Menus
The DVMP Pro menu structure and the operation of the tools
are described
below.
File Menu
Open
Allows you to select the file to be played by DVMP Pro. This must be a supported
DV AVI file type,
a Raw DV file, an HDV file, an AVCHD or NXCAM file.
The file can also be a Sony HDD or DVD video file or a MOD
file. These are standard definition video files which are recorded by some
camcorders onto a hard disk drive (HDD), a recordable DVD disk or a memory card.
These file types are all recorded in "MPEG-2 Program Stream" (MPEG-2
PS) format although their filename extensions may vary (.mpg, .mpeg, .vob,
.mod), so they are all referred to collectively in these help pages as MPEG-2
PS files. For more details of this file type see Supported MPEG-2 Program Stream file types
on the Player help page.
As well as standard DV AVI files,
Canopus DV AVI, DVCPRO25 and DVCAM files are supported.
Both HDV1 (720-line) and HDV2 (1080-line) variants of HDV are supported.
HDV files usually have the file name extension .m2t, but some
video editing programs give them a .mpg or .mpeg file name
extension although the file contents are the same. DVMP Pro allows all of
these file name extensions and examines the file contents to see if the file really
contains M2T formatted data. The file will only be opened if it is HDV-compliant
with metadata present. The M2T file type is a general file container
which may contain any type of MPEG-2 video - DVMP Pro only supports
HDV-compliant M2T formatted files.
Similarly, AVCHD files have the file name extension .m2ts or .mts
and DVMP Pro allows both of these. Only AVCHD-compliant .m2ts or.mts files are
supported.
Also, standard definition MPEG-2 Program Stream (MPEG-2 PS) files created by
many Sony tapeless/hard-drive/DVD camcorders are supported - these files usually
have the file name extension .mpg, .mpeg, or .vob. The MOD
file type (which is also MPEG-2 PS format) is also supported - this has the file name extension .mod.
The selected file begins playing as soon as it is successfully opened. The filename
appears on the window banner, together with the reel name in brackets (if
present).
See the Player page for more details of how to play
AVCHD, HDV, DV and supported MPEG-2 PS files.
a. Opening HDV files
Note that before you can play an HDV file, you must have selected an MPEG-2 Video Decoder in the Decoders section of the Tools->Options menu. If you also
choose "Save Settings as default" (in the General section of
Tools->Options) then your chosen decoder will be
saved and you won't have to select it each time you start up DVMP Pro.
If there is no MPEG-2 video decoder selected when you attempt to open an HDV file, an error message will appear instructing you to select a decoder.
DVMP Pro is not supplied with its own built-in MPEG-2 video decoder. It uses one of
the 3rd party MPEG-2 video decoders which are already installed on your PC. If
your PC has Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate
or Windows 7, then these operating systems come already supplied with a
suitable MPEG-2 video decoder. If your PC has any other version of Windows (or
you wish to use another MPEG-2 video decoder) then you must have installed on
your PC an MPEG-2 video decoder which is capable of decoding HDV high resolution
video.
See the Options page for more information about how to select an
MPEG-2 video decoder.
Warning: If there are no suitable MPEG-2 video decoders on your system
then it will not be possible to play HDV files in DVMP Pro.
b. Opening AVCHD files
Note that before you can play an AVCHD file you must have selected an AVC video
decoder and also an AC-3 audio decoder in the Decoders section of
the Tools->Options menu. If you also
choose "Save Settings as default" (in the General section of
Tools->Options) then your chosen video and audio decoders will be
saved and you won't have to select them each time you start up DVMP Pro. See the Options page for more information about how to select
the AVCHD video and audio decoders.
If there is no AVC video decoder or AC-3 audio decoder selected when you attempt to open an
AVCHD file, an error message will appear instructing you to select a decoder.
DVMP Pro is not supplied with its own built-in AVC video and AC-3 audio
decoders. It uses one of
the video and audio decoders which are already installed on your PC.
If your PC has the Windows 7 operating
system then this comes already supplied with a suitable AVC video
decoder, but not a suitable audio decoder.
See the Options page for more information about how to select
AVC video and AC-3 audio decoders.
Warning: If there are no suitable AVC video or AC-3 audio decoders on your system
then it will not be possible to play AVCHD files in DVMP Pro.
c. Opening MPEG-2 Program Stream files
Note that before you can play a supported MPEG-2 PS file (Sony HDD/DVD or MOD) you must have selected
an MPEG-2 video decoder and also an AC-3 audio decoder in the Decoders section of
the Tools->Options menu. If you also
choose "Save Settings as default" (in the General section of
Tools->Options) then your chosen video and audio decoders will be
saved and you won't have to select them each time you start up DVMP Pro. See the Options page for more information about how to select
the MPEG-2 video and AC-3 audio decoders.
If there is no MPEG-2 video decoder or AC-3 audio decoder selected when you attempt to open
a MPEG-2 PS file, an error message will appear instructing you to select a decoder.
DVMP Pro is not supplied with its own built-in MPEG-2 video and AC-3 audio
decoders. It uses one of
the video and audio decoders which are already installed on your PC. If
your PC has Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate
or Windows 7, then these operating systems come already supplied with a
suitable MPEG-2 video decoder, but not a suitable AC-3 audio decoder.
See the Options page for more information about how to select
AVC video and AC-3 audio decoders.
