What is linear and non-linear editing. Linear and non-linear editing: their brief description and main differences

Video editing

Video editing - processing or editing footage, resulting in a finished film, clip, or video

Real, professional video editing is a very long and painstaking process that takes tens of times more time than spent on the video shooting itself. This is not only cropping scenes, but also image processing, which includes many items such as brightness, color, stabilization, white balance, and many other parameters. This is the addition of various video effects, animated titles, transitions, photographs and other graphics. This big job with sound - compressor, equalizer, noise reduction, panning, and many other tools involved.

This includes selecting musical scores and various sound effects for a film, creating clips, slide shows, and much, much more. In general, after professional video editing you will have an interesting film that you can burn to disk, print a beautiful cover, and your video will remain with you for a long time. You can proudly show it to friends and family.

All video editing work in our studio is carried out using professional Adobe software, which guarantees high quality final product. But the most important thing that distinguishes video editing in the DV-PRO studio is that all the work is done by a person with extensive experience, the head of the studio is Alexander Pavlovich.

He has more than a dozen films, clips and videos on a wide variety of topics under his belt (you can read more about him on the “About the Studio” page). We have regular clients who, every time from their vacation trips, bring filmed video and photo material, and after video editing they receive one colorfully designed disc with a film, clips and photographs.

There are two types of video editing

There are concepts of linear video editing and non-linear

Linear editing is the cutting of scenes in video fragments without disturbing their sequence; this type of editing is most often relevant if it is necessary to maintain the chronology of events. This type of installation is the most common. Nonlinear editing is a more complex process when frames can be mixed in time, depending on the author's idea.

Non-linear video editing is a full-fledged editing, when all the filmed video is divided into fragments, processed, and recorded in the required sequence with the addition of music, titles, audio and video effects, and transitions. In general, now the possibilities of video editing programs are simply enormous, and depend on the creative experience and imagination of the editor. This type of editing is only possible if there was a script for filming an event or story in advance. In ordinary cases, it is still advisable to adhere to the chronology of events.

Amateur video cameras have now become available, and the video recording function has been added to cameras in the amateur segment. Therefore, many people independently photograph their friends and acquaintances, travel, and memorable events. A few years later, any person will want to plunge into memories and see how a child got on his feet for the first time, how he went to first grade, how you relaxed with your whole family on the warm sea, then there was a wedding, an anniversary, and many more interesting events, of which and that is what our life consists of.

But watching several hours of raw video shot by an amateur is not very interesting. Therefore, it is better to spend a little money on video editing and get a completely different result. Video editing allows you to turn raw video footage into a real movie or clip. Professional program for video editing makes it possible to implement various creative solutions that will make the video interesting and meaningful, as well as improve the quality from the technical side, because not everyone shoots with good cameras.

Thanks to the ability to make video editing, you don’t need to skimp on video shooting and think about whether or not to film a specific episode. During editing, you can always remove it if it has no artistic or informational value, but adding interesting footage later is no longer possible. After video editing, the disc with your video will take one of the important places in your family collection. But the main problem is to find where video editing is done in Yekaterinburg, and in other cities, truly professionally.

Professional video editing in the DV-PRO studio

Many unscrupulous studios, offering video editing services, attract customers with only one thing - low cost. But when working, as a rule, they only trim the plots and add clumsy transitions; for them, the main thing is to be quick, clumsy and done. As a result, in such a film the picture and sound are not processed, illiterate connection of plots, meaningless musical accompaniment and an abundance of inappropriate transitions that greatly spoil the perception - in general, it does not get any better, and it turns out that you did not save, but lost. I think you've seen tons of videos like this on the Internet.

This became especially true after the so-called “economic crisis”. The customers themselves, in search of “wherever it’s cheaper,” try to save every penny, forgetting about quality and pushing many operators to do hackwork instead of normal video editing. Trying to save money, these people are robbing themselves, because by watching a film that was edited quickly and simply, that is, cheaply, they will not get the emotions that they could get if the video was shot and edited at a high technical and artistic level. But tell me, how much is your smile on your face worth from watching a truly good film? What about the smiles of your children or parents? Unfortunately, many are trying to save money on this.

