Welcome to MainConcept EVE v2.1 - Easy Video Editing -

Transcription

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2 Welcome to MainConcept EVE v2.1 - Easy Video Editing -

3 Contents MainConcept EVE v2.1 Introduction Congratulations Getting Started Minimum System Requirements Installing EVE v Using EVE v2 Overview First things first The Menus Mode Selector Capturing Videos Capture Window Capturing video form a DV camcorder or deck Capturing video from an analog device Working with EVE v2 The Player The Browser Storyboard and Timeline The Tools The Wizards The Burn Wizards Exporting a Project Produce Window Exporting the current project Outputting a project or clip to a DV camcorder MainConcept EVE v2 Contents page 3

4 DVD Authoring Appendix Authoring the current project in the Timeline The MPEG Encoder Settings The Basic Settings Pane The Video Settings Pane The Advanced Video Settings Pane The Audio Settings Pane The Multiplexer Settings Pane Technical Support MainConcept Technical Support Copyright MainConcept AG. All rights reserved. Trademarks are used for informational purposes, and remain the property of their owners. Depending on the software version, screenshots may vary in this manual. Edition: July 15, 2005 MainConcept EVE v2 Contents page 4

5 Introduction Congratulations! Thank you very much for choosing the MainConcept video editing software EVE v2 - Easy Video Editing. You edit your videos with EVE on your own computer - very easy, extremely quick and in highest quality. As an introduction to this manual we want to illustrate briefly how to improve the quality of your videos with our program. The DV, MPEG and Motion-JPEG formats make it possible for you to do professional quality video editing on a personal computer. DV (Digital Video) is used by digital camcorders. MPEG (named after the Motion Picture Experts Group that created the format) is used for DVD, Video CD, Super Video CD and other popular methods of distributing video. The two most popular types are MPEG-1, which generally offers lower quality, and MPEG-2, which offers extremely high quality. The Motion-JPEG format plays an important role when you want to edit analog video footage. Unfortunately, some video editing programs are only designed to work well with DV or MPEG. Other software has a steep learning curve. Introducing MainConcept EVE v2 MainConcept EVE v2 Introduction page 5

6 (Easy Video Editing). It handles DV and MPEG equally well, and it allows you to achieve professional results quickly and easily. EVE s versatility is especially useful because many people want to use a variety of formats. For example, if you capture DV from your digital camcorder, you might want to edit the video and then output the finished project to your camcorder in DV format. But you might also want to distribute your production on a DVD. In that case, you ll need to convert it to high-quality MPEG-2, which is no problem for EVE. The MainConcept software EVE v2 also allows editing of high-definition material in its native format without unnecessary transcoding. It captures from and export to the popular JVC JY-HD10U high-definition camcorder, and it even supports the new Sony HDR-FX1 camcorder, i.e. you can capture, import, edit video footage in 1080i as well as 720p, and even play it back to the camera again. A new feature of EVE v2 is the DVD authoring with an integrated burn engine. This feature enables you to author your projects directly in the Timeline. You can add clip and chapter points, choose templates, intro clips etc. Afterwards, you write the whole project to a CD or DVD without starting another software. However, we want to wish you a lot of fun with our latest product. If you have any suggestions on how to improve EVE v2, please send us your feedback to the following address: suggestions@mainconcept.com. Throughout the MainConcept EVE v2 manual you will be guided by a popular character. It signals when you have to pay attention or gives you some advice when we think that it is necessary. But it also introduces the little tutorials in this manual. Here are the different characters and their functions: When you see the little fellow with the megaphone you have to pay attention. He gives advice as well as some clever tips and tricks for working with EVE v2. But sometimes he signals also a warning for the user, that some settings should only be changed by professionals. This is the teacher in our EVE v2 manual. The fellow with his little pointer introduces the tutorials you find throughout this documentation. Simply repeat the steps, described in these examples and try for yourself what interesting features the new EVE version offers. You will see: in no time at all you create impressive films with our video editing software. MainConcept EVE v2 Introduction page 6

7 Unfortunately, the guy with the question mark appears only once. Well, let s say it is a good thing that he only appears once, and we hope that you will never need him. He gives you some information on how to reach the MainConcept support team. And now we wish you a lot of fun with this manual and, of course, have a good time while editing and authoring your videos. Getting Started Minimum System Requirements To use EVE v2, you ll need to make sure that your computer system meets at least these minimum requirements: Operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 or XP (we recommend to install always the current Service Pack for the used operating system, e.g. for Windows 2000 there is Service Pack 4 right now). Under WIndows 98SE and Me there might be restrictions for CD/DVD burning and the 3D Titler. Processor: Pentium 4-1 GHz or faster (Pentium 4-2,4 GHz for real-time) RAM: 256 MBs recommended (512 MBs for real-time) Hard drive size: 50 MBs for software installation, 20 GBs for video material Hard drive speed: 5400 RPM, 7200 RPM recommended Graphics card: 1024 x 768 pixels, 32-bit color, Microsoft DirectX 9.0b or above, OpenGL 1.2 for 3D Titler CD-ROM or DVD-ROM: For software installation CD or DVD Burner: For creating own VCDs, SVCDs or DVDs In addition to these requirements, video editing requires that your system is operating smoothly. For more information on making sure that your computer is optimized for video editing (as well as a variety of other helpful information), visit the MainConcept Support Site at MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 7

8 Installing EVE v2 From time to time, MainConcept will release new versions of EVE v2 containing tweaks and new features. Before you install EVE, we highly recommend checking the MainConcept website to see if a newer version is available for downloading. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 8

9 If you received EVE v2 on CD, follow the installation instructions that were included with it. If you downloaded EVE v2 from our website, run the file that you downloaded and follow the prompts on the screen. A splash screen will appear. It may take a few moments for this part of the installation to occur. This is because the installer program is decompressing large amounts of data. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 9

10 In the following dialog box, click Next. The new EVE v2 version now inlcudes Windows Media 9 support. You have to accept the License Agreement to proceed with the installation. Click Yes to continue. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 10

11 The license agreement will appear. To use EVE v2, you must agree to the terms of the license. Click Yes to proceed. In the following dialog, enter your name and company name. Depending on the system configuration, you might also need to choose whether to install EVE v2 for all users or only yourself. You must also decide whether you want to install the program as a demo version, which adds a watermark to your produced videos and has a five minutes capture time limitation, or the full version. To install the full version, you will need to enter your serial number. Then click Next. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 11

12 If you enter a wrong serial number the following window will appear. Click Retry in order to enter your serial number again. A mouse-click on Ignore will install the demo version of EVE v2 containing a watermark which appears while video editing and exporting the videos. Clicking the Abort button cancels the installation process. You can unlock the demo version and turn it into the full version at any time. Simply uninstall the demo by using the Control Panel. Then start the setup once more and follow the instructions on the screen. You will need to enter the correct serial number to unlock EVE v2. Alternatively, when uninstalling choose the option Modify. Afterwards, please follow the installer instructions. The following dialog allows you to specify the location where the program files will be stored. You can accept the default settings, or click either Browse... button and choose a new directory. Then click Next. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 12

13 In the following window please specify whether you edit your videos predominantly in PAL or NTSC. Of course, it is possible to change the default setting while editing your videos. Click Next to proceed. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 13

14 The following dialog enables you to specify folders for temporary files. EVE needs temporary folders for the background renderer (Path 1) and DVD authoring (Path 2). Please specify a path for these folders and keep in mind that the background renderer in some cases needs the same disk amount as the original clips in your project. Please ensure that for authoring purposes you will need twice or three times more disk space than the CD/DVD you want to create. Moreover, the hard disk partition should be available in NTFS format. You can change these settings by using the Preferences option in EVE v2 later on, too. Click Next to start the actual installation of the software. An indicator will show the installation progress. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 14

15 When the installation process is finished, it might be possible that the following dialog will appear. To complete the installation of MainConcept EVE v2 in this case, you have to restart the computer. We recommend to save all open files before you proceed otherwise data will get lost. Click Finish. EVE v2 is now installed on your computer. You can launch it from the shortcut icon that appears on your desktop, and run it from the MainConcept EVE v2 program group in the Windows Start menu. MainConcept EVE v2 Getting Started page 15

16 Using EVE v2... Overview EVE v2 offers a streamlined interface that makes it easy to be creative. The interface consists of several parts with specialized functions that all work together. We ll show you how to use the program by introducing the key parts of the interface one at a time and showing you how to use each one. In virtually no time, you ll become an EVE expert! In addition to reading, you might want to follow along and do some of the steps we ll be describing. Before launching EVE v2, it is best to make sure that no other programs are running. If you experience any problems while using EVE, visit MainConcept s website for troubleshooting tips. In digital video editing, many problems turn out to be simple system configuration issues that are solved easily. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 16

17 First things first... When you launch EVE, a splash screen will appear while the program loads. The text area at the bottom left of the splash screen shows the names of components as they load. Depending on your system s speed, many names may flash by too quickly to read them. When the splash screen disappears, the Choose a Profile dialog box appears. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 17

18 This dialog appears at startup and any time you create a new project. It enables you to pick a profile for the project you are starting. The chosen profile determines which settings will be used for background rendering, a unique time-saving feature that can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to finish a project. Rendering is the process of calculating changes that are applied to video material. For example, if you place a title over a video clip, the title and clip have to be merged into new frames containing both elements, and the frames need to be compressed in whatever format the current project is using (DV or MPEG). Many video editing programs make you wait while rendering takes place, but background rendering lets you keep going while EVE does the work behind the scenes. To take advantage of background rendering, you should choose the profile that most closely matches the target output format. For example, if your goal is to create a DVD with the edited video, choose the DVD profile. As you work, EVE can render the project in the DVD format, greatly reducing the time needed to produce the file (as explained later) when you are done editing. If you plan to output to multiple formats, you should choose the highest quality profile, then produce the same project in the lower quality format later. For example, if you want to create a DVD and a Video CD, use the DVD profile. After you have edited the project and produced a file in the correct format for DVD, produce the project again using the Video CD setting (as described later). Available profiles include: HDV Choose this option if you capture video footage from a high-definition digital camcorder and you want to keep it in HD, for example if you want to output your edited video back to a HD digital camcorder. We do not recommend converting material from HD to MPEG and then back to HD. The drop-down menu Resolution Options below offers two different resolutions for the high-definition profile. They are only enabled when the HDV profile has been selected. Here you specify the desired resolution for the output file. DV Choose this option if your source material is in DV format and you want to keep it in DV, for example if you want to output your edited video back to a DV camcorder. If you want to output in DV and an MPEG format (for example, if you want to output the project to a DV camcorder and a DVD), we recommend working in DV and then producing the MPEG file later. We do not recommend converting material from DV to MPEG and then back to DV. Video CD (VCD) This profile produces MPEG-1 output suitable for burning to a recordable CD in a special format that can be played in Video CD players, computers and many standalone DVD players. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 18

19 S-Video CD (SVCD) This option generates MPEG-2 output suitable for burning to a Super Video CD. This format is similar to Video CD, but offers higher quality. The disadvantages are that Super Video CDs require more processing power when played back on computers, they are generally not as compatible with standalone DVD players, and they cannot hold as much video as standard Video CDs. DVD Choose this profile to generate high-quality MPEG-2 output for DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). The drop-down menu Resolution Options below enables you specify the desired resolution for the output file you want to burn on a DVD. Multimedia This choice is recommended only for power users who do not want to use any of the fixed profiles, but want to make the settings later when producing the project. When you choose this profile, the options for the aspect ration and the resolution are disabled. Depending on the profile you choose, you can also specify whether the aspect ratio of the project will be 4:3 or 16:9 by clicking the appropriate checkbox. Some profiles only require a specific aspect ratio. The drop-down menu Resolution Options enables you to specify the adequate resolution for the output file. Depending on the chosen profile, the available parameters differ or the drop-down menu is disabled. When you have chosen a profile, click Accept. EVE will remember the settings, and for your convenience they will be the active choices the next time you start a new project. Of course, it is possible to choose other settings instead. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 19

20 The Menus The menus include commands for working with EVE v2 project files, setting interface options, and accessing help resources. On the File menu: New creates a new, empty EVE v2 project. Open... enables you to choose and load an EVE v2 project that you have already created and saved. You can also load EVE v1 projects with this option. Save enables you to save the current project, including the steps performed during DVD authoring. The first time you save a project, you will be prompted to name it and choose the location where you want to save it. EVE files are saved with the mcs extension, for example Vacation.mcs. A project file does not include your source video clips, audio files and still images; it simply contains the instructions that EVE needs to assemble a project from the source files. For this reason, project files can be quite small. However, if you plan to work on a project again, you should be careful not to move or delete any of the source files used in it. Save As... lets you save a copy of the current project under a different name, including the steps performed during a DVD authoring session. Quit exits the program. On the Edit menu: The Undo command lets you reverse the result of the previous action. The Redo command reverses the result of an undo action. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 20

21 On the Authoring menu: The Authoring menu is only available when the Authoring tool is enabled. It includes the following options: The Show Grid option enables a grid in the preview window, so it is easier to arrange the thumbnails in your menus. Disable the option to hide the grid. The Show Safe Area function displays a safe frame. All items within the safe frame area will be definitely visible in the DVD menu on TV later on. When you enable the Snap to Grid option the thumbnails you edit and move in the preview automatically snap to the points in the grid. Under Grid Settings you find a dialog which enables you to specify the Grid Dimensions. Here you specify distance between the grid s points by defining their Width and Height. The small lock on the left enables you to change the value by using the slider separately or simultaneously. On the Options menu: The Snapshot option brings up a submenu allowing you to specify how still images are captured from video when using EVE s snapshot tool (described later). Deinterlace is helpful when grabbing an image from high-quality video that is interlaced. With interlaced video, each frame is made up of two fields. This approach provides smooth motion on a TV screen, but does not offer ideal results when a frame is captured as a snapshot. When the Deinterlace option is selected, still images will be created by combining both fields of the selected frame. This method will produce much better results in most cases. When the Copy to Clipboard option is selected and you take a snapshot, the image is placed into the Windows clipboard so it can be pasted into another program. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 21

22 When Save as file (BMP) is chosen and you take a snapshot, the picture will be saved as a Windows bitmap file instead of being copied to the clipboard. You will be prompted for a name and destination. The Split Size (DV/MPEG) submenu specifies the size of segments that will be created during long video captures and exports. EVE v2 automatically splits data into multiple sequences to bypass file size limitations that are imposed by certain Windows configurations, and creates *.dzl files for AVIs and *.mzl files for MPEGs. If you plan to archive captured video after completing a project, you might want to choose a split size that will fit on the type of disc you plan to use for archiving, for example 700-megabyte CD-ROMs. The *.dzl and *.mzl files contain information on how the rendered clips are combined, i.e. which file comes first, which second etc. When loading the *.dzl or *.mzl file, the individual AVI or MPEG clips are treated as one long video without any interruption after the corresponding split size. The AutoEdit option brings up a submenu with several settings for automatically creating and editing projects of selected clips in the Browser, Timeline and/or Storyboard. The options are useful when you quickly want to create random projects. The Video Mode (Background Audio) option splits the selected files and adds them to the Storyboard or the Timeline. Using this function EVE splits the files regarding video, i.e. a new scene results in another cut. To apply this option Scene Splitting has to be enabled. The Multimedia Mode (Align to Audio) option splits selected clips and adds them to the corresponding mode as well. The only difference is that it splits the clips regarding the audio peaks, i.e. a high peak results in a cut at that position. To use this option Scene Splitting has to be enabled. When you activate the Random Transitions (themebased) option, EVE adds randomly chosen transitions to the project, created from the selected clips in the Browser. If you have selected a theme, the program only takes transitions from this folder. The option Fade Transitions only adds transitions to a project which fade in and out. The No Transitions option does not add any transitions to a project at all, so that only hard cuts are visible between the clips. The option Aged Film adds this effect to clips of a project, when you like to auto-edit a film. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 22

23 When the Random Effects (themebased) option is enabled, EVE adds randomly chosen effects to the project, created from the selected clips in the Browser. If you have selected a theme, the program only takes effects from this folder. The No Effects option creates a project with no effects at all. Ticking the Random Inserts option places the splitted files randomly into the Timeline or the Storyboard. If the option is disabled the selected clips are added to a project in chronological order. Scene Splitting enables a file splitting for the selected clips in the Browser you want to use for a project. The Interface Options submenu lets you choose which image is used as a backdrop in the EVE v2 interface. Default Background loads the image that was originally included with the program. Restore Background loads the image that was used previously. Change Background lets you load an image file to use as a backdrop. The default settings are 1024x768, so that you can use own pictures as background images. Stretch Background adjusts the backdrop to fit the entire interface. This option enables you to use a background image which does not correspond with the default settings. These parameters were automatically adapted to the EVE settings. Also in the Options menu, the Use Background Renderer function lets you turn background rendering on or off. It is generally best to leave background rendering on to take advantage of its time-saving benefit. However, background rendering involves a large amount of hard disk activity. This can cause problems with certain system configurations, especially in cases in which unnecessary background tasks are running. If you experience any trouble while using background rendering, we recommend visiting the MainConcept website for tips on optimizing your system for digital video editing. The Use Smart Rendering option allows you to turn smart rendering on or off. When this option is enabled only the changed and edited frames are rerendered. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 23

