Editing codec for AVCHD in FCP

I shot a film in AVCHD 1080/60i. I want to start editing but the Apple Pro Res 422 files are too big and won't play in realtime on my timeline. I have a MacBook Pro (last years) and a new Drobo 4-bay with plenty of space on it and I'm using FCP 6. Is there a way to transfer the AVCHD files into a different codec that's just for editing, and then convert it/transfer/export them out to their original resolution once the film is edited? I'm looking for a lighter, faster, more compressed codec just to take a load off my computer in editing and speed things up, but still output to high quality HD video in the end. Please shoot me your thoughts!

hmm I wonder why? I thought drobos were a lot faster than they used to be.
Aja has a utility that will test your drive speed
http://www.aja.com/support/konaNEW/kona-3-3x.php
"AJA KONA System Test (included as part of the driver download)
A Macintosh utility for measuring system performance with AJA KONA Video Capture cards. The application includes disk drive speed tests and Macintosh video data copy (DMA) speeds. The disk speed tests differ from standard disk I/O performance applications in that they specifically test the system under conditions typically encountered with video capture, playback and editing. Note: most of the disk performance tests are generic and don't require an AJA KONA Video Capture card. The DMA performance tests do require a KONA card and AJA KONA Driver software to operate. The DMA tests are not compatible with AJA Io products."
At least you'll have an idea of how fast your drive is, and if it's sufficient for your needs.

Similar Messages

720p Editing Preset for AVCHD?!

When is Adobe going to release an editing preset for AVCHD 720p? I was banking on the 4.0.1 update correcting such an obvious oversight, but I was very wrong.
Currently there are only 1080i/p presets that are available and a 720p editing mode isn't even an option under the custom preset tab. This discludes a lot of people who are using new cameras like the Panasonic AG-HMC150 and who choose to shoot in 720p.
Experiences importing the 720p footage into a 1080p project are not pretty. Playback is very choppy and often results in a lockup of Premiere, even after rendering.

Well I would certainly agree with you if it didn't playback incredibly smooth with 1080p AVCHD footage as it does. You see I thought originally it was my computer specs (Quad-Core 3.0GHz, 4GB RAM, 10,000 RPM RAID 0, nVidia Quadro FX 1400 graphics card). So I ran some test with 1080p footage that I had shot at full bitrate (21mbps) and the realtime playback and editing worked perfectly with the 1080p editing preset. In fact it was so good, I didn't even realize I was editing HD material.
On the contrary, when I import footage shot at the same bitrate, but at 720p resolution, the system gets brought to its knees. Realtime playback is non-existant, rendering doesn't help, and Premiere often times gets hung up for several minutes.
I am really beginning to wonder why Adobe did not include a 720p AVCHD editing preset with CS4. There was plenty of hardware and software support for that format long before they released CS4. It's not like 720p resolution wasn't included in the original MPEG4 Part 10 spec.

ProRes Codecs for AVCHD- Overkill and Under-kill?

My Canon HFS100's AVCHD Bitrate is 24Mbps. Any reason to go higher quality than Pro Res Proxy? If Pro Res Proxy uses a higher bitrate (36) than the native bitrate of the Canon HFS100 (24), is there any practical benefit of using LT or even regular Pro Res as opposed to just using Proxy as your master file or are you simply creating larger quicktime files? Is there such thing as "headroom" in video editing?
Thanks,
Dave

Shane Ross wrote:
Depends on your workflow. If you have the space, go with ProRes 422. If you don't care TOO much about high high quality, use LT.
This will be instructional video, starting on the web, and then ultimately going to DVD and/or Blu-Ray, I guess I should go with the standard ProRes to max out the quality. Picking up a new 500 GB or 1 TB drive when needed for additional backup won't kill me.
Shane Ross wrote:
Offline/online workflow is up to you. Test it before you do it. there are gotchas.
Alright, I'll have to see if it's worth the time and hard drive space for AVCHD to mess with ingesting with Proxy and reconnecting later with the standard ProRes. Maybe not. It is after all instructional video and not a major motion picture I'm doing here. But, I'd also rather not be disappointed in 5-10 years that I rushed or got lazy or cheaped out and then need to go back and re-do. Hard drives are not expensive.
Thanks again,
Dave
P.S. Thanks for the clip. Man, that Canon lens is sharp.

