Transcoding towards a HD camcorder

I have edited an HD clip with final cut express that I transferred from my camcorder (Sony HRD HC7). I wanted the edited video to be transferred back to the camcorder.
Everything has worked fine so far. But just before transferring the clip to my camcorder, final cut express carries out a transcoding which a) is lengthy (about 4 time the duration of the clip ) and b) as all transcoding impairing the picture quality (especially for HD).
How can I get rid of this transcoding?
By the way the transfer from the camcorder to the mac is real time (and I assume without transcoding?). Why should the other reverse way be different.
Thank you for you help
Best Regards
Pat

Hi(Bonjour)!
Welcome to the forum.
HDV is a very compressed video format, composed of one complete frame at each half second. All images in between are "cleaned" from steady details to keep a data rate of around 25 mbytes/second, thus using a miniDV tape. This sequence of images is called Group of Picture (GOP). The compression process is applyed on the fly by your camcorder upon recording.
When you capture in FCE, your mac transcodes the material to Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC), composed of 29.97 "full detailled" images/second (the resulting file is around 5 to 6 time larger than the native form of HDV as each frame has the complete data to display a complete image).
Final Cut Pro can handle HDV natively without transcoding so captured HDV in this application has the same size than DV.
When you print to tape from FCE, the application has to transcodes your sequence (in AIC format) to the HDV specification, as this is the format recorded on your camcorder tape. So your mac composes (computes) all GOP needed to conform the sequence to HDV. This is a long process (imagine the power needed on your camcorder's power to compute those calculations in real time).
You cannot avoid this process when you print to tape.
Michel Boissonneault

Similar Messages

Two Camcorder Questions.

I'm looking for an HD camcorder, hopefully on the less expensise side. But I definality want good qulity. And it's for a Youtube Channel starting up.
Second question. I have a camcorder that I'm looking to sell for money towards the new camcorder. Does Best Buy buy old camcorders?

I'm going to answer your questions in reverse order.....
what is your old camcorder model?
have you checked the online auction sites to see what it's worth?
in general, old camcorders have little value, especially with wear and tear on tape based models.
The resale value is very limited.
I don't think Best Buy takes old camcorders
With regards to a new model....
click on this link and use the wizards to shortlist models that may be of interest to you.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=q70726f63657373696e67746...
Look for camcorders with forward facing microphones for better sound.
avoid camcorders with bottom loading batteries, unless you don't mind recharging it every 30 minutes
yes, get a better camcorder if you want people to watch your YouTube..... I avoid video's that are not HD.
also budget for a tripod.... I hate handheld YouTube videos that are shaky. Get a tripod with a "fluid head" for sexy smooth panning.
Wow, I noticed there's a DXG 3D camcorder on the Best Buy site for $299.99. However I hope the battery is at the back and I'd like to see more video samples before recommending it.

Which HDD HD Camcorder Canon HG-10 or JVC GZ-HD7

I have been searching these forums an I have a few questions and clarifications. I am trying to decided which camcorder to purchase. My concerns are compatibility with my iMAC(S) I currently have a 2.0 GHz/ 2g of RAM iMac G5 which we have dedicated to Aperture 1.5 and iLife, etc. but not in my I am leaning towards the Canon due to the Fact that it is listed in on the compatible camcorder list and I don't see the HD7 listed, however I see tons of people on this forum use this camera.
My goal is to be able to take both HD and high quality SD video. I want to be able to plug the camcorder into the computer transfer the video data( for editing/storage/production), unplug and be ready to go quickly, we have Stacks of MiniDV tapes which take forever to upload into the computer(realtime), so I think HDD is the way to go.
I am confused about the difference between the Formats of the two cameras (AVCHD and MPEG 2) Can some please explain the difference, pros and cons (I am a novice) practically speaking. This is an investment so I would like to purchase a camera that will not be outdated in a few months.
Lastly, what can you play the HD movies on. I have apple TV, will that work? do I need a Blue ray player of something like that. I great appreciate your assistance.

