GoPro Hero2 Editing software for PC

I just bought a Hero2 and it saves the files under mp4 format which I cannot use with Windows Movie Maker, I have to convert it to a avi. file then edit it but damn the avi file is huge.  The other thing that sucks is when I go to save the wmv file in Windows Movie Maker it wont allow me to save it in 1080 format the biggest I can go is 720.  Kind of defeats the purpose of having a HD video imo.  So what do you guys use to edit your videos and add music and keep the 1080 format?

GoPro website has software available for editing videos; the basic is freeware and they have a professional version for a few bucks....

I've noticed the same dang thing and it sucks to have an HD camera and the result is not even close. Have been reading about some other software out there that this won't happen with. Do some searching on the GoPro forums and you'll get a ton of information about whats out there, including a bunch of technical stuff you cannot decipher cuz it's way over your head. Cyberlink Power Director keeps coming up as a super good software program for making movies in HD. Check it out. There is a version 10 out but the version 9 is on ebay for about 35  bucks and it appears to be super good and fairly easy to use. It has received many good reviews. I'm about to purchase it myself and write off Windows Movie Maker for good. Hope this helps,

Shannon

I've been posting and editing video for a couple of decades now, and have to say that mp4 compression is a beautiful thing compared to what we had to do just a couple of years ago. However, I completely understand the issue you are having.  There are two main considerations to think about before you drag any video onto the timeline:

1.  What is your target media?  Are you posting to DVD or Blu-Ray, or do you just want to post videos on YouTube to share with friends? 

For most people, YouTube is their primary outlet, with an occasional DVD burn.  If this is the case, then 720P is an EXCELLENT format for home videos.  You tube streams 720P (it interlaces it to 720I) seamlessly on a 700k bandwidth (the equivalent of 3G cell service), and DVDs are native at 720P. 

If you are posting to Blu-Ray, then you should maximize the 1080P resolution.  YouTube does support 1080P (again, it interlaces it to 1080I), but requires almost 2MB/sec bandwidth to support it.  Most people are not viewing youTube on this type of connection, and reduce the resolution to reduce lagging in the stream.  (I know, I know, Comcast says your internet is 10MB/sec, but that is burst speed, not seed speed that is used for streaming).

2.  How much do you want to spend for posting software, and how much time do you have to edit?

I post a 2-4 minute video after every fishing trip, and it typically takes me 3-5 hours to compile, post, and publish the clips from the 10-15GB of video I record.   Most of this time is spent "clipping." That is taking small chunks out of the big files so I am not dragging HUGE file into my editor.  This saves me the headaches of glitches and crashes large files can create, and makes my editing process much more fluid.  I use a free program called Yamb to "chunk" my files.  It still takes forever.

75% of my production for web videos is done in Cyberlink Power Director, a sub-$100 program that is commonly used to produce local TV shows and news casts.  For DVD and Blu-Ray authoring, I use Adobe Premiere and AfterEffects, a $5K suite used to by most large production studios for full length films. 

Windows Movie Maker and some of the other freeware programs work GREAT for simple productions for the web.  Xilisoft Video Converter is a great tool for converting your files to be used in WMM.  It will also "clip" files as it converts.

People often get hung up on "High Definition", thinking that 1080P is the ONLY way to go.   This is simply the result of very good advertising by electronics companies.  What makes an image HD is the "P", not the number in front of it.  The P means progressive, which refers to how an image is drawn on the screen.  Standard Def images are typically 480I, "I" for Interlaced.   720P is HD, just as 480P is.  Either of these are going to look way better than 1080I.  Anyway, I digress...

I am more than happy to help anyone with specific issues you may be having when posting and publishing movies.  I certainly don't know everything about this stuff, but have encountered the same problems you are facing at some point.

I used Video Pad Video Editor...really fantastic easy to use please choose get it now and try it

http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html

Hey angling Wes, I have a 7 year old Dell laptop with basic components. Will the power director work for me on this computer?

Hey angling Wes, I have a 7 year old Dell laptop with basic components. Will the power director work for me on this computer?

I use version 8 on an older system, but I doubt it will run on your laptop very well.  Even if it did, laptops typically have fairly weak graphics processors, so it would take days to render effects and post video. 

Power Director version 8 is the first version to support mp4 file formats and h.264 codecs (HD video processing).  The newest version (10) requires a substantial computer to run OK, and a hot rod to really maximize its full potential.

Thanks for all the good feedback, I been toying with the settings with my Hero2 and come to the conclusion I just need to use 720-30 or 720-60( not sure what the difference is? ) because I really just want video for myself and maybe make a few youtube videos for friends and family.  Maybe I should have saved my $$ and get a cheaper older go pro...but oh well money spent.   I noticed that my laptop is running HARD when I use these programs (wmm ) and when trying to convert to a wmv it struggles.  I have a older d630 dell and boy does it struggle.    

as far as how much I want to spend on software, well not much! LOL  I just want to make 2-3 min videos and have videos for myself on when on hook onto a big one.  I can spend about 1-2 hrs editing but anything more..pushing it.  I have edited videos off my camcorder before and it was fun making them under windows movie maker, and to be honest I was expecting kind of the same with the hero2 but finding out its not even close.

