[SOLVED] [Sony HDR-PJ30/XP] Editing and joining videos?

[yetanotherlogin]

Hello

I searched the archives with "Sony HRD-PJ30", but got no hit.

As a total video newbie, I just bought a second-hand Sony HRD-PJ30 camcorder, and would now like to edit the few tracks I took over the week-end:

1. Edit the tracks to remove parts I don't want
2. Add some text before each track so people know what's coming
3. Join the tracks into a single file that people can watch with eg. VLC

The videos are available in "MPEG4-AVC/H.264 AVCHD 2.0 format compatible (1080/60p: original format); STD: MPEG2-PS".

Is there a good, free application for Windows that will let me do this (AviDemux? VirtualDub?), or must I buy something like Sony's Vegas HD?

Thank you.

[aedipuss]

there aren't any decent free video editing suites. the vegas studio line would be a good choice. last i checked they had a free demo period so you can see if it works for you. they all require a fairly powerful computer to edit avchd.

[yetanotherlogin]

Thanks for the tip. Would editing go faster if I converted the video into another format?

[aedipuss]

it would help if you filled in the computer spec section of your forum profile so we could see what you're working with. converting would only lose quality unless a lossless codec is used and they have their own drawbacks.

[dragonkeeper]

Thanks for the tip. Would editing go faster if I converted the video into another format?

The actual editing may go faster but the over all process could take just as long as longer. Converting the video to another format could take longer than the actual running time of your video, it all depends on the power of your computer as aedipuss suggested filling in your computer specs will give us a good idea of what advice to offer you.

I agree with aedipuss convert to a lossless format (ie huFFYuv or lagarith), if you have a mid-level computer you may want to let the conversion run over night (you will need a lot of hard drive space). Then make your edits and convert to your target format.

[yetanotherlogin]

It's an older PC with the following specs:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 45 °C
Brisbane 65nm Technology
RAM 2,00 GB Single-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (6-6-6-18)
Motherboard ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2N68-AM Plus (AM2) 47 °C

I have about 30mn of video to edit.