Pinnacle sucks; Can I get some help with it?

Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:18 pm

Okay, here's the deal. I'm trying to work with Pinnacle Studio 9, but it's being a pain in the buttocks. I know how crappy a program Studio is (I read a review of the latest version; It got a two! Out of ten!), but alas, it's the best I have.

The biggest problem it's been giving me is just flat-out refusing to work with just about all of the footage I have on my computer. The only thing it wants to be able to use is footage I capture off a DVD player or camera with Pinnacle itself, and a scattered tiny fraction of old DBZ video clips I've got laying around from my newbie days. Even the .AVIs I make with Windows Movie Maker (which is a hell of a lot more reliable than Studio, believe me) have been no good for Pinnacle Studio. The most I ever get in terms of an explanation why is a tiny little error window saying that either the file "could not be opened," or that "Pinnacle does not support this MPEG4 video file format," to quote the #^&#$ program exactly. As far as I know, there's nothing unusual about the clips. They're all just basic .MPEGs and .AVIs.

So you can see the bind I'm in. WMM isn't picky at all about file types or formats, but it isn't really made to handle the large amount of cuts and fades and timing needed to make a decent music video (I've had to divide MVs into parts in order for them to work, and that's a HUGE hassle). I know Pinnacle can, however, since I made a music video out of home video footage for Mother's Day last year, but like I said, it's being stubborn with any other footage existant on my machine.

Oh, and before anyone suggests that I just get a better program, take a look at this.

Premiere is way too freakin' expensive for me or anyone else I know.

There's a reason my Dad decided on Studio, ya know. Then again, he wasn't really concerned about making AMVs. Though if any of us knew how much I would (be trying to) do so, he probably would've saved/splurged for something better. But a better editing program is pretty much out of the question.

Speaking of questions, here's mine. Is there any way I can get around Pinnacle Studio 9's obstinance and pickiness with my footage? Perhaps some wise and knowledged editing guru who knows a bit/lot more about the mechanics and details behind different video filetypes than I do (nudge, nudge, Mike...please? I've been behaving...) might be able to explain what the problem is, and even perhaps how to fix it. Maybe there's a program for download (or relatively cheap purchase) out there that could tweak the files so that Pinnacle will accept them. I don't know, I'm just making a desperate plea for help here.
:::Crosses fingers and prays:::

_Jrinu_ · Post by **_Jrinu_** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:40 pm

Well, I personally love pinnacle as a video editor.

It's what we use at my school, and I've been trained pretty well with it.

The reason it won't work with your files is becuase it was made to edit things that come off of a camera. For AMV's it's not the best choice of program, but for regular video editing, it's pretty decent.

Eclipse · Post by **Eclipse** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:42 pm

.........WMM can save .avi's? Why didn't anyone tell me this?

Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:55 pm

Eclipse wrote:.........WMM can save .avi's? Why didn't anyone tell me this?

It can, but you can't set much to your liking. AMVs can end up HUGE as .AVIs.

...So, how about dem problems with Pinnacle Studio 9, eh?

Post by **VegettoEX** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:19 pm

Here's a tip:

What you export off of your timeline isn't and should never be your online distribution version. That's just not how it works.

What you export off of your timline is *supposed to be* the largest, most raw version of the video you can get. Full frame-size, no lossy compresison, etc. The codec of choice is HuffyUV, which (of course) comes standard as part of the AMVapp. Yes, it's going to be big... that's OK. It's lossless compression, which means whatever you put into it is exactly what you're going to get out... it actually works off of the same algorithms as WinZip.

You then that THAT FILE and bring it into something like Tsunami MPEG Encoder (MPEG-1, MPEG-2) or VirtualDubMod (DivX, XviD, etc.) for your compressed version. For me, it's:

Premiere timeline --> HuffyUV -------> VirtualDubMod --> XviD (online distro)

or

Premiere timeline --> HuffYUV -------> TMPEG --> MPEG-2 (con version)

Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:24 pm

Um... okay, I kinda know that, but thanks. Especially for the conversion program links.
But what about my problems with Studio? Putting out files I have no problem doing, but it's getting the footage I already have into Pinnacle Studio that's giving me trouble. Will any of the programs you linked to help with that?

Post by **VegettoEX** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:34 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote:Um... okay, I kinda know that, but thanks. Especially for the conversion program links.

Well, yeah, that was my point. Instead of Windows Video, other stuff will be lots more helpful

.

Post by **Kaboom** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:50 am

Okay, thanks, but...

...Will any of those programs do anything to get my footage to work with Pinnacle Studio?

Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:01 am

This thread may have been somewhat dead, but I decided I needed to revive it for one last problem.

I've downloaded VirtualDubMod, since I'm going to need it for an upcoming video. But I need some help with how to use it Let's just say I'm more at home with the artistic aspects of AMV editing, rather than the technical ones.

So Mike, I'm directing this question to you, again.

Can you point me towards some/any "Video Compression for Dummies" sort of thing, either from you or someone else, that will help show my relatively-video-tech-illiterate self how to get my huge .avi compressed with VirtualDubMod?

SatoSky · Post by **SatoSky** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:16 am

I'm no VegettoEX, but here you go. I'm assuming that you want to re-encode your finished AMV for online distribution. That can help. Let me know how it turns out.

Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:21 am

SatoSky wrote:I'm no VegettoEX, but here you go. I'm assuming that you want to re-encode your finished AMV for online distribution. That can help. Let me know how it turns out.

Thanks. It looks useful; I'll try it out later and let you know.

Kanzenshuu

Pinnacle sucks; Can I get some help with it?

Pinnacle sucks; Can I get some help with it?

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