AVCHD questions...

hello,
I'm tempted into buying an iMac. And when I do i want to be able to edit AVCHD video's from my sony HDR-SR7. Now, I wish to know how to do some steps before I buy to see how easy it is. If I want to edit it, i probably need to directly import the video's from my camera. After I have done this, I would wish to burn the movie in HD, how should I do this??

I'm in PAL country which uses a frame rate of 25 fps (frames per second). Each frame is comprised of 2 interlaced fields, making 50 frames per second, known as 50i. NTSC is 29.97 frames per second, commonly referred to as 30 fps. This has 60 interlaced fields per second, thus 60i.
I use the highest setting when shooting video with my Sony hard drive AVCHD camcorder, which is 1920 x 1080 50i. However, I generally import to iMovie '09 at the Large setting of 960 x 540 (as recommended by Apple in the iMovie import dialog). You can choose Full, which of course will import at 1920 x 1080 - but the file sizes are huge with not much difference in quality. If you intend to export and burn to Blu-ray (using 3rd party products) you should get better results with importing as Full, then using one of the QuickTime export options to export as 1920 x 1080.
From my experience, with the settings I use and my intended use, I achieve good results. So, I'm happy at the moment shooting Full HD 50i video, as I'm sure you will be shooting at your NTSC format of 60i. Some users here (Steve Mullen in particular) recommend using a progressive format (rather than interlaced). I think Karsten Schluter records with a camera that shoots 720p - apparently this works very well with iMovie.
I will leave it there, as I'm beginning to get a little out of my league! Other users with greater knowledge than me on this subject may wish to offer further advice.
John

Similar Messages

Macpro CS4 yep, it's another AVCHD question

I have read so many threads over the last few days that I am getting dizzy and confused. I picked up a JVC GZ_HD620 camcorder. on one of the sites I read "No Apple software can edit AVCHD natively. You'd need Premiere Pro" My questions are as follows;
a) What is the best way to import/download the files?
         1) directly to desktop using different software.
         2) directly through import to prepro
         3) to windows 7 on my mac
b) However I do it I think I would like to keep it as an h.264 i.e. QT
c) Understanding that due to the composition of AVCHD's whatever size file I download will expand in a big way, I was thinking to save the expanded file on a 1tb hd. This way I could slice out portions to work on as opposed to the whole file???

a) What is the best way to import/download the files?
          1) directly to desktop using different software.
         2) directly through import to prepro
         3) to windows 7 on my mac
b) However I do it I think I would like to keep it as an h.264 i.e. QT
c) Understanding that due to the composition of AVCHD's whatever size file I download will expand in a big way, I was thinking to save the expanded file on a 1tb hd. This way I could slice out portions to work on as opposed to the whole file???
my thoughts....
1) directly to hard drive ( not desktop which is your boot drive ( c drive )...using 3rd party capture
2) h264 is highly compressed and not happy in editors..if you want to edit its best to use cineform or something to make it more friendly to editors, and yes it will get bigger in byte count ...no way around it really so far as I know but maybe someone will bash my head against the wall and tell me I'm an idiot...what do I know ?
3) slicing stuff I think I heard can be done with HDsplit ( free program? )...3rd party...maybe you can split it as you capture by giving a file size parameters as you capture.. save some time

FCP7 AVCHD Question

I have been unsuccessful with importing AVCHD footage into FCP7. I've been trying to use the Log and Transfer as directed, but no luck. I can down-convert the footage w/ Toast beforehand if necessary, but what settings should I use to make it FCP7-friendly. Also, if my final output is to an SD DVD, what settings for shooting and importing should I use?
Thank you.

