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  1. Hi and thanks for letting me join.

    I use a Panasonic TZ35 camera for video and stills and have been making videos for some time using Pinnacle Studio 12.1.

    I usually leave my camera set on MP4 HD 1280x720 at 25fps
    But today noticed the output was not as nice as it has been and I believe this is interlacing?
    Very fine horizontal lines?

    Anyway the other options in the camera are AVCHD 1920x1080 50i (not sure what 50i means) image sensor output 25p 17mbps
    or AVCHD lite 1280x720, 50p image sensor output 25p 17mbps.

    Now, this makes MTS files which Studio can import ok and play.
    However the AVCHD lite option produces videos that play too fast so it looks daft.
    The normal 1920x10810 plays fine and Studio seems ok to edit it if slowly.

    If I stick with this what would be the best file format to output them in mp4?

    Is AVCHD far better than Mp4?

    Why would I be getting quality issues on the old mp4 setting now?

    Happy to upload samples if anyone has a good file host to suggest.
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  2. Going strictly by the specs on Panasonic's site, the AVCHD modes appear to be interpolated from 25p output anyway, so no real advantage unless you're going directly to Blu-Ray. Use mp4.

    Your pinnacle settings should be set to match your source, either 1080p or 720p. Interlace should be a non-issue because you're dealing with progressive material.

    Your output format is determined by how you intend to use (view) the files.
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  3. But today noticed the output was not as nice as it has been and I believe this is interlacing?
    Use MediaInfo -> View -> Text and attach it to a post

    (not sure what 50i means)
    i=Interlaced, p=Progressive

    Is AVCHD far better than Mp4?
    MP4 is a container. In it can be video encoded with different encoders. In your case my guess would be that the video is encoded to h.264 = MPEG 4 Part 10 = AVC - the same encoding as used in AVCHD.

    Happy to upload samples if anyone has a good file host to suggest.
    You can attach video files of up to 500 MB to posts. Open your video with MKVMergeGUI. On the Global tab select Splitting after size
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  4. Member
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    Confusing video formats with video containers.

    MTS and MP4 are containers. AVCHD uses the MPEG4 codec (format) encoded with h264.

    AVCHD: https://www.videohelp.com/glossary?A#AVCHD
    MTS, M2T, m2ts: https://www.videohelp.com/glossary?M#M2T,%20m2ts,%20mts
    mp4: https://www.videohelp.com/glossary?M#MP4

    BluRay/AVCHD defined standards: https://www.videohelp.com/hd#tech
    BluRay/AVCHD authored file structure for disc/memory storage: https://www.videohelp.com/hd#filestruct

    Encoding for proper disc organization for both BluRay and AVCHD have certain restrictions concerning frame rates, GOP size, etc.: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=154533. MP4 doesn't have the same restrictions and can contain alkmost any kind of garbage that sites like UTube will tolerate.
    - My sister Ann's brother
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  5. Hi

    Thanks for getting back to me and for the clarification.
    Attached media info files as requested.

    mp4 with lines was the one I was worried about.
    Issues oddly seems to have resolved now.
    avchd lite is the one that Pinnacle plays at x2 speed while everything else plays normally.
    avchd normal plays fine and is editable in Pinnacle
    Image Attached Files
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  6. Member
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    You are viewing PC playback. Not the same thing as playback for TV. The only formatting that would match BluRay/AVCHD spec is "AVCHD normal".

    I can't say why Pinnacle plays back something at 2x speed. I stopped using Pinnacle 12 years ago.
    - My sister Ann's brother
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  7. Hi, most of my video work is for YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/mikesndbs and of course lots of people play back on HD TV's.
    I also produce private videos and want to play them back on our HD TV.
    I have found the avchd produced very nice video!, but what output in Pinnacle would I use?
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  8. Originally Posted by mikesMovies View Post
    Hi, most of my video work is for YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/mikesndbs and of course lots of people play back on HD TV's.
    I also produce private videos and want to play them back on our HD TV.
    I have found the avchd produced very nice video!, but what output in Pinnacle would I use?
    How are you playing it back on your tv? Blu Ray, media player, DVD, Betamax? These all require different outputs. The general rule of thumb is to stick to the raster size and framerate of your source -- but there are many exceptions.
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  9. Originally Posted by smrpix View Post
    Originally Posted by mikesMovies View Post
    Hi, most of my video work is for YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/mikesndbs and of course lots of people play back on HD TV's.
    I also produce private videos and want to play them back on our HD TV.
    I have found the avchd produced very nice video!, but what output in Pinnacle would I use?
    How are you playing it back on your tv? Blu Ray, media player, DVD, Betamax? These all require different outputs. The general rule of thumb is to stick to the raster size and framerate of your source -- but there are many exceptions.

    Hi, TV playback via HDD connected via USB, or by viewing YouTube direct.
    Thanks
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  10. The manual should tell you what kinds of files the USB in your tv supports. Make sure you check raster size, framerate, profile levels, etc and set your pinnacle output accordingly.
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  11. Member
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    Originally Posted by mikesMovies View Post
    Hi, TV playback via HDD connected via USB, or by viewing YouTube direct.
    That's how you play them, but what about other users? Not all TV's can play from a USB device. Some TVs' players don't deinterlace or handle pulldown so well, some don't handle motion so well. I have a ton of DVD and HD videos on USB drives, but my Denon and Oppo players run circles around most tv's for all kinds of video. That aside, What if your client's TV doesn't have an internal player, or they don't own (or want) a BluRay player or one that can handle something like mp4 or AVCHD? Of course websites have their own format restrictions.
    - My sister Ann's brother
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  12. Member FulciLives's Avatar
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    For HD material go x264 Level 4.0 (for 720p) or Level 4.1 (for 1080p) and use Profile: High
    Also remember to keep your REF FRAMES to DXVA levels. I believe that's 9 for 720p and 4 for 1080p

    With other proper settings this should make something that is BD and DXVA compliant which means you can make a proper Blu-Ray Disc and that most media players (including HDTV's with USB video input) will also work if the end result is a MKV file.

    - John "FulciLives" Coleman
    "The eyes are the first thing that you have to destroy ... because they have seen too many bad things" - Lucio Fulci
    EXPLORE THE FILMS OF LUCIO FULCI - THE MAESTRO OF GORE
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