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Pros and cons of creating optimized media when importing avchd
I’ve been searching but have only found tangential bits on pieces regarding when to check the “create optimized media” box if importing avchd. I’ve been importing footage from my panasonic gh2, seemingly using the default which is to create the optimized media, and I’m not having problems but I want to be sure I’m getting the best quality output.
As I understand it the quality is the best if you don’t create optimized media, but the editing process is slower and playback is less smooth. Is this correct? What are the pros and cons of importing with and without creating optimized media? I have 8g of ram on my new iMac. Which option do most chose and why?
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3 Replies
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So far I have just used the native AVCHD files (they get rewrapped as .mov’s) from my GH2 for editing. The quality of the end product is not going to change between native files and optimized media (ProRes) unless perhaps you are doing heavy color correction and/or compositing. In that case ProRes is likely better. The big difference is file size. The optimized ProRes files will be several times larger than the native files, so you need more storage space and possibly more bandwidth. If you have that, then there is the potential for even better realtime playback.
Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style!Check out my Mormon.org profile.
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Hi,
Thanks for the reply.
I was looking at my fcpx event folders and although I thought I had the “optimize media” box checked when uploading, most of the files there are in folders called original media, and are just .mov versions of the original mts files, very close to the same size. I notice some “transcoded media” folders which contain some massive prores versions of just a few of the originals. Does this mean that the optimized files are only made when files from an event are actually used in a project?
Also, if the difference in quality of output is minimal, what about smoothness of playback while editing? I often get jerkiness when playing back on the full screen. If that difference is ask minimal, then yes, I guess it aces sense to just use the original avchd files.. -
I think, no matter what, X is going to render to Prores if you add effects. I have a GH2 as well and tried this (amazing camera). The same can be said for exporting. I’ve pixel peeped and can’t find a noticeable difference. Some say 5D2RGB is the way to go. Some don’t. If you need to start editing quickly with no downtime, then just bring the footage in.
What I did notice was that some effects were really slow to render off AVCHD vs Prores conversions. So, you just have to think about your edit and how you think it will go. Also, as I stated above, the final export to QT will be Prores. So, it’s going to get converted no matter.
On my lasts edit in X, I needed to move fast, so I didn’t convert. But I got bit on the final render and export.
Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company
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