Best codec for AVCHD?

In Final Cut Pro 6.0.5, I am logging and transferring video from the Sony AVCHD (HDR-SR7) camera.
What are the best <Audio/Video Settings...> for ingesting this video? Its ultimate destination is the internet and promotional DVDs. Nothing for broadcast.
Just taking a wild guess, I used these settings:
Sequence Preset: Apple intermediate Codec 720p30
Capture Preset: HDV Apple Intermediate Codec
I did not choose a higher quality setting to save space/time--
was this a good choice? Could I have chosen something even
"smaller" with good quality? There are a zillion Apple ProRes 422
choices. I didn't know if I should have chosen any of them.
What advantage do they offer over the Apple Intermediate Codec?
Thanks in advance for any input you may have.
Kerry

Is your AVCHD source 1920x1080i or 1440x1080i (anamorphic)? If it is the latter, ProRes 422 at 1440x1080 is 4:2:2 at about 100mbs. If the former, its about 145mbs. I use it for my HDV stuff (1440x1080p30 or i60 depending on various factors) and it works well for me using either the second internal SATA drive or external Firewire 800 (7200rpm) drives.
Just another data point.
Eddie O

Codec for AVCHD

I am trying to encode my AVCHD footage through AME sing Premiere CS4 and Windows 64 w/16GB RAM. Can anyone advise what codec is best for playback in QT,or AVI?
Thanks,
Don

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nw316 wrote:
I am trying to encode my AVCHD footage through AME sing Premiere CS4 and Windows 64 w/16GB RAM. Can anyone advise what codec is best for playback in QT,or AVI?
Thanks,
Don
This playback will be on the pc, media player or ....?
Will it be short segments or a long segments?

AVCHD on FCP 6, what about FCE HD???

Now that there is some support for AVCHD on FCP 6, does anyone know when the same type of support will come to Final Cut Express HD? Pleass please please please tell me it's coming...

as Donna said, speculations are not allowed on this board..
interesting fact is, that FCP needs a conversion first of AVCHD (=doesn't handle that codec 'natively'), and that the conversion allows the options 'rs422' AND 'Apple Intermediate Codec' .. which is well known to FCE users ...

AVCHD to FCP for editing

AVCHD to FCP workflow. I've just upgraded from the dvx100B to the HMC150, and I have a problem that I don't see discussed when I search. I'm surprised, because it's a really simple question:
I just received my new HMC150 and I’ve filmed something at 1920x1080, 24p. So now I’m trying to figure out how to edit the AVCHD files in FCP (version 7.0.1). I’m running an eight-core Mac Pro w_ 20Gb of RAM. I assume that I need to transcode the HMC150 files to ProRes 422 or 422 (HQ) to work with them in the Browser.
So, I transfer the data from the HMC150 SD card to my desktop, and I get a folder labeled AVCHD. Inside this folder I see two more folders entitled “AVCHDTN” and “BDMV”
Inside “AVCHDTN” are two files, “THUMB.TDT,” and “THUMB.TIC”
Inside “BDMV” are three folders and two files. The files are labled “INDEX.BDM,” and “MOVIEOBJ.BDM”
The three folders are labeled “CLIPINF,” “PLAYLIST,” and “STREAM”
Inside “CLIPINF,” one finds three files labeled “00000.CPI,” “0001.CPI,” and “00002.CPI”
Inside the PLAYLIST folder is one file labeled “00000.MPL”
Inside the STREAM folder are three files labeled “00000.MTS,” “00001.MTS,” and “00002.MTS”
I’ve tried using MPEG_Streamclip, but it doesn’t recognize any of the above files. I’ve also tried importing each of the above folders or files into FCP (to used Media Manager), but it doesn’t recognize any of this data either. What’s the workflow that works? Help!

