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AVCHD issues with Vegas
Hi all,
As I transition to HD, I need to get a couple of camcorders that will work well with Vegas. I have started to read a lot about AVCHD and am a little worried. Does Vegas handle this format well from any brand camcorder, or do you need to purchase a Sony? I am most likely looking at Sony first regardless, but I need some feedback on the functionality of the system/format. I am currently shooting on DVCAM in SD and using Version 9 which I purchased in August of 2010. I bought the edit system from B & H although is came directly from Sony. (via the Supermicrocomputer from CA).
I saw where processor speed was also a concern. What am I looking at in order to make sure the cameras I purchase (AVCHD is very likely) will work with the Vegas system I now have. I plan to upgrade or add version 10 to my machine shortly. Has anyone encountered recent issues surrounding this move? Please advise.
Thanks. Dan.
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15 Replies
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Anything like a dual core or slower will hve a very slow preview framerate. A quad core or an i7 will work great.
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For a camera, take a look at the Panasonic TM700.
It gets great reviews on several Vegas forums and Danny Hays loves it 🙂 -
I think it’s a personal choice and personally, I would stick with an HDV camera but that’s just me. I have both HDV and AVCHD cameras and the HDV edits so much more smoothly there is just no comparison and that’s with a QuadCore processor. When one of my HDV cameras dies I will replace it with another HDV camera. Unless you have a modern Core i7 QuadCore, I would not even consider an AVCHD camera. If I were you, I would download some sample footage of both and see which you prefer.
As for which camera… you are asking the right question. I have all Sony cameras and if a camera conforms strictly to the AVCHD spec it should edit well in Vegas but the problem is that camera manufactures seem to have a hard time following specs and are producing all sorts of Frankenstein formats that don’t comply. I would stick with a Sony camera if you use Vegas. At least you know those have been tested and the Vegas Device Explorer supports all of the Sony camera formats (even their Hard Disk Recording Unit for HDV).
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
John,
Thanks for the input and please pardon my ignorance but are there HDV cameras that are tapeless? I am looking to move away from a tape based camcorder system. If there are, do you have any recommendations? I’m in the mood for a for a good old fashioned side by side camera shoot out!
Thanks again.
Dan.
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Mike,
Is the Panasonic TM 700 tapeless? And does it interface well with Vegas? I am going to see what I can find online but always prefer to hear from actual users rather than the slightly biased manufacturer.
Dan.
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I have the tm700 and its tapeless. I absolute love it. The 1080 60p is stunning looking. John is right about avchd being very sluggish on anything but an I7 I built one for under a grand. Tm700 is $750
My I7 handles the 60p with ease. I helieve I recently read a post of jJohns on a tapeless hdv camera though. -
[Dan Myers] “Thanks for the input and please pardon my ignorance but are there HDV cameras that are tapeless? “
Yea, I converted my Z1U to tapeless by buying the HVR-DR60 Hard Disk Recording Unit. I get 4 hrs of uninterrupted recording and when I get back to the edit bay, I just copy the files off of the DR60 onto my RAID 0 and start editing. You can also use the DR60 or the Sony HVR-MRC1 Memory Recording Unit with the Sony HVR-V1U, HVR-Z5U, or the Sony HVR-Z7U. In fact, the Sony HVR-Z7U comes with the HVR-MRC1 compact flash recording unit. All of these cameras are HDV and therefore have none of the headaches of AVCHD.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Thanks for all of your feedback everyone. Here is my problem. I really do not want to spend a lot of money on my next camera, but I am a little leery as I stated earlier about the size of the smaller cameras. I am so used to a big camera (have been using the Sony DVCAM 300A for the last 10 years) that I am worried that I will have issues shooting with a small handheld device. Again I shoot weddings, and I do not have the luxury of re-shooting if there is a problem.
Vegas having issues with AVCHD significantly reduces the number of cameras to choose from. Not being a real technical wiz, I looked closer at the computer that I just purchased from Sony (SuperMicro Computer) through B & H in August of 2010. The unit is equipped as follows
– Windows 7 Ultimate
– Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU
– Processor 960 @ 3.20 GHz 3.20GHz
– RAM 8 GB
– 64-Bit
– Vegas Version 9Is this computer capable of running Vegas with AVCHD? I noticed in some of the previous posts that the i7 processor was okay for this. I need to make sure because I am hoping to keep my camera cost under $4000, and being able to use AVCHD provides a lot more options. Not that I am discounting HDV as an option, but unfortunately with the state of wedding videography in my area, price is definitely an issue.
I will be contacting Sony about this later today to get their take, but again I would much rather here from actual users than the manufacturer. But I want to hear what they have to say. If AVCHD is their baby, then it makes absolutely no sense to me that it is not designed with the foresight to get along with another kid in the family.
Thanks in advance for any comments.
Dan.
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Dan, that computer should be fine for AVCHD.
I know I recommended the JVC HM700 to you but since cost is an issue, you may want to check out it’s baby brother, the HM100U.
List price has been reduced from $4,000 to $3,000.
B&H has it for $2,795.00
Details are on the JVC Pro site. -
If you want to use AVCHD I would seriously consider upgrading to Vegas Pro 10. It handles AVCHD much better than 9 did.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com
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