SR12! Big hard drive!! WAHOO!! You'll be able to keep stuff on there for months if you wanted to!

There IS an option to do the "instant burn" using the included PMB software but I have never used it (there is a button for it on the camera itself inside the panel when the LCD screen is open as well as a button on the included charging cradle). I always prefer to load the video into Studio so that I can add menus, transitions, titles, etc. I just want more control over the project, ya know? Because the original content would be HD 1920x1080, I'm sure there is a setting to choose which type of disc you want to burn.

I have made many projects using my 1920x1080 HD content and burned it onto standard DVD. It looks WAAAAAAAAY better than my old DV tape from my TRV-22 camera. It's not Blu-ray quality but it is very, very good. No complaints at all (other than it's not Blu-ray. HA!). Because it is burning HD content (which will have a higher file size) you will only be able to put about 35 minutes of video onto a standard DVD so keep that in mind when creating the project. However, Studio does support the dual layer DVDs so you could go that route to get a full hour or more onto the disc using the Best Quality setting.

Also, I wanted to thank you for the idea of using Studio to convert the raw .m2ts file to the "improved" .m2ts file. I am just astounded by the difference in speed and this leads me to ask...what the heck is Studio doing to the file to make it run faster within the software? For the testing I did last night I just viewed the content on my laptop (which has a full 1920x1080 HD display) and I couldn't tell any difference in picture quality (like you said). Also, the file size of the raw .m2ts file and the converted .m2ts file were EXACTLY THE SAME. Same file size and no change in picture quality leads me to believe that Studio processed the file without losing any specs from the original (format, frames per second, etc.)...but why does the converted file work LIGHTNING fast and the raw file crawls like a snail???? Can anyone else out there answer that?

I am currently running one more test right now with a full 1 hour of AVCHD video. That is running through the Blu-ray disc "create content but don't burn" option right now. What I want to see is how quick the thumbnail shows up for a single large .m2ts file, how long it takes to load in the timeline, and how it reacts to cuts, splits, effects, etc. I'll know more about that this weekend. Thanks!

Joe

Joe,

You're welcome - please report back with your observations using the new "workflow". I wouldn't be purchasing an AVCHD camera if that approach did not work. The BD I just created (with menu, etc) looked good so I'm moving ahead with the purchase. Just looking for the best "deal" online <$1,000 from a reputable dealer.

This is a great forum ain't it? It's all about unselfish people helping each other out! Keep it up!

Tony

PS...some guy on Amazon said that he had trouble (auto) focusing the SR11 at "dusk" filming outdoors. You experience any of that? I noticed focusing problems with the SR11 I "had"...but I was standing in bright outdoors filming into a dark cave (at the cave opening) and I saw it blurring on & off while "hunting" focusing.

I'll be sure to update this posting with my test results this weekend. And I totally agree on the forum. I have learned a TON from the forum and would never be as far as I am now without its help. I'll give back any way I can. I think it took YEARS of learning off of the curve! HA!

Regarding the focusing on the SR11, I haven't had any issues filming at night (not that I've done a ton of it) but I did have an issue while on vacation in Mexico this summer. I set up my tripod to just record the waves coming into the beach during the day. The camera was having trouble focusing and was blurring in and out. However, there was a reason for that. It focused on a part of the wave and as it rolled in, it kept auto-focusing on it. Once the wave crashed and flattened out, it picked up another wave further out to focus on and just went through a cycle over and over. Unfortunately, I didn't see that on the LCD panel while in Mexico - I saw it happening on my 40" HDTV when I got home so the footage is bad. I've learned from that though. Next time, I'll set the camera for manual focus and dial it in to a general setting and it will work great. There is that silver button on the front of the camera that is multi-purpose depending on the setting you assign for it in the menu. It can do exposure, white balance, focus...and something else I can't remember without having the camera right in front of me. The point is that you can use that dial for more control over the video you're shooting. I'm sure there are other cameras out there that have trouble filming at night and DON'T have the option for manual adjustment. My SR11 has just been awesome for me and I'm shooting video like crazy just so that I can use it.

Joe

Joe - Hi again.

Hey, do you know if you can shoot with the SR11/SR12 in full HD and in automatic (EASY?) mode. I thought I read somewhere that it drops to a lower resolution if you use the EASY mode. How do you shoot in full HD and let the camera settings run in automatic mode? I'd hate to set it to full HD and find out that I now HAVE to fiddle with all the manual settings to get a good shot. Sometimes I need to act quick but want full HD.

