multimedia containers (MPEG-1, MPEG-2 PS, DV) allow to
  concatenate video by merely concatenating the files containing them.

Hence you may concatenate your multimedia files by first transcoding them to these privileged formats, then using cat command (or copy under Windows), and finally transcoding back to your format of choice.
ffmpeg -i input1.avi -qscale:v 1 intermediate1.mpg
ffmpeg -i input2.avi -qscale:v 1 intermediate2.mpg
cat intermediate1.mpg intermediate2.mpg > intermediate_all.mpg
ffmpeg -i intermediate_all.mpg -qscale:v 2 output.avi

If I want to keep image quality, I have to use mpeg with high bitrate which both create big intermediate files and time consuming. Which settings should I choose to save processing time?


text:
Looking for a DVD menu maker which works best with Sony Vegas
I am using Sony Vegas 12 to make a movie. I just want to make a DVD menu, something which has play , extra, etc. Which program should I use to do this and which one will work well with Sony Vegas?

Sony makes a companion product that works for both Vegas and Vegas Pro called "DVD Architect Pro 6.0 Author DVD or Blu-ray Disc™ media" for $199.00. This is your best bet for Vegas since it has years of Sony compatibility behind it.
Link here:
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/dvdarchitectpro
Please note there is a FREE 30 day trial version here:
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials/dvdarchitectpro
There is also a tutorial here (webinar originally aired March 31, 2011.):
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro10webinar02

You are very welcome.


text:
Is there a way to burn video on dvd and set "expire time" of it to be watched?
I'd like to ask if there is an possibility to make a dvd-disk that would read from dvd-player clock and compare it to "expiry" data on dvd disk itself.
If the date is after "expiry" date then dvd wouldn't show its content.
I'm aware that someone could just change dvd-player time, but I would like to do it another way.

There is not only no way to do this with DVD, but there is no way to do this in any platform where you release the content.  If they can see it, they can record it.  Any measures that you can put in their way are simply DRM and have the analog hole.
Using streaming media is probably the closest you could come, but that still doesn't guarantee that it won't be copied.  The only sure option is to have a guard play it for someone and have them ensure that they do not have a means of recording going.

No there isn't - DVD authoring does not include 'expiry' option.

One more better solution is to trim the part you don't want to show. And there is really no such expiry function is most of dvd creators as i know.


text:
My Canon Powershot SX40 stops recording regularly and predictably.
I have a Canon Powershot SX40 HS and am having problems with recording.
I start to record and it only lets me for a short period of time.  Then it stops recording by itself.
It seems to stop every time at 1:44 into the recording. Another weird thing is that during the short time it is recording, these little squares appear in a row on the right side of the screen, and one by one the squares turn to a dark color, and then the last square turns to red and right when it does is when the recording stops.
It is a very strange situation, and I've reset the settings on the camera but it still didn't stop. HELP! And thank you!

The squares in a row on the right represent the buffer memory of your camera.
When you are recording video the data goes roughly as follows:
Sensor -> Buffer memory -> Memory card
When the last square turns red it means the buffer is full. This is caused by the fact that the buffer memory could not move it's contents to the memory card fast enough. A faster memory card would allow the buffer to load it's contents in time and you shouldn't see the red square anymore.
Baseline is: get a faster memory card.

The manual should contain information about what speed of card is needed for what quality level.  Also, it is worth noting that other issues can also occur.  Cameras can also be limited when recording due to either the sensor overheating (though this is normally not at a fixed interval) and can also hit a 29 minute 59 second recording limit that you can thank the EU for.  They charge a tax on any "video camera" where a video camera is defined as anything that can record 30 minutes or more, so everyone made their still cameras only record 29 minutes 59 seconds.

The reasons for an automatic stop are either reaching the 30 minute limit (thank you European Union video camera tax that ends up impacting what's available to most of the rest of the world), hitting the 4gb file limit (file system limit for the OS on the camera), the sensor is overheating (high usage + temperature) or the buffer is being used up (memory card is too slow).
I'd first try getting a faster card and if that doesn't work, I'd make sure you are using the camera in a cool area and see if that gives a longer run time. It's also possible there could be something wrong with the camera that is complicating things, but a slow memory card is most likely the problem.


text:
How could an 8-bit encoding take more memory than a 10-bit encoding?
I'll start off by saying that I know next to nothing about video encoding and I'm looking for a nice tutorial explaining the basics (I have a technical background and some knowledge of signal processing)
I've heard that encoding a video with 8-bit color can actually take more filesize than in 10-bit color. The explanation offered was that since the source file was in 10-bit color, it's somehow easier to stay in 10-bit color. I don't understand how that's possible, because whatever algorithm is used to convert between video formats can do what it needs to do, and when the time comes to convert to 8-bit quality, just round off the color. I don't see how rounding off a color could contribute to file size.

That's surely just not true in general, but it might hold for certain codecs. You'll need to be a bit more specific.

From Why does 10-bit save bandwidth (even when content is 8-bit)? (alt. URL)

So why does a AVC/H.264 10-bit encoder perform better than 8-bit?
When encoding with the 10-bit tool, the compression process is
performed with at least 10-bit accuracy compared to only 8-bit
otherwise. So there is less truncation errors, especially in the
motion compensation stage, increasing the efficiency of compression
tools. As a consequence, there is less need to quantize to achieve a
given bit-rate. The net result is a better quality for the same
bit-rate or conversely less bit-rate for the same quality: between 5%
and 20% on typical sources.

See the link for more information.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Calculate projected area in Cinema 4D
I would like to calculate the projected area of an object in Cinema 4D R12 on the Mac. Initially I am fine with calculating the projected area on one of the principal planes, but if a method exists where I can choose my object and a plane on which the projected area should be calculated this would be exquisite.
I am willing to learn python, COFFEE and/or Xpresso to accomplish this.

Nobody? I'm now exporting the polygon as an Allplan xml file, reading that in with Matlab, taking the xy,yz or zx coordinates only and plotting a polygon with them. But that seems a bit cumbersome. Could I do this with Python?


text:
create video from hand drawing
I have a hand drawn image. How can I create a video out of it like this?

What other options would you recommend? I want to create a presentation

@Adel - I don't see any posts talking about using fonts.  Generally this uses strokes which would be whatever you drew in to it.  It could go in any direction you want.

To create video from hand drawn images, you will need to prepare yourself for drawing a lot more images, as you likely need one for every frame, which you then photograph as a single image. When there images are combined you get the effect of movement.
It's a lot like the old fashioned flick books we used to draw at school- with a slightly changed picture at the corner of each page so that when you riffle the pages you get the effect of continuous movement.
There are some video packages that will let you build a virtual model and overlay your images onto the model so you can animate it etc. But you will be talking big bucks, and steep learning curves.

Here is a fast and basic workflow using Adobe Illustrator and After Effects, basic knowledge is needed.
Convert your cartoons or artworks to vectors first, probably in Adobe Illustrator. Then select the paths and copy them.
In Adobe After Effects create a new composition and a new solid layer (any color). Select your solid and paste (Cmd or Ctrl + V) your paths. This will create masks on your solid layer and your solid layer will look like your Vector graphics.
Select your solid and apply Effect > Generate > Stroke. In Effect Controls panel you need to modify some of the Stroke Effect's parameters:

Check All Masks option
Check Stroke Sequenially option
Select On Transparent under Paint Style.
Edit the Color, Brush Hardness, Opacity and Brush Size parameters to meet your taste.

Now you must add keyframes to the End parameter to animate your illustration. On frame 0 (or 1) add a keyframe with a value of 0%. Move a few seconds (or the length of your desired animation), set another keyframe with a value of 100%.
Your illustration is now animated.
If you need the hand, you can either find a stock footage or take a photo of your hand holding a pen. Cut it out in Photoshop/GIMP etc. Then you can animate it in After Effects.
You have many options to do that animation but if you are a novice, there are no easier methods to create an OK result.
Edit: By the way, if you need to scale your illustration up, your layer's Continuously Rasterize switch should be turned on to maintain the smoothness. It's that sun like icon, I can not add a screenshot at the moment :)

If you look carefully, you'll see that the hand it's not actually drawing. The effect is acomplished by several images from the hand in distinct poses, following the lines as they are painted.
Images like these could be used as a layer on top of the drawing.
Then the areas of the drawing could be successively cut to diferent layers and then hidden or shown as needed to give the ilusion that they are being drawn on the paper.
You could try any image editing software, then import the key frames to any video editing tool, and tweak each key frame time duration to give the right speed to the hand
Update:
Most video editing tools would give the option to move only the hand following a path between two key frames, wich could make things easier

Well!! This is my first video that I created through paper drawings.