SeanMurtha wrote:
I have been searching these forums an I have a few questions and clarifications. I am trying to decided which camcorder to purchase. My concerns are compatibility with my iMAC(S) I currently have a 2.0 GHz/ 2g of RAM iMac G5 which we have dedicated to Aperture 1.5 and iLife, etc. but not in my I am leaning towards the Canon due to the Fact that it is listed in on the compatible camcorder list and I don't see the HD7 listed, however I see tons of people on this forum use this camera.
My goal is to be able to take both HD and high quality SD video. I want to be able to plug the camcorder into the computer transfer the video data( for editing/storage/production), unplug and be ready to go quickly, we have Stacks of MiniDV tapes which take forever to upload into the computer(realtime), so I think HDD is the way to go.
I am confused about the difference between the Formats of the two cameras (AVCHD and MPEG 2) Can some please explain the difference, pros and cons (I am a novice) practically speaking. This is an investment so I would like to purchase a camera that will not be outdated in a few months.
Lastly, what can you play the HD movies on. I have apple TV, will that work? do I need a Blue ray player of something like that. I great appreciate your assistance.
First, if you burn a DVD in h.264 format (AVCHD) I think you can play it on a bluray, but NOT in standard DVD. However, you can create a standard DVD (from iDVD) from other editing/authoring software like toast. I am not sure, but I think you can use iDVD for that as well.
Second, you are right, hard-drive cameras is the way of the future, so you can really just "Plug & Play"
Third, MPEG 2 is one of the most widely used formats for video enconding, you see it everyday, is what is inside DVD's, every blockbuster or Hollywood DVD has mpeg 2 inside. Much of what you receive in your TV etc, was coded on mpeg 2. There are many video cameras that code in mpeg 2.
The answer really lies on "where are planning to see the ultimate video result????", AppleTV, burned DVD to carry around, or in your computer??? what are you planning to do with it??
AppleTV only supports H.264, it will play indeed HD. If you want the family videos etc to be there, that is the way. If you are into DVD production/authoring, mass distribution etc, maybe MPEG 2 is better, however, you can always transcode to mpeg2 from other formats.
AVHCD or h.264 is MPEG-4, or a type of MPEG 4. No so you know. Although MPEG 2 is usually a small file, when you export to AppleTV (because of the bit-rate), the files are usually even smaller in your new h.264.
If you are leaning towards mpeg 2
iMovie 08 is made to import mpeg 2 "only directly from the camera", if you have other mpg's lying around your harddrive you need to do a workaround (we could get into that later, it is easy and free).
Keep in mind "mpeg 2 is not really meant for editing, but for delivering", it is becasue fo the group of images concept. Anyway, iMovie 08 can hadle them if you need to.
Also, as long as you have the MPEG 2 component for Quicktime ($19.99 from apple), you should be able to play back, transcode etc, anytime using quicktime, or other MAGNIFICENT, "FREE", EASY TO USE MPEG Streamclip, from squarefive.com. Many people finds streamclip as a more useful interface.
In summary, both formats would be easy to use, reasonable size, good quality, durable standard, widely available, iMovie 08 can handle both, you can author easily, and the software to handle them is either on you mac already, free, or really cheap anyway.
Be careful with the fact you have a PPC and not Intel, although if not now, in the future you will move to intel processor.

Purchasing a new camcorder

I'm on the market for the purchase of a new camcorder. My Sony PC9 is clearly outdated. I've had it for over 8 years now and although it works fine, I would like something smaller and sharper. I do mostly sports videos such as ski and bike trips. I need a small, light, high definition camera with good zoom capability. I'm looking at the Sony HDRCX12 and the Panasonic HDC-SD100. They are pretty much the same size and offer similar options. I would normally lean towards the Sony, but the Panasonic HDC-SD100 is a 3CCD camcorder. The Sony HDRCX12 has only one (although sensor is much larger). To my knowledge, a 3CCD will give me a much better, professional looking image. Is this true? I've surf the internet for an answer and it is rather confusing. I know lens quality is also an important factor, which makes it even more confusing.
Thanks for you help.

