Best codec to Export AVCHD for Storage on Blu-ray

I'm just beginning to edit with Premiere Pro CS5 and I'm working with AVCHD footage natively for the first time (previously used FCP). I just shot a wedding and the client would like the Raw Footage that I shot. Normally I would just copy the AVCHD folders onto blu-ray discs and burn them as data discs with no issue. However, the Ceremony lasted longer than anticipated, so I have three 32GB cards that were filled up to about 26 GB (with only one clip on each camera as they just rolled the whole time. I actually have about an hour on each card that's worthless because the ceremony started an hour late since I did not have another Camera Op to go to the balcony to turn them off and back on.)
Instead of having to buy 50GB blu-ray discs (which I believe are a good bit more expensive than the 25GB discs I have), I would like to bring the AVCHD files into Premiere Pro, edit out the worthless hour of footage, then export it to a format that I can give to them on 25GB Blu-ray Discs. I have not figured out if I can export AVCHD footage and create new AVCHD files. I'm guessing that is not possible, and if it is not, what would be a recommended format to export to?
Basically I just need something that will be less than double the AVCHD file size and is an editable format that the client could potentially use again for editing if they want. My first thought was ProRes but I know that will be way too large. I've not worked with XDCAM, so I'm wondering if there is a type of XDCAM that might fit my situation? I'm open to any and all suggestions!
Thanks,
Mike

If it were me, I'd just give 'em what I have. At some point, I know I'd be using the 50 GB disks anyway, so having a stash lying around is not a bad thing.

Similar Messages

Best export format for encoding & burning Blu-ray with toast?

Hi!
Have a 1 hour and fifteen minutes program which I burn to Blu-Ray with Toast 10/HD. The problem is the time it takes, about 25 hours. Is this resonable really?
Maybe it´s depending on the format I put out from Final Cut - H.264, 1920 x 1080 (1888 x 1062)Stereo (L R), 48,000 kHz
Does anyone know if there is a better export setting in Final Cut to get the process work faster in Toast?
Best / Urban

I've never used toast to burn a BluRay however I have used encore and I export 10 bit uncompressed out of FCP and compress that. If your over an hour of program you'll have to scale back the data rate to make it fit, a 90 minute feature looks good content wise, but any text on it will show signs of the reduced data rate. the encode typically takes about 8 hours to build the disk image on an 8 core mac then about 45 minutes to burn from the image. I burn first to a rewritable in case of issues, then if it passes muster I'll burn the master

Settings For HDV to Blu-ray and DVD

What is the best strategy for avoiding unnecessary rendering and transcoding issues? I edit HDV or AVCHD (from a DataVideo DN-60) in Premiere Pro CS6. I want to output to multiple formats - DVD, Blu-ray and Flash from the same project. I'd like to maximize quality as well to fit project on disk.
I'd also like to know which format most easily transcodes for my purposes. I typically shoot 23.98 or 29.98 fps 1080p, but sometimes 1080i.
I assume Dynamic Link is the way to go, but it doesn't look like the resulting settings are automatic. For example, if I go into project settings after Dynamic Linking a PPro sequence, and choose Blu-ray, I would expect the transcode settings to match the imported project. If it does not, then what should I change the default settings to?

Let me clarify the intent of my original post. I have read in places that it is best to choose export and DVD project settings that match the original footage whenever possible to avoid rendering problems. So, if I shoot and edit HDV or AVCHD footage say at 29.98 fps progressive, then what corresponding settings should I use for DVD and Blu-ray?
I see that with 29.97 fps the progressive option is not available in the Blu-ray
presets. Should I not shoot progressive then at 29.97?
How do I maximize quality of the video while fitting on a single disk? The only way to do it automatically is to Dynamic link, which you advise against. If I manually set exports, then I must calculate all the sequence outputs from Premiere. What then should my priorities be? For starters, MPEG2 Blu-ray or H.264 Blu-ray? What should take precedence, bitrate settings or number of passes?
I am also considering render/transcode speed. How do the above settings affect speed?

