|
|
|
Q
|
What are the system requirements for SteadyHand DV?
|
|
A
|
Windows 95, 98, 98 SE,
Millennium, 2000 or XP
DirectX 8 or above
Pentium processor
64 MByte RAM
True color graphic adapter
Recommended:
Pentium 450 MHz
256 MByte RAM
|
Q
|
How can I tell whether DirectX 8 is installed?
|
A
|
DirectX 8 includes a diagnostic tool called
"DXDiag", which will display the version of DirectX on the
system.
In the Windows "Start" menu click on
"Run…", type "dxdiag" and click OK
When the tool appears, you will find the DirectX version information in the
last but one line of the display.
If you have DirectX 8 installed, you will find a line
similar to:
"DirectX-Version: DirectX 8.0 (4.08.00.0400)".
|
Q
|
Is there a Mac version available?
|
A
|
Unfortunately no.
|
Q
|
Is Windows XP supported?
|
A
|
Yes.
|
Q
|
Is Windows NT 4 supported?
|
A
|
SteadyHand relies on DirectX 8 for processing DV
files. As DirectX 8 isn' t supported on the NT 4 platform, SteadyHand
won't work on NT 4 either.
|
Q
|
Is SteadyHand available as a plug-in for my favorite video editing
program?
|
A
|
No
|
Q
|
Why does it refuse to use some compressors
in the list?
|
A
|
The Compressors listed have two parts, a decoder for
playing and an encoder for creating new files. Some are totally free
and both halves will function on your machine. Others are sold by
their authors, but usually only the encoder (file creation) is
restricted. Following the model of Adobe Acrobat and Real Player, the
playing part is broadly distributed for free so file recipients can
play.
If the program refuses to use a Codec to make your
output file, it means that you only have the play-back portion and not the
encoder.
A second issue with codecs is that many have limitations
on the format of the input file. Some only work on 256-color video,
some only work on true-color. Further, some which are block-oriented,
only work on videos whose sizes are multiples of whole blocks. Blocks
are often 4x4 pixels or 8x8 pixels so this means that the video has to be a
size divisible by 4 or 8 in horizontal and vertical.
|
Q
|
Why do the settings "Zoom to fill" and "Crop
borders" deliver similar results when processing DV video?
|
A
|
In spite of the request to crop borders within
SteadyHand, When saving using a DV codec or in DV mode, now the codec zooms
the image up again to full PAL or NTSC size. So in DV mode the
“crop” is ignored and you will get a similar result as when
selecting "Zoom to fill".
With other, non-DV codecs, when you select “Crop
borders, you will get smaller images without zoom.
|
Q
|
Why are borders cut off at all?
|
A
|
In order to steady the images, SteadyHand needs to move,
rotate, or zoom the image. If the image needs to be moved upwards by e.g. 5
pixels, a black border of about 5 pixels appears at the bottom of the
image. There's no image information available because this part was outside
the original image before steadying.
As every image needs a different correction by moving,
rotating or even zooming an image, a varying border will appear.
SteadyHand offers three different options how to cope with the moving
edges:
·
Zoom to fill
Retains the size of the original frames.
After motion corrections are made, SteadyHand zooms the image to the
original size again.
·
Crop Borders
Clips uneven frame borders
generated during motion correction. Images within frames are slightly
smaller than original.
Note: In spite of the request
to crop borders within SteadyHand, When saving using a DV codec or in DV
mode, now the codec zooms the image up again to full PAL or NTSC
size. So in DV mode the “crop” is ignored and you
will get a similar result as when selecting "Zoom to
fill".
·
No Edge Correction
Black borders generated during motion
correction are not cropped or adjusted. Borders vary from frame to frame,
depending on degree of steadying required. Image size is retained.
