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  1. Member
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    Hi all, this my first post, so please go easy on me if I ask stupid questions.
    I have just purchased a Sony HDR-SR12E, and would like to be able to edit the footage and watch it on my Panasonic TX-32LZD85 Full HD TV. I know that the Sony can shoot movies in standard definition, but cannot see the point of me doing that as I will not get the benefit of my TV.

    Am I right in thinking that SD movies can be burnt to normal DVD discs, but I will require a Bluray Drive installed in my PC to be able to burn Full HD (edited) footage? I really would appreciate some good accurate advice quickly if possible, as I'm due to spend £187 on an internal Bluray drive for my tomorrow, and would hate to waste that much money if I have assumed wrong.

    I have an unused Panasonic DVD Recorder (DMR EX75), but I'm guessing that will not be any good for the discs that I hope to produce? Thanks in advance.
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  2. Banned
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    Well, you can burn BluRay content to standard DVD discs (both single and dual layer), but you have much smaller capacity on DVD discs. This limits how much video you can fit on them. To give you an idea, in my experience if I have about 45 minutes or less of HD DVD (yes, I have an HD DVD player) content, I burn to a single layer disc but for more than that I need dual layer discs.

    Another question is whether or not you have something that can even play BluRay format discs, whatever type of media they are, and whether or not it will play back BluRay burned to DVD discs. If you want to burn BluRay format discs on BluRay media, yes, you will need a BluRay burner AND a BluRay player of some kind unless you intend to hook up your PC to the TV.

    You cannot use a DVD recorder to produce BluRay discs. The Panasonic is useless for your needs. All it can produce is DVD format discs on DVD media.
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  3. Member
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    Thanks. Yes, I thought the Panasonic DMR EX75 DVD Recorder would be incompatible. I bought that a while back to replace my VHS Recorder and DVD Player, long before I decided to purchase a Camcorder. From what you have said though, I could still use it, if I burnt Bluray footage to DVD discs. I bought the Camcorder mainly to film my children on days out, so 45 minutes could possibly be enough. If I were to do this, I guess I would still the Bluray writer installed in my PC?
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  4. Always Watching guns1inger's Avatar
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    If you are burning to DVD media then you can do it with a standard DVD burner, however you will need a Blu-ray player that allows for the playback of burned media to play it back. You will not be able to play this footage back on a standard DVD player.
    Read my blog here.
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  5. Member
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    So from what you have said, if I burn Bluray footage, I will need a Bluray player which will set me back another £250-£350 on top of the cost of the burner for my PC? If I went down this route, then I couldn't burn a disc for other members of my family becuase they do not have Bluray players.

    So if I film in SD, does that mean that I can use a standard DVD burner and discs using the camcorder that uses the AVCHD format?
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  6. Always Watching guns1inger's Avatar
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    You can still film in HD, and edit in HD. There is nothing stopping you from doing this. However, when it comes time to producing a DVD from the footage you will have to output standard definition, DVD compliant output and author for DVD. If you do this correctly, you should get better results from shooting in HD than shooting in SD.
    Read my blog here.
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  7. Member
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    Any idea which software will be easy to do this with AVCHD footage? Thanks.
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  8. Always Watching guns1inger's Avatar
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    It is a Sony camera, so I would recommend Vegas Movie Studio 9
    Read my blog here.
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  9. Member
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    I am really new to Camcorders, so don't really have a clue about these things, so am totally confused at present. Is another option to burn Bluray for me, but then burn SD discs for other members of my family? If so, does this mean that I have to go through the editing stage twice? Thanks in advance.
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  10. Always Watching guns1inger's Avatar
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    Edit once, output to different formats as needed.

    If you want to author bluray for yourself you at least need a blu-ray player - either standalone or PS3 - and a DVD burner. If you want to author high bitrate blu-ray longer than around 25 - 40 minutes then you will need a blu-ray burner as well.

    If you just want high quality video and you have a PS3 or Xbox 360 then you can output as mp4 and stream to your TV via your console. Plenty of guides around on setting up the files for this.

    It sounds like you leaped into the camera purchase without thinking it all the way through.

    Your options are :

    DVDs for all. All you need is a DVD burner and DVD player. Only SD output though.

    Bluray on DVD. Needs a DVD burner and blu-ray player. Output blu-ray for you and DVD for the family. They only need a DVD player, but you will need a blu-ray player

    Blu-ray all the way. You will need a blu-ray burner and player, and your family get nothing

    Output for console streaming for you, and DVD for the family.
    Read my blog here.
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  11. Member
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    I bought the Camcorder because I saw some great reviews of it, plus I had the money to buy it at the time, I didn't really think of the editing/authoring scenarios, but it seems that I have a Camcorder that is capable of taking movies in all the possible formats. Thanks for your time and patience.
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  12. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by guns1inger
    Blu-ray all the way. You will need a blu-ray burner and player, and your family get nothing
    You can still output dvd and burn dvd spec with a blu-ray burner.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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