VS X2 Pro and AVCHD camcorders

[Bimbing]

Hello all,
I am still using VS X2 Pro. Its User Guide indicates that a digital camcorder is to be connected using an IEEE-1394 cable. That's what I have been doing with my Canon DV camcorder. This DV cancorder is almost broken so, I am looking for a new camcorder, such as AVCHD -type, probably the Canon VIXIA series
These camcorders do not have an IEEE port but just a USB port. Since the Vixia camcorder utilizes an internal memory (flash card), SD, or SDHC card, does it mean that actually a IEEE port is no longer needed?
Here are my 2 questions:
1) could the recording on the internal memory, SD/SDHC card be transfered to the hard drive with VS X2 Pro just using a USB cable, since the camera has a USB port?;
2) Am I right in assuming that the SD/SDHC card can also be read using an SD/SDHC card reader and thus saved to the hard drive?

I am still very confused what AVCHD-type camcorder to buy, afraid that I have problems with VS X2 Pro.
Thanks for any help and advice.

[Ken Berry]

The answers to your two questions are Yes and Yes! IEEE-1394 only relates to DV and HDV.

As for what kind of camera to buy, the first thing you should be asking is what kind of computer you have. You haven't filled in your profile, so we don't know. But to even be able to play AVCHD video smoothly, and edit it, you need at the very minimum a decent Core 2 Duo processor, and preferably something better than that. AVCHD is the most resource-hungry video format that exists!!!

[Bimbing]

Hello Ken,

Thank you very much for your response. I am more confortable now in deciding on which camcorder to buy.
Sorry that I have not completed my profile yet although I have registered since 2005 in this Forum. I tried to look where I could post my profile. In the sticky "Please read this before creating posts" I found: "If you have not already done so, click on Profile in the forum header and fill in the fields titled..."
but I could not found the button "Profile". Please advice where I could enter my Profile. Thank you.

As I indicated in my original post, I am looking for an AVCHD camcorder but after editing with VS X2 Pro, Iwill still burn the project as a standard DVD because I and my family do not have HD DVD players or Blue Ray players. Based on my system profile, would you comment on my intention. Thanks.

In any case here is my profile:
Posts: 62
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 6:22 am
Location:Cincinnati, OH, USA
operating_system: Windows7
32bit or 64bit: 64Bit
motherboard: Asus IPIBL-LB
processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core PU E5300 @ 2.60GHz and 2.60 GHz
ram: 6 GB
Video Card: Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset Family
sound_card: RealTek High Definition Audio ALC 888S Chipset
Hard_Drive_Capacity: 640GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec) - 7200 rpm
System_Drive: C

[mitchell65]

If I may assist you with your profile, go to the top of this page and clck the User Control Panel tag, then when that opens click the Profile Tag.Then you can fill in the details. If you just leave them on this post they will not be viewable when you post in another thread. We will have to find this thread each time.
From my point of view, I use HD video all the time as I have an HD TV and a Blu-Ray player but if you do not intend to go to HD in the near future you might be better off spending the same amount of money on a good standard def camcorder. Just my opinion, of course!

[Ron P.]

Bimbing,

I tried to look where I could post my profile. In the sticky "Please read this before creating posts" I found: "If you have not already done so, click on Profile in the forum header and fill in the fields titled..."
but I could not found the button "Profile". Please advice where I could enter my Profile. Thank you.

Thank you for pointing this out. That was prepared on the old web board, and apparently did not translate well to this new one. I've updated that post, so hopefully it will no longer be confusing.

[Bimbing]

Hi Ron,

You are welcome.

[Bimbing]

If I may assist you with your profile, go to the top of this page and clck the User Control Panel tag, then when that opens click the Profile Tag.Then you can fill in the details. If you just leave them on this post they will not be viewable when you post in another thread. We will have to find this thread each time.
From my point of view, I use HD video all the time as I have an HD TV and a Blu-Ray player but if you do not intend to go to HD in the near future you might be better off spending the same amount of money on a good standard def camcorder. Just my opinion, of course!

Thanks, mitchell65. I did enter my profile with no preblems following your advice.

You mentioned "standard def camcorder". May I ask what would you consider a standard def camcorder. Would that be a DV camcorder with the MiniDV tape?

[Ron P.]

