Automatic Editing for the People
August 12, 2005

Video is almost always edited before it is shared with anyone. That's according to our very informal survey, in which readers were asked if they like to go "raw" by sharing, screening or selling unedited video (raw footage on a camera tape).

Many of you said there was a ton of video footage in the closet, perhaps never to see the light of day, because it needs some editing. But we all know that sorting through hours of videotape can be a tedious and time-consuming process.

Searching out the good parts means watching all the bad parts, too – bad colors, poor exposures, shaky camerawork, and embarrassing moments all have to be edited out before the opus is really ready for prime time, according to most people who wrote in.

That attitude is not necessarily surprising, but it is a little contradictory. Industry sales figures show that video cameras far outsell editing solutions. The Consumer Electronics Association anticipates video camcorder sales of 4.35 million units this year (3.9 million last year), but nowhere near as many editing systems.

So what to do?

For those who want more control over how their video gets edited, there's HomeMovie.com.

Its new Afiniti 2.0 is an enhanced online environment where, with just a computer and Internet connection, you can edit your own videos online, deleting footage you don't want, creating titles, adding menus, chapter stops, a still image gallery and more to your raw footage.
Having mailed your raw video footage to the company, and after they digitize it and open your account, you edit through a unique web-based editing interface is really quite easy to use. You scroll through your footage online, selecting start and stop points along the way with simple mouse clicks. Then, choosing from among several available type fonts, colours and backgrounds, you can create your own customized menu.

Users can also preset and determine who has viewing access to the material; once the information is entered, an email invitation is sent out with a hotlink for easy and immediate viewing.

With Affiniti, users can scan through an entire two-hour video in a matter of seconds, a handy and convenient online feature, or navigate through the program just like a DVD. The company reports that some customers just use the service to screen and scroll through their video footage, but many others enjoy the full editing process.

The company will store up to 20 hours of video online for about $10 a month, and will also sell you a $20 DVD of the final edit (there's a small fee per digitized tape).

Video is delivered as a 350-kilobit stream, in a 340 x 240 window. It looks and plays just like your DVD - complete with chapter menus, thumbnails and custom chapter markers. The DVD itself comes with a custom cover and case, and looks and plays just like store bought discs.