Video stabilisation software

[sawystertrance]

Morning all,

I recently recorded some footage with a GoPro and wanted to have it smoothed out using some image stabilisation software. I downloaded Freemake VideoConverter ( to convert from .Mov to .Avi)  and then used something called VirtualDub, recommended by Sheldon Brown.

 

It worked out - sort of - but has taken the file of 173Mb and created one of 33.3Gb for the same footage! I assume this is because it adds images in between the existing images to smooth out the differences but man, that file is just so big it even pauses in the VLC viewer to cache. And I have 8gb of RAM and a quad core processor.

 

Anyone got any recommendations for image stabilisation software? 

 

Cheers

[sawystertrance]

Bump

[Sasquatch]

Apple iMovie works well

[sawystertrance]

Apple iMovie works well

I have a PC running W7. Will it work on that?

[Sasquatch]

No but I guess there is no accounting for some peoples poor taste 

 

I have a PC running W7. Will it work on that?

[sawystertrance]

No but I guess there is no accounting for some peoples poor taste 

Haha. Where can I thumbs down you?

[Pipsqueak]

Find a geek with a Mac and iMovie. The file size has nothing to do with the stabilisation process, its a result of the chosen compression of the software. iMovie will stay in .mov land, so no converting to avi.

 

You're going to struggle to find anything else that works as well, without spending money and getting confused.

 

Stabilising is a massive processing job, so don't expect it to be fast. And you lose resolution.

[Guest Travis.]

Morning all,

I recently recorded some footage with a GoPro and wanted to have it smoothed out using some image stabilisation software. I downloaded Freemake VideoConverter ( to convert from .Mov to .Avi)  and then used something called VirtualDub, recommended by Sheldon Brown.

 

It worked out - sort of - but has taken the file of 173Mb and created one of 33.3Gb for the same footage! I assume this is because it adds images in between the existing images to smooth out the differences but man, that file is just so big it even pauses in the VLC viewer to cache. And I have 8gb of RAM and a quad core processor.

 

Anyone got any recommendations for image stabilisation software? 

 

Cheers

I am pretty sure if you just convert it again you can make it lots smaller.

[kosmonooit]

There's a lot to video editing, codecs for starters.

[sawystertrance]

Ja, I am beginning to realise that. Lots to lear. I have downloaded a whole heap of codecs and am taking Travis' advice. I re-read the instructions and there is indeed an option to compress on the send pass. Let's see if that works. Chugging away on it as I type.

[Sidewinder.]

Export with the h.264 codec if possible

[David Messem]

You could try Adobe After Effects

 

Example result:

 

From the video it seems to do a pretty good job, but as far as I know you can't get it perfect with wide FOV footage like the GoPro produces. You can see many gopro youtube videos that are stabalised have a 'warping' effect.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A46tT83DeeA

 

The solution I would go for is to try and capture footage with less jerkiness.

What mount were you using?

[sawystertrance]

Normal Handlebar mount but I have seen one which fastens onto your shoulder like a sort of backpack strap. That may be better as I am not keen to use the chesty due to my tendency to land on my faced so often. Also I have seen a below-the-bar mount which looks good too.

[Bobbo_SA]

Recording on a lower res (720p) and higher frame rate (60fps) helps reduce this effect as well.

[David Messem]

Normal Handlebar mount but I have seen one which fastens onto your shoulder like a sort of backpack strap. That may be better as I am not keen to use the chesty due to my tendency to land on my faced so often. Also I have seen a below-the-bar mount which looks good too.

 

I would think anywhere on the bike would be pretty shaky. 

 

The helmet mount may be the most stable option, as long as it is secured well to your head and not shaking around

[sawystertrance]

Trouble is, on your head it does shake around and is a bit of a safety issue - especially going through bushes and trees. Pretty much anywhere on a MTB is bound to be shaky - hence the need for the software.