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Converting AVCHD for non-AVCHD
Compatible Editing Programs

by Chris White

I wonder if Al Gore knew what a powerful tool he was providing the populace when he "invented" the internet. All kidding aside, the world wide web is filled to the rim with valuable tidbits, and I often wonder how I ever lived without access to it. Why am I talking about the internet, you ask? The answer is because with mind-numbing search engines like Google, you can find out specific information about any one, place or thing that you can possibly imagine. It has helped me avoid a hasty purchase on more than one occasion. I have been guilty of making blind buys before. That was usually limited, however, to something small, like picking up a copy of Battlefield Earth on DVD. (I mean, seriously, I like the “real” J.T.as much as anyone, but I was wanting my two hours back after that experience.) Let me get back on point. I always make it a habit of doing research before I buy anything big. How was it then, that I found myself in a Best Buy, in Laredo, Texas, trying to hurriedly pick out a camcorder when I had been out of the loop, camera-wise, for so long?

My camcorder days were spent with a Hi8 that began to chew up tapes towards the end of its life. Then I had a digital cam that recorded to mini DVD, but I had problems finalizing three times that I can immediately think of. All I knew as I walked around, looking at all the different models, was that I wanted high def and I didn’t want to record to tape or disc. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful little gem of a camcorder sitting there with the letters AVCHD emblazoned on the side. After a few uninformed questions, I slapped down my plastic and walked out the door with a brand new Panasonic HDC-SD1. This was going to be my first HD camcorder. “Home movies in high def…” I kept imagining the envy of my guests when I screened my masterpieces for them. The next day, I shot about thirty minutes with the camera. It was good stuff. When I got back home to Florida, I hooked the camera up to my plasma via HDMI and saw what I had done and it was good.. Then I discovered the problem that everyone who purchased an AVCHD camera early on discovered - I couldn’t edit my footage.

If I had done my research, I would have realized that while the AVCHD codec held a lot of promise, it wasn’t being supported in any of the popular non linear editors. I come from a background in audio recording as both a producer/artist and an engineer with a ton of experience using Pro Tools. Sony’s Vegas has a good bit of pro and home audio recording in its DNA so when I put together an editing PC, I chose Vegas as my editing software. You may wonder why I didn’t go with FCP, after all, my Pro Tools setup is one hundred percent Mac based. The long and the short of it is that my Pro Tools Dual G4 Mac would not handle all of the features of the latest versions of Final Cut Studio and it couldn‘t be easily upgraded. I would have been looking at the cost of an additional Mac, just for video, plus the cost of Final Cut, which made that option too expensive. I was able to set up a PC based editing system, with Vegas that ended up costing just a little more than the latest iteration of Final Cut Studio alone.

I like Sony Vegas. I was able to pick it up in short order, probably due to my experience with recording and editing in Pro Tools. Vegas also handles AVCHD natively. Well that was my assumption anyway. I found out pretty quickly that Vegas handles AVCHD recorded with Sony cameras. I can’t blame them for that. AVCHD is a very new format. Sony is just one of the manufacturers who produces cameras that use the codec. Of course Sony cameras are going to be compatible with editing software from Sony! In time, I am sure Vegas and all of the other NLE’s will handle all incarnations of AVCHD. (It is this writers opinion that tape-less recording is the future, but I digress.) In retrospect, I would have certainly done some research, and may have chosen a Sony AVCHD camera, or I may have chosen a different format altogether. It should be noted, however, that at the time of my Panasonic HDC-SD1 purchase, even Sony Vegas didn’t support Sony AVCHD cameras. So, here I am with a nice camera, that shoots nice footage, and I have a nice NLE that I know how to use, but I just can’t get the two of them together. BUT where there’s a will there’s a way. It’s clichéd but so true. Here is a little tutorial detailing the method that I use to get my Panasonic AVCHD footage into Sony Vegas for editing.

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