Standard Def camcorders, are ones that record DV (digital video), Hi-8, Digital-8, or mini-DV tapes, also there are some camcorders that record SD (standard def) on internal hard disc drives, and DVD discs. Basically Standard Definition video is used on DVD video discs, meeting the International DVD Specifications, such as frame sizes, maximum bitrates, and frame-rates. The most commonly used are:
NTSC:
720 x 480
29.97fps
MPEG-2 video
Max bitrate of 9800kbps

PAL:
720 x 576
25fps
MPEG-2 video
Max bitrate of 9800kbps.

Going larger than those are considered Hi-def videos..

[Bimbing]

Standard Def camcorders, are ones that record DV (digital video), Hi-8, Digital-8, or mini-DV tapes, also there are some camcorders that record SD (standard def) on internal hard disc drives, and DVD discs. Basically Standard Definition video is used on DVD video discs, ........

Thanks Ron for the explanation.

[sherman39]

Just a thought but if your family do not have HD or BlueRay players you could always post your edited video to YouTube in the best quality that it accepts, which is HD and they can watch it there.

I purchased an AVCHD video camera as, among other things,I liked the ability to record to SD or SDHC cards but at present my PC is not of high enough specification to edit or play AVCHD. My solution is to use the batch convert function of of VS X2 to convert my AVCHD recordings to an HDV specification (takes a while) which my computer can deal with.I then post the final edited masterpiece to YouTube. I also copy the AVCHD original files to an external Hard Drive so that when I upgrade my PC and/or acquire a BlueRay player or a HD TV I can edit and play the AVCHD files. That said I find what I do at present to be of sufficient quality (to my eyes) that I may not get round to redoing them but at least I have the files saved should I need them.

Regards

Paul

[Phil47]

Standard Def camcorders, are ones that record DV (digital video), Hi-8, Digital-8, or mini-DV tapes, also there are some camcorders that record SD (standard def) on internal hard disc drives, and DVD discs. Basically Standard Definition video is used on DVD video discs, meeting the International DVD Specifications, such as frame sizes, maximum bitrates, and frame-rates. The most commonly used are:
NTSC:
720 x 480
29.97fps
MPEG-2 video
Max bitrate of 9800kbps

PAL:
720 x 576
25fps
MPEG-2 video
Max bitrate of 9800kbps.

Going larger than those are considered Hi-def videos..

Ron,

Hi there. I was just skipping thru this post and noticed your comment Re DVD is basically Std Def quality. This has been on my mind recently as I just bought an Xacti VPC-FH1 to go with the PowerDirector 8 Ultra video editing software and wondered about my wisdom. I wanted to film in HD but of course you have explained that the DVD I am burning is just Std Def UNLESS I get a DVD player that upscales to 1080P OR get a receiver that does the same thing? Is that right?
I should also say that I posted here today that I am having trouble with PD8 in the preview window where, using HD, it freezes at transitions so I downloaded a trial of VS Pro X3 and it runs ok.

Thanks,

Phil

[Ken Berry]

I wanted to film in HD but of course you have explained that the DVD I am burning is just Std Def UNLESS I get a DVD player that upscales to 1080P OR get a receiver that does the same thing? Is that right?

Not really. A video DVD is always a video DVD. Once it is burned -- and a standard video DVD is ALWAYS burned as standard definition mpeg-2 -- it is immutable. I am also not sure you can get a 'DVD player' to upscale anything, unless what you are thinking about is a Blu-Ray player (which can, of course, also play standard video DVDs) which can upscale. But it does not really change what is on the DVD. It merely creates an effect where the quality of the video as seen on your TV appears to be higher quality than what is on the DVD.

You can, of course, burn AVCHD video to a standard DVD in that format (Share > Create Disc > AVCHD) but it is not a *video DVD* as such since it does not contain a Video_TS folder. Instead, it is a variant of a Blu-Ray disc and contains a modified BDMV folder (which is what Blu-Ray discs have). And such discs are called 'hybrid discs'. Moreover, they will not play in a standard DVD player. You need a Blu-Ray player which moreover is rated to play hybrid discs. The Sony PlayStation 3 is one such, but there are increasing numbers of Blu-Ray players of other brands which are also rated to do so. (The Sony PS3 also upscales and does so very effectively...)