If you plan to shoot with any of these AVCHD camera's then you'll probably want to take note of the inherent limitations of working with that format in FCP. You'll need VoltaicHD to transcode the raw source to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) in order to edit it. These are BIG files, not like your trusty DV format, so you;ll want good large fast hard drives for storage.
If you want direct support in FCP then you'll be looking at both a hardware upgrade to an Intel based Mac and a software upgrade to FCS2 (FCP6). AVCHD support via Log and Transfer was only introduced since the FCP6 version came about and requires an Intel Mac.
With that in mind you might want consider at the very least a flash based HDV camera which can be effectively used via the new ClipWrap app, or just plump for a tape based HDV camera.

IDVD 08 audio/video sync drift toward end of DVD movie - fix/workaround?

Anyone know how I can fix this issue? It's driving me crazy.
I've just spent a few evenings in iMovie 08, editing together the video of my son's birth. All looked & amazingly good in iMovie. The "Large" .m4v file output by iMovie - Shared with the Media Browser - plays perfectly in Quicktime too.
However, after adding that shared movie to iDVD 08, and burning a DVD, I noticed that the audio sync drifts toward the end of the Movie when plated back. At the start of the DVD all seems well, but by the end of the ~1hr 20 minute movie the audio is unbearably out of sync with the video. Completely unwatchable.
After a little Googling I came across some reports that iDVD might not deal well with video that's been recorded with 12-bit audio. I've confirmed that my camcorder is (was!) set to 12-bit rather than 16-bit (the default, I'm sure). So if that's the problem I'm hosed... it's not like I can get a retake on that footage
Is there a reasonable workaround for this issue? I'm obviously unable to re-take the video (or the other 10 hours of DV video tape I've yet to use in an iMovie project). Ideally I'd like Apple to release a patch for this. Shouldn't it be possible for iDVD to account for audio that was originally recorded in 12-bit... even if it's just a checkbox you have to select to tip it off?
Then again, perhaps this is totally unrelated to the 12-bit issue, and this is just a run of the mill bug?
As I said... iMovie generates a MPEG4 video file of the Movie that looks/sounds perfect, so it seems this sync issue's being created somewhere in iDVD as it's rendering the audio/video to burn to the DVD...
Thanks in advance.

I've tried most of the options I can think of, and the audio sync drift issue continues on this ~1hr 12 minute iMovie/iDVD 08 project.
A couple of promising ideas tried used QT Pro, to export the audio track from the iMovie generated MPEG-4 file - as a WAV file, resampling to 48kHz and 16-bit... then Adding this back to the video track in the MPEG-4 file (having deleted the original audio track). In another test I also tried the Add to Selection and Scale option. Oddly enough I think the Add to Selection and Scale attempt generated more sync issues than before in the final DVD movie... so I stuck with the MPEG-4 file containing the video track and the added, resampled at 48kHz & 16 bit, WAV audio track.
This was saved as a self contained Movie file, producing a QT .mov file. I moved this .mov file into the iDVD projects directory structure so that it was avalable in iDVD's Media Browser. I then reworked the iDVD project to use this QT large.mov file, instead of the original iMovie large.m4v file.
As a reminder... the original large.m4v file has the following properties:
29.97 FPS H.264 Decoder, 960 x 540, Millions
AAC, Stereo (L R), 44.100 kHz
0:01:12:07.16 duration
The resampled and saved QT MOV file has the following properties:
29.97 FPS H.264 Decoder, 960 x 540, Millions
16-bit Integer (Little Endian), Stereo, 48.000 kHz
0:01:12:07.16 duration
BOTH versions of this Movie file play flawlessly within QT Pro... there's no audio sync drift evident toward the end of the movie unless I use iDVD 08 to burn either movie file to a Physical DVD (or DVD Disk Image). In both cases the resultant DVD Movie exhibits significant audio sync drift as the ~1hr 12 minute movie progresses. The sync goes out by ~ <= 1 second based on a rough visual assessment.
I've not yet tried to burn either the original iMovie produced MPEG-4 video file or my QT Pro tweaked audio track .MOV file version to a DVD on my PC...
... But I have used an application called Burn (referenced in this earlier/archived iDVD sync drift forum post: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1332100 by user F Shippey - http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/) to take the QT Pro tweaked .mov file version of the original MPEG-4 file and burn it to a DVD...
Results:
The Burn app burnt DVD plays with NO audio sync issues!... Even though it was generated from the same audio tweaked (48kHz/16-bit resampled) QT Pro .mov file.
However, whenever I burn a DVD using iDVD 08 the audio sync gradually drifts. It matters not whether I use the original iMovie 08 generated MPEG-4 movie file, or the QT Pro version of that file with the resampled audio track (the same one that works fine with Burn).
It sure looks to me like iDVD has a problem... Again, refer to http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1332100 for someone else who seems to have run into similar challenges.
Am I overlooking something?
Thanks in advance.

