Looking at this camcorder but possible editing issues

[sterankin]

Looking at buying the Sony HDR- TG7 (TG5 in the states). First off, any thoughts on this camcorder?

I am (rightly) worried about editing the AVCHD footage, I downloaded a .MTS sample from the net and imported it into premiere and playback was *very* choppy as was scrubbing the video etc. It would be impossible to edit. How is Joe average supposed to cope with these things?

Computer specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz
Dell Mobo P35/G33/G1 Chipset
Graphics: NVIDA GeForce 8600GT 256MB
Ram: 4gb DDR2 PC5300
Also putting in another HDD - 1TB Hitachi
O/S Windows Vista Business


I have been using a Sony PCR-DV8 miniDV camcorder for the past few years, but for my upcoming wedding and honeymoon I was hoping to get an HD camcorder - hence the TG7.

Since my system cannot edit the footage, is there an easy way to convert to DV avi etc. Then for example, I could use both the footage from the new camcorder and the miniDV footage too. Although one would be in widescreen format which might look odd on a widescreen tv

But for editing the TG7 AVCHD footage on its on - is there a way to make downgraded copies of the footage which would be a breeze to edit. Then once the editing is done, just Apply the editing to the RAW footage? Hard to explain but basically use the downgraded footage as a mask for the real HD footage.. Is that what this Cineform Neo thing does?

Many Thanks

[aedipuss]

since you are already used to tapes you might consider the canon hv30/40 HD cam. shoots HDV on the same miniDV tape you have been using and is easier on the computer to edit.

otherwise buying a digital intermediate codec like cineform neoscene for editing avchd is pretty much required.

[sterankin]

Thanks - the special offer on the Sony TG7 ends tonight, so I either oder or I dont.

Could you explain the specifics of the neoscene codec? Do you convert your avchd to this neoscene format then edit? Is there a lot of quality loss?

y wedding isnt for a few months so maybe I should just wait and hope that the Panasonic TM300 comes down in price...its still £700 - £800 I think..

[edDV]

Thanks - the special offer on the Sony TG7 ends tonight, so I either oder or I dont.

Could you explain the specifics of the neoscene codec? Do you convert your avchd to this neoscene format then edit? Is there a lot of quality loss?

y wedding isnt for a few months so maybe I should just wait and hope that the Panasonic TM300 comes down in price...its still £700 - £800 I think..

AVCHD doesn't edit well because it is so compressed. Neoscene is a digital intermediate that will decode AVCHD or HDV to single 4:2:2 frames with wavelet compression. These can be easily scanned/scrubbed in an editor and suffer less loss for repeated filtering, resizing or effects. "Loss" is minimal. The only disadvantage is the intermediate file is much larger. When finished, you encode to the final output format using your editor's codecs.

Fully compatible editors are
- Windows: Adobe Elements, Adobe CS3/CS4; Sony Vegas or Movie Studio
- Mac: Apple Final Cut Pro or iMovie
Others may work.
http://www.cineform.com/neoscene/features.php
Videoguys sell it for $99.

[sterankin]

Thanks for that info.

So first you convert to Neoscene, import the new files into say CS4. Edit as normal, the just output to whatever format you choose?

So when outputting, does the editing software use the Neoscene files, or the AVCHD files? f you know what i mean..

Still can't decide about this Sony TG7 camcorder. Reading reviews like mad here. Gets some great reviews, but the low light is putting me off and some people mention AVCHD judder..

[wingspar]

I came in with the same questions. See my thread titled “mpeg-4 AVC/H.264" just a couple of threads down from yours. I decided to stick with a MiniDV cam. The Canon HV30. Something easy to edit, and cheaper too when you look at the extra software and steps one has to go thru to edit AVCHD.

[edDV]

Thanks for that info.

So first you convert to Neoscene, import the new files into say CS4. Edit as normal, the just output to whatever format you choose?

So when outputting, does the editing software use the Neoscene files, or the AVCHD files? f you know what i mean...

You encode from the Cineform Neoscene files + CS4 tmp files on the timeline using the CS4 encoder. Or, you can output uncompressed for encoding with other software.