In our studio, each video material is approached individually; depending on the content of the video, music, video and audio effects are selected. Not only the picture is processed, but also the sound, and all this is done not with just anything, but with programs specially designed for this. Many people are first of all interested in the cost of video editing, but believe me, the price is far from the most important thing, much more important is what is included in this very editing, what will be done with your video recording, how to process it, but more on that below.

Another important point- this is the coding of finished material with correct settings into the required format. Anyone who does video editing at a professional level purchases good and expensive programs for high-quality video compression, while an amateur will use some cheap encoder. As a result, in addition to the poor appearance of the artistic component, the quality also deteriorates technically. To everything we can add that when ordering video editing in the DV-PRO studio, the designer can create an individual cover for the disc, and after that your videos will take on a completely different look!

Since the head of the DV-PRO studio is an experienced traveler, he takes videos for editing, first of all, about travel. One of our clients is a famous traveler from Yekaterinburg, the head of the VEK company - Evgeniy Korbut. He ordered a video montage of his anniversary celebration from our studio. On the page "

Computer science, cybernetics and programming

A shot or shooting frame that is slightly longer than the one that will be visible on the screen after editing the film is called an editing frame. The plan is drawn up after carefully reviewing all the filmed material and determining the basic concept of film editing, hence the name: film editing plan. it is only an element that organizes the finished but still raw material, first of all in the process of film editing. The working material for viewing or storing in an archive can be long, but the film should be short, laconic and brief...

1. Video film making technology

The technology of creating a video film is a holistic creative process, divided into certain stages and aimed at achieving the main result - the creation of a video film. Each stage is characterized by special tasks and means to solve these problems.

Stage 1: choosing a theme for the video.

This stage is informational and motivational in nature. If you are involved in the creation of a video film, then at this stage you act as the author of the script and, first of all, you must determine for yourself what you want to shoot and why.

We can safely say that a good film is, first of all, a well-chosen topic, and secondly, an interesting, well-developed script.

Stage 2: Decide on sound and music.

Sound can be synchronous or asynchronous.

Synchronized sound is usually used when filming event videos, when filming monologues, to convey the atmosphere of the scene.

This, naturally, is the human voice, and other sounds involved in the action (recorded both synchronously and superimposed on the video after filming). Non-synchronous sounds can create a certain emotional mood, explain the actions of the characters, enhance the sound characteristics of the characters, etc.

Stage 3: When all this work is done, you can sit down to write the script.

The film consists of frames, scenes and episodes.

The frame is the smallest dynamic unit of film. The frame being filmed or filmed is slightly longer than the one that will be visible on the screen after editing the film (this frame is called an editing frame). For each frame, you need to choose the most suitable shot (shooting scale). Decisive in this is the expressiveness of the frame and the need to convey any information contained in it. An episode is a relatively complete part of a film, not requiring unity of place, but possessing unity of action and theme. The scene is an element of action, which is also characterized by the unity of place. Recommended stages for creating a script: 1. Episodes are planned. 2. The task of each episode is determined. 3. The dramatic sequence of episodes is determined. 4. Episodes are divided sequentially into scenes. 5. Objectives are set for these scenes. 6. The nature of the action is clarified. 7. The roles of the actors are determined. Stage 4: video filming. When the script has been written, the appropriate plots have been chosen, the location for filming has been chosen, the music has been decided and, most importantly, there is a video camera, you can start shooting the film.

Stage 5: drawing up an installation plan. An editing plan is a list of shots compiled in the order in which these shots should be located in the film. Such a plan speeds up the editing work, protects against mistakes, allows you to navigate the shape of the future picture, and facilitates writing text and dubbing. The plan is drawn up after carefully reviewing all the filmed material and determining the basic concept of film editing (hence the name: film editing plan).