Hi
What's AIC? It's not listed as a Target Format in the Log&Transfer Preferences
not even if you click on the "ProRes 422" name? It should drop down and show at least Apple Intermediate (others if you have specialized workflows installed eg RED) or FCP 7 offers ProRez 444, I think.
Anyway if you have lots of Disk Space ProRez is a Higher quality CODEC ... but both AIC and ProRez are bigger "containers" (ie better 'quality') than AVCHD. If your footage was shot well, both will work well. Experiment for yourself and decide your needs.
IMO it's best to provide Vimeo and YouTube with a file which is *exactly * the size, frame rate and CODEC (including bit rate ) they want to play. That way they won't have to re-process your image at all and potentially introduce distortion.
Vimeo have a page that specifies exactly what the want .... an MPEG 4 with H264 encoding, 720P (for HD ... deinterlaced if shot at 1080i) capped at 5000Kb/sec bit rate (check it out yourself though. I'm sure YouTube has a similar page). You can set that up in compressor as a new setting, or go on the internet (try Limewire) and find a copy of Visual Hub (V 3.3 is good) with a serial #. It's no longer sold, supported or developed so you won't be able to pay for if if you wanted to! But it still does a great job of You Tube /Vimeo' ing movies. I've loved it for years!
For DVD Studio Pro, Compressor's presets are fine.... though they only make Stanadrd Def DVD's. I wouldn't recommend the HD-DVD option which is still listed. The HD-DVD format is now obsolete.
You can make a "BluRay" DVD using your FCP Movie and a Copy of Toast 10 Pro with the( Blu Ray Plug In). It will put up to 20mins of BluRay Data (actually H264) on a 4.3 Gig disk that plays in a BluRay Player. I think there are some options in FCP Studio 3 for BluRay, but I don't have it yet ... maybe it can do the same thing?
Hope this helps
Lee

The Most FCP-Friendly Codec for Offline Editing of Clips w/ Alpha Channels

Working with full-quality DigitalJuice animated backgrounds with alpha channels in a DV timeline can feel like swimming through molasses. There are a number of options for temporarily replacing the clips with low-res proxies (Uncompressed, JPEG2000, TGA, etc.). Before conducting extensive tests, I was curious as to whether or not anyone has an opinion on which 32-bit codec might be the easiest one for FCP to process, resulting in snappier playback while offlining.
Thanks,
Zap

no, at least not last time I looked.
the avid meridian codecs for QT are downloadable from their website
http://www.avid.com/content/7952/Avid%20CodecsLE120Macpkg.zip
sme tips quoted from http://dvinfo.net/conf/archive/index.php/t-78006.html
it is important to move these components out of the root Library and put them into the User Library. That way they won't cause any conflict during startup.
I've since done some trial and error testing and it appears the only component that causes a conflict during startup is AvidAVUICodec.component.
The rest work just fine with compressor and seem to add support for:
Avid 1:1x (AvidAV1xCodec.component)
Avid D100 (AvidAVd1Codec.component)
Avid DNxHD (AvidAVdnCodec.component)
Avid DV (AvidAVdvCodec.component)
Avid Packed (AvidAVpkCodec.component)
Avid Meridian (AvidAVDJCodec.component)
The original AvidAVUICodec.component was part of the Meridian codecs paired with AvidAVDJCodec.component for ABVB systems, but it doesn't seem to be required anymore. Very odd.
Now, what works with FCP 5.1.2????
Everything except Avid D100 codec (AvidAVd1Codec.component) and the AvidAVUICodec.component.
So, if want to use Avid codecs with FCP 5.1.2, just install them, trash AvidAVd1Codec.component and AvidAVUICodec.component, then move the remaining components from Macintosh HD/Library/Quicktime to Users/User name/Library/Quicktime.
ymmv

Workflow for AVCHD 5.1 audio in FCP

I have a Panasonic HDC-TM700 cam using the included 5.1 audio offering. I know it's not "true" 5.1, but I want it anyway.
I 100% understand FCP does not natively support AVCHD, but worse....it mixes down the 5.1 to stereo when I Log and Transfer to any of the available codecs. I know FCP can edit 5.1.
I tried ClipGrab in hopes it would produce a ProRes file w/ 5.1. It did not.
Premiere Elements 9 demo not only allows me to natively edit my AVCHD files shot in both 60i and 60p (no transcode), but it also retains the original 5.1 tracks and can output either a Dolby 5.1 or an AAC 5.1. My issue is I don't know how to edit in Premiere. I've been using FCP for almost 8 years and would prefer not to learn a whole new app.
HDD space is not an issue and 3rd party apps are an expected solution.
I have a hunch I'll have to edit in Pre9 until Apple includes this in FCP/FCE, but wanted to ping all you to see if I've missed a work around somewhere.
Thanks!

