Nationalsolo

Hi If you have placed a clip on the sequence track and then changed it to 4:3 all the clip becomes cropped to 4:3. No problem so far. If you want ot reverse this you can use the "Undo" button to reverse the effect, or cancel the effect with the x in the effects window or use the clip dropdown menu. However if you have subsequently cut and the cropped the sequence into several bits, moved them about and deleted some. The effect is also cut with the new clip bits. Each now seems to behave like a separate clip with its own effect. Selecting all the clips and deleting the effect only works for the clip you start the selection with. Grouping the clips and repeating this behaves in the same way. Using the the Undo button will only re-sort and rejoin the clips in reverse order so again, no use. Like Borate...I can't think how you might do this without going through each generated clip and deleting the effect individually. Creating a sequence will produce a NEW clip from your edited one but the effects will now have been incorprated in it and you can't restore the original frame. Nat

Hi Using V. 3.51 Whilst looking into the solution for another problem I just noticed something odd. Usually if you crop a sequence VP will expand the resulting image it to fit the frame as best it can. Either the height will fit or the sides will fit, leaving a chequered area in the bit that doesn't fit the frame. I have just cropped a clip (using force AR) and deliberately made the 16:9 cropped frame quite small. I expected the result to show a full frame image of the 16:9 area selected. Instead, the subsequent image in the sequence has not been expanded to fit the 16:9 VP screen area. VPshows a quequered zone around the clip preview (compatible whith the area cropped) and the sequence preview just shows the tiny cropped image in the frame- It has not been expanded or centred as normal. Is this something new or is it a fault? Anybody else found this ? Nat

HI I have found that this "black flash" does not always happen but it is a definite effect and it may be version specific. I am pretty sure that it is connected with the last frame of a clip possibly being left as a black blank frame in some versions. Retrimming the ends of each clip does not help, nor does closing any possible gap or pulling the ends of the clip back. The black frame can sometimes actually be seen in the sequence preview screen if one zooms in and steps through the join one frame at a time. I also had the feeling when I saw this, that the black line that goes between clips on the sequence track is slightly more pronounced (or wider?). You can get around this unwanted effect by pulling the right hand clip up onto video track 2 and overlapping it back it a little (a frame or two) onto the preceeding clip. Nat

Hi If your images on the timeline do not have the same aspect ratio as the VP screen (16:9), e.g. if your image is portrait orientated instead of being landscape orientated, or is square etc, then you can, as Borate suggests use the Crop effect to trim your image to a 16:9 format. VP always tries to fit the image into the video frame without stretching it and If there is an aspect ratio difference then you will see a chequered area on either side, or at the top and bottom of your image when viewed in the left preview pane.(Rarely surrounding it) Using the Crop effect will enable you to select an area of the image that will match the VP screen and so fill it, but this will depend on whether the image you have is such that you can afford to lose some of it. Select the image (left click) on the timeline and then left click the little down arrow on the toolbar Video Effects tab. In the drop-down frame, select the Crop option. This will open the Video effects Crop window. Your image will preview with a cropping rectangle visible. Ignore the sliders and click the Force the Aspect ration 16:9 button. You can now grab and drag the sides of the rectangle by the yellow stars to outline the best part of your image. i.e. to exclude the chequered area. The rectangle can also be dragged as a whole unit. Although this will lose some of the image it will now fit the video frame. It is up to you to select the best bit. If you decide to use the Scale effect then this will enable you to again fill the VP frame but it will do this by distorting the image; stretching it vertically or horizontally. This will be more or less noticable depending on how far the image is away from an aspect ratio of 16:9. The Scale Effects window has defaults (presets) which when selected will alter the image....e.g. 4:3 to 16:9. etc. You can also use the width and height scale sliders to exclude the chequered area in your image by stretching or squashing the image. Whichever option you select to make your images fit the screen there will be a downside. If you want to add a background (usually top/bottom or sides) then you should place your image (with the chequered border) onto the overlay track (Video track 2) and then use a 16:9 background image on the main timeline (Video track 1) Set the images on the tracks vertically one over the other. You could also use a blank coloured frame to create a coloured background to your image. Nat