Warning: If there are no suitable MPEG-2 video or AC-3 audio decoders on your system
then it will not be possible to play MPEG-2 PS files in DVMP Pro.
Close
Closes the file which is currently open in DVMP Pro.
Save Image
This allows you to save a .bmp image file of the video frame that is currently being displayed in the main DVMP
Pro player window.
A file save dialog pops up which allows you to choose the file name and location of the .bmp file. Click OK to save the image.
Display Map
This allows you to view a geographical map of the shooting location of the
video file that is open in DVMP Pro. This only works for files produced by
compatible AVCHD
video cameras which are equipped with a built-in GPS unit. These cameras use the
GPS unit to record the geographical location of each video clip as it is being
recorded - a process known as Geotagging. Provided that the
GPS/Geotagging feature on the camera was switched on and the camera was
receiving GPS data when a clip was being shot,
the resulting file will contain Geotagging metadata.
If the file which is currently open in DVMP Pro contains Geotagging metadata,
the Display Map menu item is enabled. If it appears greyed-out then this
indicates that the file does not contain Geotagging metadata.
Clicking Display Map attempts to spawn your PC's default web browser
which displays a Google Map showing the geographical location where the current
frame was recorded. The exact location is indicated by a green arrow at the
center of the map. If the camera is moving the geographical location may change while a clip is
being recorded, so you can click Display Map at any point during playback and the
map for the location of the current playback position will be displayed in the browser.
You may find it more convenient to use the shortcut keypress CTRL-M
Note: There is currently a problem with Internet Explorer 8 which sometimes does not center
the green arrow on the map. If this happens, press F5 in the browser to force it
to redraw the page with the green arrow centered.
Batch Processing
This pops up the Batch Processing window which can be used to process multiple files. For further details see the
Batch Processing section.
Capture DV
This pops up the Capture DV window which can be used to capture DV video from
your DV camcorder to AVI files. It has a flexible AVI splitter, and will also
capture "live" video from your camera in VTR or Camera mode.
It also has a "Slave To Camera" feature where capture to the hard
drive is started/stopped when you start/stop recording by pressing the pause
button on your camera.
For further details see the Capture DV section.
Properties
Displays a file properties box which shows a variety of information about the file that is
currently open in
DVMP Pro. The information will vary depending on whether it is an AVCHD, HDV, DV
or MPEG-2 PS file.
The property names beginning with "Prem" show the information from the
Adobe Premiere file header (if present).
If the file is from an AVCHD video camera which has a built-in GPS unit, and
the unit was switched on when the file was recorded, then there will also be a Geotagging
tab present. The Geotagging properties show the geographical location of the
camera when it began to record this file. The properties are latitude,
longitude, altitude, and the speed and direction of camera movement. Note that
the Track is the direction that the camera was moving, and not the
direction in which the lens was pointed.
If there is no Geotagging data present near the start of the file then there will be no
Geotagging tab in the file properties box.
Sometimes the camera might not have established a GPS satellite lock when the
recording began, and will therefore have been unable to store its geographical
location at the start of the clip file. If DVMP Pro can not find any location
information at the start of a Geotagging-enabled file, it will search the first
30 seconds (approx) for it. The location information displayed in the Geotagging
tab may therefore correspond to any time within the first 30 seconds of the
recording. If the Geotagging tab is empty then this indicates that the camera's
Geotagging feature was switched on but it was unable to acquire GPS information
for the first 30 seconds of the file's duration.
Recent Files
Provides a quick way of opening one of the last 4 files to have been successfully opened in DVMP Pro.
Exit
Exits DVMP Pro. Note that you are prevented from exiting if the Batch Processing
or the Capture DV window is open.
Play Menu
This menu allows you to navigate through the file which is open in DVMP Pro.
Navigation differs slightly depending on the type of file that is open.
For DV AVI and Raw DV files, you can start playback or
pause it, frame step backward or forwards, and jump in either direction by 1 second or 1 minute increments. You can also jump to the previous or next scene.
For AVCHD, HDV and MPEG-2 PS files, you can start playback or
pause it, single frame step backward or forwards, and jump to the previous or
next I-frame. It is not possible at present to jump between scenes in AVCHD, HDV
and MPEG-2 PS files, so that part of the Play menu is greyed-out.
If an AVCHD, HDV or MPEG-2 PS file is open, the Fwd 1 sec and Back 1 sec items
are replaced with Fwd 1 I-frame and Back 1 I-frame.
These are also duplicated by keyboard hot-keys which are visible in the Play
menu. You'll find the hot keys a lot quicker to use than the Play menu.
Tools Menu
Allows you to perform a variety of operations on the input file - the
"input file" is the file which is currently open in DVMP Pro. The
operations all produce new output files, so the input file is left unchanged -
unless you are using a tool in the "Direct File Processing"
menu.
Note that at present most of the Tools operations can only be performed on standard "dvsd" DV AVI files. So Canopus,
DVCPRO25, DVCAM and Raw DV files are not supported here, although DVMP
Pro can play them. Raw DV files can however be converted to AVI type 1 or
type 2 files.
Many of the Tools operations can also be performed on AVCHD, HDV and MPEG-2
PS files.
Unsupported operations are greyed-out in the Tools menu.
The table below summarises the available tools and the file types that are
supported at present on the Tools menu. Note that the MPEG-2 PS type
means files from standard definition Sony HDD and DVD camcorders, and the MOD
file format.
The Batch processor also provides a set of tools which are similar to
those above.