Stage 6: film editing. Development of a structure that combines content into a single whole. The purpose of the design is to keep everything in balance and harmony. The main role here is given to the systematization of video material in a certain logical order in accordance with the requirements of dramaturgy and cinematic photogenicity. Design, as opposed to concept, can sometimes be a creative device, i.e. it is only an element that organizes ready-made but still raw material, first of all in the process of film editing. The general compositional patterns of film construction are refracted in their own way in the microcosm of the film - the episode. It should be taken into account that in cinema, as in any art, form plays an extremely important role, but it should not dominate the content. Only the unity of content and form, the balance between them and the community can give the necessary result. The working material for viewing or storing in an archive can be long, but the film must be short, laconic, succinct in content, “sparse”, but expressive and accurately answer its main task - for the sake of which it was filmed

There are 2 types of editing: linear and nonlinear. The next chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

2. Linear and non-linear editing

Nowadays, the computer has ceased to be exotic. Now it is difficult to find a person who would not have anything to do with him. And children sometimes understand computers even better than adults, so it is now easier for the younger generation to learn non-linear editing. And to become a good editor or, as they say now, an editing director, it is not enough to know the equipment, you need to study the theory of editing and be able to feel it.

Today, depending on the equipment used, there are three types of installation:linear, nonlinear and combined, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Linear editing involves dubbing video material from two or more video sources onto a video recording device, cutting out unnecessary and “gluing” necessary video scenes and adding effects. This method has been used since the very beginning of video production and involves the use of at least, two devices a camera or VCR with source material and a recorder VCR with a blank tape.

Non-linear editing is carried out on the basis computer systems. In this case, the source materials are first entered into the computer, and then installation procedures are carried out on them.

Combined editing combines the advantages of linear and non-linear editing. In this case, the nonlinear video editing system acts as a video source. Disadvantage is, as a rule, a higher price.

What's better?

In linear editing, dubbing leads to deterioration in quality. The main source of interference is the recording of the signal on and playback from magnetic tape, as well as the many connections, contacts, devices, etc. through which the signal passes.

In non-linear editing, the signal is converted into digital form and is located in the computer, without undergoing any changes (such as re-recordings) until the process of “editing”, in practice it is impossible to restore it completely. Repeated compression further degrades the quality, which generally calls into question the feasibility of archiving compressed material. In linear installation this problem does not exist.

Now about other disadvantages of non-linear editing. “Downloading” material into the computer takes quite a long time. And the more, the more source material, since the signal is converted into digital form in real time. At first glance, it seems that it is being spent completely unproductively. In addition, you have to choose between the amount of material needed for work and the level of compression, which affects the quality of the recorded material, since the computer's memory capacity is limited. This problem will be solved when cameras with removable hard drives, replacing the camera's video recorder, are widely used. In the meantime, with a large number of sources, linear hardware is preferable.

Now let's get back to the rewrites. They are also necessary when creating any complex effect, when the equipment does not allow you to do it right away. In this case, you have to write down each component such an effect separately, as a result, overwrites occur that do not occur in non-linear editing. Digitally creating a complex effect is quite easy, even if done piecemeal, without losing quality.

Every director and editor is familiar with the problem of timing. It is very difficult to fit the transmission within a predetermined framework, since overrun or underrun of time is measured not even in tens of seconds, but in units (for example, plus or minus five seconds). In non-linear editing there is no such problem: at any moment and anywhere in the transmission you can insert or cut the desired piece. With the advent of new technologies, one can only regret that the time of professionals who came to editing with a ready-made editing sheet and source codes painted down to the frames is wasted. Nowadays, many directors think about timing only when there is a lack of time or (even worse) too much time. Then the frantic work begins on the entire program, looking for places that could be cut or expanded. And if such a place is found in the tenth minute of a fifty-minute broadcast, you should either rewrite everything that was recorded after this place (and this is very difficult), or take another cassette as a “master” (that is, the tape on which the program is collected) and rewrite mounted material on it, inserting or removing everything that is needed. And this is overwriting, that is, deterioration in quality. And if you consider that in non-linear editing there is no need to replace tapes when switching to another source and there is the possibility of instant access to any frame, then you will be in favor of non-linear editing.

To create complex effects, especially effects associated with changing the video signal (color correction, brightness, defocus, etc.), you need very powerful processor, which could process huge amounts of data. In this regard, many effects in non-linear editing are not done in real time (while equipment designed for linear editing allows this to be done in real time and even very simply). But this is a temporary drawback, because a new, more powerful processor may soon appear. But there is the convenience of compatibility, which allows you to transfer information from one computer to another (for example, from an editing computer to video graphics equipment and back). In general, with the transition to digital form, the problem of information transmission ceases to be relevant. For example, in Betacam SX format, you can transmit digital information four times faster than real time.

