Smoothness problem while importing avchd files

[effegieffe]

hi, i need help and i'll try to be as clear as possibile, sorry for my bad english.

i'll try to make it short
i got an hdc-hs200 panasonic camera
it shoots wonderful videos at 1080 50i full hd
with a windows pc, i import, work, and export in mpeg2 with pinnacle studio 14, and everithing is fine. i can even export to dvd and the result is wonderful, not in hd because of the dvd, but VERY SMOOTH

with the mac, there comes the troubles
i tried adobe premiere cs4, imovie 09 and final cut studio 3
when i import a clip, it become "choppy" , not smooth as the original footage
i tried to export to a file, to a dvd and is always not smooth
i tried all the settings... i used the avchd 1080 50i in premiere, and in final cut too
i tried to import as "original dimension" in imovie 09 , and is always choppy

the results are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_private?v=02kTL_DX0P4&sharing_token=IUJ7xTmJPNvZn8fh77adrw

and here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSCXaUVEWXE

it's not youtube compression, the file on my mac is the same
i hope i had explained well the problem... and wait for someone to help me ..... thanks

[poisondeathray]

A 50i DVD is smooth because it displays 50 fields per second , not 25. i.e. each second has 50 moments in time representing it

Youtube doesn't support interlaced, or framerates above 30 , so your sample was likely deinterlaced to 25p (i.e half the samples per second) , that's why it's "choppy"

AVCHD needs a very fast computer to edit in realtime, so if you import into premiere, you will get less than realtime playback unless a fast i7 or better

[effegieffe]

A 50i DVD is smooth because it displays 50 fields per second , not 25. i.e. each second has 50 moments in time representing it

Youtube doesn't support interlaced, or framerates above 30 , so your sample was likely deinterlaced to 25p (i.e half the samples per second) , that's why it's "choppy"

and is there a way to work with 50 fields in imovie or final cut, and export to dvd?
because my toughts is that when i import, it is converted into 25 fps , so i got a choppy video, and the result is a choppy dvd too

[poisondeathray]

I don't use a mac

But if you leave it interlaced (either for dvd or blu-ray) it will remain 50i (the temporal resolution is the same), that's how it works in premiere, vegas , all NLE's so I would expect FCP would do the same - it might be converting it to 25p as you suggested

If you bob-deinterlace to 50p, then it will remain smooth

If you single rate deinterlace to 25p, it will be more choppy

Even if you upload 50p to youtube/vimeo etc.., it will convert to 25p

[effegieffe]

first of all thanks for help poison......

ok so this is the reason that make pinnacle studio remaining smooth from the acquisition, to the export to dvd or file.

now i just have to know how to make the things you are saying, bob interlacing to 50p for example
if you or someone else knows how to do it, in final cut or even in premiere cs4 is the same, i will be so grateful...

my big problem is that i don't need the smoothness in the video editing , i want it as the final result.....

[poisondeathray]

premiere cs4 is the same; it's what I use (PC version, however)

You import using the AVCHD 50i preset, and when you export, make sure you export a 50i DVD (or blu-ray)

I suspect either you are using wrong sequence setting or export setting

(premiere has poor resizing algorithm => very soft, but that' s another topic)

[effegieffe]

poison this is FANTASTIC
i managed to export the final movie in a .m2v , using PAL DVD widescreen high quality

with quicktime i see the horizontal lines

if i open VLC i see the same lines, but if i set "bob" or "linear" to the interlacing, i finally see the smoothness


thenk i used adobe link to send the project to adobe encore, and burned the dvd... and...... IT WORKS

damn poison you really resolved a problem that i was hitting my head since 10 days... i wrote in 3 italian forums and noone answered me correctly...

the problem itself was the exportation... thanks again

now i must reach to manage the same result with final cut pro and i'm really ok

[effegieffe]

just wanted to share another thing, because someone can be in my same situation

i managed to do it in final cut either

you must select SHARE and export to DVD ... it will burn the dvd in final cut and the result is wonderful
but if you want a full quality file export, you can select the format MPEG 2 -> MPEG PROGRAM
the result will be a fullhd 1920x1080 interlaced file, that you can view with VLC and the BOB INTERLACING option

again... thanks poison, you made my day! (or night.... it's 3:36 am here XD) now i can go sleep happy

[edDV]

hi, i need help and i'll try to be as clear as possibile, sorry for my bad english.

i'll try to make it short
i got an hdc-hs200 panasonic camera
it shoots wonderful videos at 1080 50i full hd
with a windows pc, i import, work, and export in mpeg2 with pinnacle studio 14, and everithing is fine. i can even export to dvd and the result is wonderful, not in hd because of the dvd, but VERY SMOOTH

with the mac, there comes the troubles
i tried adobe premiere cs4, imovie 09 and final cut studio 3
when i import a clip, it become "choppy" , not smooth as the original footage
i tried to export to a file, to a dvd and is always not smooth
i tried all the settings... i used the avchd 1080 50i in premiere, and in final cut too
i tried to import as "original dimension" in imovie 09 , and is always choppy

You didn't identify the computer specs you are using.

Final Cut 3 doesn't accept AVCHD. You need external conversion.

Apple's iMovie9 work flow is as follows.

When you set your iMovie project you have two choices. If your computer is consumer grade, they want you to convert to 960x540p at half motion resolution 25 frames/sec. The resolution reduction allows smaller Mac's to edit and apply effects in iMovie. Export to iDVD converts resolution to 720x576 and the progressive frames are re-interlaced. Motion will still be at 25 fps rate rather than native 50 fields per second. This may appear slightly jerky for fast motion.

If your Mac is up to it, you convert to Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) at 1440x1080i on import. A one hour 5-6 GB/hr file becomes decompressed to about 60 GB/hr. Playback requires a fast 7200 RPM disk (not a laptop drive). A fast Mac can complete the project in iMovie and export to iDVD for a 720x576i DVD. Or, you can import the AIC file into a 1440x1080i FCP project.

I haven't used CS4 on a Mac, but on a Windows PC, it can import AVCHD and has AVCHD project settings.