I used 3d max for character animation, which took 1 day since rendering takes time. I snapped my drawings and highlighted their boundaries in Adobe flash.
But I believe this process is bit length for people like me who are not professional in flash, photoshop etc.
So I found another software VideoScribe. You take snap of your drawings and import them in to video scribes thats all. It'll put sketching effect, coloring effects by its own. However, I still miss Flash since motion, animation are not possible with VedioScribe.


text:
3d max change the opacity of an object's edges rendered in After Effects.
I want to change the opacity of the edge of an object so that when I render it and import to After Effects, it would match with the background video and feather at the edge of objects.
Cant place images yet.

You can use simplechoker module in After Effects to crop unmatched edges.


text:
Minimal subtitle leading/lagging difference
Lets start with a theory. Lets say you create subtitles perfectly synchronized with an audio track. Yes, I dont care about hearing impaired people atm, so video track doesnt concern me right now. Then you start delaying audio or subtitles. At what point will the listener notice the leading/lagging?
My goal is to create a minimal value on a scale used to time subtitles. So the user cant time subtitles beyond the point where it no longer has a meaning.
There must be a ton of research on this subject because all we hear is lagging behind what we see.
I just cant find the right keywords to google it.

There are lots of tricks to proper subtitling, but none of them involve delaying them. The reason you see large lags is because of "live" captioning -- they're appearing as fast as some trained operator can hear and enter them, which for the very best of them is still a few seconds.
For post-event titling, you want the text to appear at or slightly before the spoken word, but consistent with scene changes -- when a scene changes behind a title, the viewer tends to start reading it again, which is confusing.

authors: ნინო წერეთელი


text:
Resolving timecode errors when capturing in FCP from MiniDV tape deck
I'm having an issue capturing video on our Final Cut Pro (version 6.0.6) edit system when pulling in video from our MiniDV tape deck (via Firewire, linked via an Ethernet "extender"). We seem to get a few different timecode errors. We had normally captured video using Log and Capture, setting in and out points and then clicking Capture Clip, but a few weeks back that resulted in getting an error (I believe that there was not sufficient pre/post-roll space, even though there surely was) and the tape being reset to about 00:02:00 (2 minutes) in the deck, regardless of set positions.
Our workaround to this situation was to revert to "Capture Now" from the Log and Capture window. We line up near our starting point, click Play and then hit Capture Now. This has seemed to worked decently (other than you have to monitor to the clip to see when it's over and hit <Escape> to back out), but it does, nearly all the time display this error message:

This hasn't normally caused much in the way of issues (all of our videos are pretty much a single weather forecast clip with a pre-recorded open and close that we put together and then render as a final video), though I have at least one report of a clip "jumping" at some point that might be related.
Also, we must hit play before hitting Capture Now or else we get the following screen, which never results in anything productive:

It certainly appears that there's some sort of timecode errors going on somewhere, but I have no idea how to go about fixing these. In case it's necessary, the tape deck is a Panasonic AG-DV2000P that we purchased earlier this year. Any thoughts on a potential solution to our timecode woes?

Go into your capture settings and first try non VTR controllable device and if that does not work, there is a check box I believe for warn if there is dropped frames uncheck that, there may be another for stop capture if there is dropped frames, uncheck this as well

Are you sure that there is not a problem with the actual recorded timecode?  Under certain situations (such as two clips with a blank spot between them on the tape) the timecode can get screwed up.  My guess is that this is what is happening.  It is weird that you would end up with a problem with the final output as a result of this though.  I've normally only seen problems related to not being able to relog the same clip later.
Either way, your timecode on an output should come from the timeline, not the source clip, so it would either produce an issue for everyone watching your final video or it would produce no issue for anyone.  If you have only gotten one report of an issue, then it is not related to the capture problem in any way that I can see being feasible.


text:
How do I speedup encoding of a video that has just 1 static frame with ffmpeg and lib264 library?
I'm making mp4 (libx264 + aac) videos that have just one static image throughout the whole video. It's basically a narrated text with a nice background.
The question I've is how could I speed up encoding of such videos? Currently the videos are encoding at 50fps which is very, very slow. I can only encode 2000 videos on a single computer in one day.
Any particular settings I could specify to ffmpeg or lib264 library to suggest that there is no motion, and it's just a single image that has to b
For comparison, I was doing .avi (divx + mp3) videos before I moved to mp4, and I was able to encode 6000 - 8000 videos per day.

First, ideally this question should have the command and the ffmpeg output; second, divx is a much simpler codec than h264, all other things being equal you will inevitably get longer encode times with h264 (but smaller and/or better-quality output files).

Give this a try:
ffmpeg -i audio.m4a -loop 1 -r 2 -i image.jpg -c:a copy -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -shortest out.mp4

-r 2 sets the frame rate to 2 fps (some players seem to have problems with 1 fps).


text:
Bandicam dramatic fps drop
I have the following rig:

E8400 4.1 oced-
nvidia 8800 GTS 3gb DDR2 RAM.
WinXP SP3 (yes it still rocks based on this rig)

I installed bandicam today.
I tried EVERY setting & preset there is to it, from the lowest to the highest. I get 8 fps during recording (game: empire at war rts). It's not the components guys, it's something else.
I tried the RGB24 which is supposed to be the same as FRAPS lossless standard recording. I expected that since it wont have to compress it ,it would give me the same fps as FPAPS... thus 30 fps.
I have 60 stable fps when not recording this game in any situation & with max video settings. The fps drop is dramatic. I was excited when I read about bandicam on how small its files are. This is my main concern.
But, how can it drop to 8 fps when the same format?
FRAPS gives you 30fps with no lag at all. I used all formats, the best I got was 12 fps. But the result was worst than FRAPS, half size recording. (OS -game - output recording folder are on separate drives) even when I set all graphics to the lowest it gave me 200 fps & then on recording it dropped again in 8 fps so it must be something else.
Note that the stress on the CPU is tops 80%. So it manages. Also the drives do not share same ATA channel. So where is the bottleneck?
The weird thing is that FRAPS that is considered to create huge fps drop generally won't make me lag at all. I guess bandicam's engine won't exploit the full ability of the rig? I also toggled the CPU affinity but no luck at all.

FRAPS gets its speed specifically because of the large file size.  When dealing with video you have two conflicting goals, low CPU usage vs low space usage.  To use less space, more compression must be applied.  To apply more compression, more CPU must be consumed.
If CPU consumption gets too heavy, it impacts performance of games.  Thus FRAPS goes to the other side, rather than use compression, it saves nearly totally uncompressed.  This results in massive size files which hit the memory and hard disk more, but as most games tend to be more forgiving on these, it has less of an impact on frame rate as long as the memory and hard drive can keep up with the data rate coming out of FRAPS.
The fact you are trying to produce smaller files means you are running compression while the game is going.  This means more CPU consumption and thus lower frame rates.  If you want small files and good performance, use FRAPS and then compress down the files produced by FRAPS after recording.  Since they are basically uncompressed, there shouldn't be any measurable quality loss.


text:
batch audio + picture slideshow video creation for youtube
I've about 1000 audio files that I want to batch convert to videos, with some picture slideshows & upload to youtube. Is there any tool available that does this ?

Is there a tool that will do it, probably... is there a tool that will do it well and make it anything worth watching? No.
Making a quality slideshow set to music requires manual timing and ordering and a fair bit of effort on the editor's part.  It isn't something you can simply automate away.  If you don't put in the effort to make something good, it will just be adding a bunch more Youtube slideshow trash to the already large pile of Youtube slideshow trash.


text:
Why would Blu-ray made with Encore CS6 be silent/have missing audio, no sound?
Any thoughts on why audio might be missing from such a project?
Steps:
1) 3 mkv files 1280x720 25P, stereo audio (2 channels)
2) converted to mp4 using ffmpeg
3) audio still present
4) created premiere pro cs6 hdv project
5) lines up the 3 files, back to back
6) confirmed audio still present by listening in the monitor
7) saved project
8) created encore cs6 project, H264 blu-ray, 1280x720 50 (25 not selectable)
9) confirm audio still present in monitor
10) create blu-ray image
11) burn it with imgburn
12) watch blu-ray on vlc player - no audio
13) on MPC-HC player - no audio
14) on cyberlink powerdvd - no audio
I've just started to repeat the steps, this time in step 8, selecting PCM audio instead of dolby (in first attempt), as the original signal is 2 channel.
Playback through Yamaha SW1000XG sound card, stereo out on Windows 8 desktop.
Encore blu-ray generation done on Mac. blu-ray image burnt using imgburn on windows 8 desktop.

The only thing I can think of is that the audio channel may not be getting set on the timeline for some reason.  I would verify what audio track is associated by default with the timeline as a first step and try a simple case of a disk that immediately plays the timeline with the audio set to the default audio track.  If that still doesn't work, I'm out of ideas.  Your situation seems very odd.  Have you tried playing it in a stand alone bluray player by any chance?

+1 for your time and input. It works now - when I 1) changed the setting from dolby to PCM and 2) added an encore marker in premiere pro. I think 1) did the trick. Your answer was on the right track so upvote for that thanks. Let me know your comments on my solution and if you think what I did definitively solves the problem feel free to edit your answer and I'll accept it, given that you set me on the right track.