First off, FCP will only import from supported tapeless media if the full card structure is intact. Meaning you make a folder on your backup drive, name it something (with no odd characters in it like !@#$%^&*()... And then point Log and Transfer to THAT folder...don't go digging. Full workflow tutorial here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhDnyWFAM10
Second...if you shot 1080p60, FCP will not import it via log and transfer. That's not a supported format in FCP...mainly because it is non-standard...there is no distribution method for it. BluRay doesn't do 1080p60, nor does broadcast...and DVDs are 30fps and standard def.
Third, there is no "AVCHD Standard," meaning that several companies will take the AVCHD base code, and change it to suit their needs. So FCP will support some AVCHD, but not others. Since it was discontinued 3 years ago, anything newer than that won't work...as all support stopped 3 years ago. Actually, the last update to FCP was 3.5 years ago...almost 4. So any camera made after that would have issues.
If you can't use FCP to import, then you need to use a third party converter, like ClipWrap2. And convert the footage to ProRes 422.

Another AVCHD question

I am using Premiere CS4 to edit footage shot on my Sony HXR-NX5U, which shoots AVCHD files on a memory card. The maximum file size on the memory card is 2GB, so the camera automatically starts another file once it reaches the 2GB limit. When I drag these files into a sequence created with the AVCHD preset that matches what I shot, there is a momentary loss of sound and a dropped frame at the boundary between two consecutive files. However, if I play back the video on the camera, there is no loss of sound or dropped frame at those points. Is this a known problem with CS4 and AVCHS files? Where should I begin looking for a solution?
J. D.

I upgraded to Premiere CS5, and I'm still having this problem However, I found the solution! The Sony NX5U camcorder comes with Sony's Content Management software. In order to get sequential AVCHD files to play without a gap in the audio, you can't just drag the .MTS files from the card to the computer for editing. You have to import them using the Content Management software, which will combine all the individual .MTS files into a single file that plays perfectly.
J. D.

Another AVCHD question :-) Recommended Camera

OK, I recognize AVCHD isn't a popular topic. We have all been through trying to bring AVCHD formatted video into Premiere trying to edit it natively to eliminate reformatting the video to a higher performing format for Premiere. So let's try it a different way.
I am using Adobe Premiere CS4, can anyone recommend a new consumer grade AVCHD camera that natively performs well editing with Premiere CS4?
I only want HD, or flash so I guess that ensures I need to stay with the AVCHD format. I currently have the Sony HR-SR1 and have struggled for years with it. Finally Premiere reads it, but you can't do a thing with it. I'm running a quad xenon 3ghz processors with an Nvidia Geforce GTX 285 video card. 7200 RPM HD, throughput I am unsure of but very aware of how important it is.
Is there a camera on the market that formats AVCHD in a manner that can practically edit in premiere natively?
Thanks in advance,

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Harm Millaard wrote:
Some things are unclear:
I'm running a quad xenon 3ghz processors with an Nvidia Geforce GTX 285 video card. 7200 RPM HD
A and processors, singular versus plural and on the disk it appears singular. Xenon is usually used for headlights of cars or other lighting equipment, so I assume you are talking about Xeon. Can you be more exact, please.
AVCHD is very popular at stores, they sell very good. The only drawback is that it often requires a new or severely upgraded PC to be able to edit that material, offsetting the basically attractive purchase price, something that sales people never tell you.
Hmm.. Does it really? Maybe it's the software that is holding AVCHD editing back...
http://www.videography.com/article/92758 NO Cuda required, and I can attest to this... I switched to CS4.2 so i could edit my HMC150 footage natively.. Well, I just purchased an HMC40 as a b cam (sweet little cam btw) and it came with Neo2 Booster. Just for giggles, I installed it on my i7 system with a plain jane Geforce 9600 GSO... It easily edits full 1920X1080 24p footage in RT.. I'm talking like BUTTA with three layers of HD with PIPs and filters/transitions! I was floored. I still love Adobe integration, and will use AE and Encore, but I will be switching back to Edius when 5.5 is released as it's a FREE update for 5X users.
Juust a FYI.

Basic AVCHD questions

1.) I understand that AVCHD video is highly compressed, though does it really fall into the category of HD video?
2.) What information in the specifications for a camera indicate how highly compressed the video is?
Thanks!

The more mbps (mega bits per second), the more data is in the recording.
The more data in the recording, the less compression is involved in the recording process.
The less compression in the recording process, the less compression artifact is introduced into the image.
(The above only when compared to the same compression scheme at different data rates)
Message was edited by: Meg The Dog to CMA

More AVCHD Questions. Layman terms requested.