The Batch Processor also has four additional tools. The first is called Append Start
Date/Time to file name which extracts the date and time of recording from
the file's embedded metadata and then renames the file with the date and time
added to the end of the file name (e.g. myfile.m2t becomes myfile 2009-01-28
10.23.58.m2t). The second and third tools are called Set "Date created" to Start Date/Time
and Set "Date modified" to Start Date/Time which set the "Date
created" or "Date modified" file property to the date and time of
recording. These three tools work for DV AVI, Raw DV, HDV, AVCHD and MPEG-2 PS
(including MOD) file types, and they allow you to see at a glance when all of your video
files were recorded.
The fourth additional tool in the Batch Processor is called Fix Premiere Start Timecode in DV AVI
which adds or corrects an Adobe Premiere Start Timecode header in DV AVI files.
Please see the Batch Processing page for
further details.
Convert to
Converts the file currently open in DVMP Pro to an alternative file type. Choose the output file
type from the menu. A file selection dialog box will appear where you can choose the file name and location for the output file.
The default file name is the same as the input file except that "-conv"
is appended to the part before the ".avi" extension (e.g. myfile-conv.avi).
You can convert to Type 1 or Type 2 AVI file format, or Raw DV format.
This tool is currently only supported for DV AVI and Raw DV files.
Burn-In Metadata (including Time Stamp)
This allows you to burn-in selected items of camera metadata into the visible area of each video frame with frame accuracy.
If you select only the recording date and time items for burning-in, then this is called "time stamping".
Note that if you want to time-stamp your video files, then take a look at one of our time stamping tutorials listed below which
will step you quickly through the procedure, then later on when you are ready you can delve into the burn-in tool in greater detail.
Just click the time stamping tutorial below that corresponds to the type of video files that your video camera creates:
The complete list of metadata items that you can burn-in are:
- Timecode
- User Bits
- Date and Time of Recording
- Shutter speed
- Aperture (f-stop)
- Exposure Mode
- Gain in dB
- Focus Distance in metres
- Focus Mode
- White Balance
- Image stabilizer on/off
- Audio details (DV files only)
Also for AVCHD files that were recorded on a video camera that has a built-in
GPS unit, the following Geotagging metadata items are available:
- Latitude
- Longitude
- Altitude
- Speed
- Track (direction of motion)
The Geotagging metadata items are usually also available when these cameras
are set to standard definition MPEG-2 PS mode. The format of the Geotagging
items can be chosen by the Geotagging options in the General section of
the Tools>Options menu.
In addition, you can also burn-in a line of custom text which may contain a
brief message or perhaps your own identifier used in your video project. The
text can also contain a tag which will automatically be filled with the name or
pathname of the video file.
You can choose the font, size and position of each item of metadata text; and
choose a langauge and custom format for the recording date and time items - see the Options page for more details.
The output file type can be chosen as AVI or WMV.
You can also choose to "burn-in" the metadata text on a transparent
background instead of on the video frames by checking the Transparent
background (alpha channel) option. This is usually faster than performing a
burn-in onto video frames, and it may be useful in video editing programs which
support alpha transparency, where a transparent-background burn-in file can be imported
onto a separate layer which allows the text to appear across the video frames of
other layers. See the Options page for more details of the transparent
background option.
The operation of the burn-in tool is slightly different for DV, HDV, AVCHD and
MPEG-2 PS files, so
they are described separately below. Click below to jump forward to the corresponding
section:
a. Burning-in and Time Stamping DV AVI files
b. Burning-in and Time Stamping HDV M2T files
c. Burning-in and Time Stamping AVCHD M2TS and MTS files
d. Burning-in and Time Stamping MPEG-2 PS files (i.e. Sony HDD/DVD and
MOD)
a. Burning-in and Time Stamping DV AVI files
When the input file type is DV AVI, the burned-in output file is also
DV AVI type. The DV AVI file type is most convenient for working with DV
footage, so this is the only output type supported for the DV AVI input
file type.
When you select Tools>Burn-In Metadata, a Confirm Settings dialog box appears where you can check and if
necessary change any of the burn-in options. These are the same settings that
appear in the Burn-In section of the Tools>Options menu. See the Options
section for more details.
When you are satisfied that the settings
are correct, click OK, and you are prompted for an Output File name. The
default file name is the same as the input file except that "-burn"
is appended to the part before the ".avi" extension (e.g. myfile-burn.avi).
DVMP Pro will then make an exact copy of the
existing AVI file to the output file name, except that each frame of the output
file will have the metadata values written across it.
Below is a section of a screen grab of a burned-in
AVI file, showing some of the metadata text burned into a video frame. The brightness
and transparency of
the text and outline are adjustable.
b. Burning-in and Time Stamping HDV M2T files
When the input file type is HDV M2T file, the burned-in output file
can be an AVI file or a WMV file - you can choose which you require.
WMV is often most convenient for making burned-in files which play well on a
PC. However, AVI is more flexible, allowing you to choose from a wide range of
compressors that are already present on your PC, and for maximum quality you can
choose "Uncompressed" or a lossless compressor such as
"Lagarith". Note that there is a different set of options
associated with the WMV and AVI file type.
