Nationalsolo

Hi Download version 2.41 (as this would seem to be the one you had.) http://videopad-free...om/old-version/ http://download.chip...d84800118752123 Read each page of the downloader carefully and click "No" or untick all the boxes to all the extras you don't want. (Screensavers;toolbars etc.). The version downloaded is 2.41. Save the setup.exe file to a suitable folder on your PC. Don't just load it. That way you can later switch to other versions if you want. The link just above is for the Free unlicenced version. Double click the setup.exe file you have downloaded to setup the program (I normally unpack it into the same folder so everything is together) Rename the setup.exe file with the version number as all the versions have the same title and icon. Once it is all setup copy the VP start icon to your desktop for easy access. Note that the version number appears in the bottom left hand corner of the editing screen. Nat

Hi If you want to go back to version 2.41 which works OK for me then you can try this link.. Several older versions... http://videopad-free...om/old-version/ Two links (same site) for version 2.41 http://download.chip...or_5697484.html http://download.chip...d84800118752123 Check each page before accepting and continuing so as to exclude other bundled software...toolbars/scanners etc... Save the setup.exe file for the version you already have..you can rename it with the your current version number if you wish. If you then don't like 2.41 you can simply double clip the exe file for it to switch back. (Save the setup.exe file for 2.41 as well and you can switch between the versions.) However, although 2.41 (IMHO) works better, it won't load project files from the version 3.xx videopad. Also the .vpj file (the project) is specific for VP programs and won't load into other editing software. Nat

Hi Borate has explained very well a method for fade in and fade out. Remember that you normally fade out to Black and fade in from Black So ...For Fade-out.... Click the "Add Blank" tab on the toolbar and select Black for the colour. Click the "Add" button and your blank black frame will be found in the Image folder of the media list. Drag and drop this so it follows the last clip you have on the sequence line. Click the small square with the horizontal lines on it, at the end of your last clip (Set Video Transition) and select "Fade" from the list. Enter the duration for the fade. Click OK and a yellow bar will generate at the end of your sequence covering the join between your last clip and the blank black frame. Play the sequence now and you will see your clip fade out to black. You can adjust the blank frame length and transition timings to get the effect you want. For a fade in you can simply add a blank Black frame to the start of the sequence line before your first clip. Click the box with the lines on it as mentioned above and select "Cross Fade" from the list and then follow the same steps as above This is not as good as the Opacity method suggested by Borate but it is simpler and probably quicker. Nat

Hi Just noticed a small thing to be aware of related to the names of clips in folders and the re-opening of the related project and which is probably valid for all VP versions. I am in the process of editing a 45 min documentary using VP 2.41 with three lots of clips made on three consequitive days, the camera being unloaded after each shoot. Each batch of clips numbered TOSH001, TOSH002....TOSH003...etc was saved to a new folder So I had folders DAY 1, DAY 2 and DAY 3, each with numerous but identically named clips in each folder. I edited all the clips from DAY 1 and then followed up by adding the clips from DAY 2 and finally DAY 3. The clips appeared OK in the media list in the order loaded and edited OK and previewed OK (although not all the clips were used). There were also quite a few sound clips copied to the different audio tracks. The project was saved regularly along with a spare. On reloading the project I suddenly noticed that the added on audio clips no longer lined up with their intended target areas and wondered why. It then became evident that some DAY 2 clips had been placed on the timeline amongst the DAY 1 clips. Interestingly these did not play in the timeline preview, they just pushed the correct timeline clips along so displacing the added-in sound track below. I didn't expect this to happen as the project file (.vpj file) lists the source folder as well as the clip name. What was happening it seemed, was that the alogorithm for re-opening the project seemed to make no distinction between, for example, clip TOSH002 in folder DAY 1 and clip TOSH002 in folder DAY 2 so putting them onto the sequence line out of order. (I checked the names of all out of order clips and found they matched the names of the clips that had been pushed out of place but belonged to the one of the other two DAY folders. The other saved spare vpj file did the same thing but the result was, oddly, different. The fact that clips with the same name in different folders were of different lengths also played havoc with the rebuilding of the time line when the project was reloaded. The remedy for this is to ensure all the clips used have different names and/or different numbers and not just to rely on them being distinguished by being stored in different folders. In this case I renumberd ALL the clips using Irfanview.....Clip001 ... Clip002 ..Clip003 etc (250 clips in all) but retained them split between the three original folders since these were related to different events that were filmed ........................and then started editing all over again. Nat

