Creating AVCHD DVDs

[vance]

I'm trying to create an AVCHD DVD from AVCHD 1080i video shot with my new Panasonic HDC-TM900 camera. (I really like the camera so far.) PE 8 doesn't seem to be able to do this. I've looked through the forums, and no one has been able to do this in PE that I have been able to find.

What's the best relatively inexpensive add-on that will allow me to take files I create in PE 8 and burn AVCHD DVDs from them? Or should I be upgrading to PE 9? Do you know if Roxio Creator Pro will do this? (Their site is silent on the issue.)

Also, I'd be glad to hear about anyone's experience with Aunsoft's converter, which is required to edit my camera's 1080p non-AVCHD format video in PE 8.

-Vance

[Paul LS]

Welcome to Muvipix.

PE9 does not support AVCHD discs, I would go with DVD Moviefactory 7
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/ ... bview=tab0

[Steve Grisetti]

Note, by the way, that DVDs are standard definition, not hi-def. So, technically, a DVD can't be AVCHD without being a hybrid platform.

Are you actually trying to create an H.264 BluRay video but burn it to a DVD?

Or are you trying to create a DVD that uses the H.264 codec rather than MPEG?

[vance]

An AVCHD DVD is a special format. It puts an AVCHD directory structure and an AVCHD video onto a DVD-ROM (not a BluRay disc). Almost no DVD players will play it, but almost all BluRay players will. It is a popular distribution format as long as you don't need the extra running time that BluRay gives you. It was around before BluRay.

In looking for something to show you about the format, I found good information in the AVCHD Wikipedia article. It actually lists some software that can be used for mastering AVCHD DVDs, but if you know about other software that can be used, I'd love to hear about it.

Huh! Apparently I'm too new to be trusted sharing a URL, but you can find the information by going to Wikipedia, looking up the AVCHD page and going to the "AVCHD as distribution format " section.

-Vance

[Chris B]

I've created AVCHD DVD disks using DVD Architect Studio - very flexible - but a reasonable learning curve. However the disks produced are not that universal - you can make them but it's a bit of a faff - There's lots of info on the Sony forums.

The hardest part is usually creating source files that DVD architect doesn't think it doesn't need to re-encode. Remember that the maximum Bit rate for AVCDH DVD is around 16MBits - but I've had players struggle with this so I'd go a bit lower if possible.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Huh! Apparently I'm too new to be trusted sharing a URL, but you can find the information by going to Wikipedia, looking up the AVCHD page and going to the "AVCHD as distribution format " section. -Vance

Yes. Sorry about that Vance but it became necessary to impose some limit in order to reduce the incidence of idiots who think it amusing to load a site with

[Paul LS]

DVD Moviefactory will smart-render H.264 video from Premiere Elements and burn AVCHD discs with menus. These discs have good compatibility with Blu-ray players. As Chris says the discs generated by Sony DVD Architect Studio can be a bit hit-or-miss when played in Blu-ray players.

[vance]

Thanks, Paul. Will the regular DVD Moviefactory do the AVCHD disc or do I need DVD Moviefactory Plus? The Ulead site says that the regular version does not do "Encode/Export HD DVD video", and I think the AVCHD disk is what they are talking about.

I downloaded the freeware program multiAVCHD, and I've successfully created an AVCHD disc with it. It's not perfect (the disks it produces do not handle moving to a non-existent location on the menu pages well), and there are a handful of different programs you need to install to get it to work, but it is quite good for freeware.

-Vance

[Bob]

Vance,

Paul linked to Corel DVD MovieFactory Pro 7, you are looking at Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6. Ulead is not a Corel company and the two products do not appear to be the same. How they got away with such similar names is puzzling. I'm not familiar with either product. But, unless he says differently, I'd use the product linked to by Paul.

[RJ Johnston]

I have both products, both sold by Corel now, although you have to dig deep to find the Ulead product on Corel's website. I upgraded to 7 Pro from 6 (with the add-on pack).

Of the two, get the 7 Pro version.

[Paul LS]

Corel bought out Ulead when DVD Moviefactory was at version 6... so version 7 became Corel DVD Moviefactory.

[vance]

Thanks for all the info, guys. Getting pointers from people who are already making AVCHD discs is a big help.

It looks like at some point Corel bought Ulead. On the DVD Moviefactory 6 box you can see Corel's name (upper left corner), but the Ulead name is the one right above the product name. For V7, which seems to be available only on Corel's website (maybe it is download-only), I don't see Ulead mentioned at all.

-Vance