I used Video Pad Video Editor...really fantastic easy to use please choose get it now and try it

http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html

I will give this a try.   

Thanks for all the good feedback, I been toying with the settings with my Hero2 and come to the conclusion I just need to use 720-30 or 720-60( not sure what the difference is? ) because I really just want video for myself and maybe make a few youtube videos for friends and family.  Maybe I should have saved my $$ and get a cheaper older go pro...but oh well money spent.   I noticed that my laptop is running HARD when I use these programs (wmm ) and when trying to convert to a wmv it struggles.  I have a older d630 dell and boy does it struggle.    

as far as how much I want to spend on software, well not much! LOL  I just want to make 2-3 min videos and have videos for myself on when on hook onto a big one.  I can spend about 1-2 hrs editing but anything more..pushing it.  I have edited videos off my camcorder before and it was fun making them under windows movie maker, and to be honest I was expecting kind of the same with the hero2 but finding out its not even close.

The dash numbers represent frames per second. If you want to do cool slow motion effects it is better to record at higher frames per second. If not, then it is probably best to record at 720-30. I imagine the higher the frames per second the greater the overall file size.

I have a pretty kick ass computer and it takes me about an hour just to download around 4 hours of videos from the GoPro to my computer. Then however long it takes me to skim through it, edit it, then save it Moviemaker, then however long it takes to upload to youtube, etc.

I have hours of video from my last few trips that I haven't even looked at yet...

... come to the conclusion I just need to use 720-30 or 720-60( not sure what the difference is? )

There is a lot of confusion about the 30 and 60 FPS settings.  FPS is Frames Per Second, or how many pictures the camera takes per second when filming.  Television in the US broadcasts at 29.97FPS (often called 30 non-drop or 30-nd).  Theater movies played at 24FPS. 

The 60FPS setting is for fast action scenes where slow motion is often used, or when still images are going to be pulled from the movie.  I use slow motion and stills often when editing fishing videos.  If you film at 60FPS, and slow it down to 1/2 speed, you have just created a very smooth slow motion effect without reducing the frame rate we are accustomed to.  Water splashes are much more "fluid" at 60 FPS compared to 30FPS because water moves fast and refracts light a ton.  Fishing videos can definitely benefit from 60FPS footage.   The drawbacks of using 60FPS all the time are file sizes and accelerated battery drain. 

Also consider the 960P setting on your GoPro.  It is the same width as 16:9 Widescreen, but also extends the field of view vertically.  Its like having wide/tall screen.  Some people don't like it because it requires a letterbox when viewing on a widescreen tv, but its not noticeable on YouTube.  Having the extra viewing area can make the difference between getting the shot or not.

Final thought:  SD video from a camcorder is 640x480 lines.  That's 307,200 pixels on the screen, but only every other line is drawn per frame, so the computer processes 153,600 pixels per frame.  1080P HD video is 1920x1080 lines.  That's  2,073,600 pixels on the screen, and every pixel is displayed each frame (only half of them change).  That's 13.5 times more screen pixels to process on each frame.  The computing power required to process this much data is very high.  If you are trying to produce HD video on a computer more than 3 years old, there will be some limitations on what you can accomplish without requiring hours of rendering time. 

great info there, thanks man! 

I am going to try some other settings and see which one I like more.  Do some of you guys use multiple batteries in your outings? Reason I ask is because my battery lasted like 2hrs at 960-30 setting.  Right when I got into action my battery died and was bummed, so I figured I need to bring along some extra batteries.

great info there, thanks man! 

I am going to try some other settings and see which one I like more.  Do some of you guys use multiple batteries in your outings? Reason I ask is because my battery lasted like 2hrs at 960-30 setting.  Right when I got into action my battery died and was bummed, so I figured I need to bring along some extra batteries.

I carry two batteries for every camera, and use 16GB cards.  A 16GB card will record almost 5 hours at 720P-30, which is the life of two batteries.  There is a battery backpak that allows you to install two batteries in the case.  It uses the expansion port, so you can not use the LCD backpack at the same time.  Extra batteries are about $12 on eBay, and there are many different chargers available for cheap as well.  Also, the camera uses almost as much battery power in standby mode as it does to record because of the internal heater, so turn it off when not recording.

The most difficult part of filming a fishing trip is knowing when to turn the camera on.   

yeah I was looking at the batteries and saw some are 1100mah and some are 1300mah rate, does it matter?

Also noticed that some batteries are ahdbt-001 and some are ahdbt-002, whats the difference? 

The 1300 mAh batteries will last slightly longer, but not worth paying more for.  Not sure about the 001 and 002 part numbers.  I looked thru my batts, and found both.  I think the 002 may just be used to designate the distributor???  Either will work in your HERO 2.