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I'm working with VS11+ with the power pack and the update. And I'm using a HD camera wih .m2t files (AVCHD).

Is it correct that under Project properties => project options the maximum frame size I can choose is 720 x 576?

I would have expected this to be higher (HD format for example).

Regards,
Michiel.

It really depends on what you intend to do with your AVCHD files. If you intend to make a standard definition DVD from it, then the Project Properties frame size you give is the correct one for a PAL DVD.

If you intend to output the edited video as AVCHD or HDV and burn it to Blu-Ray or an AVCHD hybrid disc, however, it is a different matter. It is possible to create a special template for the Project Properties of an AVCHD project, but it is more complicated than the usual simple way you would use Make Templates Manger Manager (under Tools) for other formats. I won't set out the steps to do that since, really, I don't think you need to do so. While I acknowledge they have their uses, particularly for new users, they don't affect your final product if you know what you are doing.

First, can you just clarify one point. You say you have AVCHD files, but also say they have the .m2t extension... As far as I was aware, most (all?) AVCHD cameras create files with a .m2ts extension, whereas .m2t is usually reserved for HDV files. AVCHD is highly compressed mpeg-4 format, whereas HDV is less compressed high definition mpeg-2. So can you tell us the brand and model of your camera, please.

In any case, if you have the files in the Video Studio timeline, you can in effect ignore the project properties. You do your editing, but then the important step comes. That is to convert the edited project into a single new video file. And for this, the easiest way *normally* is to select Share > Create Video File > Same as Project Properties. But in this case, that doesn't work because you don't have the 'right' Project Properties for a high definition project. But what you *can* do is instead choose Share > Create Video File > AVCHD (or Blu-Ray ... again depending on what your ultimate intention is).

If, for instance, you want to convert your project into a single AVCHD clip, then when you follow the above step, you can then choose between 1920 x 1080 or 1440 x 1080 AVCHD. But the rest of the properties will be correct for a full high definition AVCHD file. You give it a name and click the Save button. And after a (long) while, you will have a new file. (Note that if you select 1440 x 1080, it will use a lower bitrate and give, in my opinion, lower quality, though still high definition, output.)

I personally take this process one step further. Instead of first producing a final AVCHD file in the Editing module, I select instead Share > Create Disc > AVCHD. This allows me to burn an AVCHD hybrid disc (high definition in a a Blu-Ray type BDMV folder but on a standard DVD) where I can actually vary the final properties to what I want. When the burning module opens after choosing the above option, then if you click on the middle of the three icons in the bottom left of the burning screen, then a big dialogue box appears and you can change the default properties shown in the top window. But I stress here that until you get used to both the program and the format, I would follow my first suggested workflow (Share > Create Video File) and accept the defaults there. They are rock standard and will give you full high definition output.

A couple of footnotes. The hybrid discs I mention above can be burned on a standard DVD blank and using a standard DVD burner. However, they can only be played back on a Blu-Ray player and, moreover, one which is rated to play hybrid discs. The Sony PlayStation 3 is one such popular player. If you happen to have a PS3, though, you can include it in your computer network via a simple LAN connection (or wireless if your PS3 is a wireless model). You can then stream your edited high definition straight to the PS3 without having to burn it to disc. Or you can burn it to a sufficiently large USB stick or external hard disk, as long as it is formatted using FAT 32 as the PS3 cannot see disks formatted with the NTFS filing system.

If you intend to burn a Blu-Ray disc, of course, you need a Blu-Ray burner and Blu-Ray blank discs.

First let me thank you for the time you took to give a detailed reply, Ken! It's really appreciated!

My camera is a Sony HDR-SR11e. My intention is to make AVCHD on DVD movies and, if prices of BD burner prices drop, Blu Ray discs.

That is why I noticed the project properties are far less then I would have expected.
If I understand your reply correctly:

1. the mentioned frame size in the project properties of 720 x 576 in the highest I can choose while editing.
2.But when burning the movie on an AVCHD hybrid disc the project properties are manually overruled.

Is this correct?

What a great forum this is. There's so much knowledge everybody is willing to share. And it is great to see there are so many video enthousiasts that are willing to help newbies.

Sorry, but I am still not quite clear what you are trying to produce... You say:

My intention is to make AVCHD on DVD movies

But do you mean you are going to produce a standard definition DVD using the AVCHD files as a starting point? Or are you wanting to burn a hybrid disc such as I described, which in fact keeps the AVCHD in its original high definition format and using a Blu-Ray BDMV structure, which can be burned on a standard DVD? If it is the latter, do you have a Sony PlayStation 3 or some other Blu-Ray player which is rated to play such discs? I know in your question 2 you refer to hybrid discs, but can you confirm that that is what you are making.

Anyway, in answer to your question 1, if you are making a standard definition DVD (NOT a hybrid disc) then 720 x 576 is indeed the highest frame size setting that can be used. For a hybrid disc, what I was trying to say is that you don't choose anything. Just accept what Video Studio says are the Project Properties because they don't really matter until you convert your project into something else when you choose Share > Create Video File.

If you then choose Share > Create Video File > AVCHD, and then choose the 1920 x 1080 option, then yes, you will produce a new, edited AVCHD file which has the same high definition properties as your original files from the camera.

But if you want to change those properties in any way, then the best way I have found is that alternative method I described where I edit the files (again ignoring the Project Properties set by Video Studio) and instead of selecting Share > Create Video File, I instead choose Share > Create Disc > AVCHD where I can manually override the properties chosen by Video Studio if I want to.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am going to think of the physical single layer discs that I use for recording (burning) my AVCHD files from my Canon HF-100 camera as red-ray discs for the forseeable future.

If I put some other type of file type on the same red ray disc, I guess it will become a hybrid, but never will it be a Blu-Ray hybrid, as that calls for different discs, different file formats, and different players. Or so it seems today.
JM_2

Ken,

I'm going to burn hybrid discs on standard (dual layer) disc. And yes, I have a Blu-ray player that is able to read them (Samsung BD-P1400).

So I'll leave the project properties for what they are while editing the movie until I actually am ready to burn the movie.
I'll follow your second option to create disc.

I'll use the standard options for creating a hybrid disc however until I've learned how the available options are affecting the movie quality.

But that's a whole other story....

... and at least standard DVD blanks are very cheap these days! Good luck!!