Vegas Pro 9 get timecode from AVCHD

[flamadiddle]

I just got my wedding videos from almost a year ago. Long story short: the videographers went out of business before they did anything with the videos. So now I have 36GB worth of .MTS AVCHD files from 3 different cameras.

I've downloaded the Sony Vegas Pro 9.0b trial software to see what I can do with these videos. I have roughly 50 clips from each of the 3 cameras, and not one of them got a complete shot of the whole wedding, so I will have to splice them together. The reception is split up in to several more clips...

So far I'm happy with Vegas Pro 9, but I can't get it to pick up the timecode from the videos. Laying out all 150+ of these by hand would be a real pain, and I just don't have the time for that.

The cameras were Panasonics I believe, and I have the full file structure, which is as follows:

AVCHD\
----BDMV\
--------CLIPINF\
------------00000.CPI
------------00001.CPI
------------00002.CPI
------------...
--------PLAYLIST\
------------00000.MPL
------------00001.MPL
--------STREAM\
------------00000.MTS
------------00001.MTS
------------00002.MTS
------------...
--------INDEX.BDM
--------MOVIEOBJ.BDM

I have no idea what I'm doing, but from the research I've done so far, I gather that the timecode is in the .CPI files. Unfortunately, they are clearly binary files, and I have no idea how to read them or how to make Vegas Pro read them.

Is there a tool somewhere that will merge the info in the .CPI files into the .MTS files? Or... is there better video editing software I should be using that is CPI-aware?

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[minidv2dvd]

the timecode is not in consumer cam avchd. you are correct there is info in the cpi files. but, it wouldn't be of any use anyway as it's not really a timecode, but the length of time of the clip.

nothing i know of will get any usable timecode for you.

[flamadiddle]

@minidv2dvd:

The "Date modified" on each of the files is the correct date/time that each of the recordings was started. Can that information be used to create a timecode?

[minidv2dvd]

no it's not in the file, only part of the name.

[flamadiddle]

So can I rename the .MTS files to a certain date/time format and Vegas will know what time the videos were taken?

[minidv2dvd]

the creation date is part of the file properties, not the name. the name is for the user to easily see when the video was taken. changing the name won't change what vegas sees as creation time and date in file properties.

[flamadiddle]

I think we're misunderstanding each other.

All I want is a way for Vegas to know exactly when the video was taken; be it timecode, filename, metadata, or whatever. I think it's pretty silly that Vegas doesn't have an option to use the Modified date for this (or maybe I just can't find it).

Is there some way, with either the .cpi files or the "date modified" I can put this information where Vegas is looking for it (which I think has to be the timecode)?

Thanks for your patience and your help.

[minidv2dvd]

maybe.

have you used vegas before? it's a non-linear editor. it doesn't care when the video was taken, and doesn't use that info anywhere or for anything, afaik.

[flamadiddle]

...but I want Vegas to care. I want it to use that info to lay out my clips in the exact order and timing they were recorded so that I don't have to lay out all 150 clips by hand.

When I select my clips in Project Media, and right-click them, there's two options that interest me:

"Layout Tracks Using Media Timecode"
"Layout Tracks Using Media Date/Time Stamp"

Currently, neither option will work. I just get "Some media did not have valid offset information and were skipped" for both, and nothing gets laid out.

If I can make either one of these options work, I will be a very happy man with about 50 extra hours of my life back :-p

[minidv2dvd]

ok i've never used it, but it does work with the HDV .m2t footage i just tried.

i'd guess a timecode isn't in your files. i tried a bunch of avchd from several different cameras and none had a timecode vegas could find.

[turk690]

flamadiddle: there may or may not be timecode. But if there is, that timecode will be unique to that clip to that folder to that camcorder if a prosumer or consumer camcorder was used. That exact instant which is in sync with all three camcorders that you want Vegas to see will have different timecodes, which, if Vegas were allowed to use as basis will in fact throw your clips in the three tracks in the timeline they have been put all horribly out of sync.
Using timecode as basis for taking together random clips and asking the NLE program to resync the lot is only possible if all of those camcorders/cameras had common sync, normally referred to as house sync, which is essential in a professional setting such as broadcasting from a TV studio. You may want to know if the videographers who shot your stuff had common sync to each of the three camcorders they used before "wanting Vegas to know".
Having 150+ clips is really a chore, more so if you're just starting in this game, and with AVCHD to boot. You'll only start to get somewhere if you have decided you're up to it if 1. you accept you will have to manually sync those clips in the Vegas timeline; 2. you have an efficient codec (like Cineform Neo Scene) with which to first change those AVCHD files to AVI before tackling them; 3. you have a latest Intel Core i7 PC with at least 6GB of triple-channel memory and Windows Vista/XP 64; 4. you have the time and patience to wade through it all. This site, among others, can help.

[flamadiddle]

minidv2dvd: exactly my problem

turk690: Thanks for that advice. Fortunately, I have the codec and harware covered. I have a Core 2 Quad @ 2.66ghz (12MB on-die cache), 8GB of 1600Mhz DDR3, a 512MB 9600GT video card, and I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

I'm pretty sure I have the patience too (I have to - it's my wedding video), but I was really hoping to save myself a few weeks of work. The camcorders used were almost definitely consumer cameras (although very high-end), and I don't know if they were synced (most likely not). But even if I could use the "Date modified" timestamp to generate my own timecodes, that would eliminate a lot of the preliminary layout work.

So far, my research has turned up nothing helpful for generating timecodes.

Thanks for your help.

[nikola.spasovski]

minidv2dvd: exactly my problem

turk690: Thanks for that advice. Fortunately, I have the codec and harware covered. I have a Core 2 Quad @ 2.66ghz (12MB on-die cache), 8GB of 1600Mhz DDR3, a 512MB 9600GT video card, and I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

I'm pretty sure I have the patience too (I have to - it's my wedding video), but I was really hoping to save myself a few weeks of work. The camcorders used were almost definitely consumer cameras (although very high-end), and I don't know if they were synced (most likely not). But even if I could use the "Date modified" timestamp to generate my own timecodes, that would eliminate a lot of the preliminary layout work.

So far, my research has turned up nothing helpful for generating timecodes.

Thanks for your help.

flamadiddle, you may want to try Canopus Edius 5 version, it can retrieve the timecode (recording time and date) from the AVCHD files and overlay on the video.