Very poor video quality after transcoding in Adobe Encore CS5.1

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I have very poor video quality after transcoding the video file (MPEG) in Adobe Encore CS5.1. Below you see my used settings in my filmproject.
The problem exists after transcoding in Adobe Encore CS5.1. I checked all steps and found out that there is no problem until transcoding. My exported file in MPEG has very good video and audio quality.
Facts:
1. Camcorder: Panasonic AG-AC160AEJ
Operating System : Windows 7, 64 Bit, Ultimate edition
Source files: MTS files
Recording settings (clip settings):
Type: MPEG Movie
Image Size: 1920 x 1080
Frame Rate: 25,00
Source Audio Format: 48000 Hz - compressed - Stereo
Project Audio Format: 48000 Hz - 32 bit floating point - Stereo
Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1,0
2. Sequence settings in Premiere Pro
Sequence was created from Clip directly with settings above.
3. Exporting settings in Adobe Premiere Pro:
Match sequence settings was activated. Now other changes were set.
4. Exported File:
Video
Image Size: 1920 x 1080
Data Transfer Rate: 25920 kBit / s
Frame rate: 25
Audio:
Bit rate: 384 kBit / s
Channels: 2 (stereo)
Frequence: 48 kHz
5. Transcoding settings in Adobe Encore:
I used different transcoding settings such as automatic DVD Transcoding, CBR and VBR.I also set “use maximum render quality”. But all results were always the same: very poor quality.
Why does the encore transcoding cause such bad video quality?
How can I solve this problem?
Please help me soon.
Best regards.

Hi Ann,
1) I did not only „Automatic (based on source)“ options in my tests, but also many other customized options.
The results are very poor. I have done a new test with the following settings. The result is also poor:
Download link: http://www.klavierlehrer-bayern.de/download/test_mpeg2dvd_1.m2v
Export Settings:
Format: MPEG2-DVD
Preset: Custom
Codec: MainConcept MPEG Video, Quality: 5
Frame Rate: 25 fps
Field Order: Upper
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Automatic (based on source)
Render at Maximum Rate: [active]
Bitrate Encoding: VBR, 2 pass
Minimum Bitrate (Mbps): 5
Target Bitrate (Mbps): 9
Maximum Bitrate (Mbps): 9
GOP Settings
M Frames: 4
N Frames: 12
Use Maximum Render Quality: [active]
Multiplexer: None
2) Why shouldn’t I use the “Match Sequence Settings” in exporting? Because of the big output file size?
I used it and the results are very good as I expected:
Download link: http://www.klavierlehrer-bayern.de/download/test_MatchSequenceSettings.mpeg
Export Settings
Match Sequence Settings [selected]
1920 x 1080, 25 fps, Upper, Quality 50
User Maximum Render Quality: [active]
3) I tried also Dynamic Link in PremierePro (to Encore).
The results are also poor.
4) I will test also LagarithLoslessCodec and frameserving +DGMPGDec. But the video is vertical long drawn-ot.
I think I did not use it correctly.
Regards

Why did IMovie 9 start crashing when trying to import from camcorder

I have Imovie 8.0.6 and a Panasonic HDC-SD60 camcorder. I have been importing from this camera for a long time, with no problems but now, IMovie crashes whenever I push the import button. I checked and when nothing is connected, the internal camera comes up when I push the import button. I connect the Panasonic first & see it on the desktop & then open Imovie. ANy idea why it keeps crashing?