24 When you select the Preferences option from the list, the following window appears on the screen. It offers some general settings for working with EVE v2. The checkboxes under Video Standard enable you to specify whether the project is edited in PAL or NTSC. When you change the video standard while working on a project the Choose a Profile dialog opens up again and you have to specify an appropriate profile again. Media Size specifies the size of the disc type you want to use for exporting your projects. Under Quality you have three different options (Good, Better and Best) to increase the quality of the captured and/or produced file. A higher quality results in longer processing time and higher file size. In contrast, a faster processing time leads to less file size but also to less quality. The DVD Settings checkboxes allow you to specify the desired resolution for the output file you want to burn on a DVD. The settings are disabled here, because they have already been defined in the Profile dialog. Under HD-Settings you find two different resolutions for the high-definition profile. They are only enabled when the HDV profile has been selected. Here you specify the desired resolution for the output file. The settings are disabled here, because they have already been defined in the Profile dialog. The Background Renderer Temp option enables you to select another folder for the temporary background renderer files. The background renderer in some cases needs the same disk amount as the original clips in the project. The Authoring/Burn Temp option allows you to choose another folder for the temporary authoring files. For authoring purposes you will need twice or three times more disk space than the CD/DVD you want to create. To guarantee a smooth working with the DVD Authoring in EVE v2, the hard disk partition where you store the corresponding temporary folder has to be formatted in NTFS, and it must have enough free disk space (up to three times more disk space than the DVD, SVCD or VCD you want to create). The drop-down menu Language enables you to specify the language of the program texts. The available languages are English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Italian. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 24

25 In the Tools menu: Benchmark is a tool for detecting which effects and transitions on your system can be used in real-time. It takes a few minutes for EVE v2 to perform this task. We recommend starting this tool before you work with the software for the first time. The Timeline or Storyboard must be empty for the test. An indicator shows the progress. The green frames around the effects and transitions specify the real-time objects, and the red frames the non-realtime ones. The real-time effects and transitions needn t to be background rendered, while working on a project. Only the objects with a red frame will be background rendered then. You have to restart EVE again, before the benchmark results can take effect. The Quick Launch option allows you to quickly start other MainConcept products if they are installed on the computer without leaving EVE v2. In the Help menu: Documentation opens this user s guide. MainConcept Website takes you to MainConcept s home page on the web. MainConcept Support takes you to the MainConcept Support site on the web. MainConcept Software Updates takes you to a page on the MainConcept website where you can find the latest versions of MainConcept programs. The web options are designed to use your computer s default web browser and internet connection. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 25

26 About... displays a splash screen showing the current version of EVE v2. Click OK to close it. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 26

27 Mode Selector This button panel allows you to switch among EVE s three modes: Capture, Edit and Produce. The upper left part of the program s interface changes according to which function is selected. Capture mode: MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 27

28 Edit mode: Produce mode: This approach helps keep EVE v2 uncluttered by only showing some components when they are needed. When they are not visible, they are just a mouse click away. MainConcept EVE v2 Using EVE v2 page 28

29 Capturing Videos Capture Window The Capture window allows you to import video footage from a digital camcorder to the computer. In the new window you have also the opportunity to capture video footage from an analog device, capture card or even a TV tuner to the PC. It is even possible to capture video footage from HD devices, such as the Sony HDR-FX1 and JVC JY-HD10U High- Defintion camcorders. We will explain the different settings of this module in a moment. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 29

30 On the left you see the preview area and various buttons for controlling the DV device and starting the capture process. The left display under the preview area shows the current timecode. The right display under the preview area shows the captured time. If you are capturing prerecorded video from your DV camcorder, use the VCR-style buttons to control the device and find the point where you want to start capturing. You can also control the device manually by using its physical buttons, however it might be necessary to click the Play button in EVE to open the video data path. The controls under the preview area perform the following functions: The buttons group on the left perform the following functions upper row from left to right: Rewind, Fast forward, Frame backward, Frame forward. The buttons in the lower row offer these functions from left to right: Pause, Play and Stop. The Jog Shuttle in the middle enables you to rewind and fast forward your video tape during playback using four different speeds. The two buttons on the right enable you to start and stop the capture process: The red Record button starts the capture process. The Stop Record button stops the capture process. Under Capture Directory you enter the filename for the video you want to record. Use the button on the right to search for the desired location for storing the captured videos. The drop-down menu shows the name and location of previously saved files. You have the opportunity to use the same name for multiple consecutive captures. EVE v2 automatically numbers additional recordings, for example Surfing001, Surfing002, etc. The drop-down menu Video Device enables you to select the desired digital or analog video source for capturing videos. It is possible to connect several devices to the computer. The connected analog devices can be for example a capture card or a TV tuner. A digital video device is for example your DV camcorder. Clicking the button on the right opens the Video Input Settings dialog box where you adjust further settings and configure the capture device. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 30

31 The Video Input Settings window offers the following options: The drop-down menu Video Input enables you to specify the appropriate video input for capturing, such as a Video Tuner, SVideo, Composite etc. Under Video Standard you specify the correct the correct TV standard for your capture device and region. The drop-down menus offers various PAL, NTSC and SECAM options. The drop-down menu Color Space allows you to define an adequate color space for your capturing device. Some capture devices only work with a specific color space, so we recommend to read the device s documentation carefully. Under Image Control you find several sliders and spinboxes to adjust the Brightness, Contrast, Hue and Saturation. The Reset button restores all parameters to their default settings. Click the OK button to confirm all settings, otherwise press Cancel. Under Audio Device you select the preferred audio source for the capture process. It might be possible that several audio devices are connected to the computer, e.g. your onboard sound card or any other supporting devices. When a DV camcorder is connected to your computer, you normally use its own audio stream, so you needn t select a different setting here. Clicking the button on the right opens the Audio Input Settings dialog box where you adjust further settings and configure the capture device. The Audio Input Settings window offers the following options: The Audio Input option enables you to specify a different audio input source for capturing. This is e.g. CD Audio or a Microphone. Furthermore, EVE v2.1 offers several more options here. Using Balance slider you specify the left and right balance of the audio and the loudspeakers. The slider under Volume defines the volume of the input audio. The slider under Treble controls the treble of the input audio. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 31

32 The slider under Bass specifies the bass of the input audio. The Reset button restores all parameters in the Audio Input Settings dialog to their default settings. Click the OK button to confirm all settings, otherwise press Cancel. The drop-down menu Format offers several options for specifying the output format. The available options are DV, VCD, SVCD, DVD, MPEG-1/2 as well as MicroMV and some HD formats. Clicking the icon at the end, opens the codec settings for further specifications. If you choose VCD, SVCD or DVD, EVE v2 will produce files compliant to the corresponding disc format. If you connect a MicroMV camcorder with the computer you should select its native MMV stream under Format for capturing (but not MPEG). The drop-down menu Resolution specifies the width and height of the picture. Depending on the chosen video device, this option might be disabled or its parameters differ. The drop-down menu below allows you to choose the appropriate frequency, audio bitrate and channels (Mono or Stereo) of the selected audio device. Depending on the chosen device this option might be disabled or its parameters vary. The option Scene Detection enables you to activate the automatic detection of diverse scenes for capturing videos. The different scenes of the DV tapes will be saved as individual AVI files. It allows an easier usage and management of imported scenes. The Alternative Capture Preview option activates an additional capture preview for analog devices if the normal one does not work correctly. The Timer button enables the record timer. It allows you to set the desired capture time in hours, minutes and seconds. Use the up/down arrows or enter a value manually in order to specify the record time. The Information field shows some information on how to control the capture device and the captured video (e.g. capture time, captured frames, dropped frames etc.). Now you have enough information to start capturing videos from any device! We will show you to capture video footage from a digital and an analog source in two brief examples. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 32

33 Capturing Video from a DV Camcorder or Deck In Capture mode, you use this window to easily import video from a DV camcorder or deck connected via a 1394 connection (also known as FireWire and i.link ) or any other supported device. Depending on the connected digital devices, different options and menus in the Capture window will be disabled. With EVE v2, you can capture directly from a DV device over an OHCI-compliant 1394 connection. Most affordable 1394 cards are OHCI-compliant. To capture: 1 Make sure that your 1394 device is working properly. Also make sure that the DV device is connected and turned on. In Windows XP, a dialog box like this may appear when Windows detects your DV camcorder or deck: Since you ll be accessing the DV device through EVE v2, you don t need help from Windows in this case. Click Take no action and then OK to dismiss this dialog. If you check the Always perform the selected action option, the box will not appear in the future when Windows detects your device. If you want to capture live video from a camcorder, set the camcorder to Camera mode. If you want to capture prerecorded video from a camcorder, set it to VTR (Video Tape Recorder) or VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) mode. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 33

34 2 Launch EVE v2 (if it is not already running), and activate Capture mode. It is always best to make sure that all conditions in step 1 have been met before entering Capture mode. The Capture window will appear. 3 Use the Video Device popup menu to choose the capture device. The DV device s name may vary depending on the device and the version of Windows you are using, and the list may show any other video device(s) that are connected to or plugged into your computer. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 34

35 EVE automatically sets the name that video will be captured under, and it alerts you if material already exists with that name. If you want to overwrite the existing video, click Yes. Otherwise, click No. Press Abort to cancel the capture process now. 4 Under Capture Directory you change the capture filename. Please type the new name and press the Return key on the keyboard. You can also click the Browse button at the end of the line to choose a new name and/or directory in the following window. In the example shown below, we have changed the capture filename. It is possible to use the same name for multiple consecutive captures. EVE v2 automatically numbers additional captures, for example Cinema0001, Cinema0002, etc. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 35

36 5 EVE v2 enables you to capture directly in DV or MPEG from every device connected to your computer. Under Format you find different parameters, such as DV, VCD, SVCD, DVD and MPEG-1/2. Depending on the connected devices, some formats might be disabled. For our example, we chose the DV format for capturing. You do not need to specify an Audio Device in the corresponding drop-down menu here, because we capture video footage from a DV camcorder. In this case, EVE v2 automatically captures the audio from this device. It is also not necessary to adjust the Resolution control when using DV devices. It is set automatically as well. 6 If you want to, you can activate the Timer by pressing the corresponding button and adjust it to set the maximum capture length. In this example, there was not enough hard disk space to hold the default setting of two hours, so we changed the setting to one hour. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 36

37 7 If you are capturing prerecorded video from your DV camcorder or deck, use the VCR-style controls to control the device and find the point where you want to start capturing. You can also control the device manually by using its physical controls. However, it might be necessary to click the Play button in EVE to open the video data path. 8 When you are ready to start capturing, click the red Record button. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 37

38 9 When you are done capturing, click the Stop Record button. The capture filename will advance automatically, and the captured video clip will be added to the Captured folder in the Media pane of the Browser (described later). 10 Repeat steps 7 through 9 as necessary to capture additional material. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 38

39 Capturing Video from an Analog Device In Capture mode, use this window to easily import video with a capture card or any other supported device from an analog source to the computer. Connect the devices as shown in the documentation of your hardware. In general, capturing from an analog device is the same as the process shown above for capturing from a DV device, with one exception. Instead of using the VCR-style buttons to control an analog camcorder or VCR, you may need to control the device manually using its physical controls. At first, you have to control your analog camcorder or VCR manually by using its physical controls and pressing its Play button. Then click the Record button in EVE v2 to start the capture process. To capture analog video footage: 1. Make sure that your analog device is working properly. Make also sure that it is connected and turned on. Launch EVE v2 (if it is not already running), and activate Capture mode. Use the Video Device popup menu to choose the capture device, you want to use for capturing the video footage. The device s name may vary depending on the device and the version of Windows you are using, and the list may show any other video device(s) that are connected to your computer. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 39

40 Depending on the chosen option, the settings button at the end of the line will be enabled, so that you can adjust further parameters, such as Video Input, Video Standard, Color Space and several Image Controls. Confirm your settings with OK. 2. After you have selected the analog video device, another drop-down menu appears directly below it where you specify the corresponding Audio Device if necessary. The device s name may vary depending on the device and the version of Windows you are using, and the list may show any other video device(s) that are connected to the computer. Depending on the chosen option, the settings button at the end of the line will be enabled, so that you are able to adjust further parameters, such as Audio Input, Volume and Balance. 3. In the drop-down menu Capture Directory you specify the location as well as the filename for the video footage you want to store on the computer. EVE v2 automatically sets the name that video will be captured under, and it alerts you if material already exists with that name. If you want to overwrite the existing video, click Yes. Otherwise, click No. Press the Abort button to cancel the capture session. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 40

41 4. To change the capture filename, type the new name and press the Return key on your keyboard. You can also click the Browse button to choose a new name and/or directory as already shown in previous paragraphs. In the example shown below, we haven t changed the capture filename. You can use the same name for multiple consecutive captures. EVE automatically numbers additional captures, for example Holiday0001, Holiday0002, etc. 5. The drop-down menu Format enables you to select the desired capture format, such as VCD, SVCD, DVD, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. Depending on the chosen option, the settings button at the end of the line will be enabled, so that you are able to adjust further parameters. For our example, we select the MPEG-1 format. Depending on the connected devices, some formats might be disabled in the drop-down menu. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 41

42 6. When you have connected an analog device to your computer, the following dropdown menus are enabled. In the first one, you specify the Video Resolution. When you use a PAL device, EVE offers adequate resolutions for the corresponding video standard. Using NTSC, the video editing software offers the corresponding settings for this standard. 7. In the drop-down menu directly below, you define the Audio Settings. Depending on the connected device, EVE v2 offers all possible frequencies for audio. Simply select the desired option. 8. If you like, you can set the record Timer to the maximum capture length. In this example, there was not enough hard disk space to hold the default setting of two hours, so we changed the setting to approximately 25 minutes. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 42

43 9. Find the point where you want to start capturing. Depending on the used device, click Play by using its physical controls, in order to open the video data path. When you are ready to start capturing, click the red Record button in EVE. 10.When you are done capturing, click the Stop Record button. The capture filename will advance automatically, and the captured video footage will be added to the Captured folder in the Media pane of the Browser. 11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 as necessary to capture additional material. MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 43

44 Working with EVE v2 The Player The Player is visible in Edit mode. It enables you to preview individual video clips and your project including titles, transitions and effects. Under the preview area you see three displays. They show from left to right the in-point, the current position and the out-point. Use these buttons also to specify the points manu- MainConcept EVE v2 Capturing Videos page 44

45 ally. Simply click the corresponding display and enter the value by using your keyboard or the controls on the right of each display. The horizontal slider is called a Scrubber. Click and drag it to the desired point in a clip or project. You can also drag the ends to select a portion of the current project. When you do that, the Play button will only play the chosen segment. The scrubber is surrounded by two buttons: Set In-point and Set Out-point. Move the slider to the position where the playback shall start. Then press the Set In-point button. Afterwards, drag the slider to a desired end position of the project or clip, and press the Set Out-point button. To preview this segment click the Play button. When you press the button again the playback will be stopped. The VCR-style control buttons perform these functions (in order, from left to right): Jump to previous clip, Jump to next clip, Frame backward, Frame forward, Play, Pause and Loop. There are three more buttons: This button cuts the selected clip or project at the current slider position. This button enables you to watch a project on a different DV device, such as the monitor of a DV camcorder. It is even possible to play back the Timeline to a DV camcorder by using this option. Simply right-click the button to choose the desired device. The source connected to the computer has to be a DV device, i.e. it has to be connected to the computer via FireWire. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 45

46 You have also the opportunity to use the TV as a control monitor. Most DV camcorders have a video output that runs parallel to the FireWire output. This allows the user to connect the camcorder to a normal TV which offers a far more larger preview area. Additionally, the PC monitor modifies the video image, because contrast, brightness and colors of the original clip might not be displayed correctly. You can use the TV as a good supplemental monitor to the usual PC monitor. This button switches the preview to fullscreen mode. Press Esc key to return to the original player size. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 46

