[Nishi Sharma]

Unfortunately XDCAM codec is not available in MPEG Stream Clip on my Win XP. It has only Apple codecs apart from 2 Sorenson codecs. I use my Mac at work and convert H264 files to XDCAM using MPEG Stream w/o any problems but am looking for a simple solution for when I am out and about with my Canon 7D and Win XP laptop. I just want to do basic edition on location with on laptop. I have Sony Vegas Platinum software on it, which doesn’t have the XDCAM codec in it.

[Nishi Sharma]

Thanks.

1. I am using Sony Vegas Platinum for editing on Windows XP machine. I am not sure which codec to use when using mpeg streamclip.

2. My final output will be for an SD 16:9 DVD. If I downscale to 1080×576 (for PAL)then the video clip looks squeezed horizontally in Sony Vegas Platinum. I have tried various pixel aspect ratios in the project settings but the I can’t seem to solve the problem. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Nishi Sharma]

May be it’s to do with shooting Progressive. In 50th of a second people closer to the camera have moved on a fair bit in their position in the frame. One might not get this issue if shooting interlaced video in the same way. Am I right?

[Nishi Sharma]

Bruce, many thanks or your very helpful reply. I have just got a Zoom H4N, which I will be using with Rode NTG1. Very pleaed with it.

I will be shooting an event about 1 hr long on Sunday, indoors, so will see how the sync issue works out. We are on PAL system here and most of the discussions on this forum and on others tend to be about NTSC. Still they are helpful.

I am aware that I can only film in 12 min chunks but that should be fine so long as the camera doesn’t shut down due to overheating. I think that filming this event will enable me to learn more about the capabilities and limitations of 7D.

Thanks again for your helpful contribution.

[Nishi Sharma]

Thanks Richard. I believe that Beachteck make an audio gadget that controls the behaviour of the audio AGC in Canon 5D (or 7D?). The gadget is quite costly. Have you seen it at work? Is it worth the investment? If this really works then it will avoid the need for carrying a seperate recorder like the Zoom H4N for recording interviews.

Nick

[Nishi Sharma]

Thanks Ryan for your suggestion. Yes, I am using FCP on Mac and I might try changing the spped of the seperately recorded audio, which seems a better option. Even if Plural Eyes lines up the first sync point where the person starts speaking, it may not be able to contol the drifting audio. Hard to know without giving it a go.

I haven’t got Zoom4N yet, have been using miniDisk so far. But it has 44.1 KHz audio, as opposed to 48 KHz on 7D!! So, I thought before I invest in a Zoom it might be worth checking various possibilities.

Thanks.

[Nishi Sharma]

If you are using FCP 6.0.2 or higher then you should not have any problem in editing it in FCP, so long as your Easy Setup is correct. I have been editing AVCHD format on my Mac and have no problems. The file size is huge but that is to be expected. You can choose which bits of the clips you want to import instead of importing all the clips and filling your hard drive!

When finished editing I export the Timeline to Compressor and the rest is like any other project.

Let me know if you have any specific question about editing in FCP.

[Nishi Sharma]

Hi Travis

I have a Canon HF 200 and have spent a lot of time exprimenting with the AVCHD movie clips and have been amazed at the good quality of them when burnt on an SD DVD. However, I have been using Final Cut Pro Studio 2.

I have Sony Vegas also on Windows platform which gives me good results. Have you set your project preferences correctly before importing the movie clips on the timeline? Try creating a WMV file with your movie clip by clicking on make Movie icon. If this plays well and you get good quality results then the next thing would be to check the settings in Architecture. Let me know how you get on.

[Nishi Sharma]

I suggest you try viewing your files on a PC. Sometimes hiddedn files seem to be visible on a PC – worth a try.

Also, do you format your card once you’ve downloaded all your clips? That seems to keep the SD card is good order. Just deleting files when not needed is not a good diea.

I have also found that cheaper memory card often develop faults. I therefore go for Sandisk, which has never given me any trouble.

HTH