Yes, 20 GB is very little - when you import you produce AIC files which are much larger than the original clips. Unless you can clear a lot more space (tens of GB) you need an external hard drive to put your iMovie media on.
This is the AVCHD file structure you should see from the Finder when you connect your camera like an external drive:
First copy the clips you want to use from the STREAM folder to another folder on your hard disk.
Next, you need to convert them from .mts to .mov format using the free program Media Converter. You can also do batch conversions by dropping multiple .mts files onto its window. You need to instal the Re-wrap AVCHD for Quicktime - uncompressed Audioplugin. It is fast since it is not transcoding but simply changing the video wrapper. The website is:
http://media-converter.sourceforge.net/
The resulting .mov clips will import into iMovie (this works for iMovie 9 - I'm assuming it will also work with iMovie 8.)
Geoff.

DVD encoding using transcode results in out-of-sync audio

I am trying to encode my DVDs for easy viewing on my computer. I am trying to do this with transcode, but I am having a few problems.
Firstly, I use lsdvd and tccat to find and rip the desired content in raw form from the DVD to a VOB file. Once I have this raw data, I then encode the file to an AVI, using a command like:
transcode -i <name>.vob -N 0x2000 -w 1000 --nice 10 -F mpeg4 -y ffmpeg,raw -o <name>.avi"
Which compresses the video to mpeg4 with ffmpeg and copies the audio from the original as-is into the AVI file. However, when I watch the resulting movie, the audio runs slightly ahead of the video, so people's lips continue to move after they've finished speaking, just like in a badly-dubbed kung-fu flick!
Another problem I've noticed (perhaps related?) is that despite the fact that the audio stream ought to be a bit-for-bit copy of the original, the bitrate is written as 128kb/s instead of 192kb/s like it should be. If the argument -b 192 is given then it fixes this problem, but the first problem is still present so it's not the cause of that.
Encoding in mencoder using exactly the same technique works fine, but I hate mencoder and mplayer because they are both brain-dead and buggy. Mencoder won't detect half of the stuff it should, e.g. the aspect ratio, forcing me to look at every DVD I encode, read the aspect ratio and set it manually, which is just not on. I need to use transcode anyway to rip the DVD image, since mencoder claims that it can't acutally read the DVD half the time when everything else can, so if I can just get past this stupid problem then I will be happy.
So, if anyone can help me figure out the problem here I'd be very grateful

Argh! I never even noticed that option, despite having read the man page about 7 million times. Acidrip is not so great IMO, I think it uses MEncoder, so it suffers from the same problems I highlighted earlier, plus it is very crude and buggy. IIRC it also seems to be biased towards single-pass encoding, which is stupid because for a little more time you can get better quality with multi-pass as long as you're happy with running an encoding process in the background for a few hours (not such a big deal as long as you nice it down to a low priority)

Choosing a camcorder

I need a camcorder that has a decent zoom, image stabilization, high rate of frames per second, has to be decent in low light, decent battery life, internal hard drive with sd card slots, and it has to work with a macbook. We will be using the camcorder for our high school softball program,
in the store i was steered towards the Cannon HFR21 HD i was okay with that b/c it had mac copright info on the bottom of the box, but i see a review online says that it isn't compatible with the mac.