To determine what type of installation is needed for a particular case, you should correctly set the task for yourself, answering, for example, the following questions: what needs to be obtained in the end, what means are available for this and how much time, what quality should be, etc. I have compiled a comparative table of the advantages and disadvantages of linear and non-linear editing hardware (average characteristics), which, I hope, will help you in your choice.

Table 1

Advantages

Flaws

Linear editing room

For any action - a full video signal. High efficiency, especially with a large number of subordinates. Ease of working with big amount takes.

Creation of complex effects in real time. Greater reliability of the equipment.

Great dependence of quality on the number of rewrites. Cumbersome equipment.

With any subsequent adjustment, it is necessary to erase and record the signal again. Difficulty in training maintenance personnel. The need to first convert the composite signal to component.

Nonlinear editing room

Saving information in case of equipment failure. Does not require re-recording. Instant access to any frame. Compatible with many digital and non-linear systems. Low price compared to analog equipment. Ability to change the mounted material at any time and in any place. Ability to work with a large amount audio tracks.

Any “gluing” occurs in real time. Compression. Requires a lot of time to input the signal into the computer. Requires conversion to analog form for broadcasting.

Great care is required when preparing for editing. The difficulty of alternating two or more programs when working on one computer. The more source material is recorded, the worse the equipment works.

In general, the difference between linear and non-linear editing systems is exactly the same as between a typewriter and a word processor, the latter giving you creative freedom and allowing you to work at a style and pace that suits you. You can easily outline the key points of the film first, and then work everything else around them.

Having decided on editing, all that remains is to choose a program for creating a video.

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When I was studying at the institute, one of the teachers said that “in the field of radio electronics, concepts and technology are updated by fifty percent in five years.” Later, already working in television, I realized that for television technology this period is reduced to a year or two, since it is developing at an unusually fast pace.

Today, depending on the equipment used, there are two types of installation: linear and nonlinear, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Linear editing is editing in which a video signal is transferred from one VCR to another, undergoing many changes along the way according to the director's intention. It is used by many directors who have been working in television for at least five years. And with non-linear editing, the video signal is recorded into a computer, where it is subsequently processed. What's better?

In non-linear editing, the signal is converted into digital form and is stored in the computer, without undergoing any changes (such as re-recordings) before the process of “driving” the edited material onto a cassette. This is a very big advantage. However, there is also a problem in non-linear editing, since in many hardware the signal is digitized with compression, that is, compressed (an uncompressed signal takes up a lot of memory in the computer). Of course, there are hardware units that work with an uncompressed signal, but so far this is rare. And with compression, part of the signal is lost irretrievably. There are ways to restore the signal, but in practice it is impossible to restore it completely. Repeated compression further degrades the quality, which generally calls into question the feasibility of archiving compressed material. In linear installation this problem does not exist.

Now let's get back to the rewrites. They are also necessary when creating any complex effect, when the equipment does not allow you to do it right away. In this case, you have to record each component of such an effect separately, which results in overwrites that do not happen in non-linear editing. Digitally creating a complex effect is quite easy, even if done piecemeal, without losing quality.

Every director and editor is familiar with the problem of timing. It is very difficult to fit the transmission within a predetermined framework, since overrun or underrun of time is measured not even in tens of seconds, but in units (for example, plus or minus five seconds). In non-linear editing there is no such problem: at any moment and anywhere in the transmission you can insert or cut the desired piece. With the advent of new technologies, one can only regret that the time of professionals who came to editing with a ready-made editing sheet and source codes painted down to the frames is wasted. Nowadays, many directors think about timing only when there is a lack of time or (even worse) too much time. Then the frantic work begins on the entire program, looking for places that could be cut or expanded. And if such a place is found in the tenth minute of a fifty-minute broadcast, you should either rewrite everything that was recorded after this place (and this is very difficult), or take another cassette as a “master” (that is, the cassette on which the broadcast is collected) and rewrite mounted material on it, inserting or removing everything that is needed. And this is overwriting, that is, deterioration in quality. And if you consider that in non-linear editing there is no need to replace tapes when switching to another source and there is the possibility of instant access to any frame, then you will be in favor of non-linear editing.