Hi I assume your project plays OK when you preview your sequence line. I don't think the number of files is causing the problem. I am currently working on a 45 minute project that has (so far) 310 video clips and numerous images and which has generated 4386 files (1.09 Gb) in the cache folder! I am using version 2.41 and it is working correctly and I have had no problems. (I fell asleep using version 3.12 when I tried it with this. and didn't get far enough to see if it would crash!) What format are your video clips? What format are your images...(TIFF....jpg.....bmp...etc.) What size are they... pixel x pixel and Kb?........And are they all the same? I usually use raw images taken with my video camera which are jpgs 1280 x 720 pixels and each of 11 Mb. As these are the same frame size as any video I shoot I can just add them into the sequence where I want. (Also snapshots from the actual footage as well as stabilized avi clips in places.) Never had a problem rendering them. There may be a problem with your image type but offhand I can't see why, if it plays OK in the VP preview you can't render it to an avi file. Nat

Hi VP, I think converts to MP3 or WAV..Set this to mp3 and check that your Option settings (under mp3 Encoder Settings) show that the Channel Encoding Mode is set to "Stereo" Nat

Hi "Or use ctrl+[ and ctrl-] to go to previous and next frame, respectively." This seems only to step the cursor along frame by frame in the clip preview pane on the left, and produces the same effect as using the upper < and > tabs in the same pane. It doesn't move the main sequence cursor line or affect the right hand pane. As the Snapshot button copies the frame at the main sequence cursor line position it won't help one isolate a particular frame for copying as Kermit wants. I suppose it's meant to to be used when you need to precisely set the IN/OUT markers when a clip is trimmed. Useful to know though Nat

Hi In the past I have extended mp3s using a third party program that was supposed to let you join them together and output the result as a new mp3. Depending on the player used the result didn't always play the mp3s that were added on. VP 2.41 only played the first section of such lengthened files. But I have no idea why. I'm pretty certain It's not VP as some treated files played with one player and not another. With the multiple audio tracks that VP has and which are fairly well controllable individually, you should be able to create something usable using individual mp3s audio clips. Nat

Hi The version 3.xx program certainly loses the last frame of a sequence if it is a still frame (bug bug bug ) but I haven't found it loses any more even when there are several hundred and all 10 - 12 megs. What format are you trying to output? Nat

Hi "You mean like a screenshot?" You don't create a screenshot....... "Or is snapshot somehow integrated in videopad?" It is.......Under the right hand preview pane (version 3.12) there is a "camera" button. Clicking this creates a still image of the frame where the red cursor line is. To get your still frame, step along the sequence by dragging the cursor until you have the last frame showing in the preview pane. (You can use the buttons mentioned below to pick out the last frame.) Nowt click the camera button. The snapshot will appear in your media list "image" file and, according to your default settings also on the desktop. Leave the cursor where it is and add the snapshot from your media list to the cursor position. Your sequence should now play and stop with the required still. The duration of any still image can either be set as a default value under the "Options" tab or you can drag out the ends of the still image directly on the sequence line to make it play longer, or you can switch into storyboard mode and alter the duration value that appears under the thumbnail frame . As well as Borate's suggestion for setting a cursor position you can also step backwards and forwards a frame at a time by using the top set of < and > buttons either side of the "Play" button under the right hand preview pane. When doing this it is useful to zoom in a bit Nat

Hi In version 3.12 not all the fonts seem to be recognised although the drop down list shows all the fonts listed that are held in the Windows fonts folder. In the cases where the listed font doesn't seem to come up in VP, an Arial type font is used instead. To check that this IS the case with your version of VP, add some text then click the text "Image" in the media list followed by the "T". Open your Windows font folder and check that the list of fonts you have installed matches the drop down VP list . The default font is Arial. If you now select another font from the VP list the preview should change to that font... I say "should" as some don't. If you think that nothing has changed, open the font from the windows folder and check it from the demo window. e.g. Academy engraved is not recognised Accord Heavy Bold ditto etc.... It may be the way the Windows font is actually contructed that prevents VP using it...hence the Arial default for some types. If your Windows font file doesn't have Whitney Book font then VP won't show in the list you simply need to download it into your Windows font folder and try again.(You may have to register to the site to do this) The nearest font that you probably will have (it does load in VP as well) is Copperplate Gothic Light. It's fairly similar with lower case capitals. I think it's a case of try it and see. Nat

