How to Edit AVCHD

[brazen]

Hello, first post, I'm a complete total newbie to video editing, but not to computers. Recently purchased a Sony Handycam HDR-CX500V camcorder. I've recorded a few hours of video in the highest resolution, 1080p AVCHD. I just built a monster computer and have installed Sony Vegas Pro 9.0. The raw .MTS files play in Windows Media Player and the footage looks amazing! However, when I render my project in Sony Vegas Pro 9 I get severe motion blur on the footage. For parts of the video where the camera is still, the image quality is great, but as soon as the camera pans the edges of objects are severely blurred. I'm sure this is due to my not understanding the new project and/or render settings and I suspect it's something to do with interlaced being converted or something, but I don't really understand what that means. Ultimately, I want to upload clips to Youtube as well as burn DVD's. Given this...

1) What settings should I use when creating a new Sony Vegas project if I'll be working with AVCHD video and want to create a) Youtube 1080p videos and b) a DVD ??

2) When I go to render, what file format / template / custom settings should I use given that I'll be working with AVCHD video and want to create a) Youtube 1080p videos and b) a DVD ??

3) Where can I go to learn more about these relevant topics ?

[aedipuss]

the specs say the highest res the cam could do is 1080i 16mbps. not very good nor enough bitrate for good 1080. movement is going to blur. it's not a vegas problem.

set an HD 1080 60i project and go from there. you won't get very good results for youtube as vegas will have to de-interlace your 30i footage.

[brazen]

the specs say the highest res the cam could do is 1080i 16mbps. not very good nor enough bitrate for good 1080. movement is going to blur. it's not a vegas problem.

set an HD 1080 60i project and go from there. you won't get very good results for youtube as vegas will have to de-interlace your 30i footage.

Thanks for the reply. Those numbers may not be incredible, but I assure you the raw .MTS files look unbelievable to the untrained eye, with almost no motion blur. I've played around with the vegas project/render settings and I was able to VASTLY improve my results with a couple de-interlace methods. But I don't understand why I can watch the raw .mts video with no blur on a computer but my rendered videos have the blur??? Certainly there must be a way to produce a video with the same quality as the original; all I'm doing is cutting footage out of the original.

I will check that my project settings are as you recommended. I also found a feature in vegas that sets the project settings automatically based on an input video file.

[turk690]

Ultimately, with what video codec did you render your *.mts files into? No matter how roaring your set-up is, an intermediate codec ALWAYS helps, like CineForm NeoScene. When I render the AVCHD into CineForm *.avi files they look just as good as the original, no motion blur or whatnot. Sony Vegas has a multitude of project templates with their associated codecs. You have not specified which of them you used for your project.

[yoda313]

If you just want lossless cutting without editing try h264tscutter. There are also other hd h264 cutters available since you say you are using avchd with your camcorder.

[brazen]

Ultimately, with what video codec did you render your *.mts files into? No matter how roaring your set-up is, an intermediate codec ALWAYS helps, like CineForm NeoScene. When I render the AVCHD into CineForm *.avi files they look just as good as the original, no motion blur or whatnot. Sony Vegas has a multitude of project templates with their associated codecs. You have not specified which of them you used for your project.

My system is a Core i7 overclocked to 3.8 Ghz, 6gb of ultra fast overclocked ram, and my video files are on a separate, fast hard drive. Rendering goes FAST and I'm able to preview on the "best" quality with no lag. This is quite a change from my previous Core 2 Duo laptop. Having said that, I'll check out NeoScene. The website says it does "- telecine removal (24p extraction from 60i) & deinterlacing (30p/25p from 60i/50i)". Maybe that's just what I need. As far as what codec I rendered into....well, I can tell you what I've tried, but the point is I'm lost on what I SHOULD be using. My project template, as set by the "Match Media Settings" feature, is "HD 1080-60i (1920x1080, 29.970 fps)" upper field first, interpolate deinterlace method. I've tried rendering using a few different files types/templates but am not getting great results with any of them.

If you just want lossless cutting without editing try h264tscutter. There are also other hd h264 cutters available since you say you are using avchd with your camcorder.

This is very useful. Although, I do want to upload to Youtube and create a DVD so I guess I'll have to accept quality degradation at some point.