If you select WMV as the output file type, you can choose the Quality
of the video frames - a higher quality setting will produce better-looking video
but also a larger output file. There are also options to Deinterlace or Resize
the video as it is compressed/encoded. The resizing option may be useful if
you wish to make a standard definition (or even smaller) burned-in video for
playing on your PC. You can also choose whether the input file's audio stream is included in the
output file by checking Include audio stream in output WMV file
- the WMV file will contain the audio as stereo PCM. If you uncheck this option
the WMV file will contain only the burnt-in video without an audio stream.
For more information about the WMV file type and its settings, see the Options page.
Instead of WMV you can select AVI as the burned-in ouput file. The AVI file
holds the frames separately
using a lossless or lossy compression method. You can select the compression
method by choosing an output AVI compressor in the Burn-in
section of the Tools->Options
menu. By default, the "Uncompressed" method is used but this uses a
lot of disk space, so you are advised to select one of the compressors in the
list by clicking the adjacent Select button.
The list of AVI compressors that you are presented with is created by DVMP
Pro which scans the system for existing video compressors that are already installed
on your PC. It examines the capabilities of each compressor to see which are
likely to be able to compress HDV resolution frames, and presents these as the list
from which you can select your chosen compressor. Note that the amount of
compression varies widely between different compressors - higher amounts of
compression will usually produce poorer quality output.
Some compressors have a set of properties which can be adjusted (such as the
amount of compression used). These affect the internal behaviour of the
compressors. You can examine or change these properties by clicking the Properties
button next to the compressor's name. Some properties may adversely affect the
operation of DVMP Pro so you are advised to avoid changing any properties if you
are unsure what effect they will have.
You can also choose whether the input file's audio stream is included in the
burned-in output file by checking Include audio stream in output AVI file
- the AVI file will contain the audio as stereo PCM. If you uncheck this option
the AVI file will contain only the burnt-in video without an audio stream.
For more information about how to select an AVI Compressor and examine
its properties, see the Options page.
Also, note that the currently selected MPEG-2 Video Decoder (on the Decoders
section of the Tools>Options menu) is used during the
burning-in procedure to read the input file. For further details on selecting a MPEG-2 Video Decoder, see the Options page.
For a HDV M2T input file, when you select Tools>Burn-In Metadata, a Confirm Settings dialog box appears where you can check and if
necessary change any of the burn-in options. These are the same settings that
appear in the Burn-In section of the Tools>Options menu. See the Options
section for more details.
Note that for HDV M2T files, the Start of scenes for N seconds
option is not currently supported and it is therefore greyed out. All output
frames are burned-in.
When you are satisfied that the settings
are correct, click OK, and you are prompted for an Output File name. The
default file name is the same as the input file except that "-burn"
is appended to the part before the ".avi" or ".wmv" extension (e.g. myfile-burn.avi).
DVMP Pro will then create the burned-in AVI or WMV file. This process takes a lot
longer than burning-in standard definition DV files - the amount of time will
vary widely depending on whether the WMV or AVI output file type is chosen, and
(if AVI is chosen) on the selected output AVI compressor.
Please note that AVI files do not have a method of specifying the display
aspect ratio of the video frames, so the burned-in AVI file may be
interpreted as 4:3 by video editing packages and other programs. In this case you may have to set
the display aspect ratio manually to 16:9 within your editing program. The WMV
file type does store the display aspect ratio correctly.
c. Burning-in and Time Stamping AVCHD M2TS and MTS files
When the input file type is AVCHD M2TS or MTS, the burned-in output file
can be an AVI file or a WMV file - you can choose which you require.
WMV is often most convenient for making burned-in files which play well on a
PC. However, AVI is more flexible, allowing you to choose from a wide range of
compressors that are already present on your PC, and for maximum quality you can
choose "Uncompressed" or a lossless compressor such as
"Lagarith". Note that there is a different set of options
associated with the WMV and AVI file type.
If you select WMV as the output file type, you can choose the Quality
of the video frames - a higher quality setting will produce better-looking video
but also a larger output file. There are also options to Deinterlace or Resize
the video as it is compressed/encoded. The resizing option may be useful if
you wish to make a standard definition (or even smaller) burned-in video for
playing on your PC. You can also choose whether the input file's audio stream is included in the output file by checking Include audio stream in output
WMV file
- the WMV file will contain the same multi-channel AC-3 audio as the input
M2TS/MTS file. If you uncheck this option
the WMV file will contain only the burnt-in video without an audio stream.
For more information about the WMV file type and its settings, see the Options page.
Instead of WMV you can select AVI as the burned-in ouput file. The AVI file
holds the high definition frames separately
using a lossless or lossy compression method. You can select the compression
method by choosing a output AVI compressor in the Burn-in
section of the Tools->Options
menu. By default, the "Uncompressed" method is used but this uses a
lot of disk space, so you are advised to select one of the compressors in the
list by clicking the adjacent Select button.
The list of AVI compressors that you are presented with is created by DVMP
Pro which scans the system for existing video compressors that are already installed
on your PC. It examines the capabilities of each compressor to see which are
likely to be able to compress AVCHD high resolution frames, and presents these as the list
from which you can select your chosen compressor. Note that the amount of
compression varies widely between different compressors - higher amounts of
compression will usually produce poorer quality output.
Some compressors have a set of properties which can be adjusted (such as the
amount of compression used). These affect the internal behaviour of the
compressors. You can examine or change these properties by clicking the Properties
button next to the compressor's name. Some properties may adversely affect the
operation of DVMP Pro so you are advised to avoid changing any properties if you
are unsure what effect they will have.