I am getting lost in all the lingo and computer speak. I am new to Mac... like many others I have made the switch and find myself lost. I spent years learning Adobe Premiere and now I feel hopeless and confused. I am using a Sony SR-10 AVCHD camera. Is it safe to say this camera is not a good match for Final Cut Express? Would I be better off using Premiere for Mac? Like others when I use log & Transfer I get the "no data" icon. I am not clear if I've seen a fix for this. I have a G4 with Mac OS X 10.5.7.
Am I also reading that you can't transfer SD into FCE? I transferred my SD into imovie but can't export them to FCE. Last week I was able to transfer HD into imovie then into FCE... I am so discouraged right now. I don't want to go back to adobe premiere... Please help me if you can... All I want to do is get my SD files into FCE. I'll tackle the HD transfer after I tackle the SD problem. HELP!

Sadly you cannot transfer SD into FCE. I learned that the hard way (it might have been my plaintiff post that you read for help!)
You can take the SD that you import into iMovie09 on Full Quality, export them as .mov files and then take them into FCE. I made sure that the export settings on iMovie09 were done through Export using Quicktime, and checked the settings to be sure that my size was sufficient, Quality at Best, etc. I am working with those clips in FCE at the moment.
But I had to go out and buy a MacPro with Intel inside, and FCE AFTER I just bought my new Sony HDR XR520V camera so that I could edit the film I was shooting. An expensive month... my old G5 with FCP 4.5 was just not up to it.
Terri

Best method for importing AVCHD

Another AVCHD question. Which method would give the best quality?
1) Import AVCHD via FCP log and capture using Pro res.
2) Import via HDMI using Blackmagic Intenisty card.
Thanks in advance. I've found a lot of good info so far by reading older posts.

Much of a muchness really ... do you intend to work in ProRes?
Log and Transfer will access the RAW data, decompress it in software and the recompress to ProRes, whereas Log and Capture will access an the uncompressed data as provided from the camera via the Intensity card and then compress that to whatever you've chosen.
If you want to work in ProRes (or AIC) then you may see faster than realtime ingest using Log and Transfer, but if you want to work in DVCProHD or other then you'd want to use Log and Capture.

Capturing HD (miniDV) to MBP

Ok here we go:
we are off around the world, we have a trusty Sony HC1 (mini DV camcorder), we are looking at getting the entry level MBP 13", coupled to our lacie 500GB external HDD can we capture the HD video direct into the external HDD by daisy chaning? the MBP will be connected FW800 to FW800.
Am I correct in guessing that we simply connect FW on the HC1 to the HDD? oh and we are using Final Cut Express HD

I've rendered 1 hour vids on far less capable pieces of machinery than an MBP13, mike!
The AVCHD question may be a different matter, though. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1793
Sony unfortunately often don't play as nicely with Macs (or standards generally) as Canon and Panasonic. They have something of a penchant for going off on tangents of their own.
But as far as future Sony / Mac application software Q's go , you may be better off asking them in the iMovie or Final Cut forums, rather than here. Those guys are all over such sorts of questions in a flash!
Cheers
Rod
Message was edited by: Rod Hagen

TS3356 Simple question I hope! I want to buy a camcorder by JVC but it uses a format called AVCHD. I believe this has to be converted before it can be used on iMovie. Can anyone tell me, in simple language, if this is so and how easy it is?

I want to buy a new camcorder and am considering one by JVC. This one, plus a few others such as Sony use AVCHD. I gather this would be need converting before any editing can be done in imovie?? I cant find a simple answer to this question. It seems strange to me that Mac dont appear to support AVCHD when so many video camera companies use it. Can anyone advise please, in simple language as I am far from a computer geek!!!
Is conversion a complicated or time consuming process and would it be simpler to fo for an MP4 type

Most AVCHD camcorders can be used in iMovie without any conversion needed if they are imported directly from the camcorder.
When you hear someone mention that you must convert AVCHD to use in iMovie, it is usually because they removed the files from the camcorder and only removed part of the files and folders. You need all of them to import to iMovie.
However, you should check to see if the camcorder you are choosing will work in iMovie. Here is a list of compatible camcorders.
http://help.apple.com/imovie/cameras/en/index.html?lang=en_US

Will PSE12 convert my AVCHD videos and burn to Bluray? [was:Question]

Will Adobe Premier Element 12 videoprocessing software convert my AVCHD videos to the proper video format (when I "upload" or "capture" then to my computer) and then allow me to burn to blurays? In other words, will this software do it all (I have bluray burner installed)?