A few questions and concerns....
what do you call " high rate of frames per second"? Some like 24, average is 30, some can do 60..... there are cameras that can go higher. Are you trying to do slo-motion?
decent battery life? I prefer to get an extended battery that can double or triple battery life
why do you need an interal hard drive when you have SD slots. Internal hard drives means shock concerns and a shorter battery life.
what do you plan to use for video editing?
have you considered a fluid tripod with minimize relying on the image stabilization?
I had a look at the entry model you selected.... where does the battery load? Not from the back.... it's likely at the bottom. Bottom loading batteries means you cannot get an extended battery as it would interfer with the tripod mount. With 20-30 minutes of battery life, you will need additional batteries. I hate frequent battery changes because the batteries go down during inconvenient times. I love Canon HD camdorders for the high bit rates. I hate bottom loading batteries. This model is on my DO NOT BUY list.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Canon+-+VIXIA+HF+R21+32GB+HD+Flash+Memory+Camcorder+-+Black/2088317.p?id...

Problems with "Author once" workflow, can't transcode HDV to BD and DVD

Adobe claims that with Encore CS3 you can
"author once, deliver to three formats" -- Blu-ray, DVD and Flash. I have been doing some research and testing, but have not been able to get it to work.
It seems as though Encore is not capable of taking HDV 1080i60 footage and transcoding it for both Blu-ray and DVD. The Blu-ray looks great, but the downconverted transcode for DVD is completely unusable.
Link to screen shot of HDV to DVD transcode. (Note: this is a frame at 100%, so the "comb teeth" really are that big.)
I have seen some pretty pathetic downconversions from HDV to DV resolution, but this is the most creatively useless one I've come across so far.
I have been able to use Dynamic Link to get an almost acceptable "author once" workflow from HDV footage. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a way to get Encore or After Effects to render fields for the DVD transcode, so fast-moving graphic elements and text have jerky/strobing motion.
FYI, I got Dynamic Link working well for non-fast clips by doing the following:
Make sure that "Separate Fields" was set to "Upper" in "Interpret Footage" for the HDV clip.
Set the clip's frame blending mode to "Frame Mix" ("Pixel Motion" works, just take longer).
Enable Frame Blending for the comp.
(Enable Motion Blur for the comp if any layers are using Motion Blur).
If only there were a button to enable field rendering for the comp along with Frame Blending and Motion Blur, as both of those options directly affect how the Dynamic Link renders/transcodes in Encore.
I noticed that without Frame Blending enabled for both the clip and the comp, the motion in the transcode was very jerky, even though the clip had not been time stretched/remapped.
Does anyone know of some way to get the mythical "author once" workflow to work? Perhaps it's only for progressive workflows and not interlaced? Could this be a Mac-related problem (I have not been able to test on Windows)?
I know I can downconvert first, then import into Encore, and that does work fine, but that completely negates the wonderful concept of "author once".
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
-Joel Granholm
Details:
Encore CS3 3.0.1.008
After Effects CS3 8.0.1.8
Premiere Pro CS3 3.0.1
Final Cut Studio 2
Mac OS X 10.4.10
Mac Pro 8-core, 8 GB RAM / MacBook Pro 17" 2-core, 4 GB RAM
Shooting/editing in HDV 1080i60
Trying to create:
BD: NTSC, 1440x1080, 29.97i (upper field first), H.264.
DVD: NTSC, 16:9 Aspect Ratio, 29.97i (lower field first), MPEG2

Ruud,
Gspot showed there was a problem with the file. What it said was of the 130K frames, most were not needed. I went back to the editor and reconstructed the 130K file. Had problems trying to export to M2v. PPro 2.0 would freeze every time, sometimes in a few minutes, sometimes just short of completing, approx 2 hours(this was a 2 pass vbr setup). I experienced problems just trying to make an AVI file for importing into Encore 2.0. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since I first started this journey(over 300 hours). My first shot at elation occurred when I decided to try an m2v at vbr 1 pass instead of 2 pass. It worked. I say this because of late I have successfully made an Avi file, Imported the timeline and in fact satisfactorily made an m2v file (2 pass). The m2v was also brought into Encore 2.0. Though I have 4 HD's, it seems to me that as I am moving toward a successful product, I'm finding that I've located all my assets on one HD. Is this the way to go? I'd like to thank the alert for using Gspot. And I will, always. I believe that if I had used Gspot earlier I would not have been trying to fix the problem using a bad asset.
I've been able to make an iso file, though having trouble making a playable disc.

