What is the best software to convert AVCHD to SD?

[Endoking01]

Hi all, I am new to this forum had a couple of question. I have a Sony HDR SR12 camcorder that I have been using for the past year. I am finally getting around to taking the video and putting it onto DVD, however I just noticed that the mode has been in HD when I previously recorded. I am currently using Picture Motion Browser (PMB) to view and edit the footage. I love how the footage looks, however I don't love that the files are so large that I cannot save them onto a standard DVD. I want to be able to play the footage on my tv and upload it to my iPod Touch.

So, I am contemplating converting the files from HD to SD and saving them to a DVD. What I would like to do is ultimately convert the HD to SD AND have the ability to skip from chapter to chapter (once the files have been burnt to a disc).

Does anyone know of software that will convert HD to SD and allow chapter splitting? I am not familiar with code so I am looking for a simplistic program to use.

The stats of my files are as follows:

Image Size: 1440X1080
Video Codec: AVC
Audio Codec: Dolby Digital

Not sure what other information you would need. I was able to use a program Xilisoft to covert from HD to SD, however when I viewed it (using iTunes) the video was very jumpy and it was not when it was originally filmed. I didn't change the settings when I converted the footage so I used just the standard settings. Not sure if I were to of changed one of the settings if it would have helped for the jumpiness of the video.

I did read about a program called TMPEnc, but I haven't been able to find a free trial for it. I have tried a couple of links however when I download them it says the free trial is over (and I know I have never used this software before).

Any thoughts? THANK YOU!!

[Baldrick]

Do you want a standard dvd-video that works on standalone players?
Did you try latest tmpgenc authoring works ? http://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/download/taw4.html

And you can try handbrake or ripbot264 to convert to mp4 ipod format.

[Endoking01]

Yes, I want standard dvd- video that works in standalone players. By standalone I assume you mean NON Blu Ray players. I will take a look at the tmpgenc authoring works and see how that works. Do you know if tmpgenc has the ability to allow me to chapter split?

Also, I am trying to figure out what would have caused my video to become so jumpy when I changed from HD to SD using Xilisoft, any ideas? I am hoping if I try tmpgenc that I don't have the same issues with that. Just not sure what to change if I DO have the same issues.

Thank you!!!

[mobie29]

TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 is a great program to convert HD to SD. I am a believer in the tsunami video encoder and you will get great results with this software for conversion. And yes, it allows you to automatically or manually create chapters in your source video. I have tried all the freewares such as AVStoDVD, SVCD2DVD, etc. and i believe that you will get the best results with this program.

You will be somewhat limited with the trialware but i have been very happy with my investment.

[Endoking01]

Thanks for your reply. Have you experienced any jumpiness when you converted files from HD to SD? I watched an HD video file and it looked great. When I used a program to convert to SD it looked as though my 5 year had recorded the video as the video seemed to jump around quite a bit. Not sure what caused that or if it was something in the settings when I set up the HD to SD recording. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks for your suggestion on the encorder

[mobie29]

I experienced no jumpiness or shakes. I convert many Mpeg-2 HD files to SD and i have no problems at all. The conversion time varies depending on the size of your souce file and power of your computer, but i have been very happy with it.

Don't get me wrong, the other programs i mentioned are very good and easy to use, but i liked the results better with this program.

I am not sure whey you are getting an expired message when downloading the trial version. Email their customer support or goto TMPGENC.net and go to their forum with your question. Definitely try it out before purchasing ($99).

[Endoking01]

Thanks again for your reply I really appreciate it!! Makes me feel better to know that there ARE programs that work out there to convert my HD to SD

[turk690]

Thanks again for your reply I really appreciate it!! Makes me feel better to know that there ARE programs that work out there to convert my HD to SD

Sometime in the near future, you might want to go through the AVCHD files your SR12 created to finally create a full-fledged blu-ray disc. So save them.
But why not start now? Why slaughter the beautiful HD files to truncate them to SD? TMPGenc also have programs that edit AVCHD and create BDs. Don't you want to consider getting a blu-ray rewriter, a blu-ray player, a PC strong enough to withstand AVCHD, and enough perseverance to create BDs? That's where video is headed to anyway. You've had your SR12 for quite some time; surely you can wait a little more to divy up resources to go HD BD all the way.