Thanks Joe,

Tony

Hi, Tony. I'm aware of the EASY mode on the camera but have never recorded any footage with that setting. I do know that the LCD display icons look weird in EASY mode (like they're squeezed or something). I know you don't have the camera right now so when I get home tonight I'll run a quick test for you and post the results. Also, the EASY mode just turns everything into the Auto mode but you can run the standard mode with the same settings. The EASY mode just "turns off" any ability to make adjustments and is most likely meant for the very novice user of the camera.

Joe

OK Joe - it seems that I'm getting automatic mode confused with EASY mode. The camera is still fully automatic even when not in EASY mode - is that what you said?

Thanks again - the information I read was somewhat misleading or at best incomplete.

Tony

Yes, you are getting those 2 confused. EASY mode just locks down the camera so you basically have on, off, record and stop. Nothing else. In the standard mode, it still runs in auto but you can use the front silver dial (for whatever feature you assign to it like white balance, focus, etc.), you can activate the zoom mic, you can record in sepia tone mode, etc. The camera is fully automatic even when NOT in EASY mode.

Joe

SiestaKey1:

SR12! Big hard drive!! WAHOO!! You'll be able to keep stuff on there for months if you wanted to!

There IS an option to do the "instant burn" using the included PMB software but I have never used it (there is a button for it on the camera itself inside the panel when the LCD screen is open as well as a button on the included charging cradle). I always prefer to load the video into Studio so that I can add menus, transitions, titles, etc. I just want more control over the project, ya know? Because the original content would be HD 1920x1080, I'm sure there is a setting to choose which type of disc you want to burn.

I have made many projects using my 1920x1080 HD content and burned it onto standard DVD. It looks WAAAAAAAAY better than my old DV tape from my TRV-22 camera. It's not Blu-ray quality but it is very, very good. No complaints at all (other than it's not Blu-ray. HA!). Because it is burning HD content (which will have a higher file size) you will only be able to put about 35 minutes of video onto a standard DVD so keep that in mind when creating the project. However, Studio does support the dual layer DVDs so you could go that route to get a full hour or more onto the disc using the Best Quality setting.

Also, I wanted to thank you for the idea of using Studio to convert the raw .m2ts file to the "improved" .m2ts file. I am just astounded by the difference in speed and this leads me to ask...what the heck is Studio doing to the file to make it run faster within the software? For the testing I did last night I just viewed the content on my laptop (which has a full 1920x1080 HD display) and I couldn't tell any difference in picture quality (like you said). Also, the file size of the raw .m2ts file and the converted .m2ts file were EXACTLY THE SAME. Same file size and no change in picture quality leads me to believe that Studio processed the file without losing any specs from the original (format, frames per second, etc.)...but why does the converted file work LIGHTNING fast and the raw file crawls like a snail???? Can anyone else out there answer that?

What do you mean by "Improved .m2ts file? How do i do the conversion?

Hi, VinnyBob. There are 2 ways to edit the AVCHD or .m2ts file in Studio. You can use the raw or original .m2ts file straight off of the camera if you want. With this original file you'll get absolutely the best quality video with probably no loss at all from the camera. This original file is slow to react within Studio though. For example, when you drag a video clip to the timeline, it can take anywhere from 2 to 15 seconds for Studio to process that file (depending on the size of course). It makes the editing process go slow. The benefit of this though is that your final project (if recorded in full HD 1920x1080) looks absolutely stunning and there is NO loss of video quality. 

The other way is to "convert" the file. Open a new project, find your .m2ts files and drag them all onto a timeline. Don't add any menus or transitions or anything...just the video. Go the Make Disc tab and choose Blu-ray disc for the disc type. Click Settings. Choose Create disc content but don't burn. Click OK and the click Create Image. Studio will render the .m2ts files as once single .m2ts video clip. When you click Create Image Studio will give you the chance to save the content somewhere. After Studio has created the content, find that folder...in the folder there will be a BDMV folder - go in there - and then a STREAM folder - go in there. Inside you'll find one .m2ts video clip. Now open a new project in Studio, navigate to this file and drag it to the timeline. You'll notice probably a 500% improvement in speed. You can cut this clip, delete as needed and then drag the clip back into the timeline very, very quickly. If you add any effects to the clips, there is no speed improvement but I've found that I'm not messing with many effects to the actual video...maybe on transitions, menus and titles, but not the video.

It may seem "counter-intuitive" to load all of the video, wait for it to render just to re-use the same file again but think of it this way. Load your video clips and let Studio render while you sleep. Then when you wake up the file will be ready. Also, editing content for a DVD is not a 1-day project. You'll be in there time after time perfecting your project so this faster clip will make getting back into your project much easier. When you use the original .m2ts files the startup time can be 10 to 15 minutes EACH TIME you're ready to edit. This extra time can add up.