Hi I can't speak for how VP runs on Windows 8, but even a large mpeg2 file should load into the program without too much of a problem, although the time taken may be significant (minutes) if it is very large and more importantly how fast your laptop is. For comparison.....PC specs MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2 Intel Core Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20Ghz, 2.0GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GS VP version 3.51. mpeg2 clip ... playing time 25 mins ... size 1.1 Gb Time to load the clip to the VP media list......1.5 mins Time to install the clip on the VP timeline complete with all thumbnails present......9 minutes. This was with an empty cache file. Once the cache file has generated, then loading time is much decreased, however you should expect that adding effects, transitions and making cuts will mean delay times simlar to these whilst VP regenerates thumbnails for the new sections. From a personal point of view I find these times too long and editing is a pain. I much prefer to use VP 2.41 which is simpler and faster to use if your PC is not very powerful. Using VP 2.41 and from a clean cache...... The same film loaded to the media list in 45 seconds and to the sequence line completely in 1 minute. I'll leave you to work out what the difference is.......not the film and not the PC... 2.41 (even if you could get it now, it probably won't play in Windows 8) I would suggest that you convert your video tapes to mpeg2 as smaller consecutive clips (I use a one step "Grabber" card for this) and edit these one at a time. Save the edited clip as a sequence. To do this , click the + sign next to the "Sequence 1 +" prompt above left of the timeline. This will place your edited work into the media list "Sequence" bin as a complete clip and empty the timeline. Load your next clip to the media list and then drag that to the empty time line and repeat the procedure until you have edited all the mpeg2 clips and created all your sequences. With the last addition all your sequences (which will now be complete clips in their own right) will be in the sequence bin and you can then simply add them to the empty timeline just like clips to create your final edit for exporting. Obviously save your project regularly as you work.- your sequences are saved in the.vpj file. Working with shorter segments in this way may be quicker than trying to edit the whole of a long mpeg2 all at once. Nat

Hi If , during your editing you have used the "Sequence 1 +" ... Sequence 1 x Sequence 2+ etc. (i.e. clicked the + after every section of editing has been completed, all your sequences will have been placed into the "Sequence" bin in the media list as complete edited clips and after each addition the main sequence line will have been cleared for you to work on the next sequence. All you need to do once you have completed all the sequences is to open the sequence bin in the media list and place the sequence clips you have there onto the timeline and save (export) the completed video in your required format. If you have to stop at any time during editing, saving the project (.vpj file) in the normal way will save all your completed sequences. You don't need to save (export) each bit of work as you complete it. Nat

Hi Does the clip in question play OK in an external player like VLC or does the sound still lag? What format is the clip? You could try converting the clip to, say MPEG2 (which I find works OK since I have a similar problem with the bigger format HD MPEG4 ), or you might try making a reduced sized copy (that is pixel size) with the same name to load to VP which should run faster and then swap the folder contents for the original files when editing is complete for exporting. i.e. create a proxy file. VP will render the bigger format provided the file names and location are the same. Nat

Hi "Let's say that the inpoint/outpoint for number one is 1 minute and 2 minutes, while clip number 2 is 5 minutes and 7 minutes. Similar data for all of the 25 points. **That's** what I would like to import into the second project. Instead, what I get is a list of 25 clips, all with the **same** name and all with in/out points that span the entire length of the original file." That is correct...as I said, If you import from another project then you will import ALL of the clip(s) (i.e. the clip(s) will be complete) and they will appear listed in the Media list Clip bin. You will not import any editing (in/out cuts) you may have done with them. In effect the in/out positions will be at square one ....at the start and finish of each clip. i.e. the clips will be complete. If I follow you correctly...Your first project has 25 clips. You have created a sequence of these clips, shortening them as necessary using the in'out markers. You have then saved your project (a .vpj file) That's OK so far. OK to be clear, if you have started work on a second project (or loaded a second project) and then want to IMPORT these 25 clips into it, then all 25 clips will be imported full length again and they will appear in your media list with their original names. You will not import your shortened clips that you created with the in/out markers in the first project. This is what I meant by "complete" What you need to do to retain your editing, is to save your first project as an avi file. and then add it as a media clip to your second project and repeat this for each project in turn. You will then have created a sequence of 6 avi files. Nat

Hi If you have created a project with multiple clips and then saved it as a project file (a vpj file) then you can import those clips from that project into a new one using the option you mention. The clips will appear in the clip bin but they will be the complete clips. The fact that in your original project you may have edited them using in/out points or cut and moved segments about is irrelevant. These are simply data points and are used by VP to re-create THAT saved project. Your saved project isn't saving the shortened clips - just the data regarding the clip and how you cut it. If you import a clip from that project (providing it hasn't been moved) it will be just the complete clip. If you want to edit the totality of your projects, it might be best to consider loadingyour first one and editing it, saving the result as a sequence. Import the clips from the second project (create a new folder in the clip bin if necessary) Add these to the squence line to recreate the second project and edit that. Save as a second sequence. and so on. Each sequecne saved in this way will be a complete clip however. The sequences can be added together. If this is not to your liking then load each project one at a time and export it to your PC as an avi. You will now have six avi files (one from each project) that you can load to VP as though they were clips. Nat

