Ok here we go again

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sat May 24, 2008 6:40 am

I was getting choppy video on my older computer a Intel D, 2 gig of ram, ext.. So now I have a new computer a Intel Quad, Nvidia 8800 gt, 3 Gig Ram, Brand New.. I am still getting Choppy video with this program.. The Camera I am using is the Canon HF100, I have tried in XP+mode and SP Mode on the camera. The same thing happens evertime. Is there some special settings I need on this program or something because I know it isn't the computer now.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Sat May 24, 2008 8:07 am

Well, you tell us nothing whatsoever that allows anyone here to give you an answer. WHEN are you getting choppy pictures? WHY have you not filled in your profile as requested in "PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE POSTING..."? DO we have to make a guess which OS you are using? HAVE you done a search on the board for AVCHD users with similar problems?

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sat May 24, 2008 8:27 am

My bad, I posted a few days ago about having choppy video when I try to edit the video in the time line.
I am using the Canon HF100.
I just got a new computer so I can edit the video because I thought that the reason I was getting choppy video was the fact my computer was a couple of years old. So now I have this new Intel Quad ext... and I am still getting the same issue.
The video plays great when I am just reviewing it without it being in the time line but when I placce it in the time line the video gets very choppy. I have tried smart proxy, I have read on here and changed the settings over and over. I still can't get it to stop.
I was using XP Media Center and now I am using Vista Home Premium.
I have done a seach on AVCHD and the answer to all of the choppy video problems was the computers are to old to handle it and need to be upgraded.
So thats what I did.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat May 24, 2008 9:02 am

I am running Vista Ultimate on a Quad (see my System button for details). And VS 11.5+ seems to be able to handle AVCHD quite smoothly, both in editing and playback, and in conversion to and from AVCHD. I have been doing quite a lot of it in recent days as I am preparing AVCHD discs (on standard DVDs) for playback on my PlayStation 3. And all without using SmartProxy too. What is more, I have also been doing the same on my Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz laptop (which in fact is better since I am having some problems on the Quad getting it to see the burners for the purposes of AVCHD. No such trouble on the laptop.)

So can you give us the properties of the video captured from the Canon -- right click on one of them within Video Studio. And tell us what editing you have done to them. Have you been converting them to some other format? Have you at any stage changed the Field Order from the correct Upper Field First? How exactly did you transfer the video from the card to the computer?

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sat May 24, 2008 9:24 am

I transfered the video from the camera to the computer USB. The video is is upperfield first, 24bit 1440x1080 16:9 29.970 frames/sec.
I have changed it to mpeg 2, 1440x1080. I have changed the field from upper to lower ext.. , I have left it at NTSC DVD, I have tried a lot of different things so far.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat May 24, 2008 9:28 am

But what is your overall intention with this AVCHD? What do you want to do with it?

One thing sticks out from your latest reply: you must NEVER change the field order from its original Upper Field First. Changing it to lower will ALWAYS result in choppy video, particularly in fast moving shots or when panning. Vertical lines will also look jagged.

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sat May 24, 2008 9:31 am

It is skateboard footage of my kids and friends. I make their videos for their skate team. I was using a older mini dv camera and then I got this canon. The footage is great on the canon if I could only edit it.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat May 24, 2008 11:08 am

I repeat: what is your intention. Yes, the video is great as it emerges from the camera. But what do you want to do with it? The usual objective of AVCHD is to burn it to a high definition medium which can be played back in high definition over a high definition TV. But for that, you either have to have a Blu-Ray burner and Blu-Ray discs, both of which are still very expensive. Or you can burn hybrid discs, using AVCHD in its own format but burned on a standard DVD. But for that, you still have to have a Blu-Ray rated player (including the Sony PlayStation3) to play it back.

Finally, you can burn it to a standard definition DVD, in which case you down-convert the AVCHD to standard definition mpeg-2. There are of course other options, such as using it on the web. But in all of the first three outlined above, you have to maintain the same field order. But once we have an idea of what your actual plans are, maybe we can think of a step by step approach which might avoid the choppiness. As I say, I have been dealing with AVCHD almost non-stop in the past week, and have not had one moment of choppiness. so I would be most interested in pinning down what you might be doing which could cause it...

