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So how do you make a decent looking AVCHD disc?

Discussions on third party software for the final creation of DVD including Nero, Roxio, DVD Architect, Magix, Ulead, etc...

So how do you make a decent looking AVCHD disc?

Postby Costner » Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:18 pm

Hi,
I'm trying to produce an AVCHD DVD that will play with good quality on my PS3 in hi-def. I’m using home movie videos from a Canon HF-20 camcorder and Jpeg photos from a Canon powershot SD-800 camera....very limited success.

I've used Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 in the past to make standard DVD's from 8mm camcorders, so I have a little experience with editing and DVD authoring. When I got the Canon hi-def camcorder about 6 months ago and saw that it came with crap software (Pixela) I decided to try a simpler and cheaper software - Roxio Creator 2010, because really all I'm doing is trimming the video, doing a little zoom & pan on the photos, adding some dissolves and maybe a little background music and it claims that you can edit and burn hi-def video in AVCHD format onto a regular DVD for playback on a blu-ray player. Actually everything has worked pretty well up until I try to burn a disc or image file. One of the best things it does do is archive the AVCHD video onto standard DVD discs...no further compression and they look great when played back on a blu-ray player but of course that's just all raw video....what i'm really looking for is a way to edit that video and then output it in some way (i.e. DVD or flashdrive) so that it looks as good as the archived AVCHD video. Haven't found a sure way yet....

The Roxio editor did alright but when I go to burn it to image or disc it hangs up with the same "authorscript...)" error code 98% of the time. I've managed to succesfully burn a couple of short ( 5 to 10 min) discs somehow. I've been thru all their discussion boards and am still in contact with their tech support but haven't found a solution yet. So the problem could be the Roxio burning software or the problem could be that my computer is several years old: AMD 64x2, 4 gb ram, Windows XP SP3, 1TB hard drive, Nvidia GeForce 250mg. I figured that the previews would stutter and rendering would be slow but I think it still has enough oomph to do this kind of project...at least it exceeds the software system requirements.

I have been able to export the edited video project in MPEG-4 and MPG formats and then copy them onto a USB flashdrive which plays on my PS3 player but they are a noticeably lower quality than the raw AVCHD videos and they have no menus or anything because I'm exporting it before it goes to the authoring software. My understanding was that MPEG-4 is the AVC/H.264 standard but it must be further compressed coming out of Roxio because the playback is 6 to 9 Mgbs vs. 16 on the raw AVCHD video. The MPG file I think is MPEG-2 and it's a much bigger file (2.3 Gb for 14 minutes vs. 640 mb) than the MPEG-4 but it's still not quite as good as the original AVCHD.

OK, I’m rambling here but I would have thought that with these new hi-def camcorders producing really good videos that there would be a lot of people wanting to do editing and burning onto regular DVD’s to play back on blu-ray players on HDTV’s... they look so much better than standard definition but I’m surprised to find so few references to people who are actually doing this successfully on a consistent basis. I would be willing to switch to another software if it sounds like most people are having success with it. A lot of software companies claim they can do it but I would really like to hear from people how they are doing it, what software and hardware they have and any other comments or suggestions that people may have.
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Re: So how do you make a decent looking AVCHD disc?

Postby Chris B » Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:25 pm

I have found distribution of Hi-Def frustrating.

DVD Architect (or studio) will produce AVCHD standard DVDs. However they are not as compatible as they might be and you have to apply some "tricks" to make them more compatible. This is a bit hit and miss and you'll need to test your target before doing lots of work with it.

Having said that - it does allow you to burn up to the maximum bitrate on an AVCHD disk of about 18Mbs - although I have had issues around 16Mbs with reliable playback. You do get DVD style menus and the like but remember at 16Mbs you'll only get around 24 minutes of video on a single layer DVD.

OK, I’m rambling here but I would have thought that with these new hi-def camcorders producing really good videos that there would be a lot of people wanting to do editing and burning onto regular DVD’s to play back on blu-ray players on HDTV’s


That is the sales pitch - actually achieving this is somewhat harder. I'd say that 99% of video camera owners don't edit their video - let along produce high def.
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Re: So how do you make a decent looking AVCHD disc?

Postby Paul LS » Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:56 pm

I use Corel DVD Moviefactory to smart-burn AVCHD from my camcorder or edited/exported H.264 from Premiere to AVCHD format on standard DVDs. As it is smart-rendered there is no reduction in quality from the original footage. I use DVD Moviefactory to add menus as you would have on a standard DVD.
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Re: So how do you make a decent looking AVCHD disc?

Postby Costner » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:50 pm

Thanks for the replies. Definitely what I’m trying to do is create a finished, edited DVD with the same quality as the original AVCHD. I guess Chris B is right, there aren’t that many hi-def camcorder owners trying to edit their home movies into a more polished project. I haven’t been able to get satisfactory results from the Roxio Creator product, so I think it’s time to try something else. The Corel product sounds pretty good. I’d like to be able to edit and author from one program … Do you have any experience with the Corel VideoStudio Pro X3? I see they have a free trial program. Any other suggestions or comments?
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