AVCHD isn't Sony Creative Software's "baby," it's a format jointly developed by Sony and Panasonic, that has more options than any video format in history.
I have no problem editing HV10 footage whatsoever. I do have problems editing Panasonic SD1 footage, because they didn't follow the same standards as Canon and Sony did. The Samsung HR20 also edits just fine on Vegas Pro8b.
I suspect codec packs from other software is part of the culprit fo people having issues.

I have no problem editing HG10 footage on Vegas. Nor do I have any trouble editing HDV footage. In fact I am amazed at how quickly it renders.

"AVCHD isn't Sony Creative Software's "baby," it's a format jointly developed by Sony and Panasonic, that has more options than any video format in history."
I certainly don't remember saying Sony Creative Software's baby..... could that be something you added?

"I suspect codec packs from other software is part of the culprit fo people having issues."
That's a distinct possibility... but then there are quite few people in this boat now and we all have to be running similar software.

I'm finding AVCHD pretty transparent - just drag it to the timeline like anything else. I'm running quad-core now, which may help. With my old P4 it was impossible.

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=581466

Well, I now know that my problem is not mine alone, and that others have encountered it. I sure hope Sony is aware of this, and wonder if there is a formal submission method of reporting such things to be sure they get to the right people at Sony?

Thanks for the replies and advice.

Larry

"I suspect codec packs from other software is part of the culprit fo people having issues."

Nope..... not a codec issue.

I created a 10 second avchd test strip with Pinnacle studio. Re-imported to studio and it played and edited fine.

I then imported it to Ulead MF6. It played and edited fine

Tested it on the PS3.... works fine.

I installed a new copy of xp and ONLY installed Vegas..... nothing else.
I tried to import it and it failed.

Point blank... there is something wrong DIRECTLY with Vegas and avchd. It seems to be extremely picky as to what it will accept. Both Ulead and Pinnacle are much more stable and reliable with avchd, and of the 2 Ulead will even do menus. They are both MUCH cheaper than Vegas.

Shame on Sony.

...wonder if there is a formal submission method of reporting such things to be sure they get to the right people at Sony

Technical Support
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Mike

We have:
~SR10,
~UX1
~CX7
~SD1
~SD5
~HG10

Running Vegas Pro8b on several machines, we've been testing AVCHD camcorders now for 3 months. Running on Macbook Pro's as well as AMD and Intel machines.

All of the above work fine. There were originally issues with the SD1, those are now gone. Additionally, the Vegas Pro Update DVD shows footage from the HV10, CX7, UX1, and SR10 running on the timeline. That was Vegas 8, not a or b. There were/are problems with the junk Sanyo's, due to how they write their header files, that's not a Sony issue.
Haven't downloaded footage from the web, as those are not known clean sources, so it's entirely possible there are issues there.
We recently set up a client with 4 Vegas seats, 6 AVCHD cams, and they're cranking out between 40-70 projects a day on the weekends, no problems.

While there are obviously some issues on some machines, it's almost certain that it's either a transfer function problem, a codec pack problem, an application conflict, or a not-common camera problem. The DPX camera, for example, won't open in Vegas either, but they're using a weird implementation of MPEG 4.
IMO, editing AVCHD directly is a mistake in most cases anyway. It falls apart, it can't be pushed very hard. Converting to an HDI or other transcoded format is a better option in most cases (IMO). Based on my experiences with AVCHD, GearShift, EleCard, Neo, MainConcept, and other apps not yet released are generally better workflows, especially if the end result is expected to be one of quality.

"While there are obviously some issues on some machines, it's almost certain that it's either a transfer function problem, a codec pack problem, an application conflict, or a not-common camera problem. ."

NO. You are dead wrong. I have two machines and 3 operating systems (vista 64, 32 and XP

I have tested avchd on both machines in different combinations with and without other programs on the machines. In ALL cases Pinnacle and Ulead came through with flying colors. Meanwhile Vegas preformed with avchd and different test strips less than 50% of the time. Ther few avchd test strips that I did manage to get onto the time line played back jumpy compared to Ulead and Pinnacle.

Not only that but others have come forward with the EXACT same issues.

Vegas has a WEAK avchd editing system... much weaker than Ulead and Pinnacle. What we need is for Sony to FIX the issues and not be allowed to get away with it by people making excuses for them. This is NO HELP to anyone.

Just like I was "dead wrong" about Blu-ray two, almost three years ago? :-)
Blink, we work with this format *every* day (as shall soon be made clear), as part of a fairly extensive testing regime, with several people on beta, not related at all to Vegas. It's why we own so many camcorders. The majority of the people working with us are not Vegas people.

Which camera do you own and are shooting with, that is giving you trouble?

".....as part of a fairly extensive testing regime, with several people on beta, not related at all to Vegas"

Then you and your test crew as well as your "extensive testing regime" are asleep at the wheel. Read the various posts from others with the same issues. I suppose we're all running the same programs, same machines, same OS with the same processes running, right?

