Burning AVCHD and Resolution

[HaleyFont]

My HD videos are in 720p resolution. However, when I go to try and burn an AVCHD disk, the only choices for resolution under customize are 720 x 480, 1440 x 1080, or 1920 x 1080. (This does not include the 1280 x 720 p setting that I need.) It also seems to assume that the video is interlaced because you can just select upper or lower field first.

In the information on VD 11.5, under the AVCHD support, it says,:

"Supports standard screen sizes from SD to HD, 1280x720 to 1920x1080 as well as PAL and NTSC systems"

That's on this page: http://www.ulead.com/vs/features.htm

I have a new Blu-ray player/burner (new Dell Computer!) coming tomorrow and would really like to be able to burn a disk that will play my hd video AND show my videos to best advantage.

Is it possible to just put an mp4 h.264 file on a disk and have the blue-ray player read it?

I would love any suggestions as to how to proceed. I'd like to be able to use the 1280 x 720 p resolution of my camera. I suppose I could switch to 1080i or 1080p resolutions for shooting - but I'm not sure which one of those two is better (though I assume 1080p is) - and it means that editing is just that much more demanding.

Thanks in advance.

[Ken Berry]

Is it possible to just put an mp4 h.264 file on a disk and have the blue-ray player read it?

Unfortunately, the answer to that is that it depends on the ratings of the Blu-Ray player. Some will, some won't, and this goes for stand-alone brand name Blu-Ray players as well as far as I am aware. I don't have a Blu-Ray burner at the moment, but use my PlayStation 3 which is a pretty good and versatile high definition player. It plays both my native HDV format edited files, AVCHD in its native format, whatever the frame size (though I confess I have never had any 720p files to test), and plays AVCHD hybrid discs (using standard DVDs) as well as proper Blu-Ray discs. In addition, it will play high def files in their native formats, including after editing, which I have copied to both a (large) USB stick drive and an external hard drive or as data files to an archive DVD.

Incidentally, but potentially a propos you own situation, my HDV camera uses 1440 x 1080 format. In converting that to the AVCHD hybrid discs, this is upconverted by default to 1920 x 1080 (though I change the bitrate from the default VBR of mx 15000 to CBR 16800 kbps). The result, when played back on my PS3 to 115cm full 1920x 1080p HDTV, is excellent. So you might also find that the up-conversion works for you too.

[etech6355]

s it possible to just put an mp4 h.264 file on a disk and have the blue-ray player read it? I would love any suggestions as to how to proceed. I'd like to be able to use the 1280 x 720 p resolution of my camera.

Sony Playstation 3 can playback 1280x720P (progressive video) 25/30/50/59.94/60

Eventually consumer Blu-Ray players will be able to also playback in file mode.
One of Pioneers Blu-Ray Players now has network & uPnP connectivity.

All of the avc/h264 videos I usually make are 1440x1080i UFF with a PAR (pixel aspect ratio) of 1.3333

Using VS11+ you can make 1280x720 progressive High Definition Mpeg2 video files.

[HaleyFont]

At this point, I'm considering putting my new computer right next to the HDTV. I have remote keyboard and mouse to work with it. The video card has HDMI out. Then, I think I can use the TV like a monitor. I'll see very soon. I figure that way, any file I can play on the computer can be played on the HDTV. Does that make sense to you all? (I don't have a Sony PS#.)

I also am wondering what is the best file format to save my edited videos in to future proof them. If you are trying to save videos to file so that they will be compatible with future equipment, what would you do? Would you save them in mp4 h.264 or mpeg-2? Would you use 720p, 1080i, or 1080p?

[etech6355]

I would need for you to provide your camcorders make & model number to provide assistance. There are so many on the market and each one has it's own parameters.

Being as you can record in 1280/1440/1920 I'm assuming the cam is a very good cam.

Standard rule of thumb for High Def consumer models is HDV which is:
FrameSize = 1440x1080i (interlaced) UFF (Upper Field First)
16:9 Aspect Ratio
Audio (variable depending on the camcorder).
BitRates: Usually 25,000kbs Constant for tape based units using mpeg2 & 6000kbs to15000kbs for AVCHD cams.
Compression codecs = AVC/H264 True AVCHD compliant or HD-Mpeg2

I agree with you that 1280x720P is a really nice resolution, wish I had that feature on my camcorder. It''s also so much easier to convert to other formats since it's progressive/frame_based video.
The 1280x720 mode can be confusing, some record 25/29.97/30/50/59.94/60 Frames per second.
Depends on your camcorder make & model

Some cams are not completely AVCHD compliant (Samsung has one). The video is still AVC/H264 but it's not AVCHD compliant which is the spec's that Sony & Panasonic engineered. VS11+ should be able to make the videos AVCHD compliant.

Hooking your computers 2nd video port to your HDTV works, depends on your video card. Be careful not to exceed your HDTV's spec's.
I like the HDTV's that have a PC input, they are easier to setup.
If working with AVC/H264 how fast (cpu speed) is your computer & what make video card is in the computer?

[HaleyFont]

My camera is a Sanyo Xacti HD 1000. It records in AVC h.264 format. I think it's a little different than the Panasonic and Sony spec - but I'm not positive about that. I may upgrade to the HD 1010 which adds a 1080p format to the 720p and 1080i.

The computer is Core 2 Duo 3 + Mhz. It has an ATI Radeon HD 3870 video card with 512 MB of memory. It has two DVI out ports and a converter that converts the DVI to HDMI.

The TV has a VGA In port - but I don't think that would be good for High Def. Not sure about that. I will probably use the HDMI or a component input for it. ( I can get a converter for one of the DVI outputs on the video card.)

I hope this helps.

[etech6355]

Nice computer & nice camcorder, those Sanyo line of cams record in the mp4 container format. Depends on what you want to create as the end products. They don't appear to be AVCHD compliant.

Personally I would go with a cam that records in hd-mpeg2 or avchd compliant so you can make avchd or blu-ray disks.
The files created by the Sanyo cams appear to have to be re-encoded to be avchd or blu-ray compliant.

I would need some sample files to see what VS11+ can or cannot do with those 1280x720 vidoes.

[HaleyFont]

Thanks for your feedback. You said that you would like to see some files from the Sanyo camera. Here is a link to a short video I uploaded to Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/1111912

If you look under the video and to the right, there is a link you can use to download the mp4 file. This mp4 happens to be one that came right out of the camera - as you can edit and join the clips right in the camera. That is what I did in this case.