So... Is everyone given up on VS11+ regarding AVCHD?

[mlai]

So, given the de-interlace problems that VS11+ is having with AVCHD, is everybody here completely written off VS11+ for editing with AVCHD?

I have moved over to Pinnacle movie studio and it imports that AVCHDs just fine without the de-interlace problem. However, it doesn't seem to be able to export WMVHD even when I have all the profiles setup......

It will be great if VS11+ has a fix for the AVCHD. Now, it really shouldn't be that hard for Ulead, urrr, Corel, right?

[Black Lab]

You wouldn't think, but it's been almost 4 months now without a patch, so there must be problems somewhere.

Heck, at this point they might as well just trash it and call the next one v12.

[Jerry Jones]

I'm editing AVCHD using the Cineform codec in Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus.

Works great.

No problems at all.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[mlai]

I'm editing AVCHD using the Cineform codec in Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus.

Works great.

No problems at all.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

I hear you. But paying another boat load of money seems to defeat the idea of a consumer editing platform........

[etech6355]

Unfortunately, there are no good solutions for editing AVCHD on the Microsoft Windows platform, in my opinion.

Well, not mentioning other software but I've been working with many avchd file conversions recently and it's my opinion that one needs to be pretty experienced at working with and editing video when using these avchd cams. Anyone fairly new to vidio editing surely has jumped into the frying pan expecting to edit avchd video without having the knowledge & background understanding of video itself.

Just to export a avchd video file to the cineformhd codec involves setting many parameters in the "Share" stage of VS. These steps are normal to an experienced person (Jerry), but to others this involves making complex settings to all the correct encoding parameters, then having to know in VS when to use non-square pixel rendering and when not to.

I feel that the cineformhd codec is only for experienced persons. The average user may record in HQ Mode for about 30minutes of avchd video to a 4gig sd card. When converted to the cineformhd codec this 4gig file will end up being about 30gigs in size on their harddisks. But to create this 30gig file using VS one would need to know to turn ON non-square pixel rendering to create the cineform file. Then after inserting the file into VS and when exporting out they would have to know to set non-square pixel rendering OFF in VS.
Why? Because VS is not technically certified for the cineformhd codec, you can use it, it will work, but if VS was certified to work with the cineformhd codec you wouldn't have to tell VS to perform non-square pixel rendering..

So as one can see this is somewhat advanced and isn't simple. Cineformhd is great but requires experience & knowledge to use it correctly.

[etech6355]

For me, the best consumer option right now is Apple.
But that means buying a new Apple computer.

Very expensive compared to windows based computers.

So the Cineform option is the only real option available to people who are using the Windows-based software who want to edit AVCHD and who want to avoid the MPEG smart render bugs.

There are other windows based avchd programs on the market now. VS11+ just needs an update.

A descent apple desktop after your done with the software is around $3,000 US dollars.
All I'm saying is buying a Mac along with "Final Cut Pro" is like going back to college...................
"Final Cut Pro" is a professional video editor, takes months if not a year to learn how to use it and all it's capabilities.
Different platform.

[Jerry Jones]

I disagree with you.

It's no more complex than setting export parameters for any other file type.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

Just to export a avchd video file to the cineformhd codec involves setting many parameters in the "Share" stage of VS.

[etech6355]

Yes, the HD compressor used on the mac is nice, I forget the codec used.

Disagree 100%... strongly disagree.
All Windows-based AVCHD editing programs are broken...

I'd like to know your workflow using the apple software and avchd editing because "Final Cut Express HD" doesn't appear to work with any avchd camcorders.
Only DV & HDV (which is hd-mpeg2, tape units).
Going by your posts a mac-mini (2Ghz, Core2Duo@ $900.00us dollars) with 1gig ram) using Final Cut Express HD $300.00us dollars can work with these avchd cams?
It doesn't appear to work, please check this out. Also Final Cut Express recommends 2gigs of ram per it's specs. Mac-mini's are 1 gig and drives are small compared to most others.

I agree that mac's are nice computers, but I'm inclined to feel that the windows based software is slightly ahead of the mac's for using these avchd cams. I'm not going to post the software used but I have about 15 avchd disks I've made using windows software. The avchd disks have menus/chapters/background music, all very similar to dvd navigation and these avchd disks play fine in Blu-Ray disk players that support the avchd format.