You can also choose whether the input file's audio stream is included in the
burned-in output file by checking Include audio stream in output AVI file
- the AVI file will contain the same multi-channel AC-3 audio as the input
M2TS/MTS file. If you uncheck this option the AVI file will contain only the
burnt-in video without an audio stream.
For more information about how to select an AVI Compressor and examine
its properties, see the Options page.
Also, note that the currently selected AVC Video Decoder (in the Decoders
section of the Tools>Options menu) is used during the burning-in
procedure to read the input file. For further details on selecting an AVC Video Decoder, see the Options page.
For an AVCHD input file, when you select Tools>Burn-In Metadata, a Confirm Settings dialog box appears where you can check and if
necessary change any of the burn-in options. These are the same settings that
appear in the Burn-In section of the Tools>Options menu. See the Options
section for more details.
Note that for AVCHD files, the Start of scenes for N seconds
option is not currently supported and it is therefore greyed out. All output
frames are burned-in.
When you are satisfied that the settings
are correct, click OK, and you are prompted for an Output File name. The
default file name is the same as the input file except that "-burn"
is appended to the part before the ".avi" or ".wmv" extension (e.g. myfile-burn.avi).
DVMP Pro will then create the burned-in AVI or WMV file. This process takes a lot
longer than burning-in standard definition DV files - the amount of time will
vary widely depending on whether the WMV or AVI output file type is chosen, and
(if AVI is chosen) on the selected output AVI compressor.
Please note that AVI files do not have a method of specifying the display
aspect ratio of the video frames, so if the AVCHD video resolution is 1440x1080
then the burned-in AVI file may be
interpreted as 4:3 by video editing packages and other programs. In this case you may have to set
the display aspect ratio manually to 16:9 within your editing program. The WMV
file type does store the display aspect ratio correctly.
d. Burning-in and Time Stamping MPEG-2 PS files (i.e. Sony HDD/DVD and
MOD)
When the input file type is MPEG-2 PS, the burned-in output file can
be an AVI file or a WMV file - you can choose which you require.
WMV is often most convenient for making burned-in files which play well on a
PC. However, AVI is more flexible, allowing you to choose from a wide range of
compressors that are already present on your PC, and for maximum quality you can
choose "Uncompressed" or a lossless compressor such as
"Lagarith". Note that there is a different set of options
associated with the WMV and AVI file type.
If you select WMV as the output file type, you can choose the Quality
of the video frames - a higher quality setting will produce better-looking video
but also a larger output file. There are also options to Deinterlace or Resize
the video as it is compressed/encoded. The resizing option may be useful if
you wish to make a standard definition (or even smaller) burned-in video for
playing on your PC. You can also choose whether the input file's audio stream is included in the output file by checking Include audio stream in output
WMV file.
If the input file's audio format is AC-3, the output WMV file will contain the same multi-channel AC-3 audio as the input
file. If the input file's audio format is MPEG or PCM then the output WMV file
will contain PCM audio. If you uncheck this option
the WMV file will contain only the burnt-in video without an audio stream.
For more information about the WMV file type and its settings, see the Options page.
Instead of WMV you can select AVI as the burned-in ouput file. The AVI file
holds the frames separately
using a lossless or lossy compression method. You can select the compression
method by choosing an output AVI Compressor in the Burn-in
section of the Tools->Options
menu. By default, the "Uncompressed" method is used but this uses a
lot of disk space, so you are advised to select one of the compressors in the
list by clicking the adjacent Select button.
The list of AVI compressors that you are presented with is created by DVMP
Pro which scans the system for existing video compressors that are already installed
on your PC. It examines the capabilities of each compressor to see which are
likely to be able to compress standard definition frames, and presents these as the list
from which you can select your chosen compressor. Note that the amount of
compression varies widely between different compressors - higher amounts of
compression will usually produce poorer quality output.
Some compressors have a set of properties which can be adjusted (such as the
amount of compression used). These affect the internal behaviour of the
compressors. You can examine or change these properties by clicking the Properties
button next to the compressor's name. Some properties may adversely affect the
operation of DVMP Pro so you are advised to avoid changing any properties if you
are unsure what effect they will have.
You can also choose whether the input file's audio stream is included in the
burned-in output file by checking Include audio stream in output AVI file.
If the input file's audio format is AC-3, the output AVI file will contain the same multi-channel AC-3 audio as the input
file. If the input file's audio format is MPEG or PCM then the output AVI file
will contain PCM audio. If you uncheck this option the AVI file will contain only the
burnt-in video without an audio stream.
For more information about how to select an AVI Compressor and examine
its properties, see the Options page.
Also, note that the currently selected MPEG-2 Video Decoder (on the Decoders
section of the Tools>Options menu) is used during the
burning-in procedure to read the input file. For further details on selecting an
MPEG-2 Video Decoder, see the Options page.
For a MPEG-2 PS input file, when you select Tools>Burn-In Metadata, a Confirm Settings dialog box appears where you can check and if
necessary change any of the burn-in options. These are the same settings that
appear in the Burn-In section of the Tools>Options menu. See the Options
section for more details.
Note that for MPEG-2 PS files, the Start of scenes for N seconds
option is not currently supported and it is therefore greyed out. All output
frames are burned-in.
When you are satisfied that the settings
are correct, click OK, and you are prompted for an Output File name. The
default file name is the same as the input file except that "-burn"
is appended to the part before the ".avi" or ".wmv" extension (e.g. myfile-burn.avi).