When I import my Sony video, which is in m2ts format, the file size is a few times larger. This affects the volume of clips for creating the blu-ray or DVD discs. How can I squeeze the file size without sacrificing the quality of output?

When I import my Sony video, which is in m2ts format, the file size is a few times larger. This affects the volume of clips for creating the blu-ray or DVD discs. How can I squeeze the file size without sacrificing the quality of output? Is there any other ways of achieving this?

wongrayd wrote:
Thanks. I do not have the experience on burning discs from iMovie for the movie after editing (ie for video discs players). It seems that i cannot find the relevant command in the tool bar for this purpsoe. Would you please show me the way?
The command is gone because iDVD has been discontinued by Apple. After Apple discontinued iDVD they removed the iDVD burning link from iMovie. I still use iDVD sometimes, only because I have an old copy.
wongrayd wrote:
You have mentioned about Handbrake as a converter. What is the RF no. (under Constant Quality) meant? It seems that the smaller the no. is, the better quality will be. What is the optimal no.? or should we use the Average Bitrate? Again, what is the best rate? Furthermore, which format is more suitable or the best: H264 or mpeg 2/4?
I don't know what RF means. When I have used HandBrake, I've used presets that apply to what I want to do, so I don't know the meaning of each individual setting. However, it appears that many of them are listed in the HandBrake User's Guide that is linked from the Help menu in the program:
https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/HandBrakeGuide
wongrayd wrote:
For iMac, except iMovie, what other software is the best for the amateur? I have read Photoshop. Can this support m2ts files and user friendly?
Photoshop is not amateur-level software, and although it can edit a video, it cannot burn a DVD. Unfortunately, because I still use iMovie, I haven't tried anything else. You might want to read the reviews of various DVD-burning applications in the Mac App Store.
And maybe another forum member will jump in and help us here!

Looking for a external blu ray dvd burner for my mac

looking for a external blu ray dvd burner for my mac

There are plenty of options but I have found that the LaCie d2 http://blu-ray.burnworld.com/burners/lacie-d2.htm works more consistantly. I use Toast 11 mainly for Blu-Ray. The drive does come with a basic verison of the software which is good for most but you need to upgrade to do some serious authoring.

Has anyone been able to export to flash using a Blu-ray Project in CS3?

Has anyone been able to export to flash using a Blu-ray Project in CS3?
If so what files, settings and OS were you using?
Whenever I try to export to flash from a Blu-ray project the program always crashes.

S&G wrote:
Eric Root's posting answered my question. He said to downlaod DiskmakerX. It worked like a charm to create a bootable Mavericks Installer Flash Drive.
tips on use: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18705466

Try to setup powerdvd 13 and got error for my LG blue-ray about 'SATA HL-DT -ST device'

i try to setup powerdvd 13 and got error for my LG blue-ray player about 'SATA HL-DT -ST device' that is not support the program setup. can you help me..?

What is powerdvd, and what does it have to do with Adobe software?
A quick google shows that is the product of a different company... you need to contact that company
http://www.cyberlink.com/store/powerdvd-ultra/buy_en_US.html?affid=2581_1013_80_paidsearch -us_0_1&gclid=COzWlpDVp7gCFadxQgodbhIAmA

Best PE7.0 export settings for Youtube HD, Vimeo or Smugmug?

