Which software best suits my requirements?

[Fluxmeister]

This is one of those topics... the type there are thousands of.

I'm seeking recommendations on which editing software to evaluate.

When editing previously I used:
1. DVDs
2. Premiere 6.5
3. Used the AVISynth/MJPEG swap trick
4. Cut clips in premiere and organized them into subfolders within the project file (this did not generate any new files/folders on the operating system)
5. With 4 this meant all my editing was done with with very large clips (though very easy to extend and access footage outside of the original "clip")
6. (worst of all) Used the 23.976 -> 24fps -> 23.976 conversion to edit within Premiere 6.5

So basically I need an update on which software would fit my needs (3/4/5) and eliminate (6) 24fps-ness. (4/5) is quite critical. On many occasions I just needed a couple of frames before or after a clip's start/end. It saved me a lot of overhead just dragging out a "subclip" instead of having to go back to the source and cut new clips. Also I'll probably be working with DVD if I do anything at all.

I noticed the AMVApp hasn't been updated since 2010. Is this because it is just that awesome/perfect?

Thanks,
Fluxmeister
NHMK

[Pwolf]

Hey Flux, nice to see you around again... Unfortunately the only program that can open avisynth scripts is still Premiere. That said, anything CS5 or newer will have issues due to them being 64bit only. I ported the plugin to 64bit but avisynth 64bit is a bit of a hack and hasn't been updated since 2010. Thus, it's unstable and can cause more issues and lots of headaches. So, if you want to continue to use Premiere and avisynth together, you'll have to settle with the slower and older Premiere CS4. I don't think the 23.976 issue was fixed in this though.

All that said, let me give you an idea how I do things now:

1. Rip DVD/Bluray
2. Process and Encode source, using avisynth, to UTVideo
a. I convert all my sources to 24fps. The 23.976 issue in previous versions just forced me to do this. CS5 is supposed to have fixed this but I have noticed some issues with large source files cutting off 2min in. It seems more random than anything and could be completely unrelated to Premiere as I have had trouble recreating it. That said, converting the video source to 24fps and leaving it there is perfectly fine.
3. Import into Premiere CS5.
4. Clip and edit in Premiere.
5. Encode master to UTVideo.

The only big change to your workflow is encoding to lossless beforehand and not using avisynth. UTVideo is a great, fast, lossless codec and hard drives are cheap. I've done most of my video work on a 1TB drive these past few years without much trouble.

So basically, since you're familiar with Premiere, that's a good place to stay. Moving to any other software will require you to go through the same steps. At least until someone actually make a stable version of Avisynth x64.

[Fluxmeister]

Thanks for the information Pwolf! Good to see you too (in text form).

I'll probably go the UTVideo route and try a trial of Premiere Pro CC. If all that works out I'll give Adobe all my money for the rest of my life so I can make videos containing the barn door transition and inverts (unless they removed either one of those ).

[mirkosp]

I don't think the 23.976 issue was fixed in this though.

23.976 has been working at least since Pro CS2 so that's not a problem.

I still would suggest the UTVideo route, though.

[Fluxmeister]

I don't think the 23.976 issue was fixed in this though.

23.976 has been working at least since Pro CS2 so that's not a problem.

I still would suggest the UTVideo route, though.

UTVideo for the win! I just saw your post on being sure to update to the latest UTVideo.

Are there any other items from the AMVApp 3.1 that are critical to get the latest of?

[Qyot27]

Basic things in the AMVapp that can/should be updated:

AviSynth 2.6a4 (or MT) instead of 2.5.8.
The SSE-optimized build of DGDecode.dll on http://hank315.nl (which is also where the regular binaries of it and DGIndex have moved to)
XviD 1.4-127 instead of 1.2.1 (nowhere as necessary as it used to be but there's no reason not to have the latest version installed)
Lagarith 1.3.27 instead of 1.3.19
The beta version of Zarx264gui3: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/forum/v ... 1&t=114239