Hi-def playback is CHOPPY - 60 FPS to 29.97 FPS????

Question

Hi - I have a Powerbook G4, with 1.67 GHz, and 1.5 GB SDRAM.
I have some AVCHD footage I converted using Voltaic, from the Panasonic HDC-SD9.
Picture is great, color is great, but the playback in iMovie is choppy. Is it simply that my computer cannot handle the huge files? Upon rendering to Quicktime movie, Divx, whatever, the same result: choppy motion.
The original footage is in 60 FPS (but I can only view it from the camera monitor, since there is no way to import to the computer and view in the AVCHD format) and Voltaic is converting to 29.97 FPS, is that where the chokehold is?
This is very frustrating - I have a great computer, and a great camera - and a choppy video!
Look at it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkPykgDWSEs
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks,
Hammydon

Answer 1

The "60i" setting on the camcorder is 60 interlaced fields per second ..which equals 30 full frames per second ..that is the normal US frame rate.
At least, it's called 30 fps for brevity, but it is actually 29.97 frames per sec ..so that's what Voltaic is - supposedly - receiving, and everything is working correctly.
The YouTube video shows a smooth frame rate (..the view of the static buildings isn't interrupted or stuttery..) but there appear to be frames missing within the video: hence the jumps in motion of the cars and bike. That looks like a Voltaic problem: it looks like it's choking on receiving and trying to convert the AVCHD ..because it's underpowered for what you're trying to do.
Your choice of new Mac should work perfectly. HOWEVER, several people have reported problems with iMovie recognising or handling the incoming video from a Panny SD9, whereas there've been no problems with its predecessor SD5 (..mine works OK, for instance, on an Intel-powered Mac - except that conversion to the editable AIC format is slow because I'm using a slow Mac mini).
So you might like to investigate further whether an SD9 behaves OK with Macs.
Note too that only iMovie '08 will natively handle AVCHD video straight from the camcorder, so even with an new Intel Mac, you'd still need to convert your AVCHD with Voltaic if you continue to use iMovie HD 6 (..you posted this question in the iMovie HD 6 Discussions).