2 <h2>Overview of Operations</h2>
5 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Session > Open Video</kbd></th>
6 <td>Add/replace a video to/on the timeline</td></tr>
7 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Window > View Monitor</kbd></th>
8 <td>Open/close external video monitor window</td></tr>
9 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">View > Video Monitor > …</kbd></th>
10 <td>Various settings of the video monitor</td></tr>
11 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Session > Export > Video</kbd></th>
12 <td>Export session and multiplex with video-file</td></tr>
13 <tr><th><kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag the video in the timeline</th>
14 <td>Re-align video and move 'locked' audio-regions along</td></tr>
15 <tr><th>Context-menu on the video-timeline: <kbd class="menu"> 'lock'</kbd></th>
16 <td>Prevent accidental drags</td></tr>
17 <tr><th>Audio region context menu: <kbd class="menu">Position > Lock to video</kbd></th>
18 <td>Mark audio region(s) to be moved along with the video.</td></tr>
24 Adding video is a two-step process: selecting a video file, and choosing
25 import mode and optionally selecting an audio track to extract.
28 The first step is rather straight-forward. The panel on the right side
29 allows to seek through the video and displays basic file information.
30 It is also useful to check if the video format/codec is supported:
33 <figure class="center">
34 <img src="/images/a3_video_open.png" alt="The video open dialog">
41 The second step analyzes the video file in more detail and offers import options:
44 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Import/Transcode to Session</kbd></th>
45 <td>This is the default. The video will be imported in a suitable
46 video format/codec for the timeline and video monitor and saved inside the
47 session folder. A location other than the session folder can also be
48 chosen (external disk, or network storage of the video server on a different
50 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Reference from Current Location</kbd></th>
51 <td>Only useful for opening files that were previously encoded (are already
52 in a good format/codec). Should be used with care.</td></tr>
53 <tr><th><kbd class="menu">Do not Import Video</kbd></th>
54 <td>Useful for extracting audio only.</td></tr>
58 <figure class="center">
59 <img src="/images/a3_video_import.png" alt="The Video Import dialog">
61 The Video Import dialog
66 By default the video is imported using the original width/height.
67 If it is a large video (e.g. full-HD), it makes sense to scale it down
68 to decrease the CPU load and disk I/O required to decode and play the
72 A small, low-quality representation of the image is usually sufficient
73 for editing soundtracks. The default bitrate in kbit/sec is set to use
74 0.7 bits per pixel (in comparison, the average DVD medium uses 5000 kbit/s;
75 at PAL resolution this is about 0.5 bits per pixel, but the DVD is
76 using the <dfn>mpeg2</dfn>—a denser compression algorithm than the
77 <dfn>mjpeg</dfn> codec used by Ardour).
80 <h2>Working with A/V</h2>
82 Working with A/V in Ardour is similar to working in a pure audio setup, except
83 for the presence of a video timeline in the <a href="@@ruler">ruler</a> zone,
84 and a Xjadeo video window, showing a preview of the result.
87 <figure class="center">
88 <img class= "mini" src="/images/a3_videotimeline.png" alt="The Video Timeline">
95 The Xjadeo window supports some user interactions, such as showing some OSD
96 information or changing the zoom level. Xjadeo's documentation is available
97 on its <a href="http://xjadeo.sourceforge.net/xjadeo.html#heading8">website</a>.
100 <h2 id="export">Exporting Video</h2>
102 The video export will take audio from the current Ardour session and
103 multiplex it with a video file. The soundtrack of the video is taken from
104 an audio export of Ardour's master bus.
107 An arbitrary video file can be chosen. For high quality exports, the
108 original file (before it was imported into the timeline) should be used.
109 This is the default behaviour if that file can be found. If not, Ardour
110 will fall back to the imported proxy-video which is currently in use
111 on the timeline. Any existing audio tracks on this video file are stripped.
114 The range selection allows to cut or extend the video. If the session is
115 longer than the video duration, black frames are prefixed or appended to
116 the video. (Note: this process may fail with non-standard pixel aspect
117 ratios). If Ardour's session range is shorter, the video will be cut accordingly.
121 Audio sample-rate and normalization are options for Ardour's audio exporter.
122 The remaining settings are options that are directly passed on to ffmpeg.
126 The file format is determined by the extension chosen for it
127 (.avi, .mov, .flv, .ogv, .webm,…).
128 Note: not all combinations of format, codec, and settings produce files
129 which are according to specifications. For example, flv files require
130 sample rates of 22.1 kHz or 44.1 kHz, mpeg containers can not
131 be used with ac3 audio-codec, etc. If in doubt, one of the built-in
132 presets should be used.
135 <figure class="center">
136 <img src="/images/a3_video_export.png" alt="The Video Export Dialog">
138 The Video Export Dialog
143 Ardour video export is not recommended for mastering! While ffmpeg
144 (which is used by Ardour) can produce high-quality files, this export
145 lacks the possibility to tweak many settings. We recommend using
146 <a href="http://www.biggmatt.com/winff/">winff</a>,
147 <a href="http://www.rastersoft.com/programas/devede.html">devede</a> or
148 <a href="http://dvdauthor.sourceforge.net/">dvdauthor</a> to mux and master.
149 Nevertheless this video-export comes in handy to do quick snapshots,
150 intermediates, dailies or online videos.