[Movie Studio HD 11.0] Reputable codecs to install?

**Winfried** · 04-07-2012, 11:12 AM

Hello

I'm totally new at this, and need some recommendation.

As a test, I shot a conference with a camcorder that saved the file as .MOV (MPEG-PS = MPEG 224 + AC-3) and also recorded the sound with an independent digital recorder that saved the file as WAV.

So I need to remove the soundtrack from the MOV file, insert the WAV, and try to sync both.

Someone recommended Sony's Movie Studio HD for this, but when I load the file, it complains that no codec is available. This is on a brand new Windows7 laptop, so that makes sense (although I would have expected Sony to install codecs for something as common as MPGE(2), though).

Someone else recommended that I install QuickTime, but before I go ahead, could someone tell me what reputable codec packs I should install for editing video?

K-Lite? CCCP? Other?

Thank you.

**RemyRAD** · 04-07-2012, 06:35 PM

Funny, I utilize Sony, Vegas Pro and I've done that. Of course it doesn't like AC 3 files even though it can create them. So I have to utilize some kind of workaround to get it into a format such as .wav/MPEG 2 through a third-party, or, is that fourth party converter. Then no problem. You might even need to cut that track to a DVD and then rip the DVD?

I really couldn't recommend any particular codec pack that hasn't already been installed? So go ahead and download QuickTime. You should have that anyhow.

The extra-ordinary
Mx. Remy Ann David

**Winfried** · 04-11-2012, 12:17 AM

Originally Posted by RemyRAD

I really couldn't recommend any particular codec pack that hasn't already been installed? So go ahead and download QuickTime.

Thanks for the tip, but still no go. Even after installing QuickTime Player and trying to open the MOV file (with soundtrack removed, so it should only need the video codec), Vegas still ain't happy.

No biggie, though. When I buy my own camcorder, I'll just make sure it compresses sound + video in better codecs.

Out of curiosity, if someone knows of a way to add more codecs to Vegas, either its own or external (FFmpeg, etc.), I'm interested.

Thank you.

**dvdhawk** · 04-11-2012, 07:38 AM

Some of my clients use the K-Lite codecs with presentation software like MediaShout. I don't know anything about Vegas, so I can't help you there.

I agree with you, it seems odd a company like Sony would overlook a standard format - which leaves me wondering if this isn't a configuration problem causing incompatible formats, but I haven't used Vegas or Movie Studio so I can't be any more specific.

I work with Final Cut Pro and Premiere and do all my recording and editing with uncompressed footage (in other words, I capture the footage as standard NTSC .mov files no codec required). In your case, standard uncompressed PAL formatted mov files should drop right into any editing software you might have available.

I also think you'll find the more times this footage gets converted, compressed, and re-rendered - the more you will have problems with the 'drift' you alluded to in your other thread.

Maybe your new camcorder will come bundled with some software that makes all of these problems go away. Let's hope so.

**Winfried** · 04-11-2012, 01:04 PM

Thanks for the infos. I'll add that item (saves data in raw format rather than compressed) to my check-list. I assume camcorders that work that way are semi-pro since that one-and-a-half long conference was already 3.5GB in compressed mode.

**RemyRAD** · 04-12-2012, 02:59 PM

Yes, 3.5 GB would generally indicate a compression ratio of greater than 10:1. In all of my work, I still utilize the " audio/video interleave ", considered uncompressed ".AVI ". Though, .AVI is actually a light compression ratio of 5:1 at 4:2:2, Broadcast Standard color space. And those files for a 1.5 hour conference are then normally around 30 GB as opposed to 3.5 GB. Thank goodness for our current high capacity drives. When these standards were established, our hard drives were far smaller on the order of 160 GB as opposed to the 1 TB drives and higher we see today. So some of these are technical hangovers from earlier times just a couple of years ago. High definition camcorders today utilize newer codecs such as AVC HD which is essentially MPEG 4. And MPEG 4 has the ability to scale more so than the previous MPEG-2 standard. Quality is still maintained but audio drift seems to be more predominant and slightly harder to control and compensate for. C'est la vie... which ain't bad for an American who can't speak any French. I just know I miss your cheese, bread and escargot. I also imagine that your president must have a severe lactose intolerance like I also do given the news recently of him giving up cheese? How can a Frenchman give up the greatest cheese in the world unless he's got an allergy to it? That, or, maybe he's just gotten too fond of the McDonald's drive-through window? It was a real shame to see McDonald's virtually across the street from Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg Austria. It almost seemed like an abomination to put them across the street from Mozart's birthplace knowing that they were playing elevator music in the restaurant, if you can call it a restaurant. I can't.

You'd think a person with a French first name would know how to speak French? I'm just another dumb American.
Mx. Remy Ann David