To create complex effects, especially effects related to changes in the video signal (color correction, brightness, defocus, etc.), you need a very powerful processor that can process a huge amount of data. In this regard, many effects in non-linear editing are not done in real time (while equipment designed for linear editing allows this to be done in real time and even very simply). But this is a temporary drawback, because a new, more powerful processor may soon appear. But there is the convenience of compatibility, which allows you to transfer information from one computer to another (for example, from an editing computer to video graphics equipment and back). In general, with the transition to digital form, the problem of information transmission ceases to be relevant. For example, in the Betacam SX format, digital information can be transmitted four times faster than in real time.

This article is for those who are trying to understand the difference between linear and non-linear editing and the associated advantages and disadvantages, without having much knowledge in this area. Therefore, I will explain with my fingers.

Linear and non-linear editing are terms that can only be applied to electronic video. There is no such division in filmmaking.

At first it was just installation...

Film editing meant working with the medium itself. The film could be cut and glued anywhere. The director could run into the editing room with a better-shot take at any time: the film was rewound to the desired fragment, the low-quality take was cut out and a new one was pasted in. Everything is simple here. So simple that film in cinematography is only at its most Lately began to be replaced by digital.

Linear installation

Line editing appeared with VCRs and electronically recording video and audio signals. Because the signal is recorded in a tricky way: you cannot cut out an unsuccessful take from the tape and paste in a new one - interference will appear. Therefore, all scenes were recorded on tape sequentially - linearly. However, no one called linear editing linear until the advent of non-linear editing. Just like no one will call the first part of the film the first until the second appears.

But let's start with the music...

You've probably already done this!

Perhaps you didn't have two VCRs at once. But many people probably saw the era of two-cassette tape recorders and music centers, which means they were engaged in linear editing.

Imagine: you have a cassette on which you need to record a collection of your favorite songs - this is a master. And there is a CD or cassette from which these songs need to be rewritten - this is the source. The catch is that there are a lot of songs on the source, but you only like some, not all of them.

And here's what you do: put one cassette on record, another on the beginning of your first favorite song and at the same time press the pause buttons, starting playback and recording. Your favorite song is over, you pause the recording and look for the next worthy song on the source. Found it - pause the source before the song, then simultaneously release the pauses and record the second song. Sequential recording from source to master is linear editing. You could record songs from different discs or cassettes onto one cassette, consistently changing the source and turning on the recording in a timely manner.

And now - video!

Owners of video cameras did something similar, copying not everything from the source tape, but selected fragments onto a master tape in a VCR. Some relatives needed to record several recordings from different cassettes on one tape at once - this is also a kind of linear editing.

Back to the Future

Double cassette players, music centers and amateur video cameras with VCRs - this is what a domestic person could find in the late 80s and later. And the first “video recorders” for television broadcasting worked from the mid-50s to the mid-80s in the World and from the 60s to the early 2000s in this country. At the same time, linear editing appeared and successfully developed (which no one called linear at that time).

The advantage of linear editing is live editing

Linear editing can be considered the undisputed leader in the production of television programs of various types. Typically, several cameras are placed on the set, and the live editing director records a master tape, switching sources and creating dynamics. This type of editing allows you to create a master tape without pauses, “on the fly.” All kinds of talk shows, sporting events, and live broadcasts are simply impossible without linear editing. And do not forget that a video camera was crossed with a recording device relatively recently, and before that time, each camera was connected to a separate tape recorder, or - through the linear editing director's console - several cameras were recorded on one tape recorder.

Techniques standard for linear live video editing were practically impossible in conventional cinematography. Imagine that a sports broadcast is being recorded on film. As a result, you receive material for editing only after the event (with a delay), and from each camera - kilometers of film. Uncomfortable.

On-the-fly linear editing is the best thing ever, but...

There was also a need to edit with pauses. And this is also linear editing. Don't think that nonlinear and linear are the same as offline and online - in live and no. Don’t think about non-linear editing at all yet - it doesn’t exist yet.