@therobyouknow - interesting, I wonder if something is wrong with your Dolby encoder.  PCM is the simpler of the two formats since it is just basic waveform data.  Dolby on the other hand is a licensed compression and encoding format.  If something is off with the licensing, it is possible it is failing to encode, but it is very odd you wouldn't get an error from it.

+1 Thanks for your thoughts AJ Henderson. Confirming that these Blu-rays play OK with sound on a Sony Playstation 3, so I think they should be OK. Thanks for the thoughts on the Dolby encoder I will investigate but as far as I know my setup is standard Adobe CS6 Encore/Production on the Mac. My conclusion is that it must have been this option to use 2 channel PCM rather than Dolby for the encore encoding that worked for me.


text:
How to make this vector animation?
I would like to make a demonstration animation like this...

As I am really ignorant about animation making, I even don't know how to describe it.  I think this is something made with vector, as you see there are zooming effects.
I think this animation is made very practical. I hope I could master it in minimum time. Anybody would tell me what technology is used and how long could a beginner master it.

That is the realm of motion graphics and is probably using vector graphics within the motion graphics.  To get something of that quality, would take a very long time for a beginner to make look that good, though if someone is naturally skilled at it, it could shorten the curve considerably.  It requires skill in multiple disciplines to produces a reasonably high production value video like that.
If you want to try to pursue it though, I would suggest looking at software like Flash or After Effects.  Illustrator is also worth looking at for developing the vector assets.  After Effects with Illustrator is probably the best bet as it supports 3d layers (which could be used for the 3D spinning) as well as fairly easy support for write on text.  The painting effect is probably a little easier in Flash, but should be plenty doable with some work in After Effects.
Your early work isn't going to look anything like the video you linked though.  If you want such a video for commercial purposes, your best bet is to pay a studio to do something for you.  If you just want to play around, then dig in to the topic of Motion Graphics which is way too big of a topic to cover in one question and answer.

Well, thanks for you guys who edited and answered my question. Actually I am a university teacher to give lessons in computer science. There are too many complex concepts to illustrate in class and it would be very helpful to give impression on students if a demonstration could be played like this. I would like to ask you to have a basic judgement whether a teacher, in computer science of course, could accomplish this workload to make this kind of motion graphics.

@user43312 - yeah, certainly for a demonstration like that, it would be much simpler.  You wouldn't need nearly the production value, but the software involved is still reasonably pricey (though academic pricing isn't nearly as bad.)  Which concepts in particular are you trying to demonstrate?  (I'm actually a software architect by trade with a dual major in the electronic arts side of things. :) )  What you could make wouldn't look as polished, but it could certainly convey the point if you have some natural abilities in electronic arts.

Your resume is really amazing. I am giving lessons on Linux Shell and the reference textbook is Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible by Richard Blum and Christine Bresnahan. What I want to demonstrate is the four functionalities of kernel, ie, the management of memory/software/hardware/filesystem. The concepts are weigh too abstract without a metaphor or a demonstration. For example, the Virtual Momery is actually a mapped scenary seen by the kernel from both the Physical Memory and the Swap Space. A motion graphic will show the process of this mapping perfectly.

@user43312 - yeah, I think you should be able to do that easily with either Flash or After Effects.  Both are available under academic license from Adobe.  If you want to represent things as blocks, you can make some simple visualizations for memory segments with squares and then put them in groups to allow you to manipulate them as a group.  It should just be a matter of using keyframe animation to bring them to the positions you want when you want and then using another keyframe to move them away when you need to.  It should be pretty simple for you.

OK. I'll give it a try on that. Thanks for your guide.

you can make the logo with some design software for vertorial drawing like Ilustrator. Then you need yo animate this in another software like After Effects. Its very simple. You only need to set some keys in each frame number changing XYZ coordinates of rotation and traslation. Then you can add motion blur to smooth the animation. Thats all.

Those key points you gave is very helpful. Thank you very much, Abraham.


text:
Batch-importing images in sync with audio/markers
I am trying to create a sequence that displays hundreds of images in succession. I want the images to change according to the speed/mood/beat of the music that plays at that moment. For example, changing to the next image every time the kickdrum is heard. I am talking about a rapid succession of images, many of them will only show for a couple of frames. So basically I am looking for a way to accomplish this as fast as possible.
This is what I've come up with.

First, I'll listen to the song and edit my preferences so that in the "General" tab, the "Still Image Default Duration" is set to the number of frames that would best sync up with the tempo/beat of the song.
Next I'll listen to the song again in the "Source" panel and whilst playing it I'll set markers using the m keyboard shortuct where I'll want the images to change. If necessary, I'll listen to it again at half-speed or zooming in a lot and fine-tune the position of the markers until I am happy.
Then I'll import the song to my timeline, along with all of my images, which of course will not be in sync with the markers. So I'll basically use the "Ripple Edit Tool" with all of my images, and individually set the in and out points of every single image so that they 'snap' to the markers.
Finally I'll fine-tune again the in and out points of the images, performing ripple deletes and doing minor adjustments.

Is there a way to speed up this workflow? Maybe a way so that when I import all of the images to the timeline, they'll sync automatically their in and out points with the position of the markers?
Thanks. I'm using Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.

You are going along the right track, but the first step is not necessary.  You want to use the "automate to sequence" functionality, found under the Project menu, to set the images to the markers.  There are a variety of orders that you can have it insert the images in and you may need to do some adjustments to how you bring in the images to make them go in the correct order, but it will handle setting the start and end points at the markers and can even automate transitions if you so desire.


text:
What are the tools needed to produce good quality videos on Youtube?
I always see good videos on Youtube. I mean that they are good in quality and in the presentation. So, what are the tools or programs which helps in that?

Welcome to AVP!  This is a very broad question.  As it is currently written, it may be put on hold for being too broad.  Please take a look at the help section for tips on writing a good question.

What you need is no different from what you need for any video production effort.  You need a decent camera and camera work, which likely involves a decent tripod, decent lighting, decent scripting, decent acting, decent editing and decent compression.
The camera and camera work ensure that the video is clear and that it isn't distractingly shaky and that angles and shot composition look good.  Decent lighting ensures that the camera can get good color and that there aren't weird or distracting shadows and helps things look pleasing to the eye.
A very wide variety of cameras could do the job, starting with cameras like entry level DSLR video or cameras like the GoPro.  Lighting can be done with any set of similar type lights, though specifically made studio lights will output the whitest light which is helpful for filming, but isn't a necessary expense for starting out.  It is important to make sure the color of the lights match though or you will get weird looking issues.
Decent scripting and acting ensure that there is interesting content that is well performed.  Decent editing ensures that the source material is pieced together in a way that flows nicely and tells the story that is visually interesting and properly paced.
Editing generally is done with a piece of software known as a non-linear editor or NLE for short.  Adobe Premiere Pro is a popular NLE, though in a pinch, cheaper alternatives can be used to produce satisfactory results, though they are generally more difficult to work with.
Finally, decent compression of the final video ensures that it looks good on Youtube, even at the limited file sizes that Youtube displays.  This simply involves the use of a video compression software.  Many good NLEs include a video transcoding and compression package (such as Adobe Media Encoder) and there are also free ones available, such as FFMPEG.  VBR 2 pass, H.264 is the general compression of choice for Youtube, but some fine tuning of the bitrate, resolution and keyframe interval can make a big difference on the overall quality of the video.
Overall, to pull off a top notch video requires a fair bit of preparation, gear, knowledge and experience and it isn't going to be possible to detail everything you need to know in a single question and answer, but hopefully this gives you an idea of the key components involved in the process of making such a video.


text:
How to include proof of when a video was made, something that couldn't be be faked at a later date?
I don't know how to call this kind of proof in English, but maybe if I explain it a little bit further you'll get the idea.
Basically I want to create video/audio proof that something was shot in 2013 and have this "proof" video as evidence later, in 2015.
The question is what to do so the people will believe that the video from back in the days is authentic and not fabricated in 2015.

I was thinking that it should be one-taker and that
it should contain some evidence of the date and time and
some things that were unique for that time and don't exist anymore or something like that e.g. building that will be destroyed, people who will be dead in 2 years ;D etc.

But I need something easier to accomplish, because the newspapers and TV, radio could be faked. Something more bullet proof would be needed.
Any ideas how to accomplish that? Thanks in advance for every take on this. I am really curious how would you solved this problem.

Now with good chroma keying methods and other digital tricks available to anyone, you probably won't get anything bullet-proof. Macabrely, speaking to someone terminally ill and perhaps hugging them is the only thing that would seem really convincing to me; I don't think this could be faked so well that a close relative of the person in question wouldn't notice. But that's for several reasons not a idea you should consider. – If you need to proove something happened at a particular time, a video just isn't the right way; get something signed by a notary instead.