The only drawback...and it really isn't much of one...is that the "converted" video may have just a hair less quality than the original. This is just my opinion. I'm still testing this to see if I can pick out any differences but I did one a few tests using the original vs. the converted file. I thought I could see a slight change in quality with the converted file. For my tests, I made a project that included a few minutes of the original content up front and then that same footage but converted right after it in the timeline. I added titles for each set to remind me visually of which clips I was watching (original or converted). I burned this to BR-RE so that I had the best quality disc for my 1080p HDTV. Run your own tests and see what you find out. Post your results on the forum and if you have any other questions, please post them!! Thanks!

Joe

Have you tried to do editing in lower resolution by setting to the project properties SD format and "DV" as rendering codec?

Then when AVCHD video is imported to the timeline, studio converts AVCHD video to DV (background rendering and this takes time). After this editing is as fast as in DV material.

Jo i hv a question

Hi there Joe

u mentioned that AVCHD projects shld not b more than 20m. how do i burn this project into one DVD if say i hv a wedding that is an hour long which breaks down to 3 projects. what i'm confused here (sorry for stupid question), is how do i burn all 3 projects in one DVD? is it better to burn directly from pinnacle or via Nero...btw, great tips - hv already used it n got some wonderful results esp in rendering speed. keep up the good work, hell knows i need to refer u every now n than. i hv one last question...with all the problem everyone seems to encounter with P12 ultimate, how is it that Pinnacle allowed the s/w to be in the market? i wld hv thought this wld look bad on the company...guess everyone is following Microsoft :)

Studio recommended not making the Blu-ray project more than 20 minutes and I did adhere to that when I first started working with Blu-ray material but after I got a few successful projects down, I've started ingoring the 20 minute rule. Since then, the projects have completed successfully. I've done more than 9 or 10 ranging from about 40 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes burned to Blu-ray disc so you should be good to go with burning the 1 hour project to the Blu-ray disc. If you're trying to burn the AVCHD material to a standard DVD, I believe that you may be limited to about 35 minutes on a 4.7GB disc. You could fit the whole 1 hour project onto a dual layer DVD though. For burning, I've always done my burning through Studio and it has never failed me so I've stuck with that. I do have Nero 8 with the Blu-ray plug-in but since Studio has always worked, I never went down that road.

One item before rendering the full project though...just make sure that your video and audio drivers are up to date. When I first had problems I thought I had the latest video driver and didn't think that my audio driver mattered. But once I was able to find the latest video driver and updated my audio driver, things went surprisingly smoother so I recommend it.  

I agree that it stinks that we have so many issues to work through with a "released" software version but like you said, it's like everyone follows Microsoft. Also, there probably is no magic software out there that is truly bug free. I mean, there are MANY, MANY types of computers and hardware/software configurations that sometimes conflict with the Studio software so this may be just how it is. However, I would like to see quicker fixes for the items that hurt the final project (sound dropping out, frames dropping during video playback, etc.). I think these should be prioritized over some workflow enhancements. Think about it...when people are watching the final project, they aren't thinking about how the timeline went for you or how easy it was to add music. They're looking at the quality of the project you made.

Let me know how your 1 hour project goes!

Joe
 

wow, AVCHD really takes a lot of space on a standard DVD. i burn my 1st 20min movie the other day on a standard DVD n i noticed the burn impression on the disc which actually shock me. i actually thought i may hv burn it wrongly since it covered more than 60% of the DVD surface. 35 min is probably too short n the double layer is probably a better option since i don't have a drive that burns blue ray. i appreciate the feedback n will let u know how things develop, cheers!

Hello:

 If I turn on the background rendering after the edting I see only "!" for each transation. Can you help me to fix this?? And when I burn AVCHD DVD, it did not play on Blu-Ray (Sony BD-550) or on computer.

Hello. It sounds like you may have a corrupt project going on there with the "!" in your timeline. This happens sometimes and is hard to track down. However, before you write off the project, check a few items.

Do you have any still photos in the project? If so, make sure that they aren't HUGE in file size. I once did a project a few years ago where someone gave me some scanned photos on a disc to use. One of the scanned photos was 50MB in size and Studio kept crashing on this particular photo. Photos up to 5 or 6 MB should be fine. Are the "!" icons on transitions? You may have some corrupt transitions which may be corrected by deleting the corrupt ones and inserting new ones in there.