In general, the greatest hemorrhoids of the lineman were all kinds of inserts, overlays and transitions. Today you simply insert a frame change script between two clips through “flipping”, but previously this required three professional video recorders and a video remote control - this is the minimum. Two tape recorders were used as sources: on one video “before”, on the second “after” the frame change. The video remote ensures a smooth transition. The finished result is written to the third tape recorder. And all this equipment had to be synchronized with each other.

This is what a typical “interface” of a tape recorder looks like. All this bunch of buttons and lights was really needed. There were not much fewer of them on non-recording tape recorders. And if you think this is a complete paragraph, then let me show you what was going on behind each such tape recorder.

Unlike ordinary household video cameras, where only two “tulips” were needed for sound and video, professional solutions had two connectors for audio, several connectors for video and a bunch of service connections for connecting control panels, video remotes, synchronization signals and other things. I didn’t go into detail, but the video signal there was transmitted not as a composite tulip signal, but as a component one. You can see something similar in modern DVD players and receivers, where video is transmitted in three or four “tulips” instead of one.

Uh-uh, what are “tulips”?

A tulip is an RCA type connection (both a socket and a plug now). The first plugs were produced not with a solid ring, but with a petal ring and in shape they actually somewhat resembled a tulip. Today, plugs with a solid ring are ubiquitous (it’s cheaper), but the name remains and has spread not only to the plugs, but also to the connector itself.

The obvious disadvantage of linear installation

Imagine: the master tape is ready, but then the director runs in with a cassette and demands to replace one take with another. The master tape immediately becomes the normal source, the director's tape becomes the second source, and the new blank tape is declared the master. And everything from the previous master is written on it, then a new take, then the rest of the material from the former master. Constant re-recordings, of course, affected the final quality, although manufacturers took every conceivable and unimaginable step to reduce film degradation. If you try to repeat this trick on home equipment with VHS tapes, you will see a drastic deterioration in the quality of the final recording.

So when did non-linear editing appear?!

Formally, the term itself was popularized in 1991, along with the publication of a book by Michael Ruben. And the first non-linear editing system appeared in 1971, worked with black and white video, took up a lot of space and cost as much as a platinum spaceship. It was very expensive to edit a talk show on such equipment, so non-linear editing actually appeared in the nineties, when several companies made computer programs for installation.

Computer programs for editing: the beginning

At first, all computer programs for installation only simplified the work of linemen. In fact, it was an advanced editing console that could remember all editing transitions and splices in order to reduce the amount of work. Some computers were used to add titles and special effects (but their memory was only enough for a couple of minutes of video at best). Then it became possible to load simplified video (of obviously lower quality) into these programs and work with it. Thus, the original film needed to be spun only twice: the first time to input video into the system, and the second time at the time of recording to the master.

Linear editing occurs more often in real time ( structural scheme linear installation is shown in Fig. 3.). Video from several sources (VCRs, cameras, etc.) is sent through a switch to the receiver (broadcaster, recording device). In this case, the linear editing director switches signal sources. Linear editing is also referred to as the process of cutting scenes in video material without disrupting their sequence.

Fig.6.

With non-linear editing, video or film (which can be scanned and converted into digital form) is divided into fragments, after which the fragments are recorded in the desired sequence, in in the required format to the selected video media. In this case, fragments can be trimmed, that is, not all of the source material falls into the target sequence; sometimes the reductions are very large-scale. With linear editing, the source material (the result of video filming itself) is on a videotape, and in order to find the required frame, you have to rewind the film, which wears out expensive editing equipment and takes up equally expensive editing time. In this case, fragments can be trimmed, that is, not all of the source material falls into the target sequence; sometimes the reductions are very large-scale.

In the case of film, the process of non-linear editing occurs manually: an editor, using an editing table under the guidance of a film director, cuts the film in the right places, and then glues the fragments together in the sequence chosen by the director.

Fig.7.

Hybrid video editing has the advantages of the first two (the nonlinear video editing system plays the role of a video source). The disadvantage is the higher price.

In the case of non-linear editing (the block diagram of non-linear editing is shown in Fig. 4.) all the material is on the hard drive, resulting in random access to the required frame. And this is without taking into account the possibilities of digital image processing that modern technology provides to the user. software. And these possibilities are almost limitless: object modeling, special effects, filters, titles, etc.

