Search for "Proxy Stream". It is a script that will batch convert for you. Don't be fooled by the Proxy Stream title. It will certainly support the use of proxy files, but can also be used to batch convert files.

The real question here is why does your avchd crash Vegas? What version are you using and at what point is vegas crashing.... during renders?

> but is there a free alternative using Sony's MXF format
I have written an extension (script with a user interface) which manages proxies both ways MXF <--> AVCHD
In fact - you can use absolutely any source format and absolutely any destination (proxy) format.
It is in "alpha" - lots of bugs, but it will not damage your source files or do any harm in other ways, I use it all the time.
If it is enough interest, I can spend a couple of days finishing a beta version for you guys to test.
Ingvar

My AVCHD files have crashed Vegas in various and random ways. Usually editing starts fine.... then at some point.... usually within 20 minutes, clips will be shown in red on the timeline and cannot be viewed..... then at some future point Vegas will crash.

I made a bug report with Sony and after some banter they told me that Vegas does not support AVCHD from every camera as many manufacturers produce proprietary AVCHD files. I thought AVCHD was a standard..... WRONG! Since then I have found other threads on this forum with comments from people stating that AVCHD is not a standard.

I use Vegas Pro 9.0c with all the latest drivers....

Ingwar, I would be very interested in a robust script as you describe.

I thought AVCHD was a standard..... WRONG! Since then I have found other threads on this forum with comments from people stating that AVCHD is not a standard.

Yes, I got this conformed from an Adobe employee in a news group, Adobe After Effects does not support MTS files from my Panasonic. He said "we are working on it". Later on I learnt that apps like AE probably will not support AVCHD or any other similar compression format, because it prefers to work with media where all information needed to render a frame is contained in that very frame (no incremental compression allowed in other words). It still works fine with Lagarith AVIs..

About the extension I have written - I will post to this thread when it is ready.
Ingvar

Hi ingvarai,
If you could add an option to set 'Disable Resample' before conversion I'd even pay you for it.

None of the current scripts work with the 720P AVCHD clips from my Panasonic GF1 - which outputs at 50fps, which Vegas does horrible things with when rendering down to 25fps.
Paul

Paul,

my extension will just use any Vegas template of your choice, also templetes you have customized. So if you have a custom template with 'Disable Resample' , then just use this.

By the way,
what are these "horrible things"? I use 720 50fps Panasonic myself, and rendering to 25fps is ok as far as I remember. Have you tested several algorithms? Blend / Interpolate..

Ingvar

Hi Ingvar,

I can't see that there are any options to control switches in the render templates, only from the events in the timeline.

Also, choosing Blend or Interpolate in Project Properties makes no difference.

When I say that the output from the GF1 is 50fps, the camera actually records 25fps on the sensor, but doubles up the frames when writing the files out . When Vegas renders the clips, rather than just discarding every other frame, it adds frame blending, unless I select 'Switches - Disable Resample'.

I've tried modifying some existing scripts, as the Disable Resample option is excposed in the API, but to be honest I'm not a coder and so my attempts didn't go very well!

Paul

Ok,
Disable Resample has to be added as a feature.
Ingvar