Hi Dougie Despite what Microsoft has to say about Readyboost speeding things up...I feel a little disappointed now as I have just completed some comparisons with the 4meg USB chip in as well as out. I initially thought that clips loaded faster and displayed quicker but to be quite honest I now don't see a great deal of difference. Initially I used only a few MPEG4 1280 x 720 clips so perhaps that was the reason for my being optimistic...it just seemed faster. I tried 92 mpeg4 clips (all about 10-15 second) . They loaded (indexed) to the media list in 2minutes 30 seconds and the last one displayed fully in the left hand preview pane after 6 minutes. (Nothing added to the sequence line.) There was only a few seconds difference when the USB chip was plugged in for the same processes. (I started with an empty cache each time.) So..... :(.. Thought it might have improved things! MPEG2 conversions from the same 92 files however, loaded to the media list (indexed) in 50 seconds and finished as above in 3 mins 30 seconds, so simply converting the files to mpeg2 format makes a lot of difference. But adding these clips to the sequence was taking so long I gave up trying to time it! So,.... still be using 2.41. I think you are right....This version (3.xx) is just too slow. Nat

Hi By "Hires" I am simply refering to images that are of similar size (but not necessaraly the same AR) to the video frame itself e.g. 1280 x 720 or above .... images that is, of several megapixels (5 or more), not images enlarged up from small frames or more highly compressed jpegs. Basic still images shot on my video camera are a minimum of 12 megs and when incorporated in an HD sequence look fine with no treatment required. Images captured via the videopad "Snapshot" option can also be good as they have the same format and size as the video, but they may suffer blurring if the subject was moving on the frame copied. In these situations enhancing the image may be benificial but it might also be possible to find a sharper frame close to the one actally chosen. IMHO if you are going to use images in your videos they ought to be as detailed and as sharp as you can get them at the start...i.e. "Hires." In this way treatment via VP using a sharpening plugin shouldn't really be necessary. There will of course be situations when one has to use whatever images are to hand and these might be small format or already have been compressed etc. and so require some edge enhancing. In these cases I prefer to use a third party program and deal with each image separately rather than the VP plugin. Nat

Hi One of the main criticisms of VP 3.xx is slowness in creating thumbnails and rendering the changes made to the timeline. The general concensus is that it is probably due to the inability of the slower PCs to deal with the extra data processing required quickly enough for these multi track versions particularly as Borate has checked the minimum RAM required for adequate processing speed and found it should be at least 4 Gigs.(HD mpeg4 clips) If you are running Vista on a PC like mine... MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2 Intel Core Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20Ghz, 2.0GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GS ...it may be useful to remember that you can increase the RAM by using a USB data key of up to 4Gig as a Readyboost. I'm not sure if later versions of Windows has this feature, but with Vista it's simply a matter of plugging in an empty USB chip into a spare socket and taking the Readyboost option that comes up. The 32 bit Vista can apparently use up to 4 Gigs of extra RAM in this way. It's something I hadn't thought about and am in the process of trying out. It does seem to show an improvement, so much so that, as I have a new project to deal with I may try editing it with VP3.12 instead of 2.41. (which works OK without the Readyboost chip in place.) It might be something others might like to try, or give an opinion on. Nat

Hi "Is there a limit on video/audio length in the free version?" There is no limit to the audio length in any of the versions of VP as far as I am aware. "However working on the project I have a soundfile as soundtrack and as I go along I enlarge this file (using a different programm)" What exactly do you mean when you say that you enlarge the file? Normally you can simply add another sound file to the Media list and then place it on the soundtrack so it follows the one already there. This is probably the simplest way of extending a soundtrack rather than using a third party program to (presumably) add two mp3 files together. Nat

Hi You seem to be confused regarding the two screens... The LEFT hand screen previews the selected clip (irrespective of where it is) and allows it to be trimmed etc.Only the selected clip is played in this screen. The RIGHT hand screen previews the project or the clips when they are on the timeline, (the sequence line) and what is seen there depends on position of the red cursor line. The whole sequence of clips on the timeline is played in this screen. e.g. If you have selected a clip in the media list then it will preview in the LEFT hand screen. It will not be visible in the right hand screen until it has been placed on the timeline. You can drag and drop it onto the timeline if you wish and trim it there.....or....as you seem to be doing... Trim it beforehand in the LEFT hand screen by pulling the red IN marker to the right and pulling the blue OUT marker to the left. This will trim the clip as shown by the extent of the green bar which is under the thumbnails. Clicking the green down - arrow will now place the trimmed clip onto the timeline (or sequence line) where, by default it will be selected. (shown by it turning blue) and will now appear in the RIGHT hand screen. The right hand screen is used to preview your PROJECT, i.e. all the clips that are on the timeline. Nat