In 1917, Lev Kuleshov wrote about editing: “In order to make a picture, the director must compose the individual filmed pieces, disordered and incoherent, into one whole and compare the individual moments in the most advantageous, integral and rhythmic sequence, just as a child puts together individual, scattered cubes with letters containing a whole word or phrase.”

Video compression is a reduction in the amount of data used to represent a video stream. Video compression allows you to effectively reduce the stream required to transmit video over broadcast channels and reduce the space required to store data on the media. Disadvantages: when using lossy compression, characteristic, sometimes clearly visible artifacts appear - for example, blocking (splitting the image into blocks of 8x8 pixels), blurring (loss of small details of the image), etc. There are also methods for lossless video compression, but today they do not reduce the data enough. Image Quality Analysis - If there is an image quality assessment tool that can be considered a benchmark, it is certainly Tektronix's PQA-200 system, designed for testing products before they are released to the market. Therefore, we used this system to test the digitization boards presented in the review. (For more on the PQA-200, see the sidebar “How Image Quality is Measured.”) The only problem with the PQA-200 is that the ratings it produces can be misleading at first. PQA-200 generates an uncompressed video sequence, which is recorded into the system under study. The system's output sequence is fed back to the PQA-200, where it is compared to the original on a field-by-field, pixel-by-pixel basis. Using an algorithm developed based on years of research conducted at Sarnoff Corporation, PQA-200 determines differences in image quality from the perspective of the average viewer. The final result is the PQR parameter, which shows the degree of correspondence of the recording to the original. This means that we can now determine once and for all beyond doubt better system? Unfortunately no. PQR estimates can be misleading if misinterpreted. And this is precisely why we did not try to collect all the ratings on one chart, so that there would be no temptation to compare PQR ratings for different systems. As long as you remember that the PQR score is not an absolute measure of quality, you'll be fine. It is actually a relative measure of the difference between before and after. In other words, when a diet commercial is shown on TV, it's easy to evaluate the before and after photos by the number of pounds lost during the diet. However, it makes no sense to decide based on this figure who is the most beautiful in the “before” photographs. PQR scores differentiate between before and after for each specific model equipment, but to compare characteristics different models, the "before" data must be the same for models A and B - otherwise the comparison is meaningless. Therefore, you will have to do the analytical work yourself. A number of conclusions can be drawn based on the figures presented in the review - try to understand them carefully. But undoubtedly you can find out much more as a result of your own analysis. Be careful when comparing different systems and formats. Video is essentially a three-dimensional array of colored pixels. Two dimensions represent the vertical and horizontal resolution of the frame, and the third dimension is time. A frame is an array of all pixels visible to the camera at this moment time, or just an image. In video, so-called half-frames are also possible (see: interlaced scanning).

Compression would be impossible if each frame was unique and the pixel arrangement was completely random, but this is not the case. Therefore, you can compress, firstly, the picture itself - for example, a photograph of a blue sky without the sun actually comes down to a description of the boundary points and the fill gradient. Secondly, you can compress similar neighboring frames. Ultimately, image and video compression algorithms are similar if we consider video as three-dimensional image with time as the third coordinate. Lossless compression. In addition to lossy compression, video can also be losslessly compressed.

This means that when decompressed, the result will be exactly (bit for bit) identical to the original. However, with lossless compression it is impossible to achieve high compression ratios on real (not artificial) video. For this reason, almost all commonly used video is lossy compressed. In particular, HD DVD and Blu-ray discs and satellite broadcasts also contain and transmit lossily compressed video.

Video compression and motion compensation technology

One of the most powerful technologies for increasing compression ratio is motion compensation. For any modern system video compression, subsequent frames in a stream use the similarity of areas in previous frames to increase the compression ratio. However, due to the movement of any objects in the frame (or the camera itself), the use of similarity between adjacent frames was incomplete. Motion compensation technology allows you to find similar areas, even if they are shifted relative to the previous frame. State of the art - Today, almost all video compression algorithms (for example, standards adopted by ITU-T or ISO) use the discrete cosine transform (DCT) or its modifications to eliminate spatial redundancy. Other methods, such as fractal compression and discrete wavelet transform, have also been the subject of research, but are now typically used only for still image compression.