There isn't any way to do it within the video.  You can easily prove a video was made (or altered) after a particular time, but you can't prove that it happened before a particular time via the media itself, since you could edit things in from previous time to make it look that way.
The non-video answer would be to generate a signature of the video file and get it cryptographically signed by a reliable time stamping service.  This would prove that the video files had been unaltered since the time the stamp was applied.  Most Certificate Authorities can do this.  I personally use StartSSL because they are pretty cheap but reasonably well respected.
Alternately, you can have a document from a notary about when the video was made, though that won't prove it wasn't altered in some way.  The notary may have more legal baring than a particular CA's time server though depending on if anything causes a loss of faith in the Certificate Authority.

Hash the video and publish the hash of the video on any blockchain that is likely to still be there in the future. Later you can prove the video existed at the time its hash was published.


text:
Make a cinema box around a video clip
I am new to video editing so if my terminology is wrong, I apologize. I am making a video with output settings : 720p and dimensions 640 x 480. I am inserting a series of video clips but their dimensions are smaller than 640 x 480. Instead of the video clip slide expanding up to 640 x 480, I want it to remain the same size but have a black cinema box or border box around the video clip. How can this be accomplished with a video editor?

There's a disconnect here between "720p" and "640x480". These refer to different formats. This doesn't affect the answer (which AJ provided) but it could impact what comes out at the end of your process.

Just import the video and don't scale it.  Any decent NLE should support using clips at their original resolution and placing them within a larger format either scaled or unscaled.  Without knowing your intended NLE, I can't really offer any more advice than that.  Premiere Pro would certainly meet your needs.

Thanks AJ. I am using Windows Movie Maker (not an NLE?), but I will try Premiere. I solved my question by creating a 640 x 480 document in Photoshop with a black background, importing the video clip as a layer, then exported it as an mp4. This gave me what I needed.

@Briggs - Windows movie maker is technically an NLE, but it is not a decent one. :)  The problem you may run into is that a lot of consumer level stuff is going to auto-scale for you because they don't expect consumers to understand things like resolution.  You might find one that doesn't, but it'll be more or less default behavior to not auto-scale on any professional level NLEs like Premiere or Final Cut (at least the older versions), though if you are on Windows, Final Cut isn't an option.

+1 for identifying consumer vs. pro NLE issues.


text:
What is the smallest video size possible in Sony Vegas Pro?
What is the smallest video size possible in Sony Vegas Pro?
I have a 2.21 GB 40 hour long video I need to compress as much as possible (preferably 100 MB). I don't care about quality as it is already a 240*144 resolution. I don't care about bitrate or FPS or anything. There is no audio either. I just need it to be REALLY small.

The smallest possible output is 0 bytes.  Simply delete the video.  Otherwise, it is going to depend on the bit-rates supported by whatever output format you want to use.  Simply choose an output with the lowest possible bit-rate and number of frames and output.
Trying to get 40 hours in to 100Mb requires a .7kbps data rate though.  You are unlikely to have anything worth watching at that level of compression.

Doesn't need to be watchable, just a very long video. Sorry if this makes no sense but I'm trying to make the longest video on the internet. I'm going to multiply the 40 hour video by 20 when I'm done.

In that case, why not make something that goes on forever using something like some flash animation that derives the next frame based on the previous (or based on the amount of time since the video started playing).  It could then literally go on for as long as the user watches it.

Cool idea AJ Henderson, wonder what it would look like using either a Fibonacci sequence or a pseudorandom sequence?

Well then see, that's not a "video" but rather a never ending flash player. I'm going for numbers here, like 1200 hours. Thanks for the ideas though.

I've actually managed to achieve the compression level I want with Adobe Premier but it has this stupid video length limit of 6 hours in the editor so I can't do much else.

Another idea is to make a 1 pixel by 1 pixel video that plays back a representation of the Bible (or some similarly long book) in Morse code.  At 1 pixel by 1 pixel, you could have a framerate of 2 frames per second.  You'd need a computer program to make the video, but it would encode incredibly small and be incredibly long and actually have meaning while still compressing to something stupidly small.

telnet miku.acm.uiuc.edu

@mattdm - that is simultaneously both disturbing and awesome.

Since your intentions seem a bit weird, I'll give a weird suggestion; if a video consists largely of a still image, then any decent compression algorithm will use almost no space in storing that length of time. So you'll notice if you go to "watch" a track someone's uploaded to YouTube with only album art for its image, the video loads very quickly.
This depends on whether you can actually change the content of the video, though. Otherwise, you can theoretically tell Vegas to render it at 16px by 9px (or 4px by 3px).


text:
How to split MTS files?
I have a bunch of large HDTV .MTS files from a camera. I want to cut them in many parts, preferably with free software.
How?

Relevant: http://superuser.com/questions/479111/cut-smart-edit-mts-avchd-progressive-files-un-ubuntu-lucid

Hello Pavel, and welcome to Stack Exchange. To get any reliable answers for your questions, can you please add some details to your question? We need to know things like what OS you are using, what file size the files are (is large 2GB, or 20GB?), what sort of file you want after editing (more .mts files, or something web-ready etc.). When we have a detailed question, we can give great answers. Thanks!

You can use ffmpeg to split them programmatically or use LightWorks to cut them manually with a GUI.


text:
Should I use a GoPro Hero 3 Black for recording drama?
My school's drama department is looking for a camera to record our plays/musicals.
I have looked and looked for a good camera that

Records in 1080p at 30fps
Has a mic-in port so we can connect our sound board to it to record directly onto the video from the tech booth.

I think the GoPro might work. It records at 1080p 60, 48, 30, or 24 fps, and has a mic-in. Would this work?
The tech booth is elevated and is in the back of the auditorium. I wouldn't need to zoom as I can crop it and scale it in post (which I think we will export at 720p) and I don't want it to look fish-eyed or distorted. Would the Narrow option work?
What I really want answered is, Should I use the GoPro Hero 3 Black or is there a better camera to use ($400 or less)?

Go Pro although very handy for action shots like down hill skiing or sky diving, does not have a manual focus, or manual exposure, and as pointed out so well by AJ Henderson below does not have a zoom lens.

The GoPro is really more designed as a small, rugged, action camera.  It really isn't designed for recording a theater production and you would be able to get much better quality out of any number of camcorders in that price range.  You really want something with an optical zoom on it.
Either something like a Canon T3i or T2i would probably handle what you need.  Alternately, Panasonic makes some pretty good video cameras in that price range.
It is also worth noting that the GoPro has no screen so you would need to buy a separate screen to know what it is that you are actually shooting so that you could aim it.  There is one available from GoPro, but it adds around $80 to the cost.

plus, the battery won't last for an entire theatrical production.

This is very true, also the GoPro is very wide, at the back of the auditorium, your stage is going to be tiny in frame...like literally less than a quarter of your screen...no pushing in will save that

Agree totally.  Also the GoPro low-light performance is quite bad.


text:
How to merge video stream and two Stereo audio streams in 5.1 with a terminal command?
What I want as result: a video with the English stream on the front lineout of my soundcard and a German audio stream on the rear lineout of my soundcard.
So far, I extracted the streams with:
mkvextract tracks video.mkv 1:video.h264 2:audio.ac3
...to get the single streams from an .mkv.
Is there a way to merge the two audio streams to the video the way I want to have it?

That depends on your video file format and possibly if you have a surround encoder.  Some file formats provide multiple audio channels that can be configured for different speakers, others rely on a Dolby encoding or similar to provide the speaker information in one audio stream.
Either use a file format that supports multiple independent audio tracks per speaker or use a Dolby (or some other system like MPEG Surround) surround encoder to encode the audio in to a single Dolby (or similar) stream that can be processed by a Dolby (or similar) receiver.
The encoding option would be the best one if you want to ensure compatibility with most players.  Encoders are available in most professional quality DVD/Bluray authoring software packages as well as for some better audio software packages.  You can alternately get a stand alone Dolby encoder, but licensing fees (1 time) for the encoder apply.


text:
Which video editing software can create this style of title graphic?
I'm trying to find out what video editing program does this type of graphical layer to input title over video.

Here are several videos edited with this same program but no reference of the video editor used.
google image search

If you are just looking for what video editor can do a title over a video, the answer is any of them that are worth paying for and most of them that are free.  That's the majority of the point of a video editor is to blend video together and that more or less inherently requires supporting transparency.
If you are looking for the particular template used in that video, I'd suggest asking the people whose YouTube videos used it.  There are many motion graphics template vendors who provide templates that can be used for similar looks if you don't know how (or don't want to bother) to make one yourself.  There are often even some that are free.
That particular effect could be for any number of editors, composition programs or titlers though.  It might come with one directly as an included template or it might come separately.  Nobody is going to know all templates everywhere, so the best bet is to ask the people that used them.
If you are just looking for software in general, I use Adobe After Effects for most things like that, but it's a professional level product so you may not want to go that high end.  Premiere Pro is also able to do a level of motion graphics, though it is more limited.  I'm not sure on the lower levels, but if text overlay or layer transparency or something similar is listed on the features of a product, it should be able to do something reasonably similar.