Hi I have a less powerful PC than yours and have always found that full 1080p HD MPEG4 files from my camera played out of synch. They would start off OK and then gradually the image lagged behind and could be several seconds out after only a minute or so. I got around this by converting the MPG4 to MPEG2 and then editing. Nat

Hi You are correct, Virtual dub will only deal with one clip at a time but you do have control over the settings. Also, as you point out, earlier versions of VP would allow you to customise your deshaker settings which could be accessed from the Options screen under Plugin filters. You also had some ctrol over the quality of the output avi.. default quality, premium quality and custom settings, but these referred to the resolution settings according to the type of output format and not the deshaker parameters . You could also group videos for stabilisation and this IS still possible. In the latest version of VP (3.51), if you go into the media files bin and LIST the entries you can still select multiple clips for stabilisation using the shift key. However the Plugins tab in the options screen no longer appears and so it seems that you cannot change the settings. Nat

HI "I can't figure out how to copy that clip into a buffer so I can pull out of VP, then bring it up again so I can paste that clip, and edit a little further from there." Unless I am mistaken you can't directly do this. Although you may think you have used the in/out markers to "cut" your clip you have not actually created a new clip...just reference points in the original clip for VP to use. This the equivalent of splitting your whole clip on the sequence line and deleting the unwanted bits only quicker. If you "cut" your clip using the in'out markers in the clip preview screen you can place your "edited" clip onto the sequence using the green down arrow. Only the section you selected will be visible...the bit with the green bar that is shown in the clip preview screen...However, all the clip will still be there as you will see if you use the mouse to drag the ends of the sequence line clip out to the right or left. If you want to save your "edited" segment to use later independently of VP you will have to save it to your PC using the Export Video tab and you can put this in any folder you want. As an alternative you could also save your segment as a sequence within VP. VP will place it into the sequence bin and you could load it back like any clip for further editing. If you save your project it will always be available. As a sequence It will now behave as a single clip in this case and you won't be able to pull out the ends. Nat

Hi I am pretty sure that you cannot reconfigure the stabilisation plugin settings from within VP as the parameters are preset to the optimum. Neither can add Deshaker as a "new" plugin which might have allowed you to use all the settings as it won't be recognised. However you can use the stabilisation program (Deshaker) with your own parameters if you use it via the Virtual Dub program. An explanation for the many settings can be obtained if you press F1 whilst in Videopad and scroll down to the Transitions section. Click the Stabilisation option and then the link to Deshaker. This will bring up a page from the Virtualdub site that explains the settings. If you want to use these then load your video into Virtual dub making sure you have both before and after screens visible and then add the deshaker plugin. Configure the settings as you wish for pass 1 and pass 2 then dub your clip. You will see each frame being examined and data being collected on the frame adjustment values. Reset the slider back to the start and run the second pass. This will then apply the adjustments previously saved during pass 1 to each frame. You can now save your deshaken clip as an avi file. This can be quite a large file. Load this back into VP and clean up any borders that may be visible with either the Border effect or the Crop effect. Nat

HI There seems to be a similar problem with version 3.51. i.e. Place a clip or image on the timeline and another image on the overlay track. (Covers the timeline correctly when played) Now SCALE used to reduce the size of the overlay and POSITION used to move the reduced image to (In this case) top right. The overlay thumbnails shows it positioned correctly now top right against a chequered outline. First play of the timeline appears correct with reduced overlay in top right over the background main sequence image. Following this, the right and left preview pane only shows full size image of the overlay. The Thumbnails below this however show the correct image of the main sequence image with the overlay top right. So, although the thumbnails show everyhting correctly, the preview shows only the overlay fully covering the timeline. Nat

Hi If your image is poitrait format then VP will not distort (stretch) it to fit the standard 16:9 landscape format. It will fit it into the frame height leaving black bars on each side. To remove these and make the image fit the frame you can use CROP but forcing the 16:9 format. In version 3.47 click the 16:9 option and then use the X1 or Y1 sliders to reduce the rectangle seen in the preview. You can drag this rectangle around also with the mouse until it frames the part of the image that you wish to retain.It will then be full frame 16:9 Unless you distort the image (using SCALE) you will always lose some part of it at top and bottom. The VP frame will always be 16:9 so any portrait image will have the black sidebars. Nat

Hi In version 3.47 the Split button looks like two batteries side by side under the right hand preview pane. (Actually meant to be a length of film split in the centre with small green left/right arrows !) The down arrow to the right of this allows you to select what is to be split. Nat

Hi Works OK in version 3.47 Put cursor line at point of insertion Select the image from the image bin and then "Place on sequence" then "Place on sequence at cursor" Splits and separates the sound track for the duration of the inserted image. Make sure that the options under Media are set to "Ask me" Nat