DVMP Pro will then create the burned-in AVI or WMV file. This process takes longer than burning-in standard definition DV files - the amount of time will
vary widely depending on whether the WMV or AVI output file type is chosen, and
(if AVI is chosen) on the selected output AVI compressor.
Please note that AVI files do not have a method of specifying the display
aspect ratio of the video frames, so the burned-in AVI file may be
interpreted as 4:3 by video editing packages and other programs. In this case you may have to set
the display aspect ratio manually to 16:9 within your editing program. The WMV
file type does store the display aspect ratio correctly.
Modify Metadata
Sometimes you may need to "fix" a DV AVI file by changing some of the DV metadata that is stored within.
You can change:
-
Timecode
-
Date and Time of recording
-
User bits
- Drop-frame timecode to Non-drop or vice versa
-
Widescreen flag
This will operate on the whole AVI file.
A Confirm Settings dialog box appears which allows you to check and if
necessary change any of the Metadata modification settings. These are the same
settings that appear in the Modify section of the Tools>Options menu.
Check the items that you wish to change, and change the settings as required. See the
Options section for details of the settings.
When you are satisfied with the settings, click OK. You are then prompted for the file name and location for the output file.
The
default file name is the same as the input file except that "-mod"
is appended to the part before the ".avi" extension (e.g. myfile-mod.avi).
The output file will contain the modifications. The input file will be unchanged.
This tool is currently only supported for DV AVI files.
Split File
This is a powerful file splitter which can split existing DV AVI files into smaller pieces using a variety of
triggers.
It produces a log file with details of where splits occurred, and also a
corresponding Premiere batch capture list (CSV) file.
A Confirm Settings dialog box appears which allows you to check and if
necessary change any of the Splitter settings. Check the items that you wish to change, and change
their settings as required.
These are the same settings that appear in the Splitting section of the
Tools>Options menu. See the Options section
for details of the settings.
When your are satisfied that the settings are correct, click OK and you are
prompted for the location and the stem name for the output split files. Each
output file name will begin with the stem name, followed by the
variable suffix that was chosen in the settings. You must also enter a Reel
Name.
The splitting operation will then commence. The progress window will display
the name of each split file as it is created. Note that if a file already exists
with the same name it will not be overwritten - the new file will have a numeric
(n) suffix added to make it unique.
The Date modified file property of each split file is set to the start
date and time when it was recorded - this is extracted from the metadata at the
start of the file. The Date modified file property is displayed in
Windows Explorer and in the file properties windows of many NLEs, so it provides
an easy way of seeing when each split file was recorded, rather than when
the file was created on the hard drive.
The splitter log file and Premiere batch capture list file are created in the same
folder as the split files. They have the same stem name and the suffix .txt and .csv respectively.
The batch capture list file is a comma-separated-value (CSV) file to Premiere Pro's
specification with the following fields on each line:
- Reel name
- In point timecode
- Out point timecode
- Clip name - the pathname of the split file
- Log note - the date and time of recording (if present) in the format
"yyyy-mm-dd hh.mm.ss"
- Description - user bits (if present)
- Scene - blank
- Shot/Take - blank
Note that DVMP Pro fills in the "Log note" and
"Description" field with the recording date/time and user bits
respectively, if they are present in the first frame of the corresponding
split file.
Part of an example batch list file is shown below. Note the reel name suffix
"A" which appears when the timecode jumps backward (see Options
for further details).
REEL 001,00:26:21:14,00:26:42:10,D:\Example 00.26.21.14.avi,2007-04-07 14.38.35,14:38:0A:24,,
REEL 001,00:27:32:13,00:26:44:14,D:\Example 00.27.32.13.avi,2007-04-07 14.39.46,14:38:0A:24,,
REEL 001A,00:00:00:07,00:00:08:02,D:\Example 00.00.00.07.avi,2007-04-21 14.08.11,,,
REEL 001A,00:00:50:14,00:01:04:21,D:\Example 00.00.50.14.avi,2007-04-21 14.09.01,,,
The splitter log file is similar to the batch list file except that it has an
additional first field which holds the absolute frame number within the input
AVI file. It also shows any split files which were not created (i.e.
"DISCARDED") because their duration was less than the user-specified
Pre-roll delay (see Options).
This tool is currently only supported for DV AVI files.
Extract Audio
This allows you to extract the audio from a DV AVI file or HDV M2T file to a
WAV file (filename suffix .wav)
For AVCHD M2TS/MTS files and MPEG-2 PS files, depending on the audio type, the audio is extracted to
either a WAV or an AC3 file (filename
suffix .ac3)
You are prompted for the name and location of the output WAV or AC3 file.
Export Metadata
Metadata is stored for every frame of DV, HDV, AVCHD and supported MPEG2-PS
files.
This export facility can output the metadata items for each frame to a text file as
a list of Comma-Separated Values (CSV), one line per frame. This file can then
be imported to Excel or most other spreadsheet or database programs.
A Confirm Settings dialog box appears which allows you to check and if
necessary change how the metadata is exported. These are the same settings that appear in the
Export Metadata section of the
Tools>Options menu. See the Options section
for details of the settings.
When your are satisfied that the settings are correct, click OK and you are
prompted for the name and location of the output file. By default,
the file name of the output file is the same as the input file but has .csv
appended.
