Newbie to HD Video editing. Please Help!

[kaylis_flock]

Like many others I'm finding myself in the same boat.
Purchased a Canon HG21 and have no idea what to do with MTS files!
My old JVC worked with MPEG files so I'm really lost with this new format.

I've had some success in converting the MTS to MPEG using the software that came with the camera (ImageMixer) but the conversion rate is so SLOOOOOOOOW! (2 1/2 hrs for 10 min video)
I downloaded several other free converting tools and had the same problem. Success but SLOOOOOW.

I'm running on Windows XP, 3.06 GHz, 199GB Ram.

Is my computer just not beefy enough?

I'd appreciate any help on this, please.. Thanks in advance!

[nwo]

HD video-editing software with DVD and Blu-ray™ authoring Work as fast as your creativity moves you with Corel® VideoStudio® Pro X3—HD video-editing software for serious movie making fun. Now twice as fast, it has everything you need to import, edit and share standard or HD movies and DVDs. Start with an amazing new collection of professionally designed templates from RevoStock® and real-time, studio-quality effects. Stay on the creative track with a huge palette of intuitive and powerful video-editing tools. Then share your story everywhere, from YouTube™ to Blu-ray and everything in between.

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/gb/en/Product/1175714228541#tabview=tab0

Try the demo of the new VideoStudio Pro X3, i been using it on a very slow laptop and it works great.

[kaylis_flock]

Thanks for the tip
Downloaded the Trial of VideoStudio® Pro X3 through the Corel webpage but unfortunately it's just as slow.

Does anybody know if it could be due to my Display card? In device manager it's called an Intel R 82945G Express chipset family.

[guns1inger]

Unless you were using a CUDA based encoder, no it won't be the problem. There are a few specialist cards that have hardware assist on board for some encoding, and some encoders can now use recent Nvdia cards to off-load some of the work, however most still use the CPU for everything. Your computer specs are bit vague, but a guess would say that it is now a recent machine, and probably has an older single core CPU. If so, upgrading to a newer multi-core machine would give you the biggest improvement.

[kaylis_flock]

I'm running an older machine ( I think 1999 Compaq) with Nvidia. I'm pretty clueless as to computers so any and all details would be appreciated.

[edDV]

You haven't explained what you mean by "editing". You haven't explained whether you can play these files 1x on your current computer.

Your computer is weak for 1x playback. It is possible to cut on I frames (0.5 sec accuracy) without processing. If you can play it, you can cut it.

Format conversion or resizing for DVD will proceed at the speed of your CPU. Generally a quad core2 is needed for near reasonable processing speed. Many will convert to a digital intermediate format which decodes to individual compressed frames for easier editing on a single drive (non-RAID) PC.

[kaylis_flock]

By Editing, I need to be able to convert them to a workable file for my editing programs. My computer will play them in my editing programs but they are slow and the audio is choppy. I'm thinking it's probably just the lack of a multi core machine.


Bottom line, my computer WILL handle converting/playing back in MPEG format and all is good. It just take sooooooo long to do it Unfortunately I don't know enough about computers to know what I need to make it go faster.

What would the ideal requirements be for me to look for in an upgraded PC?

[edDV]

oops dup

[edDV]

Quick question: Why did you buy an HD camcorder? Do you have an HDTV? A Blu-Ray player?

By Editing, I need to be able to convert them to a workable file for my editing programs. My computer will play them in my editing programs but they are slow and the audio is choppy. I'm thinking it's probably just the lack of a multi core machine.

What editing programs may they be?

Bottom line, my computer WILL handle converting/playing back in MPEG format and all is good. It just take sooooooo long to do it Unfortunately I don't know enough about computers to know what I need to make it go faster.

What would the ideal requirements be for me to look for in an upgraded PC?

Still trying to understand whether you want an HD file or SD DVD.

Ideal new machine would be a Core2Quad equivalent but a Core2Duo with a digital intermediate will also do the job.

[edDV]

Background story,

The backers of the AVCHD format don't expect most consumers to do anything but play the file from the camcorder or a computer. They always say less than 90% ever edit and almost that number never transfer to a PC.

For those that do, they say included software will allow conversion to a DVD if the computer meets system requirements,

For those that want HD on a HDTV they will say you can write an AVCHD file to a data DVDR or BluRay recordable media and it will play on many but not all Blu-Ray players.

They are saying in so many words they don't care if you want to edit native AVCHD and they never claimed you could.

[aedipuss]

The backers of the AVCHD format don't expect most consumers to do anything but play the file from the camcorder or a computer. They always say less than 90% ever edit and almost that number never transfer to a PC.

90% edit? is that the right number? or did you mean 90% never edit?

[edDV]

The backers of the AVCHD format don't expect most consumers to do anything but play the file from the camcorder or a computer. They always say less than 90% ever edit and almost that number never transfer to a PC.

90% edit? is that the right number? or did you mean 90% never edit?

"less than 90% ever edit"

[kaylis_flock]

Background story,

The backers of the AVCHD format don't expect most consumers to do anything but play the file from the camcorder or a computer. They always say less than 90% ever edit and almost that number never transfer to a PC.

For those that do, they say included software will allow conversion to a DVD if the computer meets system requirements,

For those that want HD on a HDTV they will say you can write an AVCHD file to a data DVDR or BluRay recordable media and it will play on many but not all Blu-Ray players.

They are saying in so many words they don't care if you want to edit native AVCHD and they never claimed you could.

Well I'm learning alot about AVCHD format thank to everyone, I really appreciate it. I had no idea they made the format so difficult to work with, never saw that red flag.