Atsugiboy
From what I have read of your camera, it should be recording at frame rates of 60i, PF30, 60p for video with AVCHD video compression and a .mp4 file extension. If these files are on your computer hard drive, then I would start out with an import from the hard drive save location to Premiere Elements 12 Expert workspace Project Assets via the program's Add Media/Files and Folders.
The first video drag to the should direct the program to set up automatically the project settings (Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not). For the does not times, then you will need to set the project preset manually.
We can go into greater details once you get started.
Your camera settings and what they are telling you
60i (60 fields per second aka 29.97/30 interlaced frames per second)
1920 x 1080 @ 29.97/30 interlaced frames per second
PF30
that is Canon's
1920 x 1080 @ 30 progressive frames per second
60p
1920 x 1080 @ 60 progressive frames per second
The project preset that the project or you set should match the properties of your source media.
The project should be able to handle AVCHD.mts.
When you are ready for the burn to
Publish+Share
Disc
Blu-ray
Use the 1920 x 1080 settings rather than 1440 x 1080 HD anamorphic 16:9
This is Blu-ray disc format on Blu-ray disc (not datadisc).
We can get into the finer details of all this once you have the tryout and after you explore the program with mini test runs. At any time, please do not hesitate to ask questions or to ask for clarification on anything written.
Thanks.
ATR
Add On...With all my questions, I forgot to ask..does your computer have a slot for a memory card?

AVCHD in Premiere Pro CS 5 - exporting file type questions

Firstly, this is my first post on here, so apologies if I'm breaking any kind of etiquette. Also, I'm not a very technical person and would appreciate any comments or advice to be in layman's terms!
So, I film and edit weddings as part of a small company. I've recently had my camera and editing system upgraded to a Sony NXcam and Premiere Pro CS5 and I'm having a little trouble getting used to the new file types and settings (previously used miniDV tapes in SD with a Canon XL2 in an older version of Premiere).
My pc handles the AVCHD footage fine but the way that I edit means that I'll want to export a sequence of edited clips as one long clip, and then re-import it. For example, I'm editing the wedding ceremony from footage from two cameras - I'm going to edit the full version of the ceremony and then I'm also going to edit it down into a version that is a highlights montage in slo-motion to music. The way I do this is once I'm happy with the full version of the ceremony I'll export it and then re-import it so it's one long clip I can play with rather than two sets of footage chopped up on a sequence. So I can alter the speed of this new long clip, and then chop it up and stick in some dissolves to put together the montage. Then I use this montage in the middle of my final film, between the preparations and the reception. The full, edited version of the ceremony is used as an extra on the DVD.
Previously this was fairly straight forward. I was always working with footage in 16:9 and could export it as an avi file, then re-import that avi file with no problems - presto; the exact same-looking footage as I was previously working with.
Now I'm editing with avchd mts footage (1920x1080 - 25p - square pixels?). Naturally, if I export it as a 16:9 avi and re-import it, the aspect ratio and frame size is all wrong for the project sequence.
I just want to know what the best file format and settings are to use to export footage that will match up. There is no option that I can see to export edited footage as mts files. There is a long list of file types, most of which I don't recognise or know anything about and have never needed to use in the past.
Sorry if this is a silly question, I've tried searching for "working with AVCHD in premiere pro cs5" in google and not been able to find anything that can help me on there, so I thought I'd try a forum like this.
Cheers
Adam