Problems With Samsung SCD107 Camcorder

Hi, I have the Samsung SCD107 Camcorder and whenever I turn it on and enter camera mode all I see on the LCD screen and viewfinder is black. I have been told that the CCD sensor is broken. I was wondering if this is able to be repaired and how much i would cost to repair it.
-Thanks

Hi matt624,
The problem with your viewfinder and LCD screen could be caused by a faulty sensor, but the only way to really know is to have a technician look at your camcorder. I would first suggest having a digital imaging expert in a Best Buy® store look at the camcorder. If they determine that there is a defect in your camcorder the Geek Squad® precinct in the store should be able to have it sent out to a service center.
If there is a defect in the camcorder it can most likely be repaired, but the real question is will it be cost effective to repair or would you be better off putting that money towards the purchase of a new camcorder. The only real way to know would be to have a technician determine what is wrong, and get a quote on how much it would cost to repair. It would be impossible to guess the cost of the repair without a conclusive diagnosis.
Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate
Allan|Senior Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

Panasonic HDC-Z10000 Professional 3D Camcorder and AVCHD3D

I bought Panasonic HDC-Z10000 Professional 3D Camcorder. Format of shooting of AVCHD3D. Video from the camera is imported to the 2D. How to import the 3D?

I just bought two Canon HG10 AVCHD camcorder. I'll be using them for a few Smashing Pumpkins concerts in Philly in the next several days.
Here's what I found out so far just playing with them for 20 minutes.
AVCHD + iMove '08 or Final Cut Pro 6.0.1 /= PowerPC
It's not going to work on a PowerPC Mac.
Final Cut Pro 6.0.1 says:
Warning:
AVCHD media is unsupported on PowerPC based hardware.
iMovie '08 says:
AVCHD Device not supported
An Intel-based Macintosh is required to capture AVCHD video; try changing your camcorder settings to standard definition.
I didn't buy this camcorder for standard def. I did not bother trying that option.
It worked on my Intel MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro 6.0.1. I don't have iMovie installed on there so I didn't try it.
I recorded a clip about a minute long, 01:01:13 to be exact. I put
the camcorder in USB mode and it mounts on my PowerPC and Intel Mac's
without installing any software.
Going through the file structure I find
/Volumes/CANON_HDD/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00000.MTS
MTS = MPEG Transport Stream
That file is 119.6 mb.
I can get the .MTS to play in VLC Media Player but it crashes after a few seconds.
Final Cut Pro 6.0.1 has no idea what to do with .MTS files. When dragging to the bin I get File error: unknown type. You have to go to File > Log And Transfer. Not File > Log And Capture like you
normally would to capture a tape.
From there it transcodes the .MTS file using the Apple ProRes 422 codec. This takes time and makes your nice little 119.6mb file about EIGHT times as big. The file is 929.3 mb! One gigabyte for one minute! It's 24p and 1080 x 1920 though.

Best Camcorder For FCP and FCE

Right, so I have a rough budget of £500 and I need the best camcorder I can get for money. It must be compatible with FCP and Express. Can anyone out there help me with my predicament??
Many Thanks

Better information, you'll get better responses over the next few days, keep reading.
Best for me includes excellent low light functions and excellent glass. I need neither digital zoom nor auto gain.
Decide on an acquisition format by determining what you expect to do with the movies you create. You may not need full 1080 but can get by with 720. Resist cameras that record in a codec that must be transcoded before editing.
bogiesan