Another thing you can try is deleting your auxiliary files under Project Preferences and turn on background rendering under Video and Audio Preferences. This will make Studio go through the project and re-render all of the content prior to burning. This may give the project a fresh start. Getting the project to background render BEFORE you burn the project is recommended. Rendering takes up a lot of resources so it's best to let your processor deal with that on its own instead of being included during the burn process. You'll be able to see the progress of Studio going through the project as well. It usually starts with the menus, then transitions, then the video. It'll skip around but eventually it'll finish the entire timeline. You can view the rendering status by using the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom to go left and right and find the part of the timeline that Studio is rendering at the moment. The timeline goes to a light shade of green when it is being rendered and this shade moves from left to right. When the clip is fully rendered, that is when it turns orange. When the timeline is a solid non-moving green, that part hasn't been background rendered yet. When it turns orange, it's good to go. If Studio gets all of the way through the project and you still have some green timeline left, save your project, close Studio completely and then reopen Studio and your project. Check those green timeline parts again. If you still have some green when you reopen Studio, you may be able to delete those parts of the projects and replace them with fresh content (video, still pictures, transitions, etc.).

If that doesn't work, I would try deleting the auxiliary files again and have Studio try to re-render it one more time. What we're trying to avoid is having you rebuilt the entire project from scratch. Although, in the end, you may have to do that. If you have a really long project, you might want to try building it in parts. Get the project to a certain point and do a test burn. If that comes out ok, proceed further...test...and so on. I purchased a BD-RE disc (rewritable Blu-ray disc) for my testing and it worked great.

One more tip...my Dell XPS M1730 laptop has an LCD screen that shows me the percentage at which my processor is running. AVCHD content is very processor-intensive so I monitor the processor very closely to make sure that I'm not forcing too many commands on Studio at once. With AVCHD I usually have to make my change, wait for the processor to run it, and then when the processor percentage goes back down, I move on. If you don't have a processor monitor like this, you can open your Task Manager (hold Ctrl and Shift and then press Esc) and view the green processor monitor in the system tray. This will give you a visual representation of the processor usage as it will fill totally with light green when maxxed out but also if you hover over that icon, it will tell you the percentage. Just take it slow.

Go through these tips and post your results back in the forum. We might learn a thing or two. Thanks!

 

Joe, excellent help. You fixed what the tech support could not. I saved myself hours of wasted workarounds and wasted "coasters" with the info in this post. My fix was to have the computer rebooted with only minimum necessary drivers installed. I created a 44 minute Blu-Ray project of my sister's wedding.

The only problem I'm working on now is that the menu did not render with the music score. I used a simple 1 page menu with simple buttons (no animated thumbs) and a Smartsound score with it. The resulting Blu-Ray disk has a functional menu, there's just no music with it. Any ideas?

Studio Ultimate 12.1, Vista-32.

Sweet! That's great news! And thanks for the heads up on it.

Regarding the music not working with the menu, I've had this happen before on my Blu-ray projects. I've done the music menus with the sound file on both audio timelines in Studio and it has worked both ways so I don't think it's that.

The first thing I would try is opening the current finished project, go to Edit > Select All (be patient, this copy process may take a few minutes). Once your processor has calmed down, open a new project and click the Paste command to paste your entire project into a NEW project (again, be patient as this will also take a few minutes). The system will have to go through the entire render process again but it's possible that your current project is still a tiny bit corrupt. A new project gives Studio a chance to render it without having any of the corrupt remnants left over. Sometimes just deleting a simply video file or something will corrupt a project. That's just Studio unfortunately.

If that doesn't work, you could try deleting the music track, delete the auxiliary files, then add the music file again. This may help push it through. If THAT doesn't work, try deleting the music file and the menu, delete the auxiliary files and then add the menu and music file again.

Worst-case scenario is that you'll need to start from scratch to get everything correct again. Let's hope we don't get there.

Also, I've never used the Smartsound files. I've always used music from my existing music library. I'm wondering if the issue may be with the Smartsound file. You may want to post a question to the forum specifically for Smartsound to see if other users can help out there.  

Please post your findings on correcting this missing music issue. I'm sure I'd like to use Smartsound one day so your outcome will definitely help!

Good luck!!!

Joe

 

Hi I carefully read your experiences.

Although I am working with only "AVCHD lite" files from Lumix TZ7 (not comparable to a real HD CAM) I made some experiences which might be helpfull for you, see here:

http://forums.pinnaclesys.com/forums/330739/ShowThread.aspx#330739

 After all the native AVCHD (full or light) is no choice for me on a Laptop. I use a T7100 (2x1,8GHZ) Vista and  a T9500 (2x 2,6 GHZ, XP 64bit).

The T9500 does not really allow native AVCHD Lite editing but is fine for the DIVX trick. The T7100 can slowly work with DIVX but no chance for AVCHD. 

As Important as CPU is HDD. I use on both the sam high speed Hitachi 7200 RPM HDD.

I can rather tell you, that workin with any AVI files will speed up your work 100 %, you should try it and will be impressed.

The final test I did not do jet, as I have no full project done in 12.1 and DIVX jet but soon.

Regards

BennoR

Benno