47 The Browser This multi-paned window makes it easy for you to organize media files, organize titles, and preview and add transitions as well as effects. The Media Pane This part of the browser contains video, audio and image files. It also includes folders where captured and produced files are automatically placed. Moreover, you can create your own folders to help organize your media files. The buttons at the bottom left of the browser make it easy to work with files and folders. The buttons perform these functions: Add item(s). When you choose this option, a dialog box will open up so you can choose the file(s) to add. You have also the opportunity to add clips to the browser by adding them from the Windows Explorer via drag-and-drop. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 47

48 Create folder. After creating a folder, you can name it by clicking once on the folder, waiting a moment, then clicking its name. When the name becomes highlighted, type the desired text and press the Enter key on your keyboard. To open a folder, double-click on it. The display shows which folder is open at the moment. To return from a sub-folder to its parent folder, click the Up button near the top of the Browser. Copy. Places a duplicate of the selected item(s) in the Windows clipboard. Paste. Copies the contents of the Windows clipboard into the current folder (if the clipboard contents are one of the browser s supported media types). To move an item from one folder to another, copy it from its current location and then paste it into the desired folder. Delete. Removes the selected item. When you delete a media file, you will be given the option to delete the source file or only the reference to it in the Browser. Themes. This button opens a list of themes available in EVE v2 for creating projects, such as wedding, birthday and different seasons. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 48

49 The EVE v2 Media Browser already contains two folders: Captured and Produced. The captured and exported videos will be automatically added to these folders. Furthermore, you find the Solid Color clip here. It enables you to add a particular background color to your project. When you add it to the Storyboard or the Timeline, a window appears where you select the desired color for your background clip. If the Solid Color clip is in the Timeline or Storyboard you can change its color again by double-clicking it. Then simply select a new color in the appearing dialog. In the lower part of the Media pane you find a little Media Player for previewing clips before you add them to the actual project. Select the clip you want to preview and press the Play button. To interrupt the clip, click the Pause button. Use the Stop button in order to finish the preview. You hide the Media Player by clicking the small triangle on the top right. Use this button again to open it once more. The Effects Pane EVE s Effects pane includes many creative special effects that you can apply to your video clips. Double-click on a folder to see animated previews of the objects in that category. To view another category, click the Up button to go back to the parent folder, as you would in the Media pane. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 49

50 If you have chosen a particular theme, e.g. wedding, birthday etc., only the corresponding effects are displayed in the Themes folder. To apply an effect, drag it from the pane onto the desired video clip in the Storyboard or Timeline. When you use titles, transitions and effects, you are not actually altering your source files. EVE v2 uses a non-destructive approach it leaves source items intact and renders new frames showing the effects of any editing operations. The Transitions Pane EVE v2 includes Hollywood-style transitions which are grouped in folders in the Transitions pane. Double-click on a folder to see animated previews of the transitions in that category. To view another category, click the Up button to go back to the parent folder, as you would in the Media pane. If you have chosen a particular theme, e.g. wedding, birthday etc., only the corresponding transitions are available in the Themes folder. To use a transition, drag it from the Transitions pane into the T box between two clips in the Storyboard. For example, if you are working on a project containing two clips and you want a transition between the second and third clips, drag the transition into the little box between them. When a transition is added to a project in Storyboard editing mode, a colored T icon appears between two clips. When you add a transition between two clips in MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 50

51 Timeline mode you have to place them directly between them. In Timeline editing mode, transitions appear on a separate track. (The two editing modes are described later.) The Titles Pane This is where existing 2D and 3D titles are saved in order to use them in other projects. If you want to preview or edit an existing title, you have to double-click it. To use an existing 2D/3D title, drag it into the Titles track of the Timeline (as shown later). Titles can also be dragged into the Storyboard as well, but this method does not allow them to be used as overlays. 2D/3D Titles added in Storyboard mode will play as clips, but the Timeline offers the ability to lay titles over other clips, and to have them span multiple clips. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 51

52 Storyboard and Timeline EVE v2 offers two ways to organize elements in a project: the Storyboard and Timeline. Beginning users generally prefer a Storyboard interface, while more experienced users often choose the Timeline approach. Some people use a combination approach, doing the basic setup of a project in the Storyboard, then fine-tuning in the Timeline. In either mode, the buttons at the bottom left let you switch to the other editing mode instantly. The left button activates the Storyboard, while the right button switches to Timeline mode. With EVE, you can switch back and forth between the two modes any time. The Storyboard offers a simple way to view and work on projects. Each video clip is represented by a thumbnail icon. Transitions between clips are represented by T icons between the clips. A small FX icon appears above the thumbnail of any clip that has had an effect applied to it. The Storyboard approach provides a very easy overview of a project, but it doesn t display the duration of each clip and it is not designed to handle elements such as titles and sound files that span multiple clips. The Timeline offers a more powerful but slightly more complex way to view and work on projects. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 52

53 The Timeline offers several tracks which have different tasks. The first one is used for Transitions. The second one with the camera is for video clips. The next track displays the original audio of the video clip. The Titles track enables you to add texts or credits to your project. Furthermore, you have two additional audio tracks for enhancing your projects by adding new sound or a voice-over to a video. Elements are laid out in tracks that span time. The length of each item in the Timeline represents its duration in the project. The Timeline makes it easy to handle items such as titles and sound files that span multiple clips. You can add items to the Storyboard or Timeline by dragging and dropping them from the Browser. In the Timeline, items need to be dropped into the appropriate type of track (Video, Audio or Titles). Transitions and effects can be dropped directly on video clips in either mode. To delete an item from the Storyboard or Timeline, click on it once to select it, then press the Delete key on the keyboard. In EVE v2 it is even possible to add clips from the Windows Explorer directly to the Storyboard or Timeline via drag-and-drop. Simply select a clip in the Explorer and drag it into the Storyboard or Timeline while holding the mouse-button. Right-clicking a selected video in the Storyboard or the Timeline opens the Media Properties window which shows some clip information and enables you to change some of its current parameters. Under Media you find the complete name of the selected video. Resolution shows you the original resolution of the video and its interlace mode. The drop-down menu Display Mode enables you to change the aspect ratio of the picture to standardize all clips in the Storyboard or Timeline. The available options are Squared, 4:3 (default) and 16:9 (widescreen). The Scale Mode drop-down menu contains two options: Scale to fit and Crop to fit. Here you decide whether the clip will be scaled or cropped to suit the defined aspect ratio. When you crop the picture there will be a loss of information at the upper and lower or left or right margin. When you want to scale the video the picture will be extended until its border reaches the margin of the display. A 4:3 clip in a 16:9 Timeline will be stretched which causes a distortion of the picture. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 53

54 Using the Deinterlacing option EVE v2 only shows one frame instead of two fields. This is sometimes useful during video playback to remove stripes in the preview. The available options are None, Use top field, and Use bottom field. It is even possible to lengthen the duration of the transitions. We recommend switching to the Storyboard mode at first, and dragging the transition from the Transitions browser between the preferred clips. Then activate the Timeline mode. You see the transition in the Transition track. When you click the ends of the icon and press the mouse-button, you can drag the transition to the desired length. Use the zoom tool to define the precise duration of the transition. When you have a short clip we recommend that you do not extend the transitions too much because otherwise you would only see the transition and not the corresponding clip. You can add or delete multiple items at once. To select multiple consecutive items, hold down the Shift key and click on the first and last item in the series you want to choose. The objects in between will also be selected. To choose multiple non-consecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the objects you want to select. In the Browser s Media pane, you have also the opportunity to select multiple items by clicking and dragging in the area containing the items. Items in the Storyboard and Timeline are rearranged by clicking and dragging. The Storyboard and Timeline both have scrubbers, you click and drag to move around quickly within projects. The horizontal green lines in the Storyboard and Timeline indicate portions of the project that have been background rendered. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 54

55 The Edit buttons are visible in either mode. You find out each button s function by holding the mouse cursor over it for a moment until the description appears. They have the following functions from left to right. The Select button allows you to choose items. It is also possible to pick more than one object. You can add or delete multiple items at once. To select multiple consecutive items, hold down the Shift key and click the first and last item in the series you want to choose. The objects in between will also be selected. To choose multiple non-consecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the objects you want to select. The Cut tool allows you to cut clips directly on the Timeline. At first, click the Cut tool so that the cursor turns into a knife. Then move the knife to the position on the Timeline where you want to cut the clip. By clicking the left mouse-button you cut the clip. Now delete, move or continue editing the preferred segment. After you have cut the clip, you see the results in the Storyboard mode, too, i.e. now you have two clips here you can continue working with. Alternatively, you cut a clip in the Player of EVE v2. Simply move the slider to the position where you want to cut the video and press the button. The Zoom in/out button enables you to enlarge and reduce the view of the Timeline so that you can work more precisely. This option is only enabled in Timeline mode. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 55

56 Using the Snapshot button you take a still picture of the frame at the current position. We will explain the necessary steps for taking a snapshot in detail later on. The Delete button removes selected clips and objects from the Timeline or the Storyboard. The two buttons on the left perform these functions: The Undo command lets you reverse the result of your previous action. The Redo command reverses the result of an undo action. Taking Snapshots The button with the camera icon takes a snapshot of the current frame and saves it as a Bitmap (BMP). To use this feature: 1 Make sure the desired options are set in the Options > Snapshot menu. 2 Make sure the desired video clip is in the project. If it isn t, add it by dragging it from the Browser s Media pane into the Storyboard or into the video track of the Timeline. 3 Use one of the scrubbers (Player, Storyboard or Timeline) to move to the frame you want to grab. 4 Click the Camera button. 5 In the next window enter the filename as well as the destination of the file you want to save as a BMP. Confirm your settings by clicking the OK or Save button MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 56

57 Working with audio clips There are two different Timeline views for audio volume in EVE v2. Click the volume button to enable or disable the volume wave form, in order to generate keys and change the volume over time: This button shows the keys for the clips volume in the Timeline. In EVE v2 it is not possible to add audio clips to the Timeline or the Storyboard without video. To use audio files, you need a video clip or a Solid Color in the Timeline or Storyboard at first. In MainConcept EVE v2 three different audio tracks are available. For example, this is useful when you want to substitute the audio stream(s) of a video. You can completely turn off the desired audio track by clicking the small loudspeaker icon of the corresponding track (here: Audio1). The disabled audio track shows a red stop icon on the loudspeaker. Now insert a new audio clip, e.g. a MP3 or a Wav file, into Audio2 in the usual way. Simply drag-and-drop it into the desired audio track. There are two different options available for adjusting audio of in EVE v2: panning and volume. You apply them both to an individual clip or the whole track. Simply press the corresponding button to make one of these options available in the Timeline. If the Volume button is activated you have also the opportunity to superimpose several audio tracks by adjusting the volume for each clip separately. At first, add the desired audio clips to the appropriate tracks. For example, you can produce a video in which Audio1 contains music, Audio2 contains a voice over, and/or Audio3 includes additional sounds. Use the slider to adjust the sound level as shown in the screenshot. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 57

58 You have also the opportunity to fade in and fade out the sound of a single clip. Simply click one of the keys with the rubber band, and drag it to the desired position so the volume is turned up or down. It is even possible to generate more keys in order to turn the sound of an individual clip up and down again. Hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard and click on the black line of the audio clip in the Timeline. Then select the desired key and change the volume by dragging it upwards or downwards. To delete a key, draw a rectangle around it and press the Delete key on your keyboard. Of course, you can cut, move as well as shorten the audio clips in the same way as video clips. We have already explained you how to do this in the previous paragraphs. If the panning button is active, you can adjust the balance of the left and right audio channel. Use the slider to change it for the whole track. Of course, it is possible to adjust the balance for individual clips as well. Click the white line in Panning mode and move it upwards or downwards until you obtain the desired balance. The current value is displayed when changing the line s position. If the line is at the center position the balance value for left and right channels are the same. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 58

59 The Tools In the bar above the Storyboard and the Timeline you find several Tools buttons for editing clips with EVE v2. They open several windows in the center of the EVE interface, such as the Trimmer, the Transitions, the Effects, the Titler, the Picture-in-Picture and the Authoring tool. In this chapter we will introduce the different tools in detail. In EVE v2 it is even possible to disable a tool. Click the desired tool icon once more, so that the Player and the Browser are extended. Clicking and dragging the line between these two windows enables you to extend or minimizing them. We start our Tools chapter with the Trimmer. The Trimmer Tool One of the most frequent tasks in video editing is trimming removing unwanted portions from the beginning and ends of clips by setting an in-point and out-point for each clip. Material before the in-point and after the out-point does not appear in the project. Trimming is tedious in many programs, but it s fast and easy in EVE v2. The Trimmer allows you to see and adjust the in and out points of the current clip, the out-point of the previous clip, and the in-point of the next clip all without even opening a window. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 59

60 As mentioned earlier, EVE v2 uses non-destructive editing. When you trim clips, you are not actually removing anything from the source files. You are simply telling the program which frames to use when outputting. To use the Trimmer, click once on a clip in the Storyboard or Timeline, and enable the Trimmer tool. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 60

61 The chosen clip appears in the Trimmer tool. The left part of the Trimmer shows the in-point of the current clip (top) and the out-point of the previous clip (bottom). If the selected clip is the first one in the project, nothing will be displayed for the previous clip. The right part of the Trimmer shows the out-point of the current clip (top) and the in-point of the next clip. If the selected clip is the last one in the project, nothing will be displayed for the next clip. To set the points in all of the clips, click and drag the blue sliders to the desired frames. It is also possible to use the controls next to the in and out point displays. Alternatively, you enter the desired value manually by using the keyboard. In the Storyboard, blue segments indicate which portions of each clip are used, based on the in and out points set in the Trimmer. You can also set the in and out points of the current clip by using one of the scrubbers to find the frame you want, then the In and/or Out points are set automatically. Using the arrow buttons in the Trimmer pane you jump quickly from clip to clip. In MainConcept EVE v2, trimming is that easy! MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 61

62 The Transitions Tool The Transitions tool enables you to change the settings of the selected transition you placed between two clips in the Storyboard or the Timeline. Depending on the transition the available parameters differ. At first, select the transition you want to edit by clicking it in the Storyboard or the Timeline and moving the slider over it. Video A and Video B show a preview of the two clips which are linked by the transition. Use the scrubber under the thumbnails to define the duration of the transition. You can also use the input prompt with the corresponding controls to define the duration. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 62

63 The two buttons with the left and right arrows enable you to jump to the previous and the next transition. In the Parameter for... section you see a preview of the current transition as well as several settings for it. Depending on the chosen transition the available settings vary. Use the slider or the controls to change its parameters. You can directly watch the result of the changes in the Player. The Effects Tool The Effects tool allows you to fine-tune the settings of a selected effect or filter you placed on a clip in the Storyboard or the Timeline. Depending on the chosen effect the available parameters differ. It is even possible to add more than one effect to a clip, so that e.g. five effects are applied to one video. Furthermore, you can use every effect only over a user-defined period of time. We will explain the different functions of the Effects tool in a moment. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 63

64 At the top of the Effect Settings dialog you see a kind of storyboard. EVE allows the user to add unlimited effects to a single clip, and edit them. Drag the desired filter from the Effects Browser into the above mentioned storyboard. Selecting an effect in this storyboard displays its parameters in the Effect Settings dialog, so that you can edit them individually. To delete a filter, click it, and then the trashcan icon or press the Delete key. Under Parameter for... you set the effect duration and find the individual effect parameter. The controls for specifying the duration of an effect are similar to the controls for trimming a clip. By using these options an effect must not last the whole clip, but it might start later or end earlier. This can be applied to every effect. Use the slider s ends to define the mark-in and mark-out of the effect. Use the arrow buttons above the slider to move the In-point and/or Out-point one frame backward or one frame forward. To sum it up, the In and Out options specify the duration of the individual effects. Depending on the chosen effect there are different settings available. It would go beyond the scope of this manual to describe all effects and their settings in detail. Most of their parameters are self-explanatory. Use the corresponding buttons, slider, drop-down menus or other controls to specify the desired value of the particular effect. If there is more than one filter on a clip, simply click its icon in the Effect Settings storyboard, so that the corresponding parameters will be displayed. Now you have the opportunity to edit the selected effect. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 64

65 The 2D Titler Tool This is where you create animated 2D titles that help you to give videos a polished, professional look. You also have the opportunity to save existing titles to use in other projects. In the Edit dialog you can enter the title s text and set a wide variety of text attributes: font, font color, size, alignment, fill color, background color and more. Clicking the Animate button leads you to a dialog where you choose the title s starting and ending screen position (or a single position for static titles), and even set the title to fade in and/or out. You specify how long the title will appear in your project, and you preview the title in the Player window, complete with animation. We will explain you the different options in detail now. The title preview offers a safe frame (dotted line) which shows you the visible area, i.e. only the text within the frame s boundaries is visible in your exported video later on. We start with the Edit pane of the Titler. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 65