Hi all,
I'm really new to video editing and I can't find any recommendations on the best Premiere Elements 7 export settings for Youtube HD, Vimeo or Smugmug. It seems like most of them want you to upload in 1280x720.
My original source is 1920x1080 30p AVCHD from a Canon HF100. Obviously, I would like to keep it at the same frame rate. There doesn't appear to be a preset in PE7 (or a way at all) to output 1280x720 30 into an MPEG container with H.264 encoding. When I go into the advanced properties of a preset like "H.264 1920x1080i 30" or "MPEG2 1920x1080i 30" and choose 1280x720, I no longer have an option for 29.97 fps - the only options are 23.976 or 24 fps. It seems bad to change this, right?
I see the preset for "HD 720p 30" which appears to be MPEG encoding of the video stream instead of H.264. This seemed to work OK, but I wasn't sure about it, because when I choose it I see in the description a line that says TV Standard: NTSC. A number of web sites indicate that H.264 is preferred, but I don't really understand why.
I also found a way to do H.264 in a Quicktime container. This seemed a little suboptimal because you can't do variable bitrate. When I unselected the "select bitrate" checkbox, it seemed like a quality of 50 yielded a .mov file with a bit rate of 2.87Mb/s, and a quality of 100 yielded a .mov file with a bit rate of 26Mb/s. It is confusing to me how the quality setting affects the bitrate on the quicktime containers.
I'm leaning towards using the "HD 720p 30" preset and working with the bit rate choices, but am open to comments. What do others think?
And on a related question - assuming we choose the "HD 720p 30" preset as a starting point, given the 1GB file restriction at Youtube, it seems to make sense to choose a bitrate that allows both good quality and reasonable file size. I don't know much about whether VBR 1 pass, 2 pass or CBR would be best for this kind of online HD video. Google is a little unhelpful here: http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=132461
This page (http://webvideotechniques.com/123/bigger-and-better-encoding-for-youtube-hd) seems to indicate aiming for a bitrate of 8Mbps with a minimum of 4Mbps, including 2 pass VBR.
So, basically, I'm confused and a little overwhelmed. I think I have solutions that work, but it's hard to tell. What does the greater community think? Thanks.

Thanks very much E Mann, that was a very helpful thread. I think it actually would apply for youtube as well. For other users, here's a direct link to the settings for Premiere Elements:
http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2007/12/08/exporting-with-adobe-premiere-in-720p/
Roughly, the answer is:
Quicktime container
Video codec: H.264
Quality: 80 (I used 100 and it just takes longer to encode)
Frame Rate: 29.97 (I guess if you are shooting in 24p, this might be different)
Bitrate: 5000 (I might try 8000)
Audio codec: AAC
Output channels: Stereo
Frequency: 48kHz
Now, my own personal changes to this recipe are:
Quality: 100 - takes longer to encode, no file size difference
Bitrate: 8000
Frequency: 44kHz (recommended by youtube)
One final note is that for Vimeo it appears you may have to try encoding in 29.97 or 23.97 and test to see which you like better. Apparently Vimeo caps fps at 24.
The nice thing about this is that you can get a quality video directly out of Premiere Elements and you don't have to pipe it through another program.

Adobe Premier Elements 12 - Exporting trimmed AVCHD files from the project timeline, to a separate folder for burning to Blu Ray disc with other software?

Hi, can anyone help please. This is the first time I have used this forum.
I use Premier Elements 12, a PC, 64 Bit, Windows 7, high powered computer.
Just started trimming AVCHD in this software.
I would like to know if it is possible to export trimmed AVCHD files to a folder elsewhere (files which were originally imported into the project timeline), so that I can burn the trimmed AVCHD files (not in 'Project' form) to Blu Ray disc (using another software which I know that works to burn video files to Blu Ray disc).

Kathy
Thanks for the update. Your progress sounds very good.
Premiere Elements 11, 12, and 13 are similar. But, version 13 has significant feature removals and a new Elements Organizer.
So, when viewing or reading tutorials, try to determine the version of the program being used for the tutorials. As I typically write
principles tend to remain the same from version to version, but the features tend to move, change, or be discontinued from version
to version. And, it is frustrating to be armed with principles when you cannot find a feature.
Some Comprehensive Free Resources for version 12.....
http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-premiere-elements-12/
http://help.adobe.com/archive/en/premiere-elements/12/premiere-elements_reference.pdf
http://help.adobe.com/archive/en/elements-organizer/12/elements-organizer_reference.pdf
ATR Premiere Elements Troubleshooting: Premiere Elements 12 First Look Details
ATR Premiere Elements Troubleshooting: Premiere Elements 12 Daily Discoveries
Please do not hesitate to ask if questions or need clarification.
Best wishes
ATR

