AVCHD camera and FCP

I currently have a G5 Dual 2Hhz with no immediate plans to upgrade hardware
I also have FCP Studio 1 (FCP v5) and may be upgrading to Studio 2 in the near future.
I am considering buying a consumer grade HD camcorder, probably a Canon VIXIA HV20 (tape based) or a Sony sr-11 (HD based).
Already searched the forum and read some info. Still confused.
Here are some questions...
- I know the Sony SR-11 will work with FCP. Will the Canon (Canon has a firewire connection)?
- I know the Sony, and believe the Canon both use the AVCHD format. My understanding is that you cannot work directly (i.e. Log & capture) on a G5 (intel required, along with FCP6). Can I still work with this format on a G5 by converting to another format using Toast 9?
- If I convert with Toast 9, what would I convert to to use in FCP5? To use with FCP 6?
- Is there much/any quality loss in this format conversion?
- Easy enough to convert the file copied from the Sony HD. How do you get the file off the Canon tape to work with it?
- Are there better camcorder options in that same price range for working with FCP5 or 6?
- Anything else I should know of be aware of in this situation?
Thanks in advance,
--Joe

I know the Sony SR-11 will work with FCP. Will the Canon (Canon has a firewire connection)?
Yes. The Canon is a tape based HDV camera, not AVCHD.
I know the Sony, and believe the Canon both use the AVCHD format. My understanding is that you cannot work directly (i.e. Log & capture) on a G5 (intel required, along with FCP6). Can I still work with this format on a G5 by converting to another format using Toast 9?
The Sony shoots AVCHD in HD mode and MPEG2 in SD mode. All clips are captured to the built-in HDD. On an G5 you can use Toast to transcode the AVCHD files to a better supported codec for FCP (such as AIC or maybe DVCProHD). For the SD files you can use a freeware app such as MPEG Streamclip to transcode to DV or similar. The Canon, as noted above, is a tape based HDV camera ie in HD mode it shoots HDV to tape and in SD mode it shoots DV to tape. You would capture this via Firewire through the traditional Log and Capture interface.
If I convert with Toast 9, what would I convert to to use in FCP5? To use with FCP 6?
For FCP5 you might transcode the AVCH clips to AIC or DVCProHD
For FCP6, most feel ProRes 422 is the best intermediate.
Is there much/any quality loss in this format conversion?
No.
Easy enough to convert the file copied from the Sony HD. How do you get the file off the Canon tape to work with it?
As noted above. Log and Capture via Firewire.
Anything else I should know of be aware of in this situation?
Usually best not to mix colored items of clothing in with your whites

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I "might" be able to help.
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r

I had the same questions recently, and received some great info here. Hopefully, I can pass on what I learned.
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As noted you will need a 3rd party converter such as toast 9. I picked up a copy for 49.99. Without this (or Votaic) you will need an intel machine and fcp 6.x. With that, you will still convert the avchd to apple pro RES.
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Resulting files imported into fcp5 without problem. Just make sure to set your fcp project sequence settings to same as the converted footage.
Fcp is a little slow for me with many filter in use, but that is to be expected working in that resolution on it machine.
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Might check:
http://reduser.net/forum/index.php
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http://reduser.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18
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Thank you.
In Easy set up I am confused about which format to click.
In the camera manual it says the video compression format is AVCHD HD, recording format AVCHD 1080i50 and video signal PAL.
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apple intermediate codec (my vote) or PAL or HD?
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Hi, I have a new Sony AVCHD camera. The HDR-XR200 120GB hard drive model. It captures in 1920x1080i, and connects to Mac via USB.
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I use a Panasonic AVCHD, which FCP doesn't recognise. Anyway I've spent months playing around because this little camera blows my Sony V1 out of the water in sheer quality.
Best thing is just get hold of a copy of Toast 10, you can then simply drag your .mts files into this and encode to whatever you want, I edit in pro res LT, but Toast will even encode it to HDV if you want to end up on tape(Even this result still blows the Sony HDV apart)
FCP is very fussy about even noticing the very existance of .mts files, so I wouldn't waste my time, scratching my head.
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My report on AVCHD and FCP