A good explanation of the
cropping is in the How It Works section for SteadyHand in step-5 and step-6
|
Q
|
Should I be using SteadyHand BEFORE, or
AFTER the editing process. I will be adding titles, transitions and other
effects.
|
A
|
It is better to use SteadyHand BEFORE the editing
process. Any steadying leads to some degrading of quality because of the
slight zooming up required for compensating the border cut off. Also,
as you may have noticed, SteadyHand needs a lot of processing power. So it
is better to apply it only to video clips needing steadying.
Finally, if you overlay text onto a shaky image and then
stabilize, the stabiliztion will cause the text to appear shaky because all
the frames are moved (with the text too) into their steady-image positions.
|
Q
|
Why is SteadyHand making my pictures
darker or introduces a color shift?
|
A
|
You may observe color shifts when playing back two or
more video clips at a time on the computer monitor. This situation also
applies to the two preview windows in SteadyHand. Usually, the first
playback uses the hardware of the graphics card to play back with
acceleration. Subsequent instances must rely on software (Windows
drivers) as the hardware is single-task. On some systems, the
hardware and software methods differ in brightness or color shift.
However, we haven't yet noticed any color or luminance
shifts on video played back to DV tape after steadying.
|
Q
|
When playing both the original and the steadied video in the SteadyHand
preview, I find play back of the videos is jerky. Why?
|
A
|
The file is probably fine – it is the playback
that is struggling. Playing a DV video clip on a PC requires a
continuous stream of data from the hard disk to the processor and to the
graphic adapter. In particular for DV video, a huge amount of data needs to
be transferred and rendered to the screen. Most PCs cannot load the
DV data from disk fast enough, so frames will be dropped for display.
This problem gets even worse when two videos need to be played. As a
workaround, display only one video at a time.
|
Q
|
I want use my favorite DV codec instead of
the Microsoft DV codec. Is there a way to do so?
|
A
|
The special DV mode can only make use of the Microsoft
DV codec. This allows SteadyHand to set the codec parameters, e.g. switch
between NTSC or PAL, switch on or off reducing the image size. Other codecs
allow these settings as well but use different ways to communicate with the
controlling application. It is impossible for SteadyHand to know about all
the DV codecs from different vendors.
In AVI mode, any other DV codec installed on your system
will usually show up in the compressor list. With some luck, it will
work. In many cases, it won't. Sometimes a codec in the
compressor list is only able to decode video but not to encode it again
after processing. This is a restriction of the codec, not SteadyHand.
But even if a DV Codec works, SteadyHand is not able to
change its default settings. So you are usually better off when using DV
mode when you want to write DV video. As DV is an international standard,
files produced with the MS DV codec should be read by every application
supporting DV files.
|
Q
|
I understand that SteadyHand reads and writes AVI files. Are there any
other DV file formats supported, e.g. .DPR files produced by Fast
VideoMachine Plus?
|
A
|
No.
|
Q
|
Does SteadyHand DV support AVI files
compressed with Canopus DV codecs?
|
A
|
Avi files produced by Canopus software differ slightly
from AVI files produced by other video editing and capture software: The
Canopus DV codec uses the 4-letter-code "cdvc" to indicate a DV
video stream, while most other DV codecs, including the Microsoft DV codec,
use 'dvsd' for that purpose. SteadyHand operating in the DV mode, uses
'dvsd' as well.
However, Canopus software is not able to read that type
of DV files, so you will need to convert the files after processing by
SteadyHand.
Canopus offers a freeware conversion program for that purpose. It can
convert Microsoft DV format files as produced by SteadyHand into the Canopus format. No recompression is needed so there is no loss in quality.
You may download the converter for free from http://www.canopus.com/US/products/DV_file_converter/pm_dv_file_converter.asp
You will obtain best results if you keep using
SteadyHand in the DV-Mode. The default setting is OK: Interlace on, even
field first, DV-type 2, Full resolution. After processing, you may apply
the Canopus converter.
