Experiences PE7 with AVCHD

[bren321]

Hi, Just got PE7 and have a Canon AVCHD camcorder. I'm going to list some issues, concerns and workarounds:
SLOW. My machine is fairly fast 2.16GHz multicore, 4GB RAM but video is very choppy in editing mode. Probably better if I let it render first (Enter key) but it was going to take 3.5 hours to do it.
Canon camcorder when recording for a long time breaks the file into 2GB chunks. If load the chunks one after another into PE7 there is an audio glitch between sections. Works perfect if use 3rd party tool called FFSJ.exe which I found at http://www.jaist.ac.jp/~hoangle/filesj/index.html (used the light version) but it can also be gotten from http://the-fastest-file-splitter-and-jo ... tonic.com/ but you have to rename the files so they all have the same filename but have different extensions e.g. 0001, 0002 and then name them back so PE7 can use them (this program does the join FAR faster than any other program I tried but still a hassle with the file renameing).
i didn't find an obvious way to use PE7 in 1080p.
Burning to DVD works for me ONLY if already have the blank DVD loaded, if try to load later says burner not available and only restarting the system solves it.
Haven't figured out best way to make a quality regular DVD from AVCHD 1920x1080 recording: picked normal DVD project type and was ok with clipping off left and right portions but video quality was poor.
One output option in PE7 is to create a file (instead of a DVD) but not clear what option I could pick that would create a file with 1920x1080 resolution.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated?!
Thank you, Brent

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Brent,
Welcome to Muvipix, I'm sure you will find the answers you are looking for.

Our resident AVCHD expert, Paul, is in the UK and should be lending a hand in a few hours
One thing I can tell you is to never trust the time estimates in Premiere Elements

How much video do you have in your project? Have you tried a project with just a few minutes of video to see if the response is better?

I don't think there is a 1080p project option, only 1080i

There are others that will have more answers for you coming along, hang in there.

[Chuck Engels]

You can also watch this topic, they are discussing some similar issues
viewtopic.php?p=33438#p33438

[Paul LS]

Welcome Brent.

Is your processor a 2.16GHz dual core???... if so it is probably on the slow side for smooth playback from the timeline especially if you are editing full 1920x1080 video with DD 5,1 sound. You didn't say what camcorder you have.

Regarding your 2GB chunks, it is better to use the software that came with the camcorder to get the clips off the camcorder. Firstly it makes a good archive of your clips and secondly it will join the 2GB chuncks into one smooth file that should get rid of your audio hickups at the joins when imported into PE7.

There is no project preset for 1080p in PE7. You can export to 1080p but if you want to make standard DVDs then this is not necessary. Why not work in the appropriate AVCHD project preset for your camcorder and then burn to a standard DVD. This will make a widescreen DVD... is this what you are after or do you want a standard 4:3 DVD?

And regarding not having a dvd loaded, have you tried clicking on "Rescan" to see if it finds the DVD if you load it after you have started the project.

[bren321]

Hi Paul,

Yep, 2.16 dual core. I found the Canon software to be unusable, apparently Vista was a bit too new for them?!

I'm new to PE so was a bit unclear regarding which preset to choose, the one closest to my input files or closest to the output format. It sounds like I should pick the AVCHD and then output to DVD.

If I want to create a clip for my PC and to share with others that is truly 1920x1080, what settings would I use under Share/PC?

The rescan didn't work, closing the program didn't work, rebooting the system is the only thing I found that works. I'm not really expecting a solution to this, just letting others know this may happen to them.

Thank you,
Brent

[Paul LS]

Yes, best to work in the AVCHD project preset that matches your video and then burn to DVD.

To export as 1920x1080 for viewing on a computer you could export to 1920x1080i MPEG2 or even high definition WMV. Probably if you want to share it with others the WMV export is a better bet as most computers will be able to play this and the computer resources required to play it are less than other formats.

[Steve Grisetti]

Thank you so much for your excellent responses, Paul!

[bren321]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your help!

You said to use WMV output but I didn't see that option but suspect that was the DV AVI choice?

I'm surprised PE7 doesn't support 1920x1080 P, I have also recorded several clips 1920x1080p at 30FPS and will have to see how that works out.

Thank you,
Brent

[Paul LS]

When you go to Share, Personal Computer you need to scroll down to see Windows Media (WMV)... it is not very obvious. Here you can find a number of high definition export options.

To export 1920x1080p MPEG2 go to Share, Personal Computer, MPEG2... and select the MPEG2 Multimedia Compatible option. Change the Profile and Level to "High". You can then set the frame size to 1920x1080 and select Progressive for the Field Order and Frame Rate to 30fps.