[Endoking01]

Well, I am back at it again. I have been trying to see if I can find out why I cannot download a "free trial" of the tmpgenc software, but haven't came up with anything and the customer support site said not to send them any inquires or e-mails about free trials No worries.... In doing my research I read the following:

Our products have not been fully tested on the 64-bit version of Windows XP and Windows Vista. See our 64-bit compatibility page for current test results. You may download the trial versions of our software to test functionality, but keep in mind that our support does not cover usage on 64-bit systems, so please use at your own risk. All programs will run in 32-bit mode on a 64-bit OS.

All my computers have Vista on them with the 64-bit OS. Has anyone used this software with Vista 64-bit OS? If so, what was your results? Good? Bad?

I am kind of leary to use software that I cannot get a free trial to work with AND where it has not been fully tested on 64 bit OS. I am going to see if I can get the program to download on another computer to at least see what the free trial is like. If not I guess I am back to searching for another video encoding program...

Thoughts?

[Endoking01]

Thanks for your reply. My main reason to wanting to take HD to SD is because I am trying to stick with the "now" technology. I would LOVE to keep my HD files and write them to Blu Ray, but my computer does not have a Blu Ray writer, just a player. I've wanted to look into getting a Blu Ray writer for the computer, but I just haven't. Also, Blu ray is expensive right now for the blank disc's (although I would make the investment for the quality of the video )

The other main reason is because I make home video's and give them to grandparents who only have standalone DVD players not Blu Ray. So, I am trying to accomodate people who only have "normal" dvd players. One day I will get them into Blu Ray they just aren't there yet.

I need to see how much video I can get onto one Blu Ray disc. Right now I have about 28 GB of video to burn. Do you have a Blu Ray writer? If so, what do you think of it? What brand do you have?

Thanks again for your reply I really appreciate it!! Makes me feel better to know that there ARE programs that work out there to convert my HD to SD

Sometime in the near future, you might want to go through the AVCHD files your SR12 created to finally create a full-fledged blu-ray disc. So save them.
But why not start now? Why slaughter the beautiful HD files to truncate them to SD? TMPGenc also have programs that edit AVCHD and create BDs. Don't you want to consider getting a blu-ray rewriter, a blu-ray player, a PC strong enough to withstand AVCHD, and enough perseverance to create BDs? That's where video is headed to anyway. You've had your SR12 for quite some time; surely you can wait a little more to divy up resources to go HD BD all the way.

[mobie29]

I have a vista 64 bit computer and TMPGEnc works fine on it. If you decide to purchase, pay the extra $7 and get the install cd delivered to you .

I am not sure why you cannot download the trialware. If you need to look elsewhere, try the freeware multiavchd. Dean does a great job with that program and it is on the cutting edge. It also can convert your HD to SD. There is a learning curve and the tutorials are not updated to keep up with the frequent builds. But, it is very fast and the encoding is very , very good.

[johns0]

Multiavchd only converts to avc codec and mpeg to m2ts when not converted and wont play in a standard dvd player even if converted to 720x480,its meant to produce avchd folders that can be burned and watched in blu-ray players and media players only.

[mobie29]

Ok, maybe i am missunderstanding but here is one of the output formats for multiavchd:

SD_VIDEO - MPEG-2 for Viera/Panasonic SDHC (StdDef video)


What does that mean??

[johns0]

Means it take a dvd folder or mpeg file and outputs it to avchd format to be played on a memory card on those players that support it.The mpeg isnt converted.

