Editing mixed format footage (AVI, M2T and AVCHD)

[drbill]

Looks like I'm going to have to make another "leap" in technology. Over the years I've gone from 8 to HDV and it looks like I'll have to make the transition to AVCHD soon. My Sony HC-7 has for all practical purposes died (tape transport mechanism, the same happened with my Sony TRV-17 and TRV-510 before that).

I'm looking at the Sony CX550v, but I've never worked with footage in AVCHD Format. Since I have tons of mini-DV footage (AVI format) and pounds of HDV footage (M2T), I'm interested in learning the experiences of others in trying to mix such footage in a single project.

What Windows-software packages do you find do the best job?

 

[zider]

You might check out Pinnacle Studio. I use Studio Ultimate for my AVCHD work. It requires a beast of a computer to render the video but that is typical for working with AVCHD.

 

[ronscuba]

I use Sony Vegas to edit. AVCHD is a pain. I bought Cineform Neoscene s/w too. It converts the HDV, AVCHD, MP4 files into uncompressed AVI files. The AVI files are huge, but since they are uncompressed, editing is quick and easy. Nowadays, hard drives are cheap, so the big files are not a problem.

 

[diversteve]

drbill,

Don't you already use Premiere? Premiere Pro CS5 handles:

AVCHD Import and edit AVCHD content from Sony, Panasonic, and Canon cameras without waiting. Native editing means you can start editing content immediately without transcoding or rewrapping the content.

CS5 also requires 64 bit Windows now. Probably a quad-core processor and 4GB or more ram is a good idea also. My buddy uses Pinnacle Studio 12 on an I7 machine with 6GB - he has no problems importing AVCHD.

 

[ronscuba]

I can import and edit AVCHD into Vegas, but find the editing/rendering smoother and quicker if I convert. My PC is over 4 years old so maybe that is a part of it.

 

[KiiY]

I use Premiere CS4 on a Core i7 (2.8GHz 4 core), but still running XP and maxed out at 3GB of RAM. And I can tell you that editing AVCHD is NOT pleasant on this system.

I hear CS5 is significantly faster with AVCHD, but for me that requires the Adobe upgrade, an upgrade to Windows 7 and changing out all my RAM modules to go to 6GB or more = quite expensive.

If you're starting from scratch, just build the best system you can afford. It will save you time in the long run.

The video formats themselves are all different and you may need to experiment with settings to get the results you want.

For now, I've pretty much settled on final output at 720p60... which is 1280x720 at 59.97fps. It's not full high definition, but it still holds up quite well on large displays IMO. And being sort of the "middle ground" means that going from either 1920x1080 (full high def), 1440x1080 (HDV) or 720x480 (DV) to 1280x720 is generally okay.

I'd like to eventually go to 1920x1080 and just put 30p footage into a 60i wrapper (since 1080p30 doesn't exist in either the AVCHD or Blu-ray standard)... but the capture formats are so all over the place right now that I can't get the results I like at that level.

 

[ronscuba]

Is your camera recording progressive ?

 

[KiiY]

Is your camera recording progressive ?

Hi, Ronscuba.

Is that question for me or someone else?

If it was for me... I've been shooting HDV for a long time but started using a Panasonic GH1 last year for topside work, and mainly shoot in 720p60. (I'm not a "film maker" so the look of 24p in the 60i wrapper and all the pulldown headaches was just too much to deal with)

Underwater I shoot an HDV camcorder, and also got a GoPro HD which shoots 720p60 or 1080p30.

Will probably upgrade the GH1 later this year... depending on the GH2 specs whenever they are announced, or may just switch over to the NEX-VG10 from Sony once I get to examine its footage.

 

[ronscuba]

Yeah, I was asking because you were talking about outputing progressive.

All my UW stuff is HDV so, I output 60i for UW video.

Topside, I'm shooting Canon DSLR at 24p. I find the film look to be a combination of things including 24p, shutter speed and depth of field.

 

[KiiY]

I have a ton of HDV tapes and do like the format, but it seems the whole consumer video industry is moving away from tape.

And on the "film look"... I actually like it for a lot of reasons: shallow DOF, often muted color palates, dynamic range and shadow detail... but the stuttery nature of 24p was one thing I wouldn't miss.

Still, definitely exciting times in video capture equipment!