At first I wasn't impressed with the avchd disk h264 format/codec. Now after making them I like the avchd format as a final disk/distribution format. Similar to hd-divx but the avchd disk/format is now becoming a standard so it appears to me after a few years this will most likely be the format we will pass around to our families as the highdef or even standard def versions. The avchd disks I've made for all practical purposes are almost identical to the original footage, smooth motion and all still using interlaced video.
Using windows software to do all of this.

[Jerry Jones]

Which?

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

Using windows software to do all of this.

[Jerry Jones]

By the way, I've used Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus -- SUCCESSFULLY - to burn an HD DVD image -- with beautiful menus -- to a DVD-R... a normal DVD... and I've successfully played that disc in a Toshiba model HD-A2 player.

It played beautifully.

The menus worked perfectly.

The sound was excellent.

So... it's possible to buy Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus ($99) and the Cineform codec ($249) and then author great "HD DVD" images to regular DVD media.

The regular DVD media means you won't be able to get as much content on the disc, of course.

But for budget video producers, you can get the job done for a fairly low amount of money.

The thing I really love about using the intermediate codecs is the fact that even a weak computer can be used to edit such files.

So, in most cases, the high definition intermediate codec is less expensive than buying a fast new computer with the latest/greatest processor.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[mlai]

Corel to integrate MainConcept¡¦s consumer H.264 codec into next-generation AVCHD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc™ products

[sjj1805]

Thanks for the link. I have posted the article to our news threads.

[tsha222]

Forgive my ignorance, but how does one incorporate Cineform into VS11+? (total newb)

[etech6355]

Jerry,

Moreover, the Mac "Mini" -- at a mere $599 -- is a steal... all of the Apple software is loaded; and you can connect it to your existing monitor. Apple computers are great values at this point in time.

This link:
click on "Compare Specs" shows the 2 mac mini's. Apple was smart recently putting a Core2Duo processor in them, nice move. I stated the next step up mini-mac because the cheaper mac-mini only writes CD's, less L2 Cache & smaller harddisk. Keyboard & mouse is a separate item when buying a mini-mac, an additional $98.00.
See [url=http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=9A515E80&node=home/desktop/mac_mini]Configuring a mini-mac , Click on "Select" to view the options.
In the end, if your a computer guru mac's are more expensive.
Probably why they are considered a more reliable computer, it is a better protected operating system..

[Jerry Jones]

1. Go to www.cineform.com;
2. Do an online purchase of the "Neo HDV" (Cineform) codec;
3. Download the codec and run the installation;
4. Open Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus and import an AVCHD clip;
5. Click the SHARE tab;
6. Click the CREATE VIDEO FILE button;
7. Click CUSTOM;
8. When the CREATE VIDEO FILE pop-up menu appears, choose MICROSOFT AVI FILES in the SAVE AS TYPE drop-down list;
9. Click the OPTIONS button;
10. Under the ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO tab, *uncheck* the PERFORM NON-SQUARE PIXEL RENDERING check box;
11. Click the AVI tab;
12. In the COMPRESSION drop-down list, choose the CINEFORM HD CODEC option;
13. Choose PCM as your audio FORMAT;
14. Choose 48.000 kHz, 16-bit stereo (or 5.1 channels, if you wish) as your ATTRIBUTE;
15. Click the GENERAL tab;
16. Choose AUDIO and VIDEO as your DATA TRACK drop-down list selection;
17. Choose 29.97 as your frame rate;
18. Choose FRAME-BASED as your FRAME TYPE;
19. Under FRAME SIZE, tick the USER-DEFINED option and choose 1440 x 1080;
20 Click the OK button to render out your video as a Cineform HD .avi (I-Frame) file.

Easy.

When you download the Cineform codec, you also get a program called "HDLink" from Cineform.

This "HDLink" program can also convert AVCHD files directly to Cineform files.

Then you can import the Cineform files into Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus for editing.

As I mentioned before, you don't need to buy the fastest computer with the latest and greatest processor if you use the Cineform codec.

A typical Cineform HD .avi scrubs and previews almost as easily as a DV .avi file... even on my slow laptop.

In addition, the Cineform .avi files are designed to let you use the multi-track, layering capability of programs such as Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus.

You may already know that a user of Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus has access to multiple video tracks.

Hope this helps,

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

Forgive my ignorance, but how does one incorporate Cineform into VS11+? (total newb)