Camcorder-->avi ??

[Gripper]

Hi

I have recently bought a digital camcorder (sonytrv140e) and now want to convert my first recording to avi format.

I have vegas video 4.

I have saved a load of clips and linked them together and put a sound track on.

The problem I have is that the avi I made is just over 3 minutes long, and yet 745 mb in size!!! All of the clips I saved are a few seconds long and also massive!

How can I make regular sized avi's without losing the quality?

I am not very technical with a computer so any help would be much appreciated (and keep it in basic language please or I'm sure I'll get confused!)



Many thanks in advance

[Batman]

First of all, AVI is not a format, it is a container.

In order to achieve the best compression, I would recommend you use XVID or DIVX. Read the guides at doom9.org and/or digital-digest.com for information on how to compress and what settings to use with XVID/DIVX.

[SKD_Tech]

Also I have some guides on my site for compressing AVI's with VirtualDub and NanDub

[Gripper]

Thanks for the prompt replies.

I REALLY am not good with computers,

Lots of people on these forums seem to talk alot about virtualdub, so I have downloaded that and tried to follow the dvhelp tutorial on coverting avi to divx.

I get an error when i try to open the avi with this program
--------------------------------------


'couldnt locate decompressor for format 'dvsd' (unknown)

Virtualdub requires a video for windows (VFW) compatible codec to decompress video. Direct show codecs, such as those used by windows media player are not suitable'

--------------------------------------

OK I'm stuck!


(Sorry, i did mean it when i said i was a bith thick on a pc)

[Batman]

Try installing the dvsd codec (it may be available in the Tsunami codec pack). Are there any codecs you can install that came with your camcorder?

[Gripper]

I dont really understand....

The avi That I made works fine in windows media player....presumably that means I have the right codec somewhere ?

I am able to open the small clips individually with virtualdub, just not the finished one with the added music. So This must mean it has something to do with when i clicked on 'render as...' to turn the completed file into an avi. There were other choices there such as mpeg, wmv, rm, mov etc. but i couldnt see any options regarding dvsd.

I installed the bits on the the cd that came with the camera, though i dont remember any codecs there

[Batman]

You probably have a directshow filter installed, which allows multimedia players such as WMP to play the file.

However, you will still need a VFW codec, here are some codecs you can choose from:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33519

BTW it may be easier for you if you go through GKNOT 0.28 alpha 10, than directly virtualdub (again read the guide at doom9.org and search doom9.org forums for encoding tips).

[Gripper]

Thanks again

I'm on the way there now. I have been doing alot of reading of these forums and those others in the links.

I have downloaded avisynth and opened the avi using that, converted a wav file for the sound and converted to divx.

All I need to do now is fine tune I think. The sound was the wrong length, so I'll go have a play to see if I can make longer wav files.

[usereg]

you can use Fancy movies editor

you can use Fancy movies editor

it can do alot of work more than this.

http://www.home-cameristo.com

[Gripper]

Thanks for the replies....

I got it down to 52mb using avisynth and virtualdub...

then a friend came round and showed me that vegas 4 actually enabled me to compress the file if i changed the options

its now 26mb