Greetings Jim, David, and other interested parties--
-----Original Message-----
From: David Gillett <[log in to unmask]>


On  2 Dec 98 at 9:10, Jim Meagher wrote:

> I am about to explore the world of MPEG and need some tips and
> recommendations.
>
> Is there software to edit an MPEG?
> Is there software to convert it to other formats?
> Any other resources you can suggest will be appreciated.
>
> I have used the DOS copy /b command to combine MPEGs (crude but
> effective) but
> I need something a little more sophisticated.

>>  DeBabelizer Pro owns the market for software to convert
between
>>various video file formats (MPEG, .AVI, QuickTime, etc.).


Well ... not necessarily. Ulead has also been into video formats
for some time, though for multiple format management DeBabelizer
Pro is unquestionably very good.

[Begin anecdotal info. (to be filed in the "for what it's worth"
file)] A couple of years ago I put together a machine using an
integrated WUSCSI interface (Adaptec 2940) m'board, a
Pentium200MMX (the limit, BTW, for this IWILL P55TX, HX chipset
board), a Seagate Hawk 2.1 GB WUSCSI hard disk, and 32 MB of RAM
(to be 96 MB tomorrow), with the Matrox Mystique Video card. A
long explanation, yes, the point of which being that this video
card accommodates the Rainbow Runner daughter card, which allows
for video capture, hardware MPEG support, and subsequent output
to either hard disk or VCR. Bundled with the Rainbow Runner is
Ulead's Media Pro editor (not sure of the name, sorry). When I
purchased it, it was version 2.5, but documentation said
registering it and the Rainbow Runner over the web would
guarantee me an upgrade. This was, indeed, the case, and I now
have version 5.0. I found the learning curve to be a bit steep,
but I am sure it isn't as steep as Adobe PhotoShop--I just don't
get enough time to play with it as a school librarian. I used it
in conjunction with the AVer PC/TV converter to do a ca. 30
second video of the steps to follow to access our local CD-ROM
server, and was able to complete a respectable (for a first
effort) *.mpg with speech overlay, which I was able to insert
into a PowerPoint presentation.[End anecdotal info.]

Another point to consider is that your video card needs to be
able to capture video, or you need a separate video capture card,
and some video editing scenarios (like the one above) specify a
hard- and software combination. Another higher-end video editing
solution is made by miroVideo. There are (I believe) two levels,
each of which is more costly than the Mystique/Rainbow Runner
above, but will likely (for that reason, get what you pay for,
yadda-yadda) produce a superior product.

>>  I like Lumiere for editting digital video.  It was originally
from
>>Corel, who packaged it with Photo-Paint 6 for under $100; Corel
has
>>since sold it to Imsi, and it sells for about $60.  It appears
to do
>>most of the useful things [i.e. things *I* need...] that Adobe
>>Premiere (about $500 now, was about $700 when I bought Lumiere)
>>does.


I concur with David that both of the above are excellent
products. For further info., you might want to contact a local TV
network affiliate, and see what they might recommend, although
many 'smaller' outfits haven't yet gone this digital.

Hope this long-winded post has been of some value.

Good luck with your video editing efforts.

Regards,

Paul A. Shippert [log in to unmask] Library/Media Specialist
"There is a theory which states that, if ever anyone discovers
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