After mucking around with AVCHD files on FCP and mixing them with HDV footage I have finally got a good working outcome which may be of interest to others wanting to do likewise.
From the same .mts file from a Panasonic SD5 camcorder I made 3 versions via Clipwrap:
1/ Pro Res HQ
2/ Pro Res
3/ AIC
I then placed each clip in succession on the timeline and carefully observed the result. I couldn't discern an obvious difference in spite of the fact that pro res hq was using a huge amount of memory. I therefore suggest simply using the AIC codec. Another point is that when I have attempted to import my AVCHD into FCE, and Pinnacle, WITHOUT using clipwrap, the 5:1 sound wasn't mixed down to stereo properly. Clipwrap seems to solve this problem.
So finally I can use AVCHD in FCP, mix it with HDV footage all, with a minimum of fuss and perfect stereo sound.
I hope this info is of use to others wanting to use AVCHD with FCP.
NOTE: I havn't checked with fast moving footage.The footage was of a person moving around in a well lit room.

Your eyes can see digital code when you're looking at a video? Wow, I'd love to have that ability.
Sarcasm aside, you can't use your eyes to judge the quality of your video, and you can't trust the display of your computer monitor. A well done mpeg2 can look amazing, and most people can't tell, or don't know how to tell, the difference between the DVD movie they bought, and the original it was compressed from. That's why home theater has become so popular.
The file size of ProRes is bigger because it contains more information. That's a no-brainer. Unless you're zoomed in all the way, looking at the videos on a pixel-to-pixel basis, you probably won't see the difference. Some will, most won't. But AIC is not nearly as high quality as ProRes. And you don't need HQ, as has be said already.
You can get portable 1TB hard drives with FW800 and eSATA capability from LaCie, and they're only slightly bigger than rugged drives. I use them all the time in the field, and I use ProRes and DVCProHD to edit.
AVCHD is an amateur codec. It's compressed. It was designed to make acquisition to delivery one step. (You know, film the kids in the back yard, and then show it on your HDTV so Grandma can see them). That's not what professionals use. Even the pros that use these cameras (mostly because of the price, and that the lenses are getting better) are capturing directly to ProRes in the field (using recorders like the AJA Ki Pro, or I/O HD to a laptop) and bypassing the AVCHD encoding altogether. The fact is, you can't improve your AVCHD footage. It will look only as good as it started, no matter what codec you convert to. You can, however, make it worse.
Early AVCHD used 4:2:0 color space, but the more recent AVC-INTRA uses 4:2:2. If you go to AIC, you're throwing out color information. That being said, if you can't see the difference using your eyes, then your eyes are not reliable. If you understand the reason why different color spaces work (in regard to the sensitivity of the human eye) then you would understand that we all know our eyes don't tell us enough.
But here's the real crux. If you're happy with the result, and it gives you what you want, then do it the way you're doing it. But I certainly wouldn't advise others to do it your way. It's not a better way. It's just an acceptable-to-you way.

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Brian

You may fing this helpful:
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/ross_shane/tapeless-workflow_fcp-7/video -tutorial
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I am new to FCP. I have a canon 60d camera and purchased fcpX. I was recommended to download mgep streamline and convert my files to prores422. I do not have an option for prores 422 in my download. How can I fix the problem.

I am new to FCP. I have a canon 60d camera and purchased fcpX. I was recommended to download mgep streamline and convert my files to prores422. I do not have an option for prores 422 in my download. How can I fix the problem.Please help. There was another suggestion by vimeo.com to use applexdcam ex 1080p30. I do not have that either in my mpeg download.

For future reference, you will most likely get more knowledgeable answers if you post in the FCP forum where the folks who use the product regularly hang out:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/professional_applications/final_cut_pro_ x

It is possible to capture 1920x1080 instead of 1440x1080 from a HDV camera in fcp ? If do, plz also says the pros and cons.

It is possible to capture 1920x1080 instead of 1440x1080 from a HDV camera in fcp ? If do, plz also says the pros and cons.

And it's easy enough to change to square pixels within the editing application.
Russ

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