1, Download this picture
2, Search it in images.google.com via uploading image
3, Filtered the result with the right image
After i've done above, i found there is a related youtube video which may help you. Check the screenshot below.

Post the name of the software otherwise I'll consider this spam to visit your video page on youtube.


text:
Single Aplication needed that can cut,split,Flip and add subtitles in large numbers
I need a single application that can cut, split, flip and add subtitles in large numbers. Currently I use Freemake and Video to video to do this and it takes about 6 to 8 hours for 30 videos.  I'd like to be able to do it without needing multiple applications.
I run Windows 7 with a 3.2ghz AMD processor,Nvidia 460 SE graphics card and 8 gb Ram.

How long are the videos and how fast is your processor?  6 to 8 hours for 30 videos is not an unreasonable amount of time for this on your hardware if the average length of the videos is more than a couple of minutes each.  Typical encoding times for HD video are two to four times the length of the original video depending on settings.

Athlon X3 450 at 3.2 GHz with is not very fast,however what I am Trying to do is to use only One application instead of two.

ah, that was not at all clear from your question.


text:
Adobe Premiere - Razor Tool screws up clip
I'm trying out video editing for the first time and basicly I just want to cut a part of my video.
So I take Razor tool and click on these two blue lines I've drawn with MS Paint:

And now my clip is ruined. When playing or going frame by frame it jumps back and forth.
Like here:

See that casting bar in video preview? It should be shrinking, but I go few frames ahead and it grows, because video gets back in time:

How did I manage to screw up so easily? How to correctly cut that part so I could move it/delete it without screwing up whole clip?

This makes me reminisce of putting SWTOR back on my system and logging in.

The problem is not the razor tool.  You must have slid the contents of the part you razored back in time using one of the other tools.  The easiest way to recover is to undo the edits or to simply drag out the original again.  The razor tool is completely non-destructive, so it hasn't altered your original video at all, just the parts of the video in your sequence no longer line up with the actual time things occurred.
It's worth noting that as a matter of technique, it's generally preferable to open a source clip in the preview window and use the In and Out points to choose just the part of the clip you want to bring over and then assemble clips together.

Mark In, Mark Out, Extract.
Do not use the Razor tool. I've made the same newbie mistake as you. :)


text:
Ken Burns Effect. - Software Recommendations
I am using Windows 7 and trying to find a right application to get advanced features of the "[Ken Burns effect]", like pan and zoom. Unfortunately Photostory version in Windows 7 is not able to get effects. I have access to Photoshop in other computer

You can try the freely-available Lightworks, but beware - this is a cinema-grade piece of software and comes with a steep learning curve. Do you have to use Windows 7? If you have access to a Linux or Mac system, there are plenty of options. Windows... not so much.

If you want a free and open-source option, ffDiaporama is quite good. It's mainly geared towards making photo slideshows (but allows for video too), which are rendered into a video file.
It supports doing Ken Burns effects (and any other transforms, using keyframes), and works pretty similarly to other video editors in that regard.
The UI may be a bit non-intuitive if you havn't used keyframeable video editors before, but it's pretty easy to use.
There's a video on how to do Ken Burns -style pan and zooms here.

Any software with keyframe support can do this.  This answer provides a rough walkthrough of how you can accomplish the look you are describing with just keyframes and positioning/scale keyframes.

Check out Lightworks' free version.


text:
Preventing audio clipping on inexpensive lapel mics
I'm doing some video work on a budget, so I followed a suggestion I found online for audio to combine an inexpensive lavalier mic with a portable voice recorder. In my case, I chose the Olympus ME-15 microphone with the Olympus VN-702PC recorder.
The recorder only has two input volume settings, high and low, and on the lowest setting I'm experiencing frequent clipping when my characters talk, especially when they get excited. Originally we had clipped the mic to the collar of a t-shirt, somewhat off-center, but it also happens when clipped lower on the lapel of a coat.
I'm not concerned about whether the mics are visible, but I'm wondering how to pick up clear sound that isn't louder than the recorder can handle. Would it be better to place it under a layer of clothing? I'm willing to experiment, but I thought it would be helpful to ask others with more experience for suggestions.
What can I do to my microphones to avoid clipping? Can I put them somewhere else? Can I cover them with something?

There unfortunately isn't enough information here to give you a definitive answer but I will try to cover the most likely bases.  The first thing you need to do is determine the source of the clipping.  Is it actually clipping at the recorder or are the microphones themselves clipping.  Clipping occurs whenever the signal level exceeds what a particular piece of equipment is designed to handle and can occur at almost any point in the process.
If the levels you see on the recorder are actually exceeding the levels it is capable of recording, then you need to use a device called a pad to bring down the levels and match the impedance of the microphones to the impedance of the recorder.  You can try working around it by positioning them further away, but any sufficiently loud noise is still going to cause them to clip and background noise will become a much larger problem.  Bringing down the signal level with a pad is the correct solution.
The other possible problem, particularly with cheap microphones, is that the mics themselves could be clipping.  If this is the case, it would likely be a distortion but not peak the recorder.  In this case, you would need to move the mic further away and ensure that nothing is bumping in to the diaphragm that could be causing direct shocks to it.  Alternately, a better mic could be used which would allow it to stay closer to the signal source and thus reduce your background noise.
The main thing to keep in mind when getting clean audio is that you want to sample as much signal and as little noise as possible, which means keeping things as directional and as localized as possible and/or keeping the environment quiet.

There are no levels to see on the recorder, so that makes it tough to tell where the clipping is actually occurring.

Okay, I just checked by plugging the mic into my computer and testing it with Audacity - no clipping happened there unless it was right in my face. So I'm going to guess it's the recorder. I'll look into an attenuator pad.

Considering now that the distortion is in the recorder, it grabs my attention that it does so since both devices are the same brand and Olympus more than likely made them to work in a set up like the one you are doing. I would recommend to talk to the Olympus team and see if we are missing something (I didn't find any reference in the manual).


text:
Is there a way to capture RTMP-stream and output it to SDI?
Is there any way to capture an RTMP stream and output it to SDI?
Here is my situation: We specialize in producing local sports for web streaming. Occasionally we are asked to deliver a stream to a local TV-station. Paying for uplink truck and the whole satellite thing is way beyond our budget.
I'm not really familiar with IP-based workflows, that's why capturing RTMP-stream was my first idea.

I have succesfully used Wirecast software in the past to bring in two RTMP sources and switch between them for live streaming an event from two different venues across the country. It worked wonderfully. You could then use a cheap BlackMagic device to get that out of your pc into an SDI feed.
Wirecast sources: http://www.telestream.net/wirecast/devices.htm#ip

I found this rack mount device called DVEO D-Streamer IP/DIG. One of DVEO's press relises announced $4000 price for the device.
Inputs: HTTP Live (HLS), UDP, RTP, RTSP, HTTP, RTMP (Open Flash), MMS.
Output: SD/HD-SDI.

It looks like there's plenty of software available to capture an RTMP stream available on the internet, although I personally have not tried any of it because I don't have a legitimate reason to do so.  However, to output to SDI, you might be interested in something like this.

The easiest bet is to simply play back the RTMP stream on a system with SDI output.  Don't even need special software, just full screen it and let it rip.

You can dump the RTMP stream to a local file using rtmpdump for example (http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu/), which is the library (but you can download it precompiled as well) that originally cracked the encryption on RTMP, which is a proprietary Adobe protocol.
Then you can use any other software, like ffmpeg, to output the file to SDI WHILE rtmpdump is still dumping the stream to the file in question.

These days there are a few IRD's and STB's that can input RTMP/HLS and output on HDMI.
The popular Amino A140 can do HLS to HDMI.
For a more pro solution the NOVUS-RD can do RTMP/HLS to SDI, HDMI, and/or CVBS.

Consider explaining your solution a bit more. Not everyone knows what an IRD or an STB is. You may want to expand the acronyms and give links to reference material.


text:
Slow HD video whilst editing
I use Adobe Premier 5.5 to edit my videos. I have always seemed to have slow editing.  I upgraded the PC which now has
8 Core
16gb of DDR3 2333mhz ram
1gb 460 gpu
6 hard drives, 1 is SSD

So, I think that it's my hard drives which are slowing everything down. I wonder if the amount of HDD's I have that is slowing it down, even whilst on my SSD it's still visibly lagging.

If you have a 8 core CPU I'd bet it is a fast one too, so that shouldn't be a problem. 16 GB is more than enough for HD, and DDR3 should ensure the speed.
The GPU shouldn't have much to say as long as it's not crap.
If you have 6 slow harddrives, it would be a bottleneck. You should have at least 7200 rpm disks!

humm i'll have to double check the speeds on the drives. Interesting point though, the bottleneck exists? that sucks if there is one. Makes me think i'd need to get one of those pcie hard drives

Yes, you should definitely get some good hard drives. When you work with HD you are working with really big files that flow from the hard drives all the time when you play them. If they're not fast, then that would be a bottleneck..

ye, but i wonder is the bottleneck to do with individual speeds or the mother boards bridges handling the data? As in if i have the data on the SSD which has no spinning speed and is obviously the fastest drive out there, it would in theory be quicker you would think

I think that you should get a RAID system if you want to have 6 hard drives and a SSD. Because then you would have a dedicated processor to handle all the data while your computer can focus on the video editing.

correct if i'm wrong but a raid system would consist of the exact duplicates of the drives.

depends on the RAID config, read up on RAID 0 through RAID 6.