As SteadyHand is able to read Canopus compressed AVI files, you don't need
to convert BEFORE processing.
|
Q
|
I am using a Pinnacle DV200 / DV 300 / DV500
/ DV500 plus. When pressing the start button, I get an error
"DirectShow probably not installed" (error e10000004). But I have
DirectX 8 installed and it appears to be working.
|
A
|
Open the Windows "Control panel" and double-click
the "Pinnacle control" icon, then click on the
"General" tab. There is a list box named "DV overlay
provider". Select "DV software codec". (Instead of the list
box you may find a check box named "DirectX standard playback
module". Checkmark it.)
If this option was already activated on your system, you may try to do the
opposite thing: Disable the option.
|
Q
|
Can SteadyHand DV open AviSynth scripts (*.avs)?
|
A
|
Yes. You will need to set the file wildcards to *.* in
the open dialog.
|
Q
|
Why are steadied videos appearing to be
out-of-focus for short moments?
|
A
|
Whether taking a snapshot, if you move the camera, the
picture gets a little blurry. This is why the best
still-photographers use a tri-pod – to keep the camera still so the
shots are crisp.
A video camera is actually taking many still photographs
in succession. Each of these still photographs, called
“frames” has a certain image quality depending on how it was
taken. If the camera is moving or shaking, the frames will be
blurred just as a still photograph would be blurred by a moving camera.
In a video, however, when the camera moves, the whole
picture moves and your eye cannot see the fine detail of the moving
scene. You can’t really tell if the individual frames are a
little blurred or not. In fact, blurred frames smooth the motion a
little and are a little easier on the eyes of the viewer.
But, when you steady the video and the frames are now
lined up, the scene is not moving and your eyes can now see the blur that
was hidden by the shaking of the original.
If you go back to the original shot and pause the frames
on your computer screen, you will see that the originals are blurred where
the camera was shaking. SteadyHand didn’t blur them, it
just make the blur easier to see.
|
Q
|
Why can’t Premiere 5 read
the files processed by SteadyHand?
|
A
|
Premiere 5 can only read DV-Type 2 files as it is based
on Microsoft Video for Windows (VfW). Please check id SteadyHand is set
DV-Type2: In the SteadyHand "settings" menu, click on
"Options". In the dialog popping up, click on the
"Options" tab, and verify that the "Video output mode"
is set to "DV-Mode". Click on the "DV-Mode options"
tab. Now you may set the "DV AVI file format" to "DV-Type
Two".
When operating in DV Mode, SteadyHand always uses the
Microsoft DV codec coming with DirectShow. This codec is NOT compatible to
VfW, however. As Premiere can only use VfW compatible codecs, you will get
an error message when opening a SteadyHand processed file. You may avoid
this by installing an additional VfW compatible codec, e.g. the MainConcept
codec. The Canopus codecs usually won't work as they use another FOURCC
(four letter code) in the AVI file to indicate it's a DV compressed file.
They use "cdvc" instead of the more common "dvsd".
|
Q
|
My favorite video editing program cannot open the video file processed
by SteadyHand. But it plays fine in the
MediaPlayer.
|
A
|
There are two different methods how DV video and audio
data are stored in AVI files.
In DV Type-1 files, the video channel and the
audio channel are interleaved into a single stream in the AVI file. In
fact, the data delivered by the camcorder are stored without any change;
just an "envelope" is put around the DV data.
In DV Type-2 files, both the video and the audio
channel are stored in separate streams in the AVI file. This type of video
files can be opened by editing applications supporting the Microsoft
"Video for Windows" interface.
SteadyHand can read both types. It detects automatically which type
the original video is.
By default, SteadyHand writes DV Type-2 files. But some
video editing programs only can only read DV Type-1 files. So if your
editing program cannot open these files, you may tell SteadyHand to write
DV Type-1 files. Just click on the "Options" menu entry in the
"Settings" menu. Click on the "DV mode options"
tab, and change the "DV AVI file format" to "DV
Type-1".
|
|
|