I think we may have a slight miscommunication. This is the way that I interpreted your original post.
Lets say you shot the Smith/Jones wedding this past weekend. You start a new project and have a Service Sequence and a Reception Sequence. You finish editing both the service and reception and just a standard full length video. Now you want to create a montage with clips from both the service and reception. In this montage you will have different effects like Black and white, Slo Mo, blurs, etc. So what you do is export the service and reception and then import those two files (or one long one) and then cut that apart and add your music and effects to make your montage. Is that correct?
The way that I do it works the exact same way except that you skip the export part.
When I edit a wedding I generally have 4 sequences when I am finished. I have a Pre Wedding montage, service, reception, and ending highlights. The Pre Wedding montage is just made up of shots from before the service (bride and bridesmaids getting ready, shots of the venu, groom and groomsmen and so on). Then I have a full edit of the service and a full edit of the reception. After I am finished with those 3 sequences I start working on the ending highlight collage. I make a new sequence for the collage then I go to my bin and drag the "Service Sequence" up into the preview monitor (I know in my previous post I said double click. That does not work, because that just opens it up as a sequence. Sorry about that). In the preview monitor I scrub through the footage until I find a section that I want in the montage. Then I set in and out points around that clip and drop it into my Montage timline, and what ever effects to it that I want, then move on to the next clip and do the same thing. To me it seems that we have the same process except that you have to wait for the export (which is always going to give you a quality loss, how much of a loss depends on format and settings).
Please let me know if I have misread your process.
Phil

CS5.5 Question (I'm on trial and this feature isn't available). 1080 60p AVCHD Export Question

I just bought a Sony AVCHD camcorder that shoots in 60p. The files play great on my mac (VLC) and wonderfully on my PS3. I also like the 5.1 sound it produces.
I would like to be able to edit the video, crop, transitions, etc. then export to the same format it was originally shot in. 1080 60p AVCHD with 5.1 dolby.
The AVCHD export option isn't available in the trial version. Here are the questions:
#1 is what I am wanting to do possible? Specifically the 60p part of it.
#2 Is there another mac option?

Welcome to the forum.
As Jim points out, the DD 5.1 SS SurCode Encoder is available from Minnetonka Audio HERE.
Good luck,
Hunt

Many questions. 1080/60p AVCHD. Gamma issues?

Question #1. Does it support 1080/60p AVCHD files?
Question #2. Are the colors all off on editing and export like imovie and quicktime?
Question #3. Is it better than Premiere Pro CS5.5?

See this: http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/
mish

AVCHD import question

Some great people explained the options to bring AVCHD into FCP 6.0.4 (both converting it to ProRes and using Toast to convert it into DVCProHD).
My questions are: is there a quality issue between the two? Is there an advantage to using the Toast conversion and pulling it into the browswr (is it more like it's original quality)?
Second, why is the AVCHD file, when dragged from SD card onto desktop, only about 2 gig, and then after using the Toast program to convert, it's now 20 gig (aprox sizes)???
Is it decompressing? Is it normal to be so much larger? Why is this? What is it adding?
Thanks.

Hi
No you are right on. AVCHD really does a great job of reducing the enormous amount of Data in an HD video stream. However playing this back and editing it is currently beyond the power of most native computer/software configurations.... so we have to convert it.
As you noticed Apples' ProRez gets really big. It's designed to 'hold' most of the resolution of an uncompressed HD stream (200MB + per sec!), yet provide real time playback and editing on a current Mac.
Given your AVCHD footage has already disposed of most of it's native information (ie resolution) the question is 'do you need such a big container for editing?' I suspect not.
If your AVCHD format / cmera is already supported by FCP, then check preferences of the Log and Transfer window of FCP (click on the little gear icon at the top) and try changing the codec setting of the AVC HD line to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec). Its much smaller than ProRez and will do a good job of editing your work.
As you mention DVCPro HD is also a terrific choice. I think its even smaller than AIC (but still a bigger container than AVC HD so you won't lose much) and edits well. It is even a great presentation format if you play back from a Mac with the Codecs in place. But as you note, FCP won't convert to DVC Pro from the Log and Transfer window yet. Toast is a good option for this.
I like DVC Pro HD ... but that might just be because I've used it for a while....
Try a sample of both ... see which floats your boat!
Lee

AVCHD questions...

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