Best way to export data for a migration

Hi Oracle Community,
What's the best way to export data from an Oracle 8i database for it to be suitable for import into an Oracle 10g database?
What's the best way to export data if it is to go into different rdbms database?
Thanks, David

Thanks everyone for all your help. You guys are great.
There seems to be many good ways to export your data from Oracle into a flat file format, suitable for import into other RDBS': Oracle, mysql, postgresql, etc.
A few tools where mentioned but using SQL*Plus, which comes with Oracle (And SQL*LDR on the backend, which also comes with Oracle) seem the most straight forward.
I found this script on asktom.oracle.com to work great, slightly modified here,
(to Include linesize max, and pipes rather than commas):
set echo off newpage 0 space 0 pagesize 0 feed off head off trimspool on
set linesize 32767
spool payment.txt
select
PAYMENT_ID||'|'||
USER_ID||'|'||
<more fields her>
from
payment
spool off
exit ;
It works great. Rather than making one of these for each table I wrote an perl script called ora_export. http://crowfly.net/oracle/ora_export. It runs in Unix and only requires SQL*PLUS. It creates these four files:
<tablename>.def # list of table columns and types (SQL*Plus DESC)
<tablename>_dump.sql # a script to export the data
<tablename>.psv # THE DATA (eq. - name|address|etc)
<tablename>_load.ctl # SQL*LDR control for ORCL if you need it.

Exporting AVCHD for BluRay in Premiere Pro CS6

Hello,
I have AVCHD files taken with a HD camcorder at its highest quality settings (HD FX - 1920 x 1080 - 24Mbps - H.264AVC). I am looking for the most appropritate workflow to edit these in Premiere Pro CS6 and burn them over to BluRay using Encore, while maintaining the original quality of the AVCHD files. Currently when I import the files into Premiere Pro, and preview the video clips in the sequence, the video appears as it does in the original files. In PrPro, the properties of the AVCHD files indicate that they are at 29.97 fps, 1920 x 1080, with square pixels (1.0). However, after exporting the sequence from Premiere Pro (via Media Encorder) to Encore, the video appears to have some jagged edges with some loss of video quality, and I would like to resolve this issue. For the export settings I am using the H.264 BluRay default settings. Please provide details on the correct/most appropriate settings that should be used to export the PrPro sequence to Encore with the above mentioned AVCHD files to Encore for recording onto BluRay while maintaining the original file quality. Thanks.

Seaspray - I will let the experts correct any bad advice here and perhaps I am adding nothing you already don't know or are doing. I recently went through the same exercise being new to PP CS6. Is that footage interlaced? I first drug a sample clip to the New Item button to create a matching sequence. I had some issues when I wasn't being careful about sequence settings matching, particularly putting interlaced in a progressive sequence. When I was ready to export, I chose the H.264 Blu-ray preset closest to my source footage. I made sure the key video characteristics matched - frame size, frame rate, progressive vs. interlaced, if the latter upper or lower, PAR, etc. etc. In some cases I tweaked VBR vs. CBR and bit rates. I then produced separate .m2v and .wav video/audio files. Then I imported those files as assets into Encore. You should then see Encore tell you it does not need to encode the video or audio after analysis. Unfortunatley, this process does require one encoding, but I don't believe there is anyway around that matter as PP CS6 apparently does not support "smart rendering". However, I think with just one encoding you are not going to see your footage noticeably degraded. Agreed, none of the monitors in PP or Encore should be used to judge quality. I also noticed major differences playing back files on my PC with various media players vs. PS3 + big TV.

Edited AVCHD, burned as a blue ray. Is a print to video possible ?

