problems in converting AVCHD to DV-AVI

[bernieraffe]

In Steve's splendid Adobe Premier 9 book , he recommends converting AVCHD files to DV-AVI to use as source files in PRE9. Even though i'm not having any problems importing and working on AVCHD videos on my PC, I thought i'd give his suggestion a try.

He mentions using 'Super Video Converter' to do the conversion, i've tried to install this but the install fails every time, saying it can't connect to the server.

I then tried another of Steve's suggested conversion programs, 'Free video converter' by koyotesoft. The problem with this software is that when I select 'AVI' as the output format, and DV as the codec, the only resolution options I get are 720x576 or 720x480. The original is 1920x1080. The resulting AVI file does not look as sharp as the original.

Am I doing anything wrong or misunderstanding something, or should I just forget this and stick to editing the AVCHD files directly?

Cheers,
Bernie

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm not sure I suggested converting AVCHD to AVIs, Bernie.

With AVCHD, it's best to convert it to HDV and then edit that in a project set up for HDV. I think the book, as well as this site's FAQs, have instructions for using the Koyote Soft convertor to convert the AVCHD to HDV, a less compressed hi-def format:
http://www.koyotesoft.com

Set the bit rate to 25000kb/s and convert, and it will export 1920x1080 MPEG2, which should work pretty efficiently in a project set up for HDV.

One downside is that, when you install this convertor, it automatically downloads a search tool to your browser toolbar -- but it can easily be removed using Add/Remove Programs.

[Matthew Max]

Oh my gosh, thanks for your question about AVCHD to AVI, Bernie. I needed to hear the answer and didn't realize it.

[bernieraffe]

I'm not sure I suggested converting AVCHD to AVIs, Bernie.

Steve, page 43 in the book in the box at the lower half of the page.
Even the FAQ on this site says (page 7):-
How can I convert my video or DVD files to more efficient DV-AVI's for editing?

Perhaps i'm misundertanding what you wrote!
Anyway, I'll take a look at your suggestion and get back to you, thanks

[Paul LS]

DV-AVI is a standard definition format... not high definition. If your final export is to standard definition (DVD or the web) then converting to widescreen DV-AVI is a good idea as the format/resolution takes a lot less computer resources than high definition AVCHD. If you want to finally export to high definition (Blu-ray disc, AVCHD disc or to the web) then your best bet is to convert to high definition MPEG2 as Steve suggests as editing high definition MPEG2 uses fewer computer resources than high definition AVCHD.

[Steve Grisetti]

Yes, you're right, Bernie. I wasn't very clear.

Thanks for clarifying it so well, Paul!

[Matthew Max]

So, if we were to look at an avi and an mpeg exported at any given bitrate, and since Steve has said that standard def has less than 1/4 the pixels of high def, is there a point at which the human eye does not notice the difference between the avi and the mpeg after they are exported at equal bit rates?

Or is this too much down another line?
And is this question actually nonsense?

[Steve Grisetti]

Your DV-AVI and the MPEG/DVD you output from it should look virtually identical, Max.

[Bob]

I think you're confusing him, Steve. You are talking about dv-avi and standard definition mpeg2/dvd.

Matthew is still trying to understand the differences between high definition and standard definition. And, I'm thinking that he was asking about high definition mpeg2 and whether reducing the bitrate could make it indistinguishable from dv-avi. Or, possibly he was asking, can the bitrate of dv-avi exported to mpeg2 be increased to have quality indistinguishable from high definition mpeg2.

Is that a correct assessment, Matthew?

[Matthew Max]

You got it, Bob. I'm still trying to figure that out. But I awoke this morning with the realization that a lot of my problem is that I have tried to understand everyone's explanations in terms of what I am seeing in the editor. Of course, when I play back raw footage in a regular player, all footage looks terrific.

[bernieraffe]

Thanks for all the info, i'm understanding it better now.

So getting back to the original decision I need to make about whether to convert AVCHD ready for processing in PRE9....

I want to output in as high as resolution as possible, and also I have a new powerful PC which works great and doesn't appear to have any problems processing my (fairly short) AVCHD videos. So is there really point in converting to MPEG? My videos are usually less than 5 or 6 minutes long (maybe that's why I havn't had any problems editing them so far,does it require a lot more processing power as the videos get longer?)

Cheers,
Bernie

[Bob]

So is there really point in converting to MPEG?

Bernie, in your case the answer is no. You are not having performance issues editing AVCHD, and, you are not having problems using the AVCHD video produced by your camera in your video editor. There is no need to convert. For highest quality, you want to avoid unnecessary conversions.

The length of the clip is usually not a factor in the processing power needed. However, adding effects or overlaying one track over another will increase the processing power needed. So, it's more an issue of how complex your video structure is.

[Bob]

Matthew, I haven't forgotten about you. I don't have time to respond right now, but I'll get back when I can. In the meantime, everyone else feel free to jump in.

[bernieraffe]

Thanks Bob for your help, that's good to know.

[Bob]

Matthew,

The terms Standard Definition and High Definition derive from television and define the size of the video frame and the frame rate. If you look at the project presets that Premiere Elements provides, you will see them arranged by NTSC or PAL. The U.S. uses the NTSC system.

In the NTSC standard definition project presets, a frame is 720x480 pixels and the frame rate is 29.97 frames per second. Standard definition can be either a standard 4:3 or widescreen 16:9 frame aspect ratio -- the dimensions in pixels are the same for each, but the pixels are rectangular with the width of the pixels being narrower for standard 4:3 and wider for widescreen 16:9. Standard definition is also what is used for DVDs.

High definition is technically anything with a framesize greater than 720x480. In practice, however, the minimum frame height for HD is generally considered to be 720 pixels. For high definition TV and Blu-ray, you'll see three sizes: 1280x720, 1440x1080, and 1920x1080. All three have a 16:9 frame aspect ratio -- 1440x1080 uses wider rectangular pixels, the other two use square pixels.

You have said that you are producing video with a height of 1080 pixels. That clearly falls in the category of high definition. As such, you do not want to convert your source video to standard definition dv-avi. That will lower the resolution and will not look as good as your original material when you export it to a high definition format.