High-Def Burning; AVCHD

[JimmyB7]

I¡¦ve been lurking around here for sometime. Offering a rare and hopefully useful minor input now and then. Mostly just trying to learn from the super knowledgeable team here (sjj1805, Ken Berry, etech6355, et al.) about proven workflow and issue resolution. Thanks much to these great guys.

My goal has been to make simple but appreciated videos for my family and friends to enjoy. I mostly do videos of grandkid¡¦s birthdays, T-Ball games, kids sports, summer or holiday parties with friends, etc. I¡¦m retired and have taken up Blu-Ray recording/burning as my new challenge to help keep this 60+ guy mentally nimble, if possible.

Anyway, to get to the point, recently after much trial and error, I have gotten the High Def burning process to produce astounding results. And I mean quality that is nothing short of stunning! Even my wife is impressed¡K.

Here is my process as best I can describe it:

1. Capture High Definition video using my Sony HDR-UX7 camcorder on standard 3¡¨ blank DVDs, Dolby 5.1 sound is also standard. (your High Def hard drive and tape camera results may vary somewhat from the Sony DVD capture process)

2. Pop the finalized DVD into my computer¡¦s standard DVD player. Import the AVCHD M2TS files/clips to my computer using the Sony supplied software (Import Media Files, Handycam). I know, VideoStudio can import from the DVD, but the Sony software is apparently faster and I like the auto import.

3. Now, import the numerous unchanged M2TS files into VideoStudio¡¦s Movie Wizard using ¡§Insert Video¡§. Using one of VideoStudio¡¦s Theme Templates create a consolidated video with music, transitions, etc..

Save the completed video with ¡§Create Video File¡¨, ¡§Blu-Ray, NTSC HDMV - 1440¡¨ into a PC folder. (1440 is important for 1080i cameras, but 1080p cameras can choose 1920)

I do this same process three, four times, or more, with idea in mind that each consolidated video uses a different template but is related to the original subject. Each saved video will be a ¡§chapter¡¨ for the template navigation menu in my final Blu-Ray movie. I have used VideoStudio¡¦s Editor for more complicated efforts but for really quick, awesome, videos for family and friends Movie Wizard does just fine. Each of these ¡§Chapters¡¨ can range in size from 1.5GB on up, and for me may total over 10 Gigs at final burn.

4. Shut down all unnecessary Vista memory hoarders, SideBar, etc., and close anything running in the background not needed for burning. Pop a Blu-Ray BD-RE blank disc into my LG GGW-H20L Blu-Ray burner (This puppy is now under $400). Open VideoStudio¡¦s Editor. Go directly to ¡§Share, Create Disc¡¨. This is where you can chose either AVCHD, HD DVD, Blu-Ray, DVD, etc. For folks that I plan to give a completed standard DVD to, I choose DVD, for myself I choose Blu-Ray 1440. Regardless, I will be burning with the Blu-Ray videos I made from the above rendering.

5. At the screen "Add Media: Add Video Files", I open the consolidated videos I made from above process and leave the ¡§Create menu¡¨ checked, this gives me a VideoStudio ¡§HD Basic¡¨ template to choose from which I use, tweaking to my preference.

6. I now proceed to burn the Blu-Ray BD-RE blank disc (maybe two to three hours for a 8 to 10 Gigabyte movie). I use the BD-RE for testing the burn waters so to speak. If all goes well, then I burn again to a BD-R blank disc. This is because if the burn process fails for some reason, I can erase and start over avoiding a $20 coaster. This also works the same with standard DVDs using a DVD-RW. The freshly burned BD-R is then popped still warm into my Panasonic DMP-BD10A player for viewing. The results are mind blowing to say the least. Even though the Sony camera only captures in 1080i (1440x1080), the Blu-Ray player now up-converts the finished product to 1080p.

Needless to say my family, friends, neighbors, and wife are impressed. The picture clarity, the 5.1 sound, the smoothness of the transitions all make for quite a show.

Possibly, you can detect my excitement at finally resolving this HD burning process (with the help of many good people here of course). Hopefully, this primitive attempt to document my success will be of assistance to someone floundering as I was only days ago. But I also hope I don¡¦t lead anyone astray with my feeble instructions and gladly stand corrected if a better process is available. Thanks again VideoStudio forum. Happy burning¡K.

[Ron P.]

Moved from the VideoStudio Forum..

Very well written tutorial Jimmy. Thank you very much for providing it.