The use of most compression methods (such as discrete cosine transform and wavelet transform) also entails the use of a quantization process. Quantization can be either scalar or vector; however, most compression schemes in practice use scalar quantization due to its simplicity.

Modern digital television broadcasting has become accessible precisely thanks to video compression. TV stations can broadcast more than just video high definition(HDTV), but also several TV channels in one physical TV channel (6 MHz).

Although most video content today is broadcast using the MPEG-2 video compression standard, newer and more efficient video compression standards are already being used in television broadcasting - such as H.264 and VC-1. Now the development of the video subsystem is proceeding at a crazy pace, and video adapters often dictate the fashion for monitors, but at the dawn of the computer era everything was quite the opposite. So where did this piece of hardware come from, which can currently compete with the processor in cost? The first monitors, which were the successors of oscilloscopes, were vector and did not require the presence of a video adapter, because in them the image was built not by sequential irradiation of the screen with an electron beam line by line, but, so to speak, “from point to point.” The computer controlled the display deflection system directly. However, as monitor output replaced teletype output and image complexity increased, it became more practical to connect the computer to a television. Monitors followed this path of development. The television image is raster, so there was a need for intermediate blocks to prepare graphic information to display. To construct a picture now required specialized, rather resource-intensive calculations, so special devices were needed that were designed to work with raster monitors that could store video information, process it and convert it into analog form for display on the display. The main technology here can be considered frame-buffer...

This work will consider the problem of converting video recordings on any analogue media (TV broadcast, VHS video cassette, S-VHS, etc.) or on an unreliable digital one (digital video cassette) into a set of files on the computer’s hard drive, which can then be burn to CD or DVD. At the same time, the simplicity of the technology, the low cost of the necessary equipment will be at the forefront, and only then the quality of the result and the speed of the process. The technique under consideration is prepared for non-professional use. Methods such as “real-time video processing” are not necessary within the framework of the task, therefore they will not be considered. Television systems - one of the important indicators of the board is what television system it can work with. It is best if the board is multi-system, that is, it supports PAL, NTSC and SECAM. However, one must take into account (especially when purchasing abroad) that some boards have their own version for each system; in this case, of course, you should take the PAL version. A small number of boards support the simplest transcoding functions, but the quality of the conversion often leaves much to be desired. Types of signals. Next important characteristic- what types of signals the board works with. Here the choice depends primarily on the video equipment you have. For example, if you work with the S-VHS standard, there is no point in overpaying for component (YUV/RGB) inputs/outputs; you can probably find a more acceptable solution. Some boards have a version with S-Video inputs with the ability to upgrade to a component or digital (usually D1) version and, if you are looking forward to the future, this may be a good choice. A separate conversation concerns the DV format. Many companies have released inexpensive video cameras of this format, but in this case it makes sense to talk only about those that support the standard IEEE 1394 FireWare interface. In order to enter data into a computer in digital form, there are two ready-made solutions. real time", in addition, due to recompression, there may be some drop in quality. After this, the video material can be processed on a computer and transferred to tape in analog form. This configuration is well suited for those who already have a video capture card. The second solution is more preferable, although It may be a little more expensive to purchase a video capture card that already has a FireWare interface and can directly work in the DV format, that is, perform input/output and non-linear editing in this format. In this case, conversion and recompression are not required. At the time of writing, the market There was only one such board available and at least two were expected to be available soon.Overley mode: If the board supports this mode, you can view "live" full-screen video on a computer monitor. This opportunity allows you to make the work simpler and more visual; in addition, there is no need to constantly use a video monitor (or TV) to watch video material. Remember - the overlay must be “clean” - without twitching or strobing. If such a mode exists, you should find out at what resolutions and with what graphics adapters it is provided, otherwise you may need to change the SVGA card. Audio Capabilities - Naturally, you want to digitize video along with audio. Inexpensive video capture cards require the use of a separate sound card for this purpose, which, however, is available in most computers today. In this case, problems may sometimes arise with audio-video synchronization (usually, during playback, the audio gradually precedes the video). To prevent this from happening, you need to find out which ones sound cards This video capture card works normally. Some of them have a specialized sound card, supplied separately. Of course, it’s best if the sound is built into the video capture card itself, then most problems are removed.

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