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Fluid workflow for editing AVCHD in Vegas
Hello,
I am a current user of Vegas Movie Studio 10.0, which I use to edit AVCHD clips (1440×1080 from Sony camera). I have found that as soon as the project reaches a certain length (say more than 10 minutes), preview is just horrible, and the whole thing is hardly useable. I have checked numerous forums, and there seems to be a general consensus that not much can be done there, except work-arounds (proxy editing, or going to a less compressed format such as Cineform). These involve additional steps and costs.
So far, I have tried the proxy editing route, using the free encoder Super; I thought this was the solution, but down-converting all my clips (typicall 50 for one project) turned out into a nightmare, with many crashes, and some clips simply impossible to down-convert (not sure why).
I am looking at following solutions now:1) Take advantage of upgrade offer to go Vegas Pro (64bits): is this any better ? I saw that there is batch function, which should help proxy editing; what about native editing of AVCHD, any better on Pro ?
2) Purchase Cineform Neosens; I am a bit afraid of the size of the clips; and does it support batch processing clips ?
3)Other SW (probably not free) to generate proxies in a more stable manner; which would you recommend ?Thank you for help/comments on this. My ultimate goal would be to edit AVCHD natively, to keep workflow as simple as possible. It seems this is only dream right now… ?
My PC specs: Intel Core 2 Quad 9650 (3 GHz), 6GB of DRAM, Vista 64bitsPierre
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8 Replies
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Then you will need an i7 to edit it smoothly.
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I can tell you what I do. This may be more than you want to do, but deriving my living from it and as an IT guy, I am satisfied with this.
I have a Dell Server running Windows Server 2008 64 bits with 2 quad core xeon processors. My Raid array of storage also hangs off the server.
I run Vegas Pro 10d 64 bits on the server and set up the server as an application server.
I remote access vegas pro on the server from my workstation.
I can do the following things simultaneously this way.
1. Preview one 3 hour AVC video at full speed real time.
2. Render two other vegas files with two other vegas instances running.
3. Render a dvd architect avc file.In fact that is what I am doing right now.
John Lenihan
LeniCam Video ProductionsJohn Lenihan
LeniCam Video Productions
https://www.lenicam.com -
AVCHD files are very compressed.
The only bulwark against the massive compression in AVCHD is sheer bone
crushing-processor power and blazing fast disk throughput.Steve Mann
MannMade Digital Video
http://www.mmdv.com -
My HDV 1080i .m2t files are about 200 meg per minute. Believe it or not, my 1920 x 1080 60p AVCHD .mts files are about the same, so disc through put should be about the same as HDV right? But that just goes to show you how much it’s compressed. 60p is twice the data as 60i. A 1080 60p .mts file on the Vegas timeline on my dual core 3.4 with no effects give me about one frame on average per second in the preview window with it set at best, full. My i7 with the same file and settings gives me about 20 frames per second. I have no problem editing AVCHD with an i7 Win 7 64 bit and Vegas 9 or 10 64 bit.
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Thank you for the input. So it seems i7 really does make a difference, and going Pro will not make a difference. If I am not willing to upgrade my HW, what is most favourable solution , cineform or proxy editing ?
Pierre
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“My HDV 1080i .m2t files are about 200 meg per minute. Believe it or not, my 1920 x 1080 60p AVCHD .mts files are about the same, so disc through put should be about the same as HDV right?”
Reread your statement. You are comparing the compression of HDV 1080i (note the *I*, as in 30i) with AVCHD 60p (note the *P*). You are compressing more data with AVCHD than with HDV which is why AVCHD needs more processing power than HDV.
Steve Mann
MannMade Digital Video
http://www.mmdv.com -
Excuse my ignorance.
What cameras shoot in 1920 x 1080 x 60p?
Originally, HD did not include the 60p definition.
Do most Bluray players and TVs play 60p, or only a few of them.
John Lenihan
LeniCam video ProductionsJohn Lenihan
LeniCam Video Productions
https://www.lenicam.com -
We have 2 Panasonic HDC TM700 small format HD cameras that shoot 1080p at 60 fps. These little units have exceptional image quality and are usually on our home-built rigs along with a Panasonic GH1 DSLR shooting 720p at 60 fps (can only shoot 1080p at 24 fps). The 60 fps files play very well on both Vegas 10c and Adobe CS5. We output to a variety of disc and web-based file formats. Here is a link to the rig set for 2 cam – TM 700 for remote power zoom tracking shots and the GH1 set to wide-angle.
https://www.digitalwestvideo.com/content/field-production
John D. Frey
25 Year owner/operator of two California-based production studios.Digital West Video Productions of San Luis Obispo and Inland Images of Lake Elsinore
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