[multiAVCHD]

@johns0: multiAVCHD produces DVD-Video discs, too - and not only AVCHD/Blu-ray. It can convert camcoder recordings shot in HD to standard DVD MPEG-2 video.






[Attachment 2197 - Click to enlarge]

[johns0]

Didnt know that,thought it meant hd(dvd) players only.

[multiAVCHD]

There is a button for HD-DVD (which uses AVC/H.264) and a button for SD-DVD (which uses SD MPEG-2). There are 3 MPEG-2 encoders to choose from (QuEnc, HCenc and lavc) in SETTINGS tab.

//

And about "SD_VIDEO - MPEG-2 for Viera/Panasonic SDHC (StdDef video)"

It doesn't create AVCHD. It creates SD_VIDEO folder, which is accepted by most SD camcoders or Panasonic BDP/Viera TVs for SD/HD MPEG-2 playback. It is a completely different format and has nothing to do with AVCHD.

[mobie29]

Yep, that was my understanding also. Thanks Dean for all of your hard work!!!! Great program!!

[Endoking01]

Baldrick,

I was finally able to get Tmpgenc Authoring Works 4 loaded onto another computer in my house for the trial. I am way excited that I was able to convert my first file of HD to SD as a back up to put onto disc!! All I did thus far was saved the converted file to my desktop and played it through Windows Media Player. When I watched it the picture looked and sounded great.

I have a couple of questions about Tmpgenc settings I am hoping you can help me with. I have several files I am going to go through and convert (after I purchase the software), but I want to make sure I don't spend all my time converting with incorrect file settings.

1) When I add a file it asks if I want to create the proxy clip editing files? I said yes choosing the option that said (Create when the clip is in HD resolution, which is automatic) yesterday because I wasn't sure. Was that the right option I should have chosen? If not, what should I have chosen?

2) After the video file was all converted it created 2 folders A) Audio TS folder that had nothing in it B) Video TS folder which had 5 files in it. I chose the largest one and clicked on it to play through Windows Media Player. The picture and volume was great. I have two questions based off this folder....

1. When I go to create a DVD file do I choose just the one file (the one that I chose to watch)? What would the other files be for? Maybe as part of the proxy I didn't need?
2. How can I check on the output size of my picture? I know when it recorded it was in 1440X1080 on the HD file. I don't know what this recently converted file output size is. What would be a good size to make sure the setting is at so I don't loose quality when watching it from the DVD on TV?

Thank you!!!

Do you want a standard dvd-video that works on standalone players?
Did you try latest tmpgenc authoring works ? http://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/download/taw4.html

And you can try handbrake or ripbot264 to convert to mp4 ipod format.

[Endoking01]

Mobie 29,

I was able to download the Tmpgenc Authoring Works onto another computer. I searched for Tsunami video encoder, but it looks like it was discontinued???? Does that sound right? I am happy with the results of the Authoring Works for the one file I encoded thus far

Thanks again!!

I experienced no jumpiness or shakes. I convert many Mpeg-2 HD files to SD and i have no problems at all. The conversion time varies depending on the size of your souce file and power of your computer, but i have been very happy with it.

Don't get me wrong, the other programs i mentioned are very good and easy to use, but i liked the results better with this program.

I am not sure whey you are getting an expired message when downloading the trial version. Email their customer support or goto TMPGENC.net and go to their forum with your question. Definitely try it out before purchasing ($99).

[mobie29]

The tsunami encoder is part of TMPGEnc authoring works 4. You should be in good shape now. I thought you might like the results. I know you can't fully utilize the menu functions yet, but there are some really cool options to create custom menus.

I have compiled proxy files before and it is a waste of time in my opinion. While editing HD source files to output to NTSC blu ray, it took around 1 1/2 hrs to compile each proxy file (4) that i was using for my compiliation. It sped up my editing, but not by that much.

Your output size of your picture should be 720 x 480i if using the DVD NTSC output mode. I can't remember the output size for PAL.