Can someone walk me through AVCHD transcoding on Mac

I'm using 2-3 Canon AVCHD camcorders and editing in Premiere Pro CS4. Here's what I'd been doing until recently:
I connected my camera via usb to iMovie '08 and imported footage from the flash memory and sdhc cards.
I learned iMovie changes the imported avchd into Apple's Intermediate Codec. I have resorted to using the setting right below full HD (iMovie claims that the lower setting will be smaller in size but show similar quality, and that the full HD import setting will have playback issues on slower Macs like my mbp), import the footage, then close iMovie and open Premiere. I set up the project as avchd 1080i or 1080p, depending on how I taped, then import the files. Premiere used to crash or freeze when I would try to edit 2-3 tracks, and I was not familiar enough with importing through Premiere's Media Browser. Also, I couldn't use the multi-cam edit function as the avchd files are too cpu-intensive, so I have to sync my clips, then cut each track and playback every now and again. I don't bother rendering because it would take too long and eat up hard drive space.
I export via Adobe Dynamic Link when I need a simple DVD and don't have time to mess with bitrate and other settings (that's another issue that I will be working on after I get the initial issues resolved, and perhaps is the third biggest area where I'm losing quality; the first area might be that I am operating the 32-bit software on an old macbook pro with 256GB video ram where the software is limiting the ram and causing slowdowns; the second being that I wasn't importing footage in iMovie with the Full HD setting).
The dvd quality hasn't been as good as I expected, and I wondered if Premiere was degrading iMovie's intermediate codec, or if I was messing things up on export by not knowing enough about bitrates and gaussian blurs to offset camera noise.
I'm in the middle of big projects that I have to complete and I won't be ready to try Final Cut until AFTER I've completed this project (deadlines!).
Can someone properly walk me through the process of transferring footage from the camera or sdhc card to my Mac, to avchd folder/file structures to transcoding in PavTube's MTS Converter for Mac (or StreamClip or something else)?
I have since bought more hard drives; have learned that although Premiere handles avchd natively, it's not the easiest format to edit and may be killing my cpu. I have also learned that, in Premiere, you don't have to worry about sequence setting as much as I thought, that it will take just about anything you throw at it even if the load is killing the cpu. I just bought a new iMac and have not yet chosen an editing program because I want to correct my errors before making another expensive purchase. I have been leaning toward Adobe Production Premium CS6 as it's 64-bit, has a great graphics engine (so I've heard), and is taking the lead against Avid and Final Cut.
Pardon my long post, but I need detail and am giving you details. Thanks in advance!

hello, first please understand that like most free software we cannot provide support via telephone, so let's continue here in the forum.
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[[Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware]]
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Workflow - AVCHD - Arrange in AE - Transcoding?

Hi,
I've been reading these forums for hours - so I am very sorry if my question has already been asked before.
I plan to record with my Panasonic camcorder and edit the MTS' in Premier.
When all the clips have been careful edited and cutted I want to arrange my movie inside After Effects.
So.. what to do?
Transcode my unedited MTS' to DVCPRO-HD with panasonic's tool? (before starting the editing).
Transcode my edited MTS' from Premier to animation Quicktime with alpha?
Transcode my edited MTS' from Premier to Mpeg2 ?
Or..?
Premier CS5 and After Effects CS5.
Hope someone can clear this out for me.
Thanks a lot

then i export back to Premier Pro for final encording and editing.
No need to "export back" to PPro; Dynamic Link is a "live" connection, so anything you do in AE will be immediately reflected by the AE comp item back in Premiere. Try it with a test sequence, and you'll see what I mean.
This suggest that I edit my sequences together inside Premier Pro and only use After Effects for post edititng. I know that is what most people do, but i'm a lot more familiar with After Effects than Premier Pro - that is why i want to set my movie clips together inside AE.
Correct; do your editing in Premiere Pro. After all, that's what it's there for. You'll find it much easier to do the layout of your sequence in PPro instead of AE. Use AE for doing your final effects and compositing; you can do some minor editing in AE (as you are probably aware), but to nowhere near the capability and flexibility of PPro.
My final output is 1280 x 720, but the clips are recorded at 1080 x 1920 - so i was thinking about doing this:
Import my 1080p MTS' to premier pro - do all the cutting and export them as 720p quicktime animation for editing inside After Effects.
I'd keep everything at 1920x1080; edit in a Premiere Pro sequence at that resolution, and do your AE work in a comp at the same size. Then, you can export your final finished video to 1280x720; this gives you the flexibility of easily doing a 1080 export if you ever need to.

Transcoding towards a HD camcorder

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