RAID is basically different ways of handling data over multiple hard drives. You could have parallel hard drives or multiple hard drives that to the computer looks like one big hard drive. You could have two parallel with one backup per disk and so on..

argh ok, i've never bothered looking into them on the basis of well it being a way to back up. But interesting about having 1 big drive. Although i seem to go through hard drives like hot cakes. Always needing more space form the videos. Although since HD and sd cards i dont have to use mini dv and avi any more :D

Drives are definitely the answer. My miniDV setup worked fine with 5400rpm, but HD playback looked like internet video from 2004. Upgraded to 7200rpm internal SATA drives, and ~most~ of the time, I've got good results. While I've never done any work with SSDs, I suspect those would be the ideal circumstance.
For external drives, I've used 5400rpm USB2.0 and FireWire (ieee1394) with DV just fine, but even with external drives, there may be bus speed issues on top of drive speed issues.
One thing that I have had good luck with is DSLR footage. I shoot 1080i on CF cards and 720p on SD Cards. I've got an internal SATA card reader, and I've been very impressed with throughput directly from the cards.
I've found that most editing lag these days is more related to drive speed than anything else. Most people doing video editing are savvy enough to at least know to ask "Will video editing need a more robust machine?"
RAID 10 is something I'm exploring right now. It supposedly combines striping (for faster access) with mirroring (for reliability) on a 4-disk array. Some IT professional friends of mine say that it's stable enough that they're putting the OS on the same physical drives as the data. An interesting thing to consider.
Hope this helps...or if nothing else, helps corroborate other information and ideas you're hearing.

yup agreed. I will be looking into raid for sure now. Also i wil check the speeds of my drives, i am even tempted to try a usb drive with usb 3... exciting times. Although i am certain i don't buy drives unless they are 7200rpm.

A common problem for a slow edit is incorrectly setting the codec of the sequences.
Unless under very specific circumstances (of which I'm not sure of), you should set your sequence codec (when you create the new sequence and Premiere asks you what preset it should use) to be identical to your footage.


text:
720p 60fps playing in slow motion need real time speed?
I just got a kodak playsport zx5 and shot some video of a volleyball game at 720p 60fps. I figured since the ball was moving so fast i'd need the 60fps to capture the games clearly. I just downloaded the videos and playing them in KMPlayer and they are in slow motion. How can I get them to play in real time?
Thanks

what does the OSD info say about the file? Press 'Tab' during playback and the info should pop up on screen. See the line starting with 'Frame'.  And is it playing "smoothish" at half-speed, or is the video stuttering? The former would be a config/file issue whereas the latter is related to the capability of your computer.

@Mulvya 59.96 fps CPU 30%. It is an older computer I will try playing it on a faster machine with more memory. It's playing kind of smoothish at half speed but occasionally stuttering which I think is my computer.


text:
Looking for recommendations on editing Premier Pro on a MacBook Pro
My MacBook Pro died today and I am looking for solid advice on a replacement that will be best for working with Adobe Premier Pro 6.
Apple has the new 13" Retina Display and the regular flavor. I have seen a variety of reviews and want to get some solid perspective on which would work best for video editing.
Thanks.

this may be more suited for Super User

AskDifferent, actually.

Although this question would likely be on topic at both SU and ASE, I don't think it's entirely off-topic here.  The OP is clearly looking for tools for video production.  An expert on the subject is likely to have an expert opinion on the hardware to use.  The question may rather be, where is the OP most likely to get a suitable answer... but that would be up to the OP no?

I think the question is fine for SU, ASE and AVP, but slightly better for ASE than AVP. I suspect the OP would get better answers on ASE than here. Moderation is a community effort here, and I'm happy (and I hope others are too) to hear from anyone who is interested in making sure that AVP (and ASE and SU) is excellent for its stated purpose.

I've seen a few reviews of the Retina display machines that suggest that the graphics chip has trouble pushing the display at full resolution. At this point, I think the Retina machines are better suited to the processing of static images for iPad development than for high-res video editing.

This is helpful. I ended up getting the regular 13" MBP and so far so good. I may need more RAM though and maybe even an SSD. Thanks.


text:
How do I move (rearrange) the orientation of a video?
I want to crop the video at some position and move the part next to the part that wasn't cropped. (See image, it explains better)

https://i.sstatic.net/mzBN8.png

I'm not sure I understand. You want to move lower half of the frame to the right side? On each frame? In that case you'd turn from portrait mode to landscape (to use photography terms) and screw up initial resolution? And... what software you have at disposal?

I have VirtualDub.

You'll need to use something different, other than VirtualDub. Sony Vegas 8+ comes to my mind.
In Sony Vegas you can put your video, rotate it, crop it and fit the first upper part in the left side of the video. I am assuming that you are going to use a 16:9 aspect ratio video project for this case, so you can use the left side of the canvas in order to put the first part of your video.
In another row in the time line, you can add the same video, rotate it, crop it and fit the right side of the project. This way, you can put the parts of the video in whatever position, rotation, size, zoom, etc. as you wish.
I suggest you to run a search on youtube with the words "Sony Vegas Pan Crop Tutorial" in order to find useful tricks on how to do this. I was about to suggest you some of them but they doesn't cover exactly your need. Nevertheless, learning how to pan/crop a video you can achieve this task.
Good luck!

FFmpeg can do anything :D
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-filter_complex '[0:v]split[top][bottom];[bottom]crop=iw:ih/2:0:ih/2[right];[top]crop=iw:ih/2:0:0,pad=iw*2:ih:0:0[left];[left][right]overlay=W/2:0[outv]' \
-map [outv] -c:v libx264 -crf 22 -preset veryfast output.mp4

The split filter creates two identical versions of the input video ([0:v]), called [top] and [bottom] for the purposes of the filtergraph. The first crop cuts the top half of [bottom] off, creating an output called [right]; the second crop removes the bottom half of [top], then sends it to the pad filter, which doubles the width of the video frame to the right and creates an output [left]. Finally, [left] and [right] are sent to the overlay filter, which places [right] on top of [left], on top of the black area created by the pad filter, creating the final output [outv].
Unfortunately I can't put a line break in the -filter_complex, since that would break the command.
-map [outv] tells ffmpeg to use the video output of the complex filtergraph; if you want to use the input audio too, you can use -map 0:a as well. All the -c:v and so on are video settings.
Here's a slightly shorter, but less clear version of the above command:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-filter_complex 'split[top][bottom];[bottom]crop=iw:ih/2:0:ih/2[right];[top]crop=iw:ih/2:0:0,pad=iw*2:ih:0:0,[right]overlay=W/2:0' \
-c:v libx264 -crf 22 -preset veryfast output.mp4


text:
Auto-Orient, Wrong Rotation on Last Keyframe in After Effects
I have an issue with the Transform | Auto-orient option. I does work in general but at the very last keyframe the object's rotation changes apruptly.

How can I avoid that?
I am using After Effects CS4.

I found the issue. The rotation was caused by an expression I used to loop the animation
loopOut("cycle")


text:
Equipment/setup recommendations (1 camcorder, 1 mic)
What are some of the best options for setting up an indoor, stationary scene?
The project is an instructional video with one human subject speaking. The final end product will be interspersed with screen-capture video from a laptop. Intended viewing format for the end-user will be streaming through the web, if that makes any difference.
From what I know, most "professional" camcorders can take both mic level and line level inputs. So I have a few questions:

Camcorder: Aside from video-related differences, how do video DSLRs or otherwise consumer-grade camcorders compare to professional (big 3-CCD) camcorders in terms of working with external mics? What considerations should be taken regarding mic level vs. line level, if any?
Microphone: Any recommendations for microphones at various budgets (~$50-300)? Would a lav/lapel mic or a shotgun mic be better? Background noise reduction is key (firetrucks, sirens, etc. creeping through closed windows).
Mixer: Would a mixer be appropriate here, considering the answers to the previous questions?

From my preliminary research, I figured I have a few initial options:

Buy shotgun mic and plug into camcorder (phantom power provided by battery/outlet, I assume?)
Buy wired lapel mic, plug into mixer/whatever to raise to line level, and plug into camcorder line-in
Buy wired lapel mic and plug into camcorder mic-in
Buy wired lapel mic, plug into mixer/audio interface to raise to line level, and plug into computer (and sync during editing)
Buy wireless USB lapel mic and plug into computer (and sync during editing)

I feel that option 2 is probably the best way to do it in terms of sound quality, convenience, and budget. Option 5 might be suitable as well if mixers are the bottleneck that breaks the budget.
Any thoughts or equipment recommendations appreciated. Thanks in advance!