Also, if your original source file is progressive, keep it progressive and the same for interlaced. You will see this option in clip properties.

take advantage of the 14 day trial period while you can to do as much testing possible.

[gyoshi]

Proxy files do not affect output at all. They are to speed up the editing process in case your computer has a tough time playing HD videos. If you don't plan on doing a lot of cuts or splits, skip it.

Just want to add that the clip properties info should reflect what your source video is; these are not your output settings. To see how your file will be outputted, go to the track settings (Source Stage-->"Settings" button in the track list on the left side of the window).

[Endoking01]

Thanks, I am going back in to try to convert another file. This is probably a total newbie question with this software, but how do I know if the original file is progressive or interlaced? I am new to editing of video files through computer software. When I go into the clip settings the display mode is automatically listed as Interlace.

As for the output size of the picture when I tried the converting yesterday there wasn't a prompt that came up to have me check for the size. I am going through it now to convert another file to see if there was a field or setting that I missed that would have listed the file size. Right now I do see that the Aspect Ratio is listed as a default of Display 16:9. OHHHHHH I have a lot to learn, lmao I am wondering now why oh why did I ask my husband for a HD camcorder, lol J/K...

[mobie29]

Gyoshi, i have a TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 question:

Why does it go into full rendering mode when i have a HD Source file which is 1280 x 720P Mpeg-2 and the output mode is Blu ray NTSC?? This should be mpeg-2 compliant, correct??

[Endoking01]

Gyoshi,

Thanks for your post. I totally don't plan to do alot of splits at all. Most of my editing is merely going to be to convert HD files to SD for now. I just started the trial yesterday of Tmpgenc. I don't see the Source Stage--> Settings button?? Sorry, I am just starting to play with this software and am asking questions as I come across them. I would attach a screen shot in the post of what I see, but I'm apparently still learning that too!!! LOL

Proxy files do not affect output at all. They are to speed up the editing process in case your computer has a tough time playing HD videos. If you don't plan on doing a lot of cuts or splits, skip it.

Just want to add that the clip properties info should reflect what your source video is; these are not your output settings. To see how your file will be outputted, go to the track settings (Source Stage-->"Settings" button in the track list on the left side of the window).

[gyoshi]

Gyoshi, i have a TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 question:

Why does it go into full rendering mode when i have a HD Source file which is 1280 x 720P Mpeg-2 and the output mode is Blu ray NTSC?? This should be mpeg-2 compliant, correct??

What is the framerate?

If it is compliant there are some things that can cause full rendering to kick in.
Such as: if there any other videos in the same track that have different attributes (framerate, aspect ratio, etc.), if you change the aspect ratio or any other track settings. There might be other things that set it off, but I can't remember right now.

[mobie29]

59.97fps. All source files in my tracks (4 in this case) have the same video properties. I have it set for automatic smart rendering , but it goes into full rendering mode during compilation. I don't understand why??

[gyoshi]

Gyoshi,

Thanks for your post. I totally don't plan to do alot of splits at all. Most of my editing is merely going to be to convert HD files to SD for now. I just started the trial yesterday of Tmpgenc. I don't see the Source Stage--> Settings button?? Sorry, I am just starting to play with this software and am asking questions as I come across them. I would attach a screen shot in the post of what I see, but I'm apparently still learning that too!!! LOL

The track settings button appears after you add your clip and get back to the main window see screenshot.

[gyoshi]

59.97fps. All source files in my tracks (4 in this case) have the same video properties. I have it set for automatic smart rendering , but it goes into full rendering mode during compilation. I don't understand why??

Hmm...Blu-ray specs say framerate should be 59.94. A small difference, but that might be it. Also, what is the aspect ratio in the clip properties?

[mobie29]

Yes, it was 59.94fps and the aspect ratio is 16:9.

In your example above, why is your source file in "FR mode"?? Is it because of the 25fps is not compliant??