If any item of metadata is missing in a frame,
it is written as an empty text string - i.e. you will just see two consecutive
commas.
The metadata/datacode items appear on each line
in the following order:
- File Progress Timecode - effectively the location within the file
- Timecode
- User Bits
- Recording Date
- Recording Time
- Shutter Speed
- Iris (f-stop)
- Image Stabiliser on or off
- Gain in dB
- Auto-Exposure mode
- White Balance
- Focus Distance in metres
- Focus Mode
For DV file types, this is followed by:
- Audio Sampling Frequency
- Audio Locked/Unlocked
and for AVCHD and MPEG-2 PS files is followed by these GPS Geotagging items:
- GPS Latitude - in degrees, minutes
and seconds N or S
- GPS Longitude - in degrees, minutes
and seconds E or W
- GPS Altitude - height above sea
level in metres
- GPS Altitude Units - in metres or feet
- GPS Speed - speed of camera's motion
- GPS Speed Units - km/h, miles/h or knots
- GPS Track - direction of camera's motion
in degrees
- GPS Track Ref - True or Magnetic
The Latitude and longitude values have the degrees, minutes and seconds each
separated by a single space - e.g. "28 21 57.8 N". You can also choose
for them to be output as a decimal value of degrees by checking "Display
Geotagging locations in decimal" in the General section of the Tools>Options
menu. Also, you can choose for the altitude and speed to be output as feet and
miles/h instead of the camera's native units (usually metric) by checking "Display
Geotagging distances in ft and mi/h" in the General section of the
Tools>Options menu.
Part of an example export file is shown below. This was exported from a DV
AVI file.
00:00:00:00,00:17:01:09,01:11:0A:01,08/11/2003,16:43:48,50,1.5,OFF,0,AUTO,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:00:07:21,00:17:09:05,01:11:0A:01,08/11/2003,16:43:56,50,2.0,OFF,0,AUTO,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:00:54:08,00:17:55:17,01:11:0A:01,08/11/2003,16:44:42,50,1.5,OFF,6,AUTO,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:00:55:14,00:17:56:23,01:11:0A:01,08/11/2003,16:44:43,50,1.5,OFF,10,AUTO,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:00:56:03,00:17:57:10,01:11:0A:01,16/09/2003,13:45:29,,,,,,,,,48,UNLOCKED
00:00:56:04,00:17:57:11,01:11:0A:01,16/09/2003,13:45:29,50,1.5,OFF,17,AUTO,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:00:58:13,00:17:59:20,01:11:0A:01,,,,,,,,,,,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:02:05,00:18:03:12,01:11:0A:01,17/08/2003,00:00:00,50,1.5,OFF,17,AUTO,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:04:24,00:18:06:06,01:11:0A:01,17/08/2003,00:00:02,50,1.5,OFF,16,AUTO,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:07:03,00:18:08:10,01:11:0A:01,17/08/2003,00:00:04,50,1.5,OFF,16,MANL,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:12:07,00:18:13:14,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:10,50,1.5,OFF,6,MANL,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:12:16,00:18:13:23,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:10,50,1.5,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:12:24,00:18:14:06,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:10,50,2.0,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:13:15,00:18:14:22,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:11,50,2.4,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:13:23,00:18:15:05,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:11,50,2.8,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:14:06,00:18:15:13,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:12,50,3.4,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,5.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:14:16,00:18:15:23,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:12,50,4.0,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:15:05,00:18:16:12,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:13,50,4.8,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:15:10,00:18:16:17,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:13,50,5.7,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:15:16,00:18:16:23,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:13,50,6.7,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:15:23,00:18:17:05,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:13,50,8.0,OFF,0,MANL,AWB,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:16:12,00:18:17:19,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:14,50,9.5,OFF,0,MANL,INCAND,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:16:17,00:18:17:24,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:14,50,11,OFF,0,MANL,INCAND,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:16:23,00:18:18:05,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:14,50,13,OFF,0,MANL,INCAND,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:17:02,00:18:18:09,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:14,50,16,OFF,0,MANL,INCAND,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:17:14,00:18:18:21,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:15,50,19,OFF,0,MANL,INCAND,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
00:01:17:18,00:18:19:00,01:11:0A:02,17/08/2003,00:00:15,50,23,OFF,0,MANL,INCAND,8.0,MANL,48,UNLOCKED
And click here for a sample export file containing GPS info from a GPS-equipped AVCHD camcorder.
Note that this tool is only available in the full version of DVMP Pro. It
is not available in the demo version.
Export Subtitles
This can be a useful tool if you wish to create a DVD disk from your DV, HDV,
AVCHD or MPEG-2 PS files which can be played in standalone DVD players, and have all of the
metadata available to view on screen as DVD subtitles. You can then turn the
display of metadata on or off by switching subtitles on or off on your DVD
remote control.
This tool exports a textual SRT subtitle file containing the metadata.
This file (along with your DVI AVI, HDV M2T, AVCHD M2TS/MTS, or MPEG-2 PS file) can be imported into many DVD authoring
programs, and a DVD disk created, with the metadata stored in a subtitle
stream on the disk.
A Confirm Settings dialog box appears which allows you to check and if
necessary change the format of the exported subtitles. These are the same settings that appear in the
Export Subtitles section of the
Tools>Options menu. See the Options section
for details of the settings.
When your are satisfied that the settings are correct, click OK and you are
prompted for the name and location of the output SRT file. By default,
the file name of the output file is the same as the input file but has .srt
appended.