As far as I understand AVCHD from my Panasonic TM300, via log and transfer is decoded to apple codec. Then I work on those files. After editing I can export to quick time movie and then (using for example toast) burn it as a blue ray disc.
All good so far ?
Do I have a full HD (1920x1080) blue ray disc ?
Second question is: what is the way to save my work for future ?
Before Panasonic TM300 I was using Sony HDR HC3 and after editing I was just printing to video which means printing to mini DV tape using this camera. If I clear my hard drive I always had a copy of edited movie in HD on the tape.
Now I have Panasonic TM300 which record in avchd. Can put edited video back to camera using print to video option ? Will it code that video back to Mpeg4 and upload that to camera hard drive ? or it only works with a tape and I need to use old camera to back up my edited video.
thanks
Marek

rufkaz wrote:
As far as I understand AVCHD from my Panasonic TM300, via log and transfer is decoded to apple codec. Then I work on those files. After editing I can export to quick time movie and then (using for example toast) burn it as a blue ray disc.
All good so far ?
Yes, with a 20 minutes limit and fixed predesigned menus from toast. The resulting BR DVD will play fine in Sony PS3. I don't know about other BR players.
Do I have a full HD (1920x1080) blue ray disc ?
No, 1280X720 only.
Second question is: what is the way to save my work for future ?
Before Panasonic TM300 I was using Sony HDR HC3 and after editing I was just printing to video which means printing to mini DV tape using this camera. If I clear my hard drive I always had a copy of edited movie in HD on the tape.
Now I have Panasonic TM300 which record in avchd. Can put edited video back to camera using print to video option ? Will it code that video back to Mpeg4 and upload that to camera hard drive ? or it only works with a tape and I need to use old camera to back up my edited video.
No print to tape operation with AVCHD.
As HC3 is HDV, theorically it should print to tape after a conforming process transcoding AIC to HDV, but I never try it. Be prepare for looooong processing time (6 to 8 time the lenght of sequence).
Michel Boissonneault

Best approach to convert HD camcorder footage to blue-ray (and archive)

I have a Canon Vixia HV30 camcorder that I have used to take HD footage. I would like to archive the tapes' raw footage (for backup purposes) and also burn a blue-ray for each tape. Prior to the Canon (and switching to Macs) I had been using Studio on a Windows system to do the same for footage from a standard def Sony camcorder. Despite reading through the material on this forum and elsewhere I am confused about a couple of items and am hoping someone can help me understand how to archive and burn the camroder footage to BD easily.
Coming from the Windows environment, I was used to Studio taking raw footage and converting the entire tape to one .avi file that I could then edit in a baisc manner (trim, add menus, add transitions, add chapters, etc. but not adding other audio, etc.) and burn...all in Studio. The Windows desktop I had been using for standard def is not powerful enough for HD (it's from 2004) so I have to explore other options.
I have a MacBook Pro with a 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo process and 4 GB memory and am using Mac OS X 10.6.8. I also have iMovie 08 (7.1.4 [585]) and Toast Titanium Pro with the HD/BD plug in (11.0.04). Toast will not recognize the Canon camcorder connected using the Firewire 400 connection (but will recognize the Sony). So I have used iMovie to download the camcorder footage to my MBP in HD (full quality).
Here are my questions:
1. when downloading, it appears that iMovie does not retain the raw/same format as used by the Canon but converts it to something called Apple Intermediate Codecc. Does this converstion affect the quality of the footage? I do not want to use the convered material as archival material if it's already been converted once.
2. If the answer to # 1 is yes, iMovie converts the raw footage, is there another program that I can use in a Mac-environment that will simply download the footage in it's original format?
3. iMovie also splits up the footage into clips vs. showing one file and I cannot combine the clips into one clip (to be analogous to the workflow I have been used to in Studio). Is there a way to do so? Short of backing up my entire laptop (which I do), how can I extract the original footage from iMovie and copy it for archiving on a NAS drive?
4. Where is the best "place"/approach to perform basic editing (adding menu, adding chapters for different sections of the disc, etc.) on the footage?
5. If the answer to #4 is iMovie, would I then simply burn the iMovie project in Toast to Blue-ray?
I had thought achieving my goals would have been easy in a Mac environment (like it is for everything else) but am surprised to find it so difficult compared to how easy it was in Studio. (Am I really better off getting a lower-end Windows 7 desktop and upgrading Studio and keep that just for converting our HD camcorder tapes to blue-ray? I would rather not do so of course.)
Thanks in advance for your help.