Hi Pi,
Yes I have setup all channels as you mentioned. I am not sure if this matters, but I am only given a1 and a2 tabs on the left though. What I mean by this is that there is the column in between the show/hide audio button and the connecting destination A tracks. I believe these are the source buttons. Does that make sense? Shouldn't I see a matching button for all tracks?
I would also add that my ending goal was to convert this file to multiple file types such as a .m4v so that it will work on aTV and iPads. I have tried exporting to .m4v from FCP and received a non-specific general error. If I try the self contained QT option I am downgraded to 2 channel audio which is not ideal.

UT Video Codec settings for AVCHD .mts transcoding

Howdy,
Been trying for a while to track down a jittery playback issue (as if frames are randomly held or skipped) when editing .mts files.
Jittery in PPcc and also after exporting to whatever... and especially using Youtube and Vimeo export presets.
VLC media player plays the .mts source files smoothly right off the SD card or HDD/SSD... most of the time, occasionally there is a hiccup but nothing like in PP.
The clips that do this are pretty much all of the panning clips and shot in either 24fps or 60fps 1080p.
I have seen this now on 2 different systems with different collections of .mts footage out of 2 different cameras.
Mine is a PC (running WIN7 i7 3770K 3.5Ghz, 16GB, GTX 660) and the other is a more powerful Mac with 32GB RAM (accustomed to smoothly dealing with RED footage).
I came across an Adobe suggestion to convert to a UTVideo codec ( http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/kb/audio-video-glitches-avchd.html#id_49687 ) to deal with AVCHD... but it really didn't give much helpful info beyond the link to where it could be downloaded.
I tried the suggestion, downloaded the codec suite, made a preset in Media Encoder and transcoded, but it plays even worse than the AVCHD does natively (VLC doesn't recognize that codec for testing)
Does anyone have any suggestions on the best settings for the UT Video transcoding and/or hardware/software settings for the smoothest PP playback of .mts clips? I see in the forums here and elsewhere that lots of folks have various problems working with .mts footage in PP... I am hoping there is a functional solution beyond what I have unsuccessfully tried:
setting playback to 1/4 or 1/2
rendering the sequance/timeline
transcoding to .mp4/DNxHD
clearing render files
maximizing ram for PP usage
closing all other apps
importing the whole 'private' folder from the SD card (which I can't seem to get PP to recognize anyway, it only will import the individual .mts files as far as I can tell)
changed power options
turbo boost for the i7 on or off
and some other trial-and-errors gleaned from the forums that I can't recall at the moment
Any suggestions for what to try next or the proper settings for using the UT Video codec would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks/Cheers!

Thanks Fuzzy!
Great article and it led to some more testing with a couple different lens, pan speeds, shutter speeds and frame rate combos... but still I am not finding anything definitive, I still get random, choppy/juddery playback (never seems to occur in the same place each time).
I have the frame drop indicator on and it says all is good (no dropped frames).
VLC and PotPlayer tend to play the clips off the card just fine, but does once in a while skip... a data transfer problem? I have played off the SD card and SSD main drive and my media HDD.
Caught a recent thread with others having sudden choppy playback, might be related? http://forums.adobe.com/message/5938794#5938794
I have PPro CC 7.2.0 (46)
But the suggestion to clear cache and reset preferences didn't seem to make a difference on my machine.
Still ???
Going to try playing the same clips on a friends SUPER Mac and see what happens... although he sees the same thing with the .mts footage he already has.
Onward!