So what if I were to convert a MTS file to say an MPEG file, would it loose all the quality of a HD video then?
I thought it'd be like converting an audio WAV file to an MP3...much smaller but same quality....wrong?

If I could afford to upgrade my PC would I be able to watch/edit MTs files at normal speed then? (even though you're not supposed to edit these stinking files)

Editng program I have been using for MPEG files is Cyberlink PowerDirector after I downloaded a free HD converter.

I have no Blue-ray equipment, no HD TV or anything like that just regular DVD's for me.


So basically I wanted to upgrade to a camcorder with better video quality then my JVC and the next step up seemed to be the HD camcorders. They all had the best reviews and the video quality was so much better. So I purchased this one thinking that I'd be able to put the files on my PC, open them in my editing program, add all the little goodies to make a home video ( the titles, fade-in fade outs ), then burn the movies onto a DVD to add to my home video library like I've been doing for 5 years.

I was expecting an upgraded camera with excellent quality videos that I could still use the same way as my old one. Not something totally different that I don't understand enough about.


So what now, I have a $700 piece of equipment that I can't use? Duh Me.

[edDV]

Well I'm learning alot about AVCHD format thank to everyone, I really appreciate it. I had no idea they made the format so difficult to work with, never saw that red flag.

So what if I were to convert a MTS file to say an MPEG file, would it loose all the quality of a HD video then?
I thought it'd be like converting an audio WAV file to an MP3...much smaller but same quality....wrong?
If I could afford to upgrade my PC would I be able to watch/edit MTs files at normal speed then? (even though you're not supposed to edit these stinking files)

There are two major differences between an AVCHD and a DVD MPeg2 file. I'll assume you can play a DVD.

Resolution of AVCHD is usually 1440x1080i/29.97 frames per second or 1920x1080i/29.97. This is about 4-6x the number of pixels vs. DVD.

Compression of AVCHD (H.264) is roughly 50% more compressed vs. MPeg2.

If you just converted AVCHD to MPeg2 at the same resolution, you would need ~25-50 Mb/s to maintain roughly equivalent quality but your PC could probably play it. Most likely, your current display card supports hardware MPeg2 decode assist.

Newer display cards decode h.264 in hardware. Problem is these cards also use the newer PCIe bus that your system probably lacks.

Bottom line, you probably need at least a new motherboard and display card to play these files smoothly. You can also do software only playback with a Core2Duo level CPU.

Audio is AC3 like DVD. You probably don't need to touch the audio.

Editng program I have been using for MPEG files is Cyberlink PowerDirector after I downloaded a free HD converter.
I have no Blue-ray equipment, no HD TV or anything like that just regular DVD's for me.
So basically I wanted to upgrade to a camcorder with better video quality then my JVC and the next step up seemed to be the HD camcorders. They all had the best reviews and the video quality was so much better. So I purchased this one thinking that I'd be able to put the files on my PC, open them in my editing program, add all the little goodies to make a home video ( the titles, fade-in fade outs ), then burn the movies onto a DVD to add to my home video library like I've been doing for 5 years.

I was expecting an upgraded camera with excellent quality videos that I could still use the same way as my old one. Not something totally different that I don't understand enough about.

So what now, I have a $700 piece of equipment that I can't use? Duh Me.

Editing is a more difficult story. I assume your Cyberlink PowerDirector supports DVD 720x480 resolution and the "free HD converter" downscales the AVCHD source file to 720x480 for normal editing. There will be significant resolution and recode quality loss but it will allow you to make a DVD. Keep the original AVCHD file for future use when you upgrade your equipment.

With upgraded CPU (Core2/Quad level) and new display card you can native edit AVCHD format, or using a digital intermendiate format conversion (e.g. Cineform Neoscene), you can edit with a Core2Duo. You will need new third party editing software that supports AVCHD.

As said above, simple cuts can be done with less powerful equipment.

[kaylis_flock]

Wow I wish I would have come here first. Thank you for taking the time to post all this information.

For now it looks like I'll be making small clips that my pc can handle but as you suggested, save the original AVCHD until I can upgrade my system.
Then purchase a good editing software that will support AVCHD editing without having to converting them.

In the future, will I be able to put these AVCHD movies onto a DVD without any problems?

[edDV]

In the future, will I be able to put these AVCHD movies onto a DVD without any problems?

AVCHD is HD resolution. DVD is SD, so you will need to downsize to 720x480 for DVD.

At some point you will buy an HDTV and a Blu-Ray or media player that will display your files in HD.

[kaylis_flock]

Ok, so please explain what exactly the difference is between HD and SD....what I'm familiar with.

Probably should have asked that question at the begining.

[kaylis_flock]

Resolution of AVCHD is usually 1440x1080i/29.97 frames per second or 1920x1080i/29.97. This is about 4-6x the number of pixels vs. DVD.

Compression of AVCHD (H.264) is roughly 50% more compressed vs. MPeg2.

After reading this again, you already answered my question.

I have changed the setting on my camcorder to a lesser quality mode and this seems to improve my converting time as it's a smaller file and easier for my computer to handle.

Until I upgrade my system I think this will have to do.


What is the frames-per-second for DVD's?

[guns1inger]

For NTSC (US native standard), 23.976 fps or 29.970 fps. Usually the latter for video unless you have a camera that shoots 24P and you choose to shot in 24p.

[charlesgo]

i have a question among HD-H.264 files... which is better - HD-H.264 or HD-MPEG4 or HD-AVI?

[pepegot1]

If you like to suffer go HD, unless you are a state of the art pusher. Stay with SD for now. You have all the tools to do a good job. HD is another story.