Calbe and AppleMan1958
Thanks for the replies. Based on your replies, I think I can stay in the Mac-environment.
1 and 2. I cannot archive as AppleMan1958 suggested to keep the original without conversion because the footage is HDV 1080i. I understand however that iMovie will import and convert using a lossles codec. (The camera is tape-based and doesn't show up in Finder.)
3. Having archived copy (if there is software that will let me do so for HDV) will negate the need to find the iMovie "version" but if necessary can do so directly.
4. One follow-up questions...if I use iMovies, do I simply use the project or the actual movie for purposes of burning to disc?
5. I agree Calbe...it's different so I'm thinking it's difficult. I am sure I'll get the hang of it once I better understand how the flow works from camera to disc!
AppleMan1958, is there another consumer level app that you can recommend that I can use for archiving HDV?
Thanks for the quick replies.
Hollistonma

Looking for a good Blue Ray Burner for Imac

Hi. I wonder if this idea is possible. I'm working with my Canon XL1 in parties, Events, etc and editing in my Imac 24 inch with Final Cut Express Pro. I wonder if it's possible to finish projects in 100 minutes length from XL1 with 20 to 25 GB each clip, export in 1280x720 (or better) to get HD, and Burn in BLue RAY with very clear results to show in a 52 inch plasma T.V HD 1080. If this is possible (or look alike HD) I wonder which Blue Ray burner will you recommend me for the task.
Thanks for your answers.
Best Regards.

Hi Skalicki. The reason why i asked that, it's because I made some test and what I saw in a 50 HD TV was very confusing. I made a party, I used 7 cassettes and in the final file that was 24 GB I made quicktime Movie, and of course with such a huge file, I burned that in IDVD with a 4.2 GB dvd. In a little T.V is awesome, in a 52 inch HD is awful. Another test, with Xl1, a short 10 minutes clip, burned in IDVD in h264 with 1280x720 HD is very good in the same T.V. What I understand for the test is: If a big clip (90' or more) remains uncompressed and it's burned in HD (mean BLUE RAY for a 90 minutes file), the properties remains intact and the XL1 becomes a look alike HD. The truth is: I wonder if this reasoning is right or not, but until now it's all what I understand.
Thanks again for your help.

AE CS4 render engine / Adobe Media Encoder won't create a container for h.264 blu-ray

here's the problem.
First, I tried to render a comp using the render engine inside AE using h.264 blu-ray preset.
It was supposed to create 1 file, but I ended up with 3 : audio track, video and a file with .xmpses extension.
I then decided to render it in lossless .mov, which works fine, but 3:40 minutes is taking up over 8gb, which is of course, unacceptable.
After that, I've put the .mov file into Media Encoder to try h.264 blu-ray there.
Absolutely the same ********.
I'm using the Mac version of AE CS4.
Here is the screenshot of original .mov file and the result. As you see, it refuses to make a container. This is absolutely unacceptable

It raises another question: what settings do I need to encode the comp in 720p resolution without taking up lots of space?
Well, it depends on whether you need a production master (something for broadcast, for example, or to use as a source for other encoding tasks) or if you want a version for distribution. If it's the former, there's nothing wrong with "lots of space" - A Quicktime file with PNG or Animation codec is a good idea, but it will take a lot of space. If it's the latter, H264 is perfect but there's no built-in preset to take 720 material to the web.
You could do this:
* Pick the generic H264 template. You'll see that it will give an error if you attempt to render, because the default setting uses an H264 profile/level which doesn't let you use HD resolutions.
* In the H264 video options, set the "Profile" menu to "Main" and "Level" to 4.0. That will keep it compatible to Quicktime and Flash player, while allowing larger frame sizes and higher bit rates.
* Set Target Bitrate to 5-8 Mbps and Maximum Bitrate to 9-10 Mbps if you're targetting web delivery. That's a bit over what Apple uses for 720p content on the Apple TV, for example.
The H264 original preset will instruct you in the comment field to stretch to 640x480 in Output Module. There's no need, since you are using a profile/level combination which allows higher frame sizes.

Best codec to Export AVCHD for Storage on Blu-ray

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