The All metadata (excludes Geotagging) setting has the metadata arranged in columns (similar to how it appears
in DVMP Pro's player window), so it is important to select a fixed-width (or
monospaced) font for the subtitles in your DVD authoring program. DVD Lab Pro
allows you to do this easily - it also allows you to choose the color, size and
style of the font.
Also, the Date, Time and Geotagging setting outputs the recording date
and time, and the GPS Coordinates (if available) arranged in columns. The format
of the GPS Coordinates can be chosen by the Geotagging options in the General
section of the Tools>Options menu.
The remaining settings output only the recording date and time - this is the
most common requirement of users. You can choose to have the date and time on a
single line, or one above the other on 2 lines.
Note that an entry in the SRT file is only generated for every second of duration, so you won't see the timecode change for
every video frame. This is
partly due to the DVD specification and the fact that each subtitle is stored on
the DVD as a bitmap which would take up a lot of space if these could be stored
for every frame. The seconds field of the recording time will however change at
the correct frame.
Also note that the SRT file begins with a time value of 0. Therefore if you
wish to join multiple clips together in a video editing program such as Adobe
Premiere, and want to use all of the corresponding SRT files, then you will need
to merge the SRT files using a subtitling tool such as the free "Subtitle
Workshop" which can adjust the time values so that they follow
consecutively from one SRT file to the next.
Part of an example SRT file is shown below - this is using the All
metadata (excludes Geotagging) setting:
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,880
00:01:51:15 13:08:00 60 0dB AWB
16/09/2003 f11 ~OFF
00:00:00:00 AUTO 48/U
2
00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:01,880
00:01:52:12 13:08:01 60 0dB AWB
16/09/2003 f11 ~OFF
00:00:00:22 AUTO 48/U
3
00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:02,440
00:01:53:12 13:08:02 50 0dB AWB
16/09/2003 f4.8 ~OFF
00:00:01:22 AUTO 48/U
... and this is using the Time above Date (2 lines) setting:
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,880
13:08:00
16/09/2003
2
00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:01,880
13:08:01
16/09/2003
3
00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:02,440
13:08:02
16/09/2003
Note that this tool is only available in the full version of DVMP Pro. It
is not available in the demo version.
Export GPS Track
AVCHD cameras which are equipped with GPS units store a continuously updating
set of GPS coordinates as the recording takes place. This export facility allows
you to output the GPS data as a GPX (GPS Exchange Format) file which can be
imported into other applications which support the GPX file format, including
Google Earth.
In version 5.2 of Google Earth, the GPX file can be imported and the route
taken by your camera during recording is displayed as a "track"
overlay showing where your camera moved (subject to the accuracy of the GPS data
stored by the camera).
When exporting, the GPS data is stored as a continuous "track" in
the GPX format. If there are any gaps in the recorded GPS data where the
satellite signal had been lost, a new "track segment" is started in
the GPX file.
Most of the GPS-equipped AVCHD cameras also store GPS data when they are set
to record in standard definition MPEG-2 PS format. You can therefore export the
GPS data from these MPEG-2 PS files aswell.
The Export GPS Track menu entry is only available for AVCHD and MPEG-2
PS files which actually contain GPS data. For all other file types (or if there
is no GPS data present in the file), this menu entry is greyed-out.
When you click Export GPS Track you are
prompted for the name and location of the output GPX file. By default,
the file name of the output file is the same as the input file but has .gpx
appended
Note that this tool is only available in the full version of DVMP Pro. It
is not available in the demo version.
Direct File Processing
All of the processing tools under the Tools menu make no changes to the input
file. They always create a new output file which contains the required changes. This can however be a problem if you are very short of disk space.
Therefore if you wish to use the Burn in or Modify Metadata operations for DV
AVI files, you can choose these options under the
Tools>Direct File Processing menu. In this case a separate output file will
NOT be created - the changes will be made directly to the input DV AVI file itself.
This can be hazardous. For example if there is a mains power glitch then the file may be left corrupted - you must decide if you are willing to accept the risk. Also the changes can not be undone. You are therefore presented with a Warning message box asking you to confirm that you accept these risks and wish to continue. If you click the
Yes button, then the operation will proceed.
However you can click the Abort button on the progress box to abort an operation before it completes. In that case the frames processed so far will have been changed while the rest of the file will be unchanged.
You will be presented with the Confirm Settings dialog, but you will not of course be prompted with a file selection box as there is no output file to be created.
Direct File Processing operations need write-access to the input file, therefore you will notice that DVMP
Pro closes the file and the video window goes black while the operation is performed. When the operation completes DVMP
Pro re-opens the file at the same playback position.
This tool is currently only supported for DV AVI files.
Set "Date created" to Start Date/Time
At present this tool is only available in the Batch
Processing module - it does not appear in the Tools menu.
Set "Date modified" to Start Date/Time
At present this tool is only available in the Batch
Processing module - it does not appear in the Tools menu.
Append Start Date/Time to file name
At present this tool is only available in the Batch
Processing module - it does not appear in the Tools menu.
Fix Premiere Start Timecode in DV AVI
At present this tool is only available in the Batch
Processing module - it does not appear in the Tools menu.
Options
This allows you to set a variety of options for the Tools and the Player. See
the Options page.
Help Menu
About
Displays version information of DVMP Pro.
Online Help
Displays these help pages on your web browser.
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