In general, the recommendation when working with a DSLR for video is to buy a separate external recorder for audio.  Personally, I use a Zoom H4N for recording audio when doing recordings with my DSLR.  For a non-moving subject that is the only audio source, a LAV is hands down the way to go, particularly if you can conceal the mic and not control external noise levels.  The only advantage a shotgun mic would have is that it doesn't have to be visible in the scene, but it will also pick up far more room noise than the LAV.
So for your situation, my recommendation is to use a LAV (or possibly a shotgun if visibility of the mic is a major concern, a DSLR (since the shot is not panning) and an independent balanced (XLR based) audio recorder.  A mixer is not necessary as there is only one audio channel to worry about so it can be mixed later.

That sounds excellent, and clears up a lot of things. May I ask if you have any recommendations for a specific DSLR model in the setup you mentioned? I've heard many others vouch for the mic-and-H4N combo in the past.

Depends on your price range.  Currently the Lumix GH2 gets really good reviews in the sub-$1000 range.  I personally use a Canon 5d Mark iii, but that's quiet a bit more pricy.

Awesome! I was looking for a variety of options across price ranges so this was perfect. I guess I'll go on now to research the most appropriate lens for the job (I imagine we don't need something very fancy, since it will be a well-lit, stationary, indoor project). If you could direct me to any resources for lens information that would be excellent. Thanks again for all your help.

Image quality and audio quality are really two separate beasts, so address each solution independently.

Camcorder: Aside from video-related differences, how do video DSLRs or otherwise consumer-grade camcorders compare to professional (big 3-CCD) camcorders in terms of working with external mics?
  Blockquote

"Big CCD" cameras are great at avoiding rolling shutter in the video signal, but this has no bearing whatsoever on the audio they record.  Since your question specifically addresses a stationary scene, though, rolling shutter shouldn't be a problem.  Another big advantage of professional video cameras is their connectivity to broadcast equipment.  But if you're not working in a broadcast environment, these features add unnecessary cost.
With respect to audio, most dslrs and consumer camcorders ship with some sort of automatic gain compensation (AGC) enabled.  This reduces peak volumes and amplifies silences in an attempt to balance the volume.  In uncontrolled situations, AGC can be helpful, and keep your signal from clipping.  In controlled situations such as interviews, however, AGC will introduce unwanted hiss into the silences.  Make sure the camera you choose allows you to disable AGC for these situations.
Of course, the danger of disabling AGC is that your signal might clip.  To avoid this, consider audio bracketing.  Split the signal from your mic, feed it to a preamp on two channels, and reduce the volume on one of the channels.  That way, if your primary signal clips, you'll have a backup.  Feed both of these channels into your camcorder to avoid sync issues.
Apologies if this doesn't make sense.  I'm not an audio guy.
In response to your question about lavs vs shotgun mics, I think this is a matter of preference.  Lavs are easy to set up, but they are more conspicuous than shotgun mics.  With a shotgun, you need a dedicated sound man, or a very stationary subject. Keep in mind that you aren't limited to "wired" lavs.  Wireless ones are actually the status quo.

Thanks for your help, Jason. Since we're not working in a broadcast environment, do you have any recommendations on what type of camcorder would be suitable? Apart from DSLRs, I notice there is a lot of variety in the HD camcorder space.

We use DSLRs, so I can't really recommend any camcorders.  Any reason you're opposed to DSLRs?

Oh, not at all. I had merely asked AJ in the other response about DSLRs since he mentioned that he worked with them regularly. I believe he mentioned the Lumix GH2 and Canon 5d Mark iii. I'd greatly appreciate your input as well.

I haven't used the GH2, but the reviews I see seem to be positive.  We have a Mark iii, and it produces beautiful video, although its features are a little crippled.  Look into "Magic Lantern" if you decide to go the cannon route.  Also, IMHO, the Black Magic cinema camera is the most exciting camera on the horizon.  But they're presently experiencing supply chain problems.


text:
Flipping Video Animation, How?
How can I flip a browser window in the same way as seen in the MS Access video, which should automatically start at the correct time where the flip begins and only lasts about 3 seconds.  From 4:52 - 4:55
I would like to create a video (that I record of my desktop) that can do this.  But what program does this?

Many video editing applications offer this sort of transition.  Final cut pro x is the one i'm most familliar with, but we might better answer your question if we knew what os you're using.

You don't do the flip while recording your video, it is done later as a transition effect in the video-editing program. Microsoft Movie Maker has several transitions to choose from, just as almost any movie editor whatsoever.

Any free video editing programs available for this?

Nevermind, I believe the Movie Maker program is free.  Downloading and installing it now.  THANKS! :)


text:
placing text in video filmed environments
I really love mixing reallife environment with floating text over buildings or virtual paintings on the walls.
When the camera moves, the text also moves and looks like it is really attached to the surface. I hope you have the idea of what I'm trying to tell. Here are some questions:

What (1 entry level, 1 professional) Software can be used or is typically used?
Does the Software detect the movement or is it neccessary to move the decal every frame?

The general technique you're asking about is called motion tracking, of which there exist different types: Feature ("point") tracking, planar tracking, and 3D match moving.  After Effects (and the bundled Mocha) is probably the best entry level software to each of these methods, but it definitely leaves room for professional growth.  Apple's Motion includes a more basic toolset, is only suited to feature tracking, but is more beginner-friendly.
When text is flatly attached to a simple, clearly visible surface such as a picture frame, you can use Feature tracking to track the corners of the object, and "corner pin" an image or text into the frame.  The software will do its best to automate the process of tracking each corner, but if, for instance, an object passes in front of one of the points, you may have to manually keyframe its movement.
Planar tracking goes a step further and tracks the movement of full flat surfaces.  Mocha, bundled with After Effects, is a planar tracker.  It's fast and flexible, and you can achieve better results more reliably, but it's a little more complicated.  To mask out an obstruction, for instance, you must rotoscope out the offending object.
You would only use 3D matchmoving if you wanted your text to be three dimensional, cast realistic shadows, receive image-based lighting, reflections, transparencies, in other words, be a realistic object in your scene.  This is the most complicated method because it requires a back and forth workflow through tracking, 3d modeling, and compositing software.  Different combinations of software packages will lump one or more of these steps within the same application.
An example of a dedicated professional motion tracking application is Boujou, although there are others (PFtrack comes to mind).
Hope this gives you a place to start.


text:
Looking for an 80's VHS effect!
I'm looking for a way to turn an HD video clip into 80's style VHS low-quality.
Here is an example of the look I'm desperately looking for:

Thank you!!!

Every decent video editor has built-in filters (like Color Correction, Film Effects, TV simulator, Color Curves, etc.) that can be used to achieve the desired 'look'. There are plug-ins and tools that contain many ready-to-use presets, such as:

Magic Bullet Looks
Film Looks SVP
Adobe SpeedGrade
DaVinci Resolve
etc.

This is certainly more work, but if you want a truly authentic and "organic" VHS look:

Go find a used VHS recorder (or two) at a thrift store (you might have one sitting around your house!)
Get some blank VHS tapes at a Walgreens (they still sell it)
lay off your video onto VHS tape (for extra authenticity, copy it again to a second recorder and repeat as often as necessary to achieve the desired look)
then bring it back in to your computer by digitizing it

Digitizing analog video is a little more complicated, but really any TV tuner card will do. Your graphics card may already have RCA composite or S-video component input. Or if you have a set-top DVD recorder, then you can "digitize" it that way, and then rip the MPEG2 video from the DVD on your computer using DVD Decrypter (a fantastic tool and completely legal if you're using it for video that you own the rights to).
Check out VirtualDub for a good general video capture and processing tool to help you with this.

Red Giant VHS plugin
Creation VHS Effects
Those should do exactly what you want

Besides the plug-ins and preset looks (which are great and life saving most of the time) you can manually create such looks by observing some example videos. The video you showed, for example, has some blur, and overall diffuse. It has plenty of colour noise. It is pretty brightened up, with lower contrast. There's a visible shift in color channels. It has a reddish and yellowish look etc..
Also you can add some bad VHS tape artefacts as mentioned here.
Of course creating each property manually might need a capable software and some experience with the software you are using.


text:
What specs should I be looking for in a camera to record board-game sessions?
I'm a computer science engineer with no experience and very little knowledge in camera and video processing.
I would like to record boardgame sessions (timelapse for example) and record boardgame rules description for my friends.
I'm therefore looking for a camera and I'm a bit lost. There are plenty of different camera on the market with lot of specs and I don't really know what I need to have to record boardgame sessions...
I think it has to have:

HD capabilities
A good microphone input both to catch my voice or multiple voices during a game
No specific spec related to frame rate
No waterproof capability

Could you help me with other different parameters I would need to care about when buying a camera?
Thanks for your help and precious advices
Random example :

P.s. I'm not looking for a shopping list here...