Hi Not to sure myself if you can directly add an image. In the past I have simple added a screenshot/video/image to my personal web page and used the "Image" button in the reply screen toolbar to point to the URL (web address) of my web page. Nat

Hi Computer spec... MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2 Intel Core Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20Ghz, 2.0GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GS Version 3.47. Empty cache file to start Just as a test, I loaded an avi file of 1.8 Gigs. (biggest I have) It took 30 seconds to load the basic file to the media list at 1 minute 30 it had loaded the clip to the preview screen. Then there was a long wait for any thumbnails to appear under the clip preview pane. at 6 minutes even though the green bar was complete, there were still no thumbnails so I got fed up of waiting and dragged the clip down to the sequence line. It took a total of 16 mins.30secs before all the thumbnails had generated and were visible under both panes and the timeline when, presumably editing could start. Simple splits if this timeline then took up to 2 minutes to regenerate the thumbnails in each section. IMHO I think this is far to slow. Nat It was ready to

Hi "Is it possible to add a music track under video clips without switching to the timeline display? Thanks!" In short...No. Although you can add sound files to the storyboard mode, they behave as image files in this display mode and are inserted between the clips. Back in timeline mode they will be on the soundrack line but inserted between clips as expected. If you want to add a sound clip you must use the timeline mode.The sound block can be moved along the track to position it under a particular video clip and the sound for that clip can be muted. Nat

Hi "I tried to open one, and Videopad 'converted' the project. Could someone tell me what Videopad is converting when it does that? I would think there wouldn't be anything so different that it would require conversion." If you change to a later version of VP, the names and format of the constituent files that make up the .vpj project file as well as the file names in the will be different to those generated by an earlier version. A later version of VP however, can load a project from an earlier version but will have to convert the files to the new format, and that is what you see happening. However, a .vpj file created with the later version cannot be read by an earlier version, as the names of the files will not be known. Even though a later version of VP can convert an earlier version .vpj file, in my experience the project formatting will not always be correct. (effects and transitions and even clip splits might be missing.) Having converted the files to the later format, VP will then try to find the files on your PC. If they have been moved or renamed then the file path will not be correct and VP will inform you of this. There will be an option to find the missing files on the (new) PC but I don't think you can change them en masse. This option has to be repeated for each file, even if you have placed them in the same folder, which is a bit of a pain. Someone else may add to this hopefully. Nat

Hi One way of getting your crossfade to work as you want is as follows... Put Clip1 on the sequence line followed by Clip2 Click the effects box at the end of Clip1 and add your crossfade for the duration required. Now select Clip1. Move the red cursor line to the left end of the crossfade effects bar above the sequence line. Grab the right hand end of Clip1 and drag it left to the red cursor line. Now move the red cursor line to the right hand end of the crossfade effects bar. Grab the left end of Clip2 and drag it to the right up to the red cursor line. In effect you are "folding back" lengths of each clip that will play and overlap as the crossfade takes place. The amount "folded back" should be at least 1/2 the length of the crossfade duration. Using the red cursor line as a marker ensures that this is the case. If you don't do this procedure VP will use a static frame from the end of Clip1 and the start of Clip2 as the background image. There will be no overlap of the two clips. Obviously in this case the two clips retain their original length. Creating the overlap reduces the lengths of the combined clips by the crossfade duration. You can also create an overlapping crossfade by placing Clip 2 on the overlay track above Clip1, dragging it back a little and then altering the opacity from 0 to 100% for the overlap duration. This works well but requires a bit of practice. Nat

Hi One way....... Place your complete video onto the sequence line. Split the clip at the desired places. e.g. 18 seconds and 30 seconds as per your example. You now have three clips. Save your project. (vpj file) Delete Clip2 and Clip3 and export your Clip1 as your first video. Reload the project and delete Clip1 and Clip3 Output Clip2 as video 2 Reload the project Delete Clip1 and Clip2 Output Clip3 as your third video. etc. Nat

Hi Which version of VP are you using? Which text overlay image/s is missing? Nat

Hi You may get a reply from NCH if you are lucky. ....... It's a problem mentioned before for some versions of VP. Try downloading 3.29 or later if you can. http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html Alternatively, if you want a version that is very similar to WMM but can handle several soundtracks and has more controlable effects and export formats, see if you can find a copy of version 2.41. Unfortunately the vpsetup.exe file you download doesn't state the version it is until you open it. In the meantime check to see that your exported movie HAS been created in your selected folder, as even though it seems to have stuck at 99% it may have actually rendered OK and VP is stuck trying to tell you so. I have found this has happened to some versions I have. Nat