Hi What version of Videopad are you using now? Nat

Hi With VP version 3.12 I find that the Smart Sharpen plugin doesn't actually work with mpeg4 video clips as when the plugin is opened and one tries to configure it...Videopad crashes..(at least on my system.. ) I haven't tried any other formats. If you try the plugin with a jpg file placed on the sequence line it does work but only the presets are available. The slider controls are inactive as you have found. These presets do work but don't seem to be configurable when selected. The choices are : Small overall............................light sharpening...hardly any change visible in the preview screen on account of its size. Small overall and borders........Similar Overall.....................................Slightly more enhanced effect and works a little like an unsharp mask Borders Overall and borders Mad..........................................Heavy unsharp mask effect.......too much and actually not worth using...Visible in the preview pane. Selecting one of these options and pressing the preview button will show the effect (possibly) which may take a second or two to become evident. If you want to see if anything IS working with your jpegs then before you add the effect do a snapshot, then add each level of the effect and take a further snapshot at each level. You can then compare the snapshots in something like Windows photo gallery when the effect should be visible as you step through the images. Its probably better to simply add hires images to the sequence in the first place rather than try to enhance them via the plugin which, to be honest is not very effective. Nat

Hi "(I also attempted newer versions, but when they saved the video there was some unsightly stuttering and playback issues, hence why I returned to 2.41) " This seems to suggest that the "newer versions" must have been 3.xx versions which did load the project from your 2.41 version....and for this to happen the project would have been converted and might explain the poor render. ......was the project converted? If this was the case and you re-saved it (as the .vpj file) with the same name so consequently overwriting it then reverting back to 2.41 meant that now it was unloadable, hence your message. Try checking ... Open the .vpj file in notepad and see if the version number on the top line is version 5 or version 8 "version 5" suggests it was generated with 2.41 "version 8" suggests it was generated with 3.xx If it is "8" then it probably explains why it didn't open with VP2.41. Nat

Hi I have to admit that when this point was originally brought up I had a look at the version which was mentioned and found I could actually stop the preview on a join and have a black frame in the window, so I think it is a real effect! I also commented that the lines (black) between the clips were quite wide in comparison woith the thinner blue line between the clips in version 2.41 which doesn't show any of threse effects. I am just looking at VP3.10 and there is a definite black "flash" at the join if a clip is simply split and the sequence played. The zoom level using the mousewheel seems to affect the visibility of this "Flash" . Zoom out and it is easily seen. Zoom in and it is less noticable. If I delete the right hand section and play the sequence there is a black frame of about 1/2 second duration just before the end! The only way I can find to prevent this effect is not to split the clip but to drop the next clip onto the overlay track above and adjust its start position over the lower one to the point where the cut would have been. This way the the lower clip plays and the overlay clip cuts in with no black flashing effect. But seeing as how the 3.xx versions run slow, takes an age to render the thumbnails and the soundtracks and does the same every time any changes are made, and also "loses" the last frame of a render if it happens to be an image (including the end titles that happen to be over a still image).. I shall still be using 2.41 which doesn't have these problems and works fine, despite not having some of the "enhancements" which go to make up the later versions. Nat

Hi "Every time a video snippet in the timeline changes to another, the first snippet get's one black frame at its end, although I brought them together with no gap. In the original video there is no black frame contained." This has been commented on several times...e.g. http://nch.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/20230-cutting-clipstransition/ The output may not be affected though. An end to end untrimmed clip join seems OK but the black "flash" appears when (in preview) VP has to jump over a length of trimmed off clip. One has to remember that no clip is actually "cut" only the variable in/out points are recorded. The final render won't need to do this as the copy is made from each out to in. Nat

Hi Normally that window comes up if you are trying to load a project generated with VP version 3.xx. I notice the version in the image is 2.41. Videopad 2.41 doesn't support a project saved from version 3.xx as the files and names are different. (VP 3.xx will convert v2.41 projects though...but with varying degrees of success ) Can't say what might be causing the pixellation. I think you may have to start again. Nat

HI If you feel that the 3.xxx versions are too slow then you can download version 2.41 here.... http://download.chip...d84800118752123 N.B. Read each page of the downloader carefully and click No or untick the boxes to all the extras you don't want. (Screensavers;toolbars etc.). The version downloaded is 2.41 and have checked that this is so. Nat

HI I've just checked around for VP2.41. You can still download this version here...... http://download.chip.eu/en/download_getfile_en_5697500.html?t=524efb93&f=/downloads/223526/vpsetup.exe&dl_type=dl_hs&sign=59abfba07f75d4fbed84800118752123 Read each page of the downloader carefully and click No or untick all the boxes to all the extras you don't want. (Screensavers;toolbars etc.). The version downloaded is 2.41. Nat

Hi Tried that link and, indeed it says it's 3.14 but the setup.exe won't open and run as a splash screen comes up immediately saying that the 14 days trial has ended even though I have never loaded and run it before. I think this has happened previously when NCH gave the same link. Connor provided another link but what then came up was 3.12. Nat