Best codec for green screen in FCP or Motion

First--I tried to search for posts on this topic, but I swear I cannot figure out how to search -the discussion forums- on this site. Anyone want to tell me what I'm missing?
My main question is about codecs for keying green screen in FCP. I have always just worked with DV but it does not key very well. I am about to go into a project that involves editing 25-30 hours of studio footage down into about 5 hours of finished product, all of which is going to be shot against a green screen. We're using high-quality non-digital NTSC cameras for the shoot and encoding to hard drive, which gives us the option of using a different codec. Since we need to capture so much footage (various takes, camera angles, etc), I don't have the budget for the hard drive space required to capture it all uncompressed, but I'm looking for something better than DV.
I've seen some people are using DVCPRO 50 for green screen work, and I think I could get all the footage onto a single 1TB hard drive in that format.
Is DVCPRO 50 significantly better than DV for green screen? Is there another codec which would be better to use with FCP/Motion, but still keep my data under 10MB/sec?

Is the difference between 4:1:1 and 4:2:2 some part of what causes the blockiness in DV?
No...the DV compression is what causes the blockiness of DV. It is compressed 5:1, and how it is compressed is the cause of the compression. Mind you, if you shoot to DV tape, then capturing that as DVCPRO 50 will not get rid of the blockiness. that is there when you record to tape. It will convert the footage from 4:1:1 to a 4:2:2 color space for better color control when keying and color correcting. But much of the color information is already lost when you shoot to DV tape. Capturing as DV50 will certainly help, however...and be TONS better than keying as straight DV.
Shane

Best program for AVCHD video codec?

What is the best program for OS Tiger 10.4.11 in order to download and edit the advanced AVCHD video codec from new Canon HD camcorders? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi phrogs69, and a warm welcome to the forums!
iMove, & Final Cut of the proper version will do it, you you have the right iMac...
http://www.jakeludington.com/mac/20080425editing_avchd_on_mac_os_x_with_imovie_or_finalcut.html

Best Codec for exporting animations with alpha channel from FCP timeline

Whats the best codec for exporting animations (hopefully using loseless compression) that will retain alpha channel, and use the current sequence settings for fps and size?
Currently Im exporting image sequences, but I'd prefer a wrapper.. I don't know much about the 'Animation' export codec.. I did notice that set to current size had some funky value of 753x450 or something.. instead of my current project size of 1920x1080...
Anyhow.. Just seeing what others are doing..
basically Im reading out some titles that I'll end up dropping over video later.. but since they render out so slowly (**** lower 3rds is slow) Im trying to get a jump on the process..
Tx..

PNG should do it. I think PNG is lossless (that's what they say, anyway). But realistically, if you use PNG, Animation, or JPG2000 set on highest quality, I'd dare you to tell a difference.
I use PNG because it's supposedly lossless, renders twice as fast as Animation in a FCP timeline, and is usually about half the size.
If you use "Export Using Quicktime Conversion", you will need to check all of the settings manually to make sure they match your sequence settings. This is always true, no matter what codec you use.
If that sounds risky, your other option is to go into your sequence settings and change the codec to the one you want to render to (this will probably turn your whole timeline red), and then choose Export -> Quicktime movie.

FCP IMX codec for windows

Hi guys,
is there any IMX codec for windows so i can easly export my grahics from my PC to FCP without rendering? CMIIW
Many Thanks,
Bayu

Happy to help out, but you need to identify what cam or sequence settings you use to create the HD sequence.
HD means so many things, including HDV and DVCProHD.
What is it?
And what did you choose to export to that create a smaller movie file for use on the PC?
Because it seems you have converted the original footage to something else, otherwise the size would be the same.
You might try an export to h.264 that should work if your friend is using v.7 of QT on Windows.

Best codec for DVD export for editing

If I want to burn DVDs for a client who will want to edit the footage later, what's the best codec for that?

What editing application will they be editing with?
DVD's aren't the best archival solution. They hold 4.7GB of info, and that is like 20 min of DV quality footage. Forget about HD quality...Oh, unless you use HDV. That's the same data rate
Shane

Editing codec for AVCHD in FCP

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