66 At the top left of the Edit text pane you find a drop-down menu where you choose a font type for your title. By using these three buttons you define the alignment of the text: align left, align center, and align right. This drop-down menu enables you to select the preferred font size. This drop-down menu allows you to specify the spacing between the letters. This drop-down menu enables you to adjust the spacing between the lines. Clicking the colored box next to the Face Color option, opens a dialog box where you select a font color for your title. The colored box next to Background specifies the background color for your title. When you enable the little checkbox, the background is filled with the chosen color. Otherwise, the text is used as an overlay. The Position option enables you to define a static title position on the screen. In the area under Text you can enter the desired title for your project. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 66

67 Now we switch over to the Animate pane by clicking the corresponding button. You have also the opportunity to fade in and out a title. At first, press the Fade on/off button, and then the Fade In checkbox, when you only want the title to fade in. If you click the Fade Out button, the text is also faded out. The drop-down menu next to these options enables you to define the duration for the fading process. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 67

68 When you want to create animated text, you have to press the Scroll button. Define the starting point with the Start Position tool. Simply click the desired triangle. You also specify whether the title will start on or off screen by choosing the On Screen and Off Screen parameters in the drop-drown menu. To define an end point for your text animation, set a position on or off screen by using the End Position option. You see the result in the preview at once. Under Duration you adjust the length of the animation. Pressing the Preview button, starts a preview for your text animation. Click the button again in order to stop it. The Loop button next to it shows the text preview over and over again. To save a title, click the Save Title button at the bottom right. The title will be added to the Titles pane in the Browser tab so that you are able to use it in the current project or in future projects by dragging it into the Storyboard or Timeline. The Reset button resets all parameters to their default settings. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 68

69 Tutorial - How do I create a 2D title in EVE v2? In this tutorial we want to show you how to create a title with EVE v2 for using it as text credits or opening sequences. We let a text fade in and out, animate it etc. This will demonstrate what impressive effects you can achieve with the titler. 1. Make sure that you are in Edit mode. We want to use the text as an overlay. For that reason, we have to add a clip to the Storyboard at first. Switch to the Media pane in the Browser and drag the desired clip into the Storyboard of EVE v2. 2. Switch to the Titler tool by clicking the corresponding control among the Tools buttons. The Titler appears in the middle of the window. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 69

70 3. At first, switch to Edit mode in the Titler tool in case you haven t done so yet. We recommend to enter the desired title in the input prompt Text at first. You will see the result directly in the Player. EVE v2 offers a safe frame. It is displayed within the preview area of the Player. The safe frame indicates the area, which will be visible on TV after exporting the project. Text which goes beyond this area will not be visible later on. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 70

71 4. As you can see, the title is hardly visible in front of the clip. Therefore, we are going to change its color. At first, select the whole title. Then click the color bar under Font Color, so that the appropriate dialog appears. Here you have the opportunity to select the desired color. Press OK for confirmation. As we mentioned in the introduction to this tutorial we want to use the text as an overlay. If you want to place the title in front of a solid color, you have to activate the Background checkbox. Afterwards, click the color bar and select another color in the appearing window. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 71

72 5. We want to change the font size and adjust some further font settings. At first, select the text, if you haven t done so yet. The drop-down menu at the top of the Titler tool enables you to select another font type. Depending on the chosen font you have to change its size by using the corresponding drop-down menu. You have also the opportunity to change the spacing between the lines and letters as well as the alignment of the text etc. You do not need to adjust any settings under Position, because we will create an animated title. This option is only useful when you want to generate static texts. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 72

73 6. As we said before, we want to animate the title. Therefore, switch to the Animate pane by clicking this button. 7. At first, we adjust several settings to fade the title in and out again. Click the Fade on/ off button to enable this option. Then activate both the Fade In and Fade Out checkboxes because we want the clips to perform these tasks. Use the drop-down menu on the right of the fade buttons to define the duration of the process. You start a preview to have a look at the steps performed so far. Press the Preview button in the Titler to start it. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 73

74 8. Click the Scroll on/off button, in order to animate the title. Under Start Position you specify a starting point for the animation. To define this point, select one of the triangles. Furthermore, you decide whether the title starts On Screen or Off Screen. Select the desired option in the drop-down menu below the position tool. Repeat the steps for specifying the text s End Position. 9. Now you start a preview as described earlier in this chapter. If necessary, you can change some settings again. To save the title you have just created, press the Save Title button at the top left of the tool. It will be placed in the Titles pane of the Browser then, so that you are able to use it in the project(s). 10.As we mentioned at the beginning of the tutorial, we want to use the title as an overlay. For that reason, switch to Timeline mode and open the Browser s Titles pane. Then add the text via drag-and-drop to the Titles track under the desired clip in the Timeline. As you can see, creating credits or titles with EVE v2 is quite easy! MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 74

75 The 3D Titler Tool This is where you create animated 3D titles which give your videos a professional look. You also have the opportunity to save existing titles in order to use them in other projects. In the Edit dialog you enter the title s text and set a wide variety of text attributes: font type, font color, size, alignment, fill color, background color and more. Under Surface you find different options for the 3D title s surface, such as texture, color, glossiness, light etc. EVE v2 also offers several presets for some of these options. Clicking the Animation button leads you to a dialog where you define the title s position, rotation and size. You have even the opportunity to let the title fade in and/or out. You can specify how long the title will appear in your project, and preview the title in the Player window, complete with animation. In the following we will explain the different options in detail. We start with the Edit pane of the 3D Titler. In the field under Text you enter the desired 3D title for your project. Beneath the text input area of the Edit text pane you find a drop-down menu where you choose a font type for your title. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 75

76 By using these three buttons you define the alignment of the 3D title: align left, align center, and align right. This drop-down menu allows you to specify the spacing between the letters. This drop-down menu enables you to adjust the spacing between the lines. Clicking the Color option, opens a dialog box where you select a font color for your 3D title. The colored box next to Background specifies the background color for your 3D title. When you enable the little checkbox, the background is filled with the chosen color. Otherwise, the text is used as an overlay. The Antialiasing option improves the quality of your 3D title. Three options are available here: Low, Medium and Best. Unfortunately, a higher quality setting leads to a longer processing time. The Extrude option specifies the depth of the title. Use the slider or the spinbox to define the value. Of course, you can also enter a value manually. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 76

77 Now we switch over to the Surface pane by clicking the corresponding button. The two large buttons Texture and Color enable you to specify whether you want to add a texture or a solid color the 3D title s surface. Use the drop-down menu next to the Texture button to select a desired texture. The available options are Copper, Gold, Silver and Wood. Use the Browse button on the right to search for bitmap files which will be used as a texture for your 3D title. When the Color button is enabled, please choose a solid texture color by clicking the color bar. In the following dialog you have the opportunity to select a color for the title. The Mapscaling option enables you to scale the loaded texture on the 3D title. The Glossiness option allows you to specify title s gleam. Use the slider or the spinbox to specify the value here. Ticking the Reflection checkbox allows you to specify whether the texture is reflected upon the 3D object s surface or not. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 77

78 The Light section contains different options for throwing light on the 3D title: The drop-down menu under Light offers several predefined settings which specify how the light source throws light on the 3D text. Under Intensity you define the intensity of the light source. Use the slider or the spinbox to specify the value for the option. Under Color you specify a solid color for the light. Click the color bar and choose a new color in the following dialog. Clicking the Animation button opens a pane containing a lot of options for animating the 3D title. The drop-down menu at the top of the pane offers several predefined animations, so you don t need to generate own paths. Of course, you it is possible to edit these presets if necessary. Under Duration you define the length of the animation. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 78

79 The following controls and the small timeline with the slider allow you to generate and delete different keys for animating the 3D title over time. The buttons in the top row perform the following functions from left to right: Play, Jump to previous key, Add/Remove key, and Jump to next key. Use the drop-down menu to specify a particular key. It contains all keys generated for one 3D title. The slider enables you to move quickly through the title and to the individual keys. It displays the position of the keys over time. To add a key, move the slider to the desired position and press the Add/Remove key button. To delete a key, select it and click the above mentioned button again. Below the settings for generating keys you see three more buttons which allow you to switch to another pane for animating the 3D Title: Position, Rotation and Size. When clicking the Position button you find three sliders for specifying the title s position on the X, Y and/or Z axis. You enter a constant value for every parameter or change them over time by defining new keys. The latter allows you to create a path the title will follow. It is even possible to move up to three sliders simultaneously. Simply enable the X, Y and/ or Z buttons in front of the sliders. The enabled sliders can be moved at the same time now. Clicking the Rotation button enables a pane containing options to rotate the 3D title on the X, Y and/or Z axis. Use the sliders or spinboxes to set the values. To move more than one slider simultaneously, please click the corresponding button in front of it. Then drag one of them. As you can see, the other selected sliders will follow. Define new keys in the small timeline at the top of the window to rotate the 3D title over time. The last button Scale allows you to change the size of the text on the X, Y and/or Z axis. Use the sliders or spinboxes to define the values. Repeat the steps mentioned above to move several sliders at the same time. As already described above, you can also change the 3D title s size over time. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 79

80 The option Opacity, which is available in all three panes, specifies the transparency of the 3D title. This parameter defines the percentage rate for the opacity, i.e. if the text is completely visible, if it is hardly visible etc. If the value tends to zero the text becomes more and more transparent. Enter a constant value manually or use the slider. It is even possible to fade in and fade out a text. Therefore, you have to generate new keys as described earlier in this chapter. The Picture-in-Picture Tool The Picture-in-Picture tool allows you to create 2D motion paths the clip will follow later on. You have also the opportunity to let more than one clip move through the picture. It is slightly complex but we will explain the different settings to you in a moment. In the small storyboard at the top of the Picture-in-Picture tool you insert the clips you want to use. To edit the clip s parameters, simply click it and adjust the necessary settings. When you want to delete a clip in the small storyboard, select it and press the trashcan icon or the Delete key on the keyboard. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 80

81 Under Motion Key you generate and delete the different keys for the selected clip in the Picture-in-Picture Tool. The buttons in the top row perform the following functions from left to right: Play, Jump to previous key, Add/Remove key, and Jump to next key. Use the drop-down menu to specify a particular key. It contains all the keys generated for one video. The slider enables you to move quickly through the clip and to the individual keys. It displays the position of the keys over time. To add a key, move the slider to the desired position and press the Add/Remove key button. To delete a key, select it and click the above mentioned button again. Under Parameter you find different options for editing the individual keys: Under Position you define the clip s position on the X- and Y-axis. Use the slider or the controls at the end of the options to specify the desired value. It allows you to create a path the clip will follow later on. Scale offers two options: X and Y. X defines the size of the picture on the x-axis, and Y on the y- axis. Use the slider or the controls on the right to define the value. Create new keys and adjust their settings, so that the size is changed over time. It is even possible to move both sliders under Position or Scale at the same time. Click the little lock on the left (red circle), so that they are highlighted blue. Then move one of the sliders, and the other will follow automatically. The option Opacity specifies the transparency of the picture within the picture. The higher the value the more you see of it. It is even possible to change the value for the opacity over time by generating additional keys. In doing so, the video is faded in and/or out. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 81

82 Tutorial - How do I use the Picture-in-Picture Tool? The Picture-in-Picture tool enables you to generate 2D motion paths for your clips, and thus create picture within the picture effects. In this tutorial we want to introduce this tool with its numerous parameters, so that you have even more fun editing your videos in the future. But this is enough for now, let s start...! 1. At first, create a new project if you haven t done so yet. Place the clip you want to use as a background video to the desired position in the Storyboard or the Timeline via drag-and-drop. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 82

83 2. Switch to the Picture-in-Picture tool by clicking the corresponding button above the Storyboard or the Timeline. 3. Now we want to select a clip we want to use as a picture within the picture. Switch to the Media Browser if you haven t done so yet. As you can see in the Picture-in-Picture tool, there is a kind of storyboard at the top of the pane. Place the clip from the Media Browser into this storyboard while holding the mouse-button. You directly see the added clip in the Player. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 83

84 4. Now we will define the size and the position of the clip by using the different sliders. Use the controls under Size to specify the width and height of the picture within the picture. Afterwards, you define the Position of the video on the x- and y-axis. You can watch your changes directly in the EVE v2 Player If you like, you it is also possible to adjust the Opacity for the clip. This option is useful for fading in and fading out a video. But we will explain how to do this later on. 5. Now you have to add the first key to your project, so that the previously made settings are assigned to it. First of all, select the clip in the storyboard of the Picture-in-Picture tool, if you haven t done so yet. Use the slider under Motion Key to specify the position where the key will be defined. Then press the Add/Remove Key button to set the key. A key is represented as a blue triangle below the scale. The exact position of the key in the project is displayed in the drop-down menu on the right. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 84

85 6. At first, we define an additional key for our clip. Use the slider control to define a new position for the key on the scale. Click the pink triangle and move it to the desired position on the scale while holding the mouse-button. After you have found the desired position, press the Add/Remove Key button to define the key there. 7. We want to animate the clip we have just edited. For that reason, select the key you have generated before, and move the pink slider slightly in front of it, so that the clip is still visible in the Player. Then define a new position and/or size for the clip as described in previous paragraphs by using the sliders under Position and Size. As you can see, the clip is edited over time. Move the slider between the two keys to the left and right to gain a first impression of the animation. You start a preview of the animation by clicking the small Play button under Motion Key. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 85

86 If you want to set the x and y parameters for Position and/or Scale to the same value, you can connect them. Simply click the lock which connects the x and y value, so that it turns blue. Then use one of the sliders to move both values to the same position. This option enables you to work more accurate. 8. Now we add another key to our Picture-in-Picture project as shown in previous paragraphs. For this key, we also edit the Opacity for the clip because we want to fade it out slowly. Select the third key, and move the pink slider towards its position. Move the slider under Opacity to the left, so that the clip is faded out over time as shown in the screenshot below. As mentioned above you start a preview of the Picture-in-Picture project by clicking the Play button in the tool window. Of course, you can add more clips to the Picture-in-Picture tool by adding them to the Storyboard at the top of the dialog. For editing the clips, you have to select them at first. Then you add new keys, change the clip s size and position etc. For every single video you have the opportunity to create an individual motion path. If you want to add more keys and edit them, repeat the steps described in this tutorial. Congratulations! You have just finished your first Picture-in-Picture tutorial successfully. We recommend continuing to play around with the different options and settings. With a little patience and practice you will create numerous impressive clip animations with EVE v2. We wish you a lot of fun with your future projects! MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 86

87 The Authoring Tool The Authoring tool changes the EVE v2 interface, so that you author the current project in the Timeline. You define clip and chapter points, choose complete templates or create menus with own layouts, background images, arrows etc. And afterwards, you burn the authored project directly to a CD or DVD without using a different program. We will show you an example how to author a project in detail in the chapter DVD Authoring later on. In the following we want to introduce the different modules and their settings, you need to author a project. After you have finished editing the current project, press the Authoring button among the Tools buttons. As you can see, the EVE v2 interface and the modules change. The Authoring buttons above the Timeline When you switch to the Authoring mode, some of the buttons above the Timeline change. These buttons on the left part of the bar enable you to set and work with clip points, chapter points etc. for the project in the Timeline. The buttons perform the following functions from the left to the right: The Select button allows you to choose items. The Add clip point button sets a clip point at the current slider position. The Delete clip point button erases the current clip point. The Add chapter point button sets a chapter point at the current slider position. The Delete chapter point button erases the current chapter point. The Jump to previous point button enables you to go to the previous clip or chapter point. After you have reached a desired chapter or clip point, erase it with the corresponding delete button. The Jump to next point button enables you to go to the next clip or chapter point. After you have reached a desired chapter or clip point, erase it with the corresponding delete button. The Auto clip point button sets automatically a clip point for every video file of your project in the Timeline. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 87

88 The Authoring Browser The Authoring Browser offers various panes which allow you to choose a template, frames, backgrounds etc. for DVD menus. In this chapter we like to introduce the different panes briefly. The Manage Clips pane: The Manage Clips pane is the same as in the EVE v2 Edit mode. You organize your multimedia clips and preview them if necessary. You have the opportunity to add video as well as audio clips to this pane, create folders etc. In Authoring mode it is even possible to add some more clips to the project if you want to. Simply drag them to the desired position in the Timeline. The Menu Templates pane: In the Menu Templates pane you find a lot of predefined templates for your DVD menus, including clip frames, arrows for jumping to the next menu, clip layouts and menu backgrounds. Simply select the desired template by clicking it. Of course, you can change some of the items if you want to. In the Preview player you directly see what the template looks like. If you enable the Apply Template to all Menus checkbox, the selected template is applied to all menus, you create during the current DVD authoring session. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 88