There are two approaches you can take based on budget.  The first is to record audio in camera, the other is to record audio to a dedicated audio recorder and mix it with the video after.  The former is cheaper, but the latter will generally produce better quality.
As far as features, beyond HD, you are mostly just looking for good performance in whatever lighting conditions you will have and then looking for good color and video quality.  Best bet is to look at sample videos from them to find one you like.  I'd also recommend taking a look at the GoPro, it's one of the better, cheaper video cameras available and would probably work well for your needs.
If you want something more general purpose, you could also look at a DSLR with video capabilities such as a Canon T4i which would allow for high quality stills as well as high quality video.
Your best bet for narrowing down your choices is really going to be to think about what else you might want to do with it and how much you would like to spend, then look at what is in your price range.
If you do want a dedicated audio recorder, the Zoom H4n is a reasonably cheap and decent option that will allow external microphones to be used for recording audio.

Is there any reason why the video and the stop-motion must use the same camera?

The DLSR option is not possible because I already own a canon eos 450d and I don't want to change (at least for now)... I thought about GoPro but It seems to me it's a cheap camera for people who want to record themselves during sport session... Maybe my jugement is totally wrong........

I've already created a timelapse with my 450d and a laptop to trigger the shots... A bit heavy solution... But it works well... I want to record proper video though...

@AndyM - unless you are looking to spend considerably more money than the cost of a GoPro, it is one of the better quality video cameras for the price.  Many professional videographers use it when a small, cheap camera is necessary or when they need an array of cameras.  It won't beat a mid-range DSLR's video, but it's also a lot cheaper than a mid-range DSLR.  It is competitive or superior to a cheap DSLR in terms of sensor quality, but of course has the limitation of a fixed lens.

@AJ henderson Which model of the gopro do I need... Example : do I need 60 fps for this?

@AndyM - you shouldn't need anything fancy.  A basic model with an LCD back would probably work fine.  Your needs are very basic.  If it will be pretty dim, then it might be worth going for the higher end one for the better low light performance, but you are probably fine with the white edition and an LCD back.

@AJ Henderson - Actually, gopro dont have LCD in the back right? And tne white edition is only 5 MP... What about the light? Do I need an extra light with that kind of camera?

@AndyM - the GoPro has an LCD back that you buy as an accessory.  I was just reminding you that you would need one if you want to see what you are pointing the camera at.  HD video is only 2 megapixels and you have a DSLR for stills.  You shouldn't need an extra light as long as it isn't a dimly lit room.  I was just pointing out that the only relevant advantage the Black model has over the white for you would be the low light performance if you need to shoot in a dimly lit room.

@AJ Henderson - Considering the price of a gopro + voice recorder, should'nt go for a better quality camera that will last longer and be used in other part of my life (maybe kids or something), such as Canon Legria HF-G30 or Panasonic HC-X920? Will I need a external mic with those better camera as well? Thanks for your time and precious answers!

@AndyM - The GoPro captures audio as well.  The point of the audio recorder is that on camera audio is never very good.  It picks up the operational noises of shooting and is not able to take external inputs from good quality mics.  Using external audio produces better quality audio and is done on virtually all professional production work (unless the camera is really high end and allows professional microphones to be fed in to it.)  You could get a higher end camera that is more general purpose (that's why I initially suggested a DSRL) but an audio recorder would still improve the quality.


text:
How to disable continuos autofocus during video shooting with Canon SX230 HS?
I have a Canon SX230 HS camera and want to record a movie from a train driver's perspective on a model railway.
Everything is working fine, except that the camera refocuses continuously during the shoot, making your eyes hurt when watching the movie.
Is there any way to disable the continuous autofocus when recording a movie?

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about audio-video production.

On Stack Exchange, decisions like this are made by the community via rough-consensus democracy rather than moderators. The moderators volunteer their time to assist, not to rule. Previous community discussion on whether video questions are on topic is at http://meta.photo.stackexchange.com/questions/28/can-i-ask-videography-related-questions/33, and you're welcome to continue in that conversation.


text:
Where can I get Rapid?
I was watching this video by CorridorDigital and I heard them mention Rapid. I can't find it on Google. Could someone link me to it.

Maybe this? http://www.additive3d.com/home.htm. Seems like it's a set of techniques: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_prototyping

@EugeneS - that's close, but not quite it.  They are clearly describing a mesh refinement package for converting a point cloud to a minimally complex, solid body mesh.  Such software is used in the rapid prototyping field to generate a solid model for CNC machining or 3d printing and is also used in the 3d graphics arena, but in this case, they appear to be talking about a particular software package.

Yes, that is the issue I have been running into when searching.

It appears to be RapidForm which has now been bought out (or changed name possibly) to 3D Systems Geomagic.  The website is here.  I found this by looking for mesh refinement software matching the term Rapid and that seemed likely the best match.  In particular, it appears to be GeoMagic XOS.  I don't personally have any experience with the particular software.
Basically the point behind the software is to make refined meshes from a point cloud.  3D scanners like the Kinect don't actually form a mathematical model, instead, they generated large numbers of points at a given distance from the sensor.  These points are formed into a cloud which then has to be modeled into a vector based solid mesh for rendering purposes.
This process is actually incredibly similar to converting a bitmap image into a vector graphic, but it has to be done to produce smooth, solid surfaces in 3d, so it's a bit of a complex and specialized operation.  Software like this allows for the best fit mesh to be found and to ensure that it makes a solid, detailed mesh that doesn't have holes in it that could cause problems with the geometry.

Yes, I was looking at that and I think that RapidForm is the site. Thanks for the extra info! To spite being pretty knowledgeable in 3D software and graphics, I learned something new today!

Again, I am not quite sure if that is it but from what you said I think that is it.

@b2550 - yeah, it's still a guess on my part, but based on the context of what they were describing and based on all I could find in Google searching.  I'd say I'm 95% confident this is what they were talking about, but it certainly isn't a guarantee.


text:
Light settings for indoor shoot - Sony dcr sx60
I have a Sony Handy Cam (sony dcr sx60) and no tripod with me.
I have to make an indoor video shoot (I am a beginner and it is a test shoot).

The subject will not be moving and it could be a interview kind of video.
There will be only one subject on which to focus.
The room will have natural light on one side of it (through the transparent glass door of window) and a few more lights will be available on the ceilings (Yellow and white lights).

I have surfed on the net regarding the ISO, aperture, shutter speed and more, confused about all.
Could you please give me quick and simple tips to make a good output?

You may actually be better off without the natural light.  The color is going to be different between the sunlight and the interior lights and will be much MUCH brighter.  It will result in strong shadows and some weird white points.
If you are shooting video, shutter speed isn't really much of an issue since you'll want to have it set at your frame rate to get as much light as possible.  Aperture you will want to set based on the desired depth of field for your shot, the wider the better to allow in more light and the ISO should be set to properly expose your image.
Options for dealing with the color mismatch between lights is to either gel the lights inside or gel the windows to alter the color of the sunlight.  Alternately, it might be possible to use a large white reflector (even white sheets can work in a pinch) to try to reflect light from the windows back on to the subject from a different angle, but that can be tricky depending on the angle that light is coming in at.
The key is that you want to have a light source that fills in the shadows that is near, but slightly less powerful than the main light and you want them to be the same color.  Your interior lights do not sound to be the right color or near bright enough to compete with the sun, so your options are really either shoot entirely with interior light or reflect the sun and shoot entirely based on light from the sun.
If doing entirely interior lights, (really in either case, but harder with sun only) a back light can also be helpful that is below and behind the subject to light up their outline and make them stand out more from the background.  That's what gives the "pop" to the image.  It is referred to as 3 point lighting (key - the main light, fill - the one that fills in shadows, and back - the one behind).


text:
Picture in picture for my face while recording video games
What (or how) can I insert a box with a visual of my face while I am recording the game I'm playing? I currently use Hypercam but there is no option for this game/reality split screen.

Which OS? What do you want to achieve? Do you like free or non free software?

Xsplit is a popular software choice for people recording and/or streaming video games. It allows multiple inputs and can overlay video on top of video, as you'd need for the PiP effect. There is a small fee to purchase this, but would highly recommend it if you are serious about it.
Another popular solution is Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) which is similar to Xsplit, but is completely free. Here is a guide to using OBS. When you setup a "Streaming Profile," you can just set it to locally record.
With both services, you have the option to record footage locally (such as to edit/produce and then upload to YouTube) and/or stream directly to an online streaming service (such as Twitch or Ustream).

This is normally done as a post production operation.  Record the video of you and the gameplay and then sync them up in any video editing or composition software and it should easily allow you to scale down and position the clip of you over the video game layer.
It will normally either be called picture in picture on more consumer targeted software or is done by altering the scale and position of a video layer in professional products.

What software do you recoimend?

@YoungGuilo - personally, I'd use Adobe Premiere or After Effects since I have them, but just about any editing software should be able to do it if it supports layers.