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sat May 24, 2008 4:41 pm

I will be burning it to standard dvd and I will be using the video for myspace and youtube.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat May 24, 2008 10:55 pm

I can't really help with the YouTube aspects since I never convert video for those sorts of site (and indeed hate the quality of video on them). But I am sure others will be able to help your there.

With the standard DVD, you already have your video transferred to the computer. That is just a straight transfer and no properties will have been changed in it. So you insert it into the VS timeline, and do your edits. Then when editing is finished, you have to convert it to DVD-compatible mpeg-2 (Share > Create Video File ). Now at this point you have to look closely at the properties you choose for the file you are creating. If you choose either 'DVD' which would be the normal choice, or even 'mpeg-2', then I think you will find in the little window in the bottom of the dialogue box which appears that the default settings for those use Lower Field First by default. And that is NOT what you want.

Instead, I would choose Custom down at the bottom of the drop down menu of Share > Create Video File. That allows you to change the default properties by pressing the Options button in the dialogue box, after you give your file a name. I don't know if you are in a PAL or NTSC country. But I would set my properties along the following lines:
MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 576, 25 fps (or 720 x 480, 29.97 fps for NTSC)
Upper Field First
(DVD-PAL), 16:9 (or DVD-NTSC)
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)

As for Audio, I think your camera uses Dolby 5.1 so I would leave that as it is. If it is just Dolby dual channel stereo, I would also leave that as it is.

Once you have your mpeg-2, save your project, then open a new one. Don't worry about a name for it -- the objective is just to clear the timeline.

Then you go to Share > Create Disc, insert your new mpeg-2 into the burning timeline, make your menu and burn. Also, make sure 'do not convert compliant mpeg files' is ticked in the middle of the three icons in the bottom left of the burning screen. You should not have to adjust any of the properties in the burn module.

Those settings should allow you to burn a bit more than an hour of video to a single layer DVD. And there should be no choppiness.

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sun May 25, 2008 2:05 am

I am in the USA if that helps. Thanks for the help with the burning thing. Let me explain how I edit this and maybe that will help some. I add the files to the library some are small some are kinda large in size. I add the file to the time line then I do a multi trim and get the part of the video that I can use. After that I will add effects and transitions ext. This is how I was doing it with my mini dv anyway. Now when I add the file to the library, I can preview the video while it is in the library and it looks and works great. Then I add it to the timeline and when do the multi trim and then preview the trimmed part. It might play once or twice without any problems like that. Then I will save the project then add another part and do the same thing. Preview might work and it might be choppy but everytime I try to play the full project it will be choppy. I can hear the audio but the video is lagging behind bad and trying to catch up.
So at this point all I am really trying to do is take small parts of video then edit them together to make a short movie or more like a music video with skateboarders.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun May 25, 2008 3:44 am

One thing you could try would be, instead of using multi-trim, to create real files instead of the trimmed bits. You may not realise it, but multi-trim merely creates virtual files of the trimmed bits. The original video is there, untrimmed, and only the project file tells Video Studio what has been done to it. So when you play the whole project back, especially using AVCHD which, as I have already said, is incredibly demanding of computer resources, even on powerful ones, you are asking the computer to see all these various virtual cuts, and edits etc, and play it all back on the fly.

One I make cuts in a longer file, I create a real file of the new, trimmed clip. I highlight the clip I want in the timeline, then select Clip > Save Trimmed Video. A real new clip is created, and a thumbnail for it appears in the library window. Now it is important here to delete the multi-trimmed virtual clip from the timeline, and drag the new thumbnail into its place. You have to do this for all the multi-trimmed clips. It is time consuming, yes, but usually makes things smoother.

You might also first want to actually finally render the trimmed and edited project, to see if it still is choppy in the final product. As I say, looking at a project being rendered on the fly will often look bad in the preview window, but be fine in the final products. If it is still stuttering etc, then try my method above.

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sun May 25, 2008 9:42 am

Can you tell me how to select the clip in the time line to save the trimmed clip. When I select the multi trimmed video the save trimmed clip is grayed out and won't let me select that option.
Again thanks for all of your help.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun May 25, 2008 1:40 pm

As far as I am aware, you merely click on the clip in question and it is highlighted...

Mindstorm · Post by **Mindstorm** » Sun May 25, 2008 9:31 pm

For some reason save trimmed clip doesn't work with AVCHD.