89 The Frames pane: The Frames pane allows you to select a frame which is placed around the clip thumbnails in the DVD menu. In the Preview you directly see how the chosen clip frame looks like. If you enable the Apply Template to all Menus checkbox, the selected frame is applied to all clips in the menus, you create during the current DVD authoring session. The Arrows pane: The Arrows pane offers different sorts of arrows you can add to your DVD menus. They enable you to jump to the next or previous menu when there is more than one. The Preview player in EVE v2 offers an idea what the selected arrow looks like in the DVD menu. If you enable the Apply Template to all Menus checkbox, the selected arrow is applied to all menus, you create during the current DVD authoring session. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 89

90 The Layouts pane: The Layouts pane enables you to select the number and position of the clip thumbnails in your DVD menu. In the Preview player you directly see what the layout looks like. If you enable the Apply Template to all Menus checkbox, the selected layout is applied to all menus, you create during the current DVD authoring session. The Backgrounds pane: The Backgrounds pane offers numerous still images which can be used as backgrounds for the DVD menus. The Preview player in our video editing software offers an idea what the selected background looks like in the DVD menu. If you enable the Apply Template to all Menus checkbox, the selected background is applied to all menus, you create during the current DVD authoring session. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 90

91 The Authoring window The Authoring window offers several options for optimizing the DVD menus. You have the opportunity to add an intro clip, background music to menus, captions to clip buttons etc. You will see: authoring a DVD menu with EVE v2 is really easy! The drop-down menu on the top left allows you to choose the menu you want to edit during the current authoring session. The settings you perform in the Authoring window will only be applied to the selected menu if there is more than one. The Duration spinbox is only enabled when the Animate Thumbnails checkbox is ticked. Duration defines the length of the thumbnail s animation. Please enter a value manually or use the controls on the right to change it. The Audio checkbox enables you to load an audio file which is used as background music for the DVD menu. Clicking the Browse button opens a window where you can look for the desired audio clip. Activating the checkbox Background allows you to enable the background for the DVD menu and to choose a different still image as a background for it. Click the Browse button to search for the desired still image you want to use as a background. It is possible to load files such as JPEGs, BMPs, Tiffs, PSDs etc. It is even possible to use video clips such as AVI or MPEG as backgrounds. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 91

92 Ticking the Animate Thumbnails checkbox enables the thumbnails animation, i.e. the clip thumbnails in the menus are played back. You set the length of the thumbnail playback with the Duration spinbox at the top right of the window. The Enable Chapter Menus checkbox allows you to create chapter menus for previously defined chapter points, too. You also select them in the drop-down menu on the top left. The chapter menus can be edited in the same way as the clip points menus. The drop-down menu in the middle of the Authoring window enables you to choose the clip or chapter button you want to edit. In the beginning you find captions such as Button 1: Clip 1, Button 2: Clip 2 etc. here. Simply select the button you want to edit the Text, Thumbnail or the End Action for. The three buttons Text, Thumbnail and the popular wrench change the lower part of the Authoring window. The Text button enables a section, where you have the opportunity to enter a new caption, choose a new font for it etc. The Thumbnail section lets you define a new starting point for your thumbnail clip. The last button with the wrench controls the end action of the video behind the thumbnail clip. Here are the settings of the Text section in detail: Enter the text you want to add to the clip thumbnail in the large input prompt in the center. Use the drop-down menu below to choose a new font type. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 92

93 Clicking the colored box next to it, opens a window where you can choose another font color. The three buttons on the right allow you to specify the caption s alignment. The available option are align left, align center, and align right. This drop-down menu enables you to select the preferred font size. This drop-down menu allows you to specify the spacing between the letters. This drop-down menu enables you to adjust the spacing between the lines. The drop-down menu Orientation offers four settings which specify the position of the caption next to the clip thumbnail. The available options are Left, Right, Top and Bottom. Here are the settings of the Thumbnail section in detail: Use the slider or the spinbox to specify the starting point of the clip thumbnail. This is useful if it starts with a few seconds of black frames. Of course, you can also enter a value manually. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 93

94 As final options we introduce the end actions which control the behavior of the videos behind the clip thumbnails: When you want to start a clip on a DVD later by double-clicking it, you select its end action in the following drop-down menu. There are four different options available: Continue playing means, that after finishing the current clip the next clip will be played back etc. With Return to menu you return to the DVD main menu. The option Play loop loops the selected clip. Pause at end simply pauses the clip after it has been played back. As you might have noticed there are three options missing on top of the Authoring tool. But don t panic! We haven t forgotten them. Here are their functions in detail: Ticking the Intro Clip checkbox opens a window where you select a video which will be played back before the actual DVD menu appears on the screen. Please use the Browse button to search for the desired clip. The Burn authored project button on the top right allows you to switch to the Produce window, where you choose the disc type you want to create, the device for burning the disc etc. Furthermore, you start the burning process in this window. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 94

95 The Preview player The Preview window lets you have a look at the project as well as the menu. Furthermore, you change the size and the position of the clip thumbnails freely in the preview of the player. In the player you get an idea what the DVD menu will look like and how it will work later on. The Preview offers two different modes: the preview of the CD/DVD menu and the preview of the project in the Timeline. The Preview CD/DVD menu button enables the preview mode for testing the menus you have just created. Furthermore, you define the size and position of the clip thumbnails in the menus freely here. Every step you do during authoring is displayed here. You have also the opportunity to try if the menu really works and looks like as you have previously planned it. The Preview Storyboard/Timeline button activates the preview mode for the current project in the Timeline or Storyboard. The player has the same functions as in the Edit mode of EVE v2. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 95

96 At first, we want to show how to change the size and positions of the clip thumbnails in the Preview player. This option is only available in the Preview CD/DVD menu mode of the player. As you can see in the screenshot, you have to select the clip you want to edit in the preview at first. Then click one of the yellow points, and drag the thumbnail to the desired size while holding the mouse button. To change the position of a clip thumbnail, please click the middle of it and move it around in the preview of the player. The grid helps you to obtain proper results. When changing the thumbnail s size, its aspect ratio will be maintained, so it is not possible to resize him freely yet. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 96

97 In the new EVE v2 version you have the opportunity to add titles to the individual menu pages. Click the already available default <Title Text>. As you can see, it is copied into the text input area in the Authoring tool. Now delete the existing title, and enter a new one for the desired menu. You are also able to adjust some more text settings, such as size, color, alignment etc. Of course, it is possible - as you already know for the clip thumbnails - to change the position and size of the menu title in the Preview. Clicking the right mouse-button in the Preview player opens an options menu. These options enable you to add more titles to the menu or delete them again. Furthermore, you can create more thumbnail buttons for the clip or chapter menu and remove them if necessary. Simply select the appropriate option from the list. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 97

98 Here are the control s functions of the Preview CD/DVD menu player in detail: The colored bar under the preview area shows the file size and the duration of the project, including all menus and the intro clip, which will be written to a CD or DVD. So you see whether the project can be burned on a single blank CD/DVD or whether you need more than one. The drop-down menu on the left enables you to select a specific page of the DVD menu you want to preview and test. The spinbox next to it, enables you to define the duration of the menu s appearance, i.e. you specify the length of the backgroud video and audio clip in the menu. The five buttons below perform the following functions (from left to right): Jump to previous menu page, Jump to next menu page, Start project playback, Stop project playback, and Pause project playback. These controls enable you to navigate through the menus you have just created, in order to test them. The button in the middle is the Execute function. Pressing this control starts e.g. a selected clip in the Preview player. Here are the functions of the Preview Storyboard/Timeline player in detail: The colored bar under the preview area shows the size and duration of the project, including all menus and the intro clip, which will be written to a CD or DVD. So you can see whether the project has to be burned on a single blank CD/DVD or whether you need more than one disc. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 98

99 Use the spinbox on the left find a specific position of the project in the Timeline. Of course, it is possible to enter a value for the desired position manually. The scrubber enables you to move through your projects quickly. You can also drag the ends to select a portion of the current project. When you do that, the Play button will only play back the chosen segment. We have already explained the functions of the VCR-style control buttons in previous chapters. They perform the following functions (in order, from left to right): Jump to previous clip, Jump to next clip, Frame backward, Frame forward, Play, Pause and Cut clip. The Wizards EVE v2 offers several wizards which enable you to automatically create projects with a single mouse-click. In this chapter we will present the different wizards in detail. We will start with the AutoEdit Browser Items wizard. AutoEdit Browser Items Wizard If you haven t much time for creating a project, this option is exactly the right one for you. In less than 30 seconds you create a complete video with MainConcept EVE v2. At first, you have to select the clips in the Media Browser you want to use for your project. Then right-click the AutoEdit Browser Items button, so that a list with different options appears. The options are the same as in the Options menu under AutoEdit. Use these parameters to specify how EVE v2 shall generate a project. You decide whether the video editing software will use effects or no effects, whether it will use transitions or no transitions etc. After you have selected the desired clips and adjusted the necessary settings, click the AutoEdit Browser Items button. And in no time at all, EVE v2 adds the clips to a project, places effects on them and places transitions between them, too. An indicator shows the progress. Of course, you can change the effects and transitions if you are not satisfied with the choices EVE v2 has made for you. Is the option Scene splitting enabled, the files are analyzed and there will be cuts for every scene change. Use the Player for previewing the project. Afterwards, export the project or burn it directly on a CD or DVD. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 99

100 Depending on the chosen theme in the Browser, EVE v2 only uses its transitions and/or effects for creating a project. The Themes option enables you to create projects for special occasions easily. AutoEdit Storyboard/Timeline Wizard This option takes a bit longer and is only for clips which are already in the Storyboard or Timeline. At first, insert the clips you want to use for a project randomly into the Timeline or Storyboard. You must not add any effects or transitions because this will be done by EVE v2 automatically later on. After you have placed all clips in the Storyboard or Timeline, right click the AutoEdit Storyboard/Timeline button among the Wizard controls. In the appearing list you specify the options for adding effects, transitions etc. to the videos. Is the option Scene splitting enabled, your videos are analyzed according to scene changes and they will be cut at the corresponding positions. After you have adjusted all necessary settings, click the AutoEdit Storyboard/Timeline button, so that EVE automatically adds effects and transitions to your project. As you can see, the video editing software has placed effects on and transitions between the clips in the Storyboard and the Timeline. Of course, you have the opportunity to substitute or delete every item if you like. To get an impression of the project, use the Player to preview it. Now export your project or write it directly to a CD or DVD. Depending on the chosen theme in the Browser, EVE v2 only uses its transitions and/or effects for creating a project. The Themes option enables you to create projects for special occasions easily. Randomize Storyboard/Timeline Wizard This wizard is useful when you have already a project with clips, effects and transitions in the Storyboard or Timeline. If you are not satisfied with a project you have just created, the Randomize Storyboard/Timeline option randomly generates a new project from items within the Storyboard or Timeline. Simply click the corresponding button and wait a moment until EVE v2 has been finished with the new project. You can watch the result in the Player. Repeat using the Randomize Storyboard/Timeline button until you achieve the desired result. If necessary, undo all the steps you have performed so far by pressing the Undo button as everywhere else in the software. Depending on the chosen theme in the Browser, EVE v2 only uses its transitions and/or effects for creating a project. The Themes option enables you to create projects for special occasions easily. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 100

101 The Burn Wizards The three Burn wizards enable you to capture video material from a variety of devices and directly burn it on a DVD, VCD or SVCD. The windows look nearly the same, so we will exemplify the different settings by presenting the DVD-Wizard in detail. Click the DVD icon among the Burn Wizard options on the top right of the EVE v2 interface. The DVD-Wizard window appears on the screen. In the left part of the DVD-Wizard dialog you see the preview area and several controls for controlling the capture device, e.g. a DV or HD camcorder. The left display under the preview area specifies the current timecode and the right one the captured time. You can search for the correct position on the video tape with the camera control panel. The buttons for controlling the DV camcorder perform the following functions (top row, from left to right): Rewind, Fast forward, Frame backward and Frame forward. The controls below (from left to right) are Pause, Play and Stop. An additional feature is the Jog Shuttle, which allows you to rewind and fast forward the video tape during playback using four different speeds. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 101

102 When you have found the right spot on the tape or the TV film you want to record, start capturing by clicking the red Record button in EVE. When you are finished capturing, press the Stop button next to it. On the right of the DVD-Wizard window you find several options for the capture file and the device. But before we introduce these settings, we want you to take glance at the button with the wrench on the top right of the window (next to the wizard help and close icon). After you have clicked the icon the following window appears which offers some general options, such as video standard, media size etc. The options for the temporary folders and the language are disabled here. The checkboxes under Video Standard enable you to specify whether the captured file will be available in PAL or NTSC. Media Size lets you specify the size of the disc type you want to use for archiving the captured files. Under Quality you have three different options (Good, Better and Best) to increase the quality of the recorded file. A higher quality results in longer processing time and higher file size. In contrast, a faster processing time leads to less file size but also to less quality. The DVD-Settings checkboxes are only enabled in the DVD-Wizard. Here you specify the desired resolution for the output file you want to burn on a DVD. Depending on the chosen wizard (DVD, VCD or SVCD) some options might be disabled here. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 102

103 Now we turn to the different options in the DVD-Wizard main window again: Under Capture Directory specify the file name and the destination of the captured file. Press the Browse icon to choose a new name and/or directory. Simply follow the instructions in the appearing window. The drop-down menu Video Device enables you to select the desired digital or analog video source for capturing videos. It is possible to connect several devices to the computer. The connected analog devices are for example a capture card or a TV tuner. A digital video device is for example a DV camcorder. Under Audio Device you select the preferred audio source for the capturing process. It might be possible that several audio devices are connected to the computer, e.g. your onboard sound card or any other supporting devices. When a DV camcorder is connected to your computer, you normally use its own audio stream, so you needn t select a different setting here. The Alternative Capture Preview option activates an additional capture preview for analog devices if the normal one does not work correctly. Click the Timer button to enable this option. Then set the desired capture time in hours, minutes and seconds. Use the up/down arrows or enter a value manually in order to specify the record time. Start the capture process as shown in earlier chapters by using the camera controls below the preview area of the DVD-Wizard. After you have stopped the record session, EVE v2 postprocesses the recorded material, and you have to wait for a few seconds. Then press the Next button to open the following window. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 103

104 The drop-down menu Device under Select Burning Device enables you to specify the desired recorder for burning the captured files to disc. The Write Speed and Rewrite Speed options specify the appropriate speed of the recorder. The Choose an Option section offers several buttons and checkboxes for creating a disc or disc image: The three buttons perform the following functions: Save ISO, Save Folder, and Burn. When you choose one of the first two options the DVD-Wizard generates an ISO image or a folder which will be saved to the hard drive. Please specify a file name and destination in the corresponding input prompt. The third option burns the captured file directly to a CD or DVD. Click one of the buttons to run the desired option. Under Save Directory you specify the location of the ISO image or the folders on the computer. The Disc Label option is useful when working with a VCD, SVCD and DVD on a computer. In the input prompt you enter a name for your disc which appears in the Explorer when the disc is inserted in a drive. Ticking the checkbox Simulate before burning simulates the burning session for the recorded file. Activating the Add project backup to disk checkbox saves a copy of the captured file to hard disk. After the DVD-Wizard has been finished burning a disc or saving a file to disk, click the Finish button to close it. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 104

105 Exporting a Project Produce Window After you have finished a project, you must export it from the Timeline or Storyboard, i.e. you merge the current project into a single video clip (e.g. an MPEG-2 file for DVD). There are various ways for exporting a project: you can output existing clips to a DV camcorder or another device. An alternative way for exporting clips is to produce an output file in MPEG-1/2 for the common formats VCD, SVCD and DVD. In the following windows it is even possible to play back your DV and HD files and projects back to an appropriate camcorder. Furthermore, it offers a pane where you burn the projects to a CD or DVD without using a different software. In this chapter we want to explain the Produce mode and its various ways for exporting a project and the necessary tools which enable the user to create such output files with MainConcept EVE v2. We will also introduce the different formats for producing videos. Press the Produce button in the main window to enter the corresponding mode if you have not done so yet. MainConcept EVE v2 Working with EVE v2 page 105

106 The Export Pane Make sure that the pane indicated with a hard disk icon is the active pane. Click the icon if necessary. At first, we like to introduce the different options of this pane. Under the preview area you see different controls and displays for moving through the current project in the Storyboard or Timeline. They show from left to right the in-point, the current position and the out-point. Use the buttons to specify these points manually, too. Simply click the corresponding display and enter the value by using the keyboard or the controls on the right of each display. Use the slider to move quickly through the project. Please use its ends to define in/out points in the project. The two buttons which surround the slider enable you to specify the in and out points, so that only the user-defined part of the project will be exported. The first button defines the In-point and the second one the Out-point. After you have dragged the slider s ends to the desired position, click the corresponding button to define an in and/or out-point. The buttons under the slider perform the following functions from left to right: Jump to previous clip, Jump to next clip, Play, Frame backward, Frame forward and Loop. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 106

107 On the right side of the Export pane you find many settings for the output file. Under Video you find several drop-down menus for specifying the format, codecs etc. of the output file: Under Format you select the desired output format for the project. The available options are AVI, DV AVI, DV Raw, GFL, Windows Media (WMV9) and MPEG. GFL is used for exporting a series of still images. When you choose the streaming format Windows Media, a drop-down menu appears which offers several WMV9 profiles. Under Codec you specify the appropriate codec for outputting your project. Depending on the chosen format, some codecs are not available here. The button with the wrench enables you to open the codec s settings window. This option depends on the chosen codec and might be disabled if the codec s settings can t be displayed in EVE v2. If you selected GFL under Format it is possible to specify different still image types here, such as Gif, JPEG or BMP. Under Width and Height you define the adequate resolution for the output file. Depending on the chosen format this option might be disabled. Under Aspect you specify whether the aspect ratio of the exported clip is 4:3 or 16:9. The drop-down menu Frame Rate enables you to define the correct frame rate for the project. This may be determined by your hardware, so we recommend reading the hardware manufacturer s documentation for further information. The standard setting for PAL is 25 fps (frames per second), and for NTSC fps. Under Audio you find several drop-down menus for specifying the compression, sample rate etc. of the output file: The drop-down menu Compression enables you to specify the appropriate audio codec and audio compression for exporting a clip. Depending on the settings adjusted so far, different compression types might be available here. Under Channels you select the desired mode, i.e. whether the project will be exported in mono or stereo. The drop-down menu Sample Rate enables you to choose the appropriate audio frequency for the output file. The Status box displays some important information about disk space, render time etc. The buttons under Profile enable you to save and delete the settings you have just made in the Produce window. You can select the saved profile in the drop-down menu Format then. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 107

108 Press the Render button to specify the name and the destination for the output file. In the following dialog enter a name and select a directory for storing the video. After you have entered the necessary information, press the Save button, so that EVE v2 will start rendering the project. The finished clip will automatically appear in the Produced folder in the Browser s Media pane. The DV Playback Pane In the Produce window you have also the opportunity to play back the complete Timeline or only selected files to a DV camcorder. This function can only be applied to DV AVI files and projects (because of the format s characteristics, only file playback works for HD). Simply click the camera icon to activate the corresponding window. Under the preview area you see different controls and displays for moving through the current project in the Storyboard or Timeline. They show from left to right the in-point, the current position and the out-point. Use the buttons to specify these points manually, too. Simply click the corresponding display and enter the value by using the keyboard or the controls on the right of each display. Use the slider to move quickly through the project. Please use its ends to define in/out points in the project. The two buttons which surround the slider enable you to specify the in and out points, so that only the user-defined part of the project will be exported to the camcorder. The first button defines the In-point and the second one the Out-point. After you have dragged the slider s ends to the desired position you, click the corresponding button to define an in and/or out-point. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 108

109 The buttons under the slider perform the following functions from left to right: Jump to previous clip, Jump to next clip, Play, Frame backward, Frame forward and Loop. The display at the end shows the current slider position. It can be changed by using the up/down controls next to it. On the right of this pane there are two buttons: Timeline and File. The Timeline option enables you to export the whole DV project in the Storyboard or Timeline. The File option lets you output only selected DV AVI files to a DV camcorder. Clicking the Timeline button opens the following dialog which has the settings described below: Use the drop-down menu Export Device to select the device for outputting a clip, e.g. a DV camcorder. Use the Camera Controls to find the point on the output device s tape where you want to start recording the clip. This panel enables you to control the device in EVE v2. Of course, it can be controlled manually, too. You search for the correct position on the video tape with the camera control panel. The buttons for controlling the DV camcorder perform the following functions (top row, from left to right): Rewind, Fast forward, Frame backward and Frame forward. The controls below (from left to right) are Pause, Play, Stop and Record. An additional feature is the Jog Shuttle, which allows you to rewind and fast forward the video tape during playback using different speeds. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 109

110 After you have found the correct position on the tape, press the Play button under the preview area and the Record button among the Camera Controls or on the camcorder. When you are done, press the Stop button to end the process. When you record the project from the Timeline, you have to press the red Record button in EVE two times. At first, the Timeline is activated, and then the camera. Clicking the File button opens the following dialog which has almost the same settings as described above except for a few options: The options under Export Device and Camera Controls are the same as in the Timeline dialog. We have already described them before. Under Playback List you find a kind of storyboard where you insert the DV clips you want to output to a DV camcorder. They will be exported in the order you have added them to the storyboard list. Delete a clip by selecting it and clicking the trashcan icon afterwards. Alternatively, press the Delete key on the keyboard. Below the Playback List you find some controls for previewing the clip(s) you want to export. The three buttons perform the following functions from left to right: Play, Stop and Record. Use the red Record button to start the export to the camcorder. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 110

111 The Create DVD/SVCD/VCD Pane In the Create DVD/SVCD/VCD pane you write the current project in the Timeline or Storyboard to CD or DVD. After you have authored a project with EVE v2, you are led to this pane as well, so that it will be burned on a blank CD/DVD, including all menus, an intro clip etc. Simply click the DVD icon to activate the corresponding window. Under the preview area you see three displays. They show from left to right the in-point, the current position and the out-point. Use the buttons to specify these points manually. Simply click the corresponding display and enter the value by using the keyboard or the controls on the right of each display. Use the slider to move quickly through the project. Use its ends to define in/out points in the project. The two buttons which surround the slider enable you to specify the in and out points, so that only the user-defined part of the project will be burned to a CD or DVD. The first button defines the In-point and the second one the Out-point. After you have dragged the slider s ends to the desired position you click the corresponding button to define an in and/or out-point. The buttons under the slider perform the following functions from left to right: Jump to previous clip, Jump to next clip, Play, Frame backward, Frame forward and Loop. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 111

112 On the right side of the Create DVD/SVCD/VCD pane, there are different options for burning a project to CD or DVD: Under Video Format you see the disc type you want to create, such as DVD, SVCD and VCD. The format is based on the profile you chose in the EVE v2 Choose a Profile dialog at the beginning of a new project. Clicking the button with the wrench, opens the advanced MPEG settings. The colored bar under the above mentioned option shows the file size and the duration of the project, including all menus and the intro clips, which will be written to a CD or DVD. So you see whether the project can be burned on a single blank CD/DVD or whether you need more than one. The drop-down menu Drive enables you to specify the desired recorder for burning the project to CD or DVD. The Speed and RW-Speed options specify the write and rewrite speed of the recorder. Under Options you find three different checkboxes: Ticking the checkbox No menus disables the DVD menus in the authored project. The checkbox Simulate before burning enables you to start a simulation before the actual burning session. The Span discs checkbox offers the opportunity to write the project on multiple discs. The three buttons at the bottom of the pane allow you to select a desired authoring method for the project: Clicking the Save ISO button saves an ISO image of the project to disk. Simply follow the instructions in the next window. The Save Folder button creates a specific folder which includes the project. It is also saved to hard drive. Please follow the instructions in the appearing window. Pressing the Burn button writes the project directly to CD or DVD. The appearing dialog will inform you about the progress. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 112

113 Exporting the current project In this tutorial we want to show you how to easily merge the current project into a single video clip (for example an MPEG-2 file for DVD). To do so, open the project (if it is not already open) and perform these steps: 1. Activate the Produce mode. The corresponding window will appear. Make sure that the pane indicated with a hard disk icon is the active pane. Click the icon if necessary. 2. Choose the desired output template from the popup menu Format. In our example we chose MPEG. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 113

114 3. We want to render our project as an MPEG-2 file for creating a DVD later on. For that reason, we have to choose MPEG-II DVD in the drop-down menu under Codec. If you choose one of the DV-AVI or MPEG templates, all of the necessary settings will be entered automatically. MPEG power users can click the advanced settings icon at the end of the line and adjust further settings for optimizing their MPEG files. 4. Normally, you mustn t change any of the following parameters, such as Resolution, Framerate and the Audio settings. They are adjusted automatically. Of course, you can edit these settings if necessary. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 114

115 5. If you want to, choose a portion of the project to output by clicking and dragging the ends of the horizontal control below the preview window. You can also click and drag the scrubber to the desired frame and click the In and/or Out button to set the range. If you don t choose a portion to export, the entire project will be produced. 6. Click the Render button. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 115

116 7. Choose the destination directory and enter a filename. EVE v2 will produce your project, and the finished clip will appear automatically in the Produced folder in the Browser s Media pane. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 116

117 Outputting a clip or project to a DV camcorder Use the following steps to output an existing clip or project to a DV camcorder or deck. If you received EVE v2 with another device, check that device s documentation for any special instructions. NOTE: Only DV-AVI clips can be output to DV devices. 1. Make sure that a project is in the Timeline. Switch to Produce mode and click the camera icon. Then press the Timeline button to open the correct pane if necessary. We recommend to place a black background of approximately three seconds before the clip in the Timeline. Unfortunately, the camera needs a bit lead time until the recording will start. In Edit mode, you create such a black background with the Solid Color clip in the Media pane. Drag it front of the first clip and select the desired color in the appearing window. If necessary, it is possible to extend the background clip in the Timeline. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 117

118 2. Choose the output device in the Export Device drop-down menu. 3. Find the point on your output device s tape where you want to start recording the clip. Use the Camera Control panel in EVE to control the device, or control it manually. You search for the correct position on the video tape with the camera control panel. An additional feature is the Jog Shuttle, which allows you to rewind and fast forward the video tape during playback using four different speeds. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 118

119 4. When you have found the right spot on the tape, start recording by clicking the red Record button in EVE or activate recording manually on the device itself. Then click the Play button under the preview window. When you record the project from the Timeline, you have to press the red Record button two times or the Pause button in EVE. At first, the Timeline is activated, and then the camera. 5. When output is complete, stop recording. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 119

120 DVD Authoring EVE v2 offers an integrated VCD, SVCD and even DVD authoring interface, which enables you to author the current project in the Timeline by adding clip and chapter points. Furthermore, you select different templates for menus, arrows, the clips position in these menus etc. In the following, tutorial we will show you how to author the current project in the Timeline and burn it directly to a DVD with EVE v2. After you have finished, editing the project, click the Authoring Tool button the Tools icons, in order to switch to the DVD Authoring interface of EVE v2. among Authoring the current project in the Timeline In this tutorial we want to show you how to author a project, in order to burn it on a DVD. We will describe, how to add clip and chapter points, menus and backgrounds etc. And in no time at all, you become an DVD authoring expert in EVE v2. You will see, it is quite easy! 1. We assume that you have already finished the project, and that you now want to author it in the Timeline. For that reason you have to enable the DVD Authoring tool, by clicking the corresponding button among the Tools buttons. MainConcept EVE v2 Exporting a project page 120

121 2. As you can see, the EVE v2 interface changes to the DVD authoring mode. At first, we want to show you how to create clip points which will appear as thumbnail buttons in the DVD menu later on. Clicking one of these buttons starts the clip at the specified position. The first clip point in the Timeline is automatically defined at the beginning of a project. To specify a new clip point move the slider in the Timeline to the position where you want the second clip point to appear. Then press the yellow Add clip point button. As you can see, a new thumbnail button appears in the Preview. Repeat the steps described above to create more clip points. You generate as many clip points as you like. To delete a clip point you have to perform the following steps. Jump to the clip point you want to delete by using the buttons. To remove the clip point, click the Delete clip point button. Alternatively, select a clip point and pull it downwards while holding the mouse-button. This procedure removes the clip point as well. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 121

122 3. It is also possible to define chapter points you know from a common DVD, too. These chapter points enable you to jump to a desired scene quickly. To specify a new chapter point move the slider in the Timeline to the position where you want the chapter on the disc to start. Then press the green Add chapter point button. Repeat the steps described above to create more chapter points. You can generate as many chapter points as you like. To delete a chapter point you have to perform the following steps. Jump to the chapter point you want to delete by using the buttons. To remove the chapter point, click the Delete chapter point button. Alternatively, select a chapter point and pull it downwards while holding the mouse-button. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 122

123 4. After we have specified all clip and chapter points, we want to select a template for our first DVD menu page. For that reason, we turn to the Browser and enable the Add templates tab. In this pane you choose a complete menu template for the DVD by clicking one of the thumbnails in the Browser. As you can see, the selected template appears in the Preview. Of course, you have the opportunity to change some items of the menu later on, such as arrows, layout and background. If you want to use the chosen template for all menus in the project, you have to tick the checkbox Apply Template to all Menus. If the checkbox is disabled, different menu pages for the DVD are used. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 123

124 5. Now we want to create a new template for our second menu page. Please have a look at the Authoring pane in the middle of the EVE v2 interface. Select Menu 2/3 from the drop-down menu at the top of the pane. As you can see, the Preview switches to the default template. 6. At first, we want to select another background image for the second menu page. Click the Backgrounds tab in the Browser to open the corresponding pane. Then choose the desired background image by clicking it in the Browser. As usual, the result of this step is directly displayed in the Preview. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 124

125 7. Now we want to select another layout for the clip thumbnails, i.e. how many of them and at what position they will be arranged in the menu. Therefore, activate the Layouts pane in the Browser, and select the desired item. 8. The next tab Arrows enables you to choose the arrow for switching to the previous and next menu page. Simply select the desired arrow to apply it to the current menu in the Preview. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 125

126 9. For this menu, you finally select a frame which is placed around the clip thumbnails to give them a better look. Open the Frames pane of the Browser, and click the desired item in the list. You have successfully created a new menu page for Menu 2/3. But there is still one more menu page missing. 10.Please select Menu 3/3 from the drop-down menu in the Authoring pane as described earlier in this tutorial. We leave most of the menu items at their default settings but this time we want to select another background for the current menu page. It is even possible to apply a video clip as menu background. For that reason, we tick the Background checkbox in case you have not done so yet, and click the Browse button. In the following window you can search for the desired clip. In this example, we chose one of our DVD Video Loops in MPEG-2 PAL format: Repeat the steps described above to create more menu pages if necessary. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 126

127 11. It is even possible to add an audio clip as background music to the DVD menu. Click the Audio checkbox in the Authoring pane in the middle of the EVE interface, so that a new window appears on the screen. In the dialog you can search for and select the audio file you want to use. Confirm your choice by clicking the Open button. 12.If you want to animate your thumbnail buttons, please tick the Animate Thumbnails checkbox. If it is enabled the thumbnail buttons in the menus are played back. 13. You have also the opportunity to change the captions of the individual thumbnail buttons. At first, select the menu at the bottom of the Authoring pane you want to change the thumbnail buttons caption for. Afterwards, select the desired button thumbnail in the drop-down menu in the middle of the Authoring pane. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 127

128 14.Now click the Text button if necessary, and enter a new caption in the input prompt in the lower part of the Authoring pane. If you like, change some more text settings, such as font type, font size, font color, orientation etc. Most of the options you already know from the 2D and 3D Titler. Please repeat the steps for the other thumbnail buttons until everyone of them has an individual caption. 15. If your menus have animated thumbnails, you have to specify the starting point of each thumbnail button clip. At first, click the Thumbnail button in the Authoring pane. Then use the slider to specify the desired starting point of the thumbnail clip. Of course, enter a value for it manually. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 128

129 You can edit the chapter points in the same way as the clip points, i.e. create thumbnails, complete chapter point menus, captions etc. You only have to choose the appropriate chapter point menu in the dropdown menu on top of the Authoring tool. 16.To make our DVD more professional later on, we want to add an intro video clip to our authoring project. For that reason, we have to enable the Intro checkbox in the Authoring pane. As you can see, a window automatically appears on the screen where you search for the desired intro video on the computer. Confirm your choice by clicking the Open button. 17.You are almost finished with the DVD authoring for the project in the Timeline. Now it s time to have a look at the DVD menu before you burn it to disc, and see if it suits your demands. Click the Enable preview of CD/DVD menu button in the Preview player if you haven t done so yet. The button directly below enables the preview for the Timeline, i.e. it is the normal project preview for video editing. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 129

130 Now use the controls under the preview area to navigate through the DVD menu, and test if everything works fine. It is even possible to test the menu directly in the Preview player by double-clicking the arrows and clip thumbnails. Double-clicking an arrow switches to another menu page, and doing the same for a clip thumbnail starts the playback at the corresponding clip point. 18.We are nearly at the end of this tutorial. The only thing we have to do now is to burn our authored project to a DVD. For that reason, we have to click the Burn authored project button in the Authoring pane. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 130

131 19.As you can see, you are directly led to the Create DVD/SVCD/VCDs pane in Produce mode. In this pane you specify the Drive and its Speed and RW-Speed you want to use for writing the authored project on a DVD. If you have created menus before, please make sure that the No menus checkbox is disabled. Otherwise, EVE v2 would not burn the menus onto the disc. After you have adjust all necessary settings, click the Burn button to start the burning process. If you have a large project which does not fit on a single disc, you should enable the Span disks checkbox. Then the project will be divided and written on multiple CDs or DVDs. I hope reading this tutorial gives you an idea how easy it is to author a project with EVE v2, and burn it to a CD or DVD later on. Have a lot of fun with your future projects! MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 131

132 Appendix The MPEG Encoder Settings Using EVE v2 you can capture directly in MPEG as well as export the projects in the same format, too. To optimize your MPEG streams, EVE v2 contains the advanced settings of the MainConcept MPEG Encoder. The advanced interface offers many settings which are predominantly for professional users. The different panes enable you fine-tune clips by changing a lot of audio and video parameters. You open the advanced interface by clicking the wrench under Format (MPEG-1 & MPEG-2) or Codec in the Capture or Produce window. The advanced window includes five panes: Basic Settings, Video Settings, Advanced Video Settings, Audio Settings and Multiplexer Settings. Some options are only available when certain parameters are in effect. The default settings in the main window generally offer the correct settings for high-quality results. We recommend that you only change the advanced settings if you are familiar with them and have a specific need to do so. Incorrect adjustments of these parameters result in non-compliant MPEG files. Before we explain the most important advanced settings in detail here some general remarks before. As mentioned above we recommend that only experienced users should modify these settings. Some of the advanced settings may be restricted by the settings selected in previous dialogs. When encoding in the VCD, SVCD or DVD formats, it is possible to make changes to these settings such that the resulting file is not compliant for the chosen format. MainConcept EVE v2 DVD Authoring page 132

133 The Basic Settings Pane In the first pane you can adjust some general settings without going into details. The Basic Settings include options such as deinterlacing, field order and bitrate. This pane is only available in Capture mode. Here are the Basic Settings in detail: Under Format type you specify the format you want to record once more. The drop-down menu offers several MPEG as well as some HD and many more formats. Under Format sub-type you specify whether the captured video will be recorded in PAL or NTSC. In the drop-down menu Presets you find several MPEG formats with different bitrates and aspect ratios. Relaxed standards enables you to record non-compliant MPEG streams in a particular format such as VCD, SVCD and DVD. One setting that might need to be changed is Field encoding, which sets the correct field order. This setting should match the field order of the source video. DV is generally bottom field first, but other types of video may be different. It might be necessary to check your capture device s documentation to find out what setting is appropriate. Otherwise, you might need to experiment with different settings. When the option No fields is selected, the whole frame will be converted. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 133

134 Using the Deinterlace option EVE v2 only shows one frame instead of two fields. This is sometimes useful to remove stripes in a recorded video. The slider Video bitrate enables you to set the appropriate bitrate. A higher bitrate leads to better quality, but also to a significantly larger file size. The slider Video encoder quality at the bottom of the pane allows you to change the settings in two directions: performance and quality. Performance (to the left) means that the processing time of the recorded material is shortened. Quality (to the right) increases the picture quality of the recorded file. A higher quality setting results in slower processing time. A higher performance leads to lower quality. On the right side of the window you see a summary of the most important settings, so that you can double-check them once more. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 134

135 The Video Settings Pane In this window you can change the settings for Frame rate, Aspect ratio and GOP (Group of Pictures) structure. You can also make various adjustments to the bitrate. Under Aspect ratio you have different options: Square Pels: Square resolution (used for PC monitors) 4:3: Standard format (TV) 16:9: Widescreen format (16:9 TV, cinema) 2.21:1: Aspect ratio Pulldown: The parameters under Pulldown convert fps (frames per second) to fps, or 24 fps to 30 fps, and it is supposed to be done only on progressive frame video (like film). The movie studios slow their films from 24 fps to and then encode using pulldown to display at fps. The video encoder manipulates the Top Field First (tff) and Repeat First Field (rff) flags to convert 4 frames (8 fields) to 5 frames (10 fields) like this: (T = top field, B = bottom field) frame 1: tff = 1, rff = 0 fields displayed: TB frame 2: tff = 1, rff = 1 fields displayed: TBT frame 3: tff = 0, rff = 0 fields displayed: BT frame 4: tff = 0, rff = 1 fields displayed: BTB MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 135

136 So you get the sequence of fields: TB TBT BT BTB or grouped as frames: TB TB TB TB TB. The above would be considered 2:3 pulldown as it is 2 fields, 3 fields, 2 fields etc. 3:2 is the reverse: frame 1: tff = 1, rff = 1 fields displayed: TBT frame 2: tff = 0, rff = 0 fields displayed: BT frame 3: tff = 0, rff = 1 fields displayed: BTB frame 4: tff = 1, rff = 0 fields displayed: TB In this case you get the sequence of fields: TBT BT BTB TB or grouped as frames: TB TB TB TB TB. In most cases the MPEG Encoder adjusts the necessary settings automatically, so that the Pulldown option remains disabled. GOP (Group of Pictures) structure: I frames: These frames are also called Key Frames. All GOPs start with an I frame. I frames contain information for a complete picture, and can be decoded independent of any other frame. I frames are the largest (and least compressed) frames. P frames: P frames are encoded using information from the previous I or P frame, and can only be decoded correctly if the previous I / P frame is available. P frames are smaller than I frames. B frames: B frames are usually encoded using information from the previous I or P frame and the next I or P frame. In this case, B frames can only be decoded correctly if the previous and the next I / P frames are available. B frames are smaller than P frames. In addition, B frames can be encoded using only information from the next I / P frame but then they are larger than if they were encoded using both the previous and next frame information. As a general rule for practical settings: The GOP size (in frames) is specified with the I frame setting and it must be a multiple of the P frame setting. When I frame is set to 1, all frames in the video will be I frames. When I frame is larger than 1, it specifies the size of the GOP, and the P frame setting specifies how often P frames occur in the GOP. If P frame is set to 1, the video will consist of only I and P frames. If P frame is larger than 1, B frames are placed between the P frames and the video will consist of I, P and B frames. Larger GOPs will yield greater compression but will possibly cause a loss of quality. We recommend using the default settings. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 136

137 Auto Gop: This function always starts a new GOP when there is a scene change, i.e. the encoder sets an I frame. If you choose None from the drop-down menu, there will not be a scene detection. The Fast option is a quick method of scene detection where no VCSD happens. During the motion search the application checks, if a scene change occurs, and - if yes - the P frame is encoded as an I frame. Then the encoder starts a new GOP. VCSD is the abbreviation for Visual Content Scene Detection, which is a better way of doing scene detection. At first, the VCSD is carried out, i.e. the analysis of the frames, and then the GOP planning. It will yield a slightly slower encoding. Closed GOP every: This value specifies how often the GOPs should be closed and is only of importance if there are B frames present in the GOPs. A value of 0 means do not close any of the GOPs, a value of 1 means close every GOP and a value of 2 means close every other GOP etc. If a GOP is closed, it can be decoded by itself. If a GOP is not closed, the first few B frames of the GOP will be dependent on the last P frame of the previous GOP and cannot be decoded correctly without decoding the previous GOP first. When a GOP is closed, the first few frames of a GOP are encoded so they only depend on the I frame in the GOP (the previous GOP is not required). This can be useful for setting chapter points so a player can jump to these GOPs and can start decoding immediately without having to read the previous GOP (or discarding the first few B frames). Bitrate type: Constant bitrate (CBR): Fixed bitrate (the relevant input prompt will be enabled if selected) Variable bitrate (VBR): The minimum and maximum values define the bitrate range the encoder should stay within while encoding. The average value is the desired average bitrate of the video stream. The relevant input prompts will be enabled if selected. Rate Control Mode: Fast: An older mode, not normally used anymore. Mode 1: Standard mode (recommended) Mode 128: Experimental (will probably cause problems; it should only be used for testing) Variable Bitrate: The Constant quantization affects the macroblock quantization value, sort of the compression of the macroblocks. Lower numbers yield better quality and larger files (larger bitrate results in less compression). The range is ; 1 is probably excessive in that the quality does not improve much but the file size increases quite a bit. A range is probably for constant quantization operation. In normal VBR/CBR modes, the encoder changes the macroblock quantization value to adjust the bitrate; in constant quality mode it does not. You have to set the average and the minimum bitrate to zero in order to make the Constant quantization option active. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 137

138 The Advanced Video Settings Pane This pane offers professional settings which should not be changed if you are creating MPEG streams for VCD, SVCD or DVD. These adjustments are designed for specific, highly technical environments. The box on the right side of this pane contains many more parameters for professional users. If you click on an option, details are listed under the box. NOTE: We highly recommend that these changes are only performed by professional users. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 138

139 We will explain the Advanced Video Settings in detail now: Profile ID: You have five different options here: High Profile, Main Profile (standard setting), Simple Profile, 4:2:2 Profile and Multiview Profile. Level ID: You can choose between High Level, High 1440 Level, Main Level (standard setting), and Low Level. The MPEG-2 spec (specification) allows for a large number of variations in the settings, e.g. the frame resolution can theoretically be as large as 214 x 214. The Profiles and Levels just set limits on what the values of some of the other settings can be; so if a specification (like the DVD spec) says only Main Profile/Main or Low Level is allowed, the decoders can safely assume what the bounds of some settings are going to be. A DVD player does not have to account for the resolution being 214 x 2 14 because the DVD spec only allows a maximum of Main Profile/Main Level which only enables for a maximum frame resolution of 720x576. Noise Sensitivity and Noise Reduction: You switch between the two options by clicking the NR button. Use the controls to define the desired value: Noise Sensitivity specifies how sensitive the video encoder is to noise in the source video; it does not reduce the noise in the source video at all. It sets a motion search threshold at which point the encoder will stop the search for matching blocks of pixels from one frame to another. Higher values mean low sensitivity (faster search times, less quality), while lower values mean higher sensitivity (longer search times, better quality). Typically this option is set in the range as follows: Computer animation, VCD from DV-Source, after a line-filter or noise reducing filter (virtually no noise in the source video) Digital video, DV-quality, Hi8-quality etc Analog captured video, Video 8, Hi8, broadcast TV The setting is strictly based on the state of the source video; it has nothing to do with the type of output (DVD, SVCD or VCD). If you are only concerned with quality (at the expense of speed), you should set the value to 1 all the time, as this would yield the best results (but for noisy video it would slow the encoder quite a bit without any quality benefit). MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 139

140 Basically what the setting does, is set a level in the encoder at which point the encoder will give up trying to match a pixel between two frames. If the source video is noisy and the setting is set to a low value, the encoder will spend more time trying to match pixels from frame to frame, and (in the case of noise) it may not find a match at all, so excessive time is spent trying to find a match when there is none. If the source video has no noise at all, and the setting is set to a very high value, the encoder may give up to soon and not match some pixels from frame to frame (wasting bits). Noise Reduction is a specific noise filter. It reduces the noise in a frame (spatial reduction), but it doesn t do it from frame to frame (temporal reduction). The value range is Motion Search Mode: The Motion Search Mode defines which method is used to search for pixel movement in the video stream. A higher value specifies a better method and will normally yield better quality. The practical range is 3 to 11. Do half-pel Search: When this option is activated the Motion Search operation also looks for pixels that move only 1/2 of a pixel from one frame to the next (a subpixel search). This should usually be enabled and should only be disabled if speed is desired above quality. Set motion search areas from pixel movement: These settings specify the maximum movement of a pixel from one frame to the next. They are used to calculate the Motion Search Areas, the maximum area the encoder will search in an attempt to find a match for a block of pixels from one frame to the next. If the video has quite a bit of movement, it is useful to raise these values. Unfortunately, this also extends the encoding time. These settings are an easy way to manipulate the Motion Search vectors. The motion search vectors can also be manually manipulated in the Motion Estimation section of the Additional Settings tree. The motion search vectors are different and optimized for the different frames and frame types. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 140

141 Start Time (seconds): This option specifies the starting timecode in the GOP header of the video stream. It is independent of the timecodes in the program stream. This timecode is specified as a frame number which is converted to a hr:min:sec:frames type timecode and placed in all GOP headers (automatically incremented). For instance, with 25 fps and a Start Time set to 300, the first timecode would be 00:00:12:00 or 12 seconds. As another example, one could encode 1 hour of video with the start time set to zero, then encode another hour of video with the start time set to 3600 seconds. Then when the two videos are played one after the other the timecode will be continuos between the two files. Input video is RGB : Ticking the checkbox Input video is RGB , particular black and white values are preserved. During encoding and decoding the RGB color space with R=G=B=16 is used, which corresponds to the color black. Furthermore, the RGB color space with R=G=B=235 is used, which corresponds to the color white. Normally the values for white are R=G=B=0, and for black R=G=B=255. The specification ITU601R now defines black (Y=16) and white (Y=235), i.e. the real video signal receives values which are blacker than black or whiter than white (so called super-black and super-white values). These super-black and super-white values get lost in the normal PC RGB color space, but they are preserved with the Input video is RGB option. User Quantization Matrices: Each 8x8 block of pixels in the image is run through a DCT (Discrete Cosine Transformation) function which yields an 8x8 block of DCT coefficients. These coefficients are arranged in the 8x8 array with the lower frequencies in the upper left corner of the array and the lower frequencies in the lower right corner. The numbers of these 8x8 blocks are the results of mathematical functions performed by the encoder to represent the video in a smaller number of bits. The quantization matrices determine the divider used by the quantization function for each DCT coefficient. Lower numbers mean the coefficient will be quantized less (better quality, closer to the original DCT value but more bits are needed), while higher numbers mean the coefficients are quantized more (lower quality but less bits are needed). The default intra matrix values are biased towards the low frequency coefficients; they are represented better while the high frequency coefficients are not represented as well. The numbers on the top left handle the low frequency regions, and the numbers on the bottom right handle the high frequency regions. The human eye is less sensitive to the high frequencies, so that region can be compressed to a higher degree; this is why the values are higher there. If the whole matrix consists of 1, there would be virtually no compression at all (but a very large number of bits). If you set all numbers of the matrix to 255, you will obtain a very bad picture because it has been compressed to such a degree that it will lead to a significant loss of quality. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 141

142 When you activate the checkbox you can click the Edit button in order to adjust the parameters for Matrix for Intra Block and Matrix for non-intra Block. In the following window you can change these settings. These values must be in the range , with the exception that the first entry in the intra block matrix must be 8. Intra blocks are macroblocks coded using only information from the current picture (I frames), non-intra blocks are macroblocks coded using information from the current picture and other pictures (B and P frames). If the bitrate is high you should not change the parameters. Ultimately, these values depend on the source material. If the bitrate is low you can change the parameters to get better results. Additional Settings Tree: Now we want to introduce the different parameters in the Additional Settings tree. The different options are displayed in the tree. You can change the settings by using the Value parameter box. Depending on the setting you have to adjust the appropriate option in the corresponding tree. A short definition of the selected option is offered under the display. Under Sequence Header you find the following option: VBV Buffer size: This value specifies the size of the Video Buffering Verifier (VBV) buffer in KB (1024 bytes). Decoders can use this value to determine the largest buffer needed to decode the video stream. Set it to zero to have the encoder compute a value based on the video bitrate. VCD specifies 40 KB, SVCD and DVD specify 224 KB. Use the Value prompt in order to change the parameters. See ISO/IEC section or ISO/IEC section for more information. The option Sequence Extension offers two settings: Progressive Sequence: If set to 1 all frames in the video are progressive, if set to 0 both progressive and interlaced frames can appear in the video. See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Chroma Format: The option specifies whether to use the 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 (high profile only) chroma format for the encoded video. See ISO/IEC section for more information. Only the 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 formats are supported. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 142

143 Under Sequence Display Extension you can edit several options: Enable Sequence Display Extension: If set to 1, sequence display extension headers are placed in the video stream after the sequence extension headers. If set to 0, the Video format, Color Primaries, Transfer characteristics, Matrix coefficients and Display Size settings are not used or present in the video stream. Some SVCD players can have problems if sequence display extensions are present, for DVD the sequence display extension may or may not be present. See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Video Format: This setting is just a flag in the bitstream to inform the decoder how the pictures were represented before encoding. If the sequence display header is not present, the decoder will assume "Unspecified video format". This setting does not affect the encoding process at all. It is part of the sequence display extension and is only used when the Sequence display extension setting is 1. See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Color Primaries: This field specifies the x, y chromaticity coordinates of the source picture primaries. It is strictly an informative flag to the video decoder and does not affect the video encoding at all. DVD specifies a value of 2 (ITU-R BT System M) or 4 (SMTPE 170M) for NTSC or 3 (ITU-R BT System B,G) for PAL. See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Transfer Characteristics: This field specifies the opto-electronic transfer characteristics of the source picture. It is strictly an informative flag to the video decoder and does not affect the video encoding at all. DVD specifies a value of 2 (ITU-R BT System M) or 4 (SMTPE 170M) for NTSC or 3 (ITU-R BT System B,G) for PAL. See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Matrix Coefficients: This field specifies the matrix coefficients used in deriving luminance and chrominance signals from the green, blue, and red primaries when RGB =>YUV conversion (if any) is done. DVD specifies a value of 3 (ITU-R Rec System B, G) for both NTSC and PAL. Currently only a value 3 is supported regardless of the setting of this field. See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Display Size: These values specify a rectangle which may be used by decoders as their active display area. MPEG itself does not define what these values are actually used for, so it is up to the decoders to handle as they see fit. DVD does define uses for these values, and the values should be 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL). These settings are part of the sequence display extension and are only used when the Sequence display extension setting is 1. Use the options Horizontal and Vertical to specify the exact value. See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 143

144 The DVD specification does specify the values to use for the Color primaries, Transfer characteristics, Display horizontal size and Display vertical size settings, if the SDE is present. Under Picture Header the encoder offers one more setting: Force VBV Delay: Set to 1 to have the VBV delay in the picture headers fixed to a value of 0xFFFF. Normally this is 1 when doing VBR encoding and 0 when doing CBR encoding. When the VBV delay is 0xFFFF a different method is used to input data to the VBV than if VBV delay is not fixed to 0xFFFF. See ISO/IEC section or ISO/ IEC section for more information. The option Picture Coding Extension offers several additional settings: Intra DC Precision: Specifies the effective precision of the DC coefficients in intra-coded macroblocks. 10-bits usually achieves quality saturation, 11-bits can be used if the quantization is very low (the bitrate is quite high compared to the frame size/rate). See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG- 2. Use Frame Prediction and Frame DCT: Set to 1 to have the motion estimation and DCT (Discrete Cosine Transformation) computations done on both fields of a frame in the same pass, set to 0 to have them done on each field independently. Normally this should be 0 for interlaced frames and 1 for progressive frames. Setting this field to 1 will result in slight faster encoding but will yield less quality in interlaced frames. This setting can be specified independently for each frame type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Quantization Scale Type: Specifies which mapping to use between the encoded quantization scale factor and the quantizer scale applied in the inverse quantization arithmetic. Set to 0 to specify a linear mapping or 1 to specify a non-linear mapping. This setting can be specified independently for each frame type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. Intra VLC Format: VLC is the acronym for Variable Length Coding. This option specifies one of two MPEG defined variable length coding tables used for intra coded blocks. Table 1 is considered to be statistically optimized for Intra coded pictures coded within the sweet spot range (e.g. 0.3 to 0.6 bit/pixel) of MPEG-2. Normally set to 1 for MPEG-2 video, this setting can be specified independently for each frame type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 144

145 Use Alternate Scanning Pattern: Specify one of two entropy scanning patterns which define the order in which quantized DCT coefficients are run-length coded. Set to 1 for the alternate scanning pattern or 0 for the zig-zag scanning pattern. The alternate scanning pattern is considered to be better suited for interlaced video where sophisticated forward quantization is not enabled. This setting can be specified independently for each frame type (I, B and P). See ISO/IEC section for more information. This option is only valid for MPEG-2. The General option offers two more parameters you can change: Sequence End Code: If set to 1 a sequence end code is written at the end of the video stream (it terminates the stream). Normally this is set to 1, set to 0 if you intend to concatenate video streams together after encoding. See ISO/IEC section or ISO/IEC section for more information. Embed SVCD User Blocks: If set to 1, user data blocks are placed in the bitstream to reserve space for the SVCD scan information data. The multiplexer then fills in the correct values when the video stream is muxed. Should only be enabled for SVCD video, but disabled for non-standard SVCD video. Under Rate Control you find the following options: The options Reaction Parameter, Initial Average Activity, Initial Global Complexity Measure and Initial Virtual Buffer Fullness are very complex as well as highly mathematical. These values are default to 0 and should not be changed unless advised to do so by MainConcept support. Minimum Frame Percentage: This option is basically the target number of bits (as a percentage of the VBV size) for the first frame in the stream. Pad Frame Percentage: This function is used when the VBR bitrate drops below the specified minimum bitrate. It is only applicable for VBR; if this field is 0 no padding occurs and the minimum bitrate is permitted to drop below the specified minimum. If the field is 100, the stream is padded to keep the minimum bitrate near the specified minimum. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 145

146 Motion Estimation offers the following options: P Frame Motion Vector Forward Search Width Forward Search Height B Frame Motion Vectors Forward Search Width Forward Search Height Backward Search Width Backward Search Height The search width and height settings set the (half) width of the window used for motion estimation. Here is an example of how to set these values, assuming a maximum motion of 10 pixels per frame in horizontal direction and 5 pixels per frame in the vertical direction and M = 3 (I B1 B2 P). Table 1: Search Width and Height values forward horizontal vertical backward horizontal vertical I => B B1 <= P I => B B2 <= P 10 5 I => P The search window settings are +/- values, for instance if a search window value is 10, the actual search for a matching pixel is done from (x + 10, y) to (x - 10, y) for each pixel (x, y). These values are usually set automatically by either the Video encoder quality sliders (Search method and Search range) or the Motion search pixel movement settings but can be set manually here. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 146

147 The Audio Settings Pane This pane offers professional adjustments for audio exporting. The Audio Settings include the following options and parameters: Audio type: None: If you do not want to encode audio, select none here. MPEG-1 Layer 1: Normally not used MPEG-1 Layer 2: Used for VCD, SVCD and PAL DVD PCM: Used for NTSC DVD NTSC DVDs use LPCM (Linear PCM) audio (or AC3) as the standard audio type instead of MPEG Layer2. LPCM is an uncompressed audio format, which offers higher quality but it also uses far more of the total bitrate (consequently less bitrate is available for the video stream). PCM is only available for MPEG-2 type streams, and is seldom used for PAL DVDs. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 147

148 MPEG: Under De-Emphasis you find three options: None, 50/15 us and ccitt. j 17. This is a flag to the player specifying what kind of de-emphasis to perform on the audio. DVD and SVCD specify None, VCD can be either None or 50/15 us. Mode: Stereo: Standard stereo Joint Stereo: This option can convert the sound to mono in the lower frequency range (which can hardly be perceived by the human ear). This results in an enhancement of the stereo quality in the median and higher frequency ranges. The setting is useful if the audio bitrate is below 200 Kbps. Dual Channel: In this case both audio channels are output separately as mono channels; it is normally used for two-channel sound. The compression of the channels takes place separately. Single Channel: Another expression for mono audio. Audio Bitrate (Kbps): : This specifies the bitrate of the audio stream. Depending on the MPEG type selected, some values may not be available. Increasing the bitrate will yield better sound quality and result in larger files, or if the total bitrate is limited it will mean less of the total bitrate is available for the video. Set private bit: Just a spare bit in the audio headers, which is user defined. DVD specifies it shall be 0. Set copyright bit: Specifies whether the audio is copyrighted or not, this setting is completely arbitrary; it has no effect whatsoever. Set original bit: Specifies whether the audio is a copy or an original, this setting is completely arbitrary; it has no effect whatsoever. Enable CRC: Specifies whether a CRC is embedded in each audio frame, both SVCD and DVD specify enabled. Psycho-acoustic model: Two different models (1 and 2) specified by MPEG to compute the "just noticeable noiselevel". MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 148

149 PCM: Mute flag: Flag to the player whether to mute or not when all samples in an audio frame are zero. Emphasis (48 KHz only): Flag to the player whether emphasis is to be applied to all audio samples from the start of the audio stream. Dynamic range control: The option is a recommended gain value which can be applied to all audio samples decoded from the first access unit. Ticking the checkbox enables the the Dynamic range control. The setting does not affect the encoding of the audio at all. It is simply a value decoders may use when playing the audio. Gain (db): The Gain value (X and Y) is a recommended gain value to be applied to all audio samples by the player, where: Gain = * X * Y. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 149

150 The Multiplexer Settings Pane In this pane you can control whether your exported MPEG files will be multiplexed (also referred to as muxed ). Multiplexed output means that the video and audio are exported in a single file. This pane also offers some more professional settings for muxing. In general, the basic settings for this pane and the other advanced panes are set by the options in the Output format section of the main window. Here are the Multiplexer Settings in detail: Multiplexing Type: The drop-down menu offers the options MPEG-1, VCD, MPEG-2, SVCD, DVD, TS (transport stream), None and many more parameters, such as HDV HD1, HDV HD2, DVB (which can also be used for transport streams) and MircoMV. The settings are usually defined by the parameters of the MPEG Encoder. Variable Bitrate: This option sets the muxing mode to variable or constant bitrate. If it is turned off (constant bitrate), the output data stream will contain padding packets (if needed) to maintain the constant bitrate. In variable bitrate muxing no padding packets are added. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 150

151 Pack Options: Under this heading you find the options Size (bytes) and Packets/Pack. Pack size is the number of bytes in each pack (or sector); VCD and SVCD use 2324 bytes, DVD uses 2048 and general MPEG-1/2 can use up to 4096 bytes (4096 is our limit, not MPEG's limit). The muxed bitstream is broken up into these 'packs' with a pack header starting each one and they contain 1 or more PES (= Program Elementary Stream) packets (chunks of the video or audio stream). The Packets/Pack setting specifies the number of PES packets that are placed in each pack. VCD, SVCD and DVD always want 1 PES packet per pack. Startup delays (ms): The Pack value specifies the starting timecode of the muxed stream (this can be different than the starting timecode of the video stream). It is the starting SCR (= System Clock Reference) in ms of the program stream. The Video and Audio delays are respective to the Pack delay For example, if you set the Pack delay to 500 ms, and the Video as well as the Audio delays to 300 ms, the first SCR of the stream would be 500 ms, and the first video and audio PTS (= Presentation Timestamps) would be 800 ms. If you make the Pack delay five seconds (5000 ms) and the Audio/Video delays 400 ms the first SCR would be 5000 ms and the first audio/video PTS would be 5400 ms. The Video, Audio1 and Audio2 delays actually specify the starting time of the respective stream (relative to the pack delay). If these settings do not match, the streams will start at different times. Normally they are the same, but say you have a video stream and an audio stream where you know the audio actually starts 500 ms after the video, you would set the video delay to some value and set the Audio1 delay to Video delay + 500, this would then synchronize the two streams when played. For example, if you specify the Pack delay as 0 ms (the normal case), the Video delay as 200 ms and the Audio delay as 300 ms, the first SCR will be 0, the first video PTS would be 200 ms and the first audio PTS would be 300 ms. This would shift the audio/video synchronization, so the audio is 100 ms behind the video. Video Buffer Size (kb): These settings specify the size of the buffers needed to decode the video. If it is too low, you will get buffer overflows, which could show up as stuttering video. Usually it is set to the same size as the video VBV buffer (although the VBV units are half these units), DVD specifies 232 for the video buffer. Software decoders usually ignore the buffer sizes, but most hardware players will have problems if the buffer size is not correct. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 151

152 VBV is the abbreviation of Video Buffering Verifier. It is a hypothetical decoder with a buffer whose size is specified by the Video Buffer Size. Encoded pictures from the MPEG stream are placed into the buffer (hypothetically) and removed from the buffer at regular intervals. The MPEG video stream is supposed to be constructed by varying the size of the encoded frames such that the buffer does not underflow (i.e. becomes empty where there are no frames in the buffer when it is time to decode one) or overflow (i.e. becomes full where no space is available for more encoded pictures). Mux. Rate (kbps): The Mux Rate is the total bitrate, i.e. video bitrate plus audio bitrate plus muxing overhead bitrate. This option specifies the bitrate of the multiplexed program stream. Pulldown: This option contains four parameters: None, 2:3, 3:2 and Auto. When pulldown is present in the video stream, the multiplexer must adjust the PTS/DTS timestamps to account for the extra fields displayed. This option should be set to the same value as the video pulldown setting (or to Auto). Timestamps: You find All frames, I & P frames and I frames in this menu. Here you can choose which frames in the stream have a timestamp attached. The timestamps are needed for synchronization of video and audio. In general, it is enough to set this option to I Frame. For particular formats the values are clearly defined. Split File Options: Max. file size: You enter the value (in MBs) here, from which a further file shall be written. Reset clocks: If Reset clocks is enabled, the SCR, PTS and DTS clocks are reset to the 'startup delay' values (the starting values) when starting a new file. This would make the timecodes in each of the files start with the same values. If disabled, the clocks are not reset and the timecodes would be continuous from one file to the next. Set broken link flag in GOP: This option has to do with the way MPEG compresses frames. Usually a GOP consists of 1 I frame and several B and P frames. I frames are not dependent on any other frames, P frames are normally dependent on the preceding P or I frame, and B frames are normally dependent on the preceding and successive I or P frames. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 152

153 A standard GOP (the default settings) are 15 (maybe 18) frames long and they look like this (in the order the frames are displayed): B B I B B P B B P B B P B B P, B B I B B P B B P B B P B B P,... Here the first two B frames are dependent on both the I frame after them and the last P frame of the previous GOP. The Broken link flag in the GOP header is there to inform decoders that some kind of action was taken such that the preceding P frame is not present and the first 2 B frames cannot be decoded correctly (the decoder may then ignore them). When splitting files, the files are split on a GOP boundary so that the previous P frame of the first few B frames is not present in the new file (it is in the previous file). If the files are played one after another, and the last P frame of the first file is kept by the decoder, the decoder can correctly decode the first few B frames of the second file. The Set broken link setting just allows one to specify whether the Broken link flag is set or not, and it depends on whether you intend to play the files one after another or separately. Write sequence/program end codes: When enabled, sequence and program end codes are written to the old file when switching to a new file. If the files are meant to be played one after another, the streams should not be terminated. This option only applies to the files that are split; it does not apply to the last (or only) file generated. Pad VCD Audio: Some VCD burning programs require this flag to be set and some do not. VCD video packs are 2324 bytes long, but the audio packs are only 2304 bytes long. When the data is written to a VCD disk, the audio packs are put in normal 2324 byte sectors. Some VCD burning programs deal with the extra 20 bytes themselves, while others require the extra 20 bytes to be present. When this setting is enabled, the audio packs are padded with 20 zero bytes so they are 2324 bytes long, if not enabled the audio packs are only 2304 bytes long. This setting is only meaningful for VCD. Write program end code: When enabled, a program end code is written at the end of the file. This setting only applies to the last file if the splitting option is enabled, or if there is only one file generated. Align sequence headers: When enabled, the sequence headers present in the video stream are placed at the beginning of a PES packet, this makes it easier to find the sequence headers and the start of a GOP. When a sequence header is aligned, it is possible that the previous video PES packet will need to be padded to make it the correct size, so this option can consume a little of the total bitrate. This option is required for SVCD and DVD. Add SVCD scan offset: SVCD defines some navigation information that is put into the video stream to help players jump back and forth or skip ahead easily. The info is called scan offsets, this option is normally required for SVCD. This option also consumes a little of the video bitrate. Note: this option will be ignored if the user mux rate is set higher than allowed for SVCD. MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 153

154 Technical Support MainConcept Technical Support If you need assistance with EVE v2, visit the MainConcept website at for troubleshooting advice, tips and tricks, downloads, discussion forums, and information on how to contact our support staff. We hope that you have a lot of fun with our latest product. If you have any suggestions on how to improve EVE v2 please send us your feedback to the following address: suggestions@mainconcept.com. Depending on your location, charges may apply for telephone technical support. Thank you for choosing MainConcept EVE v2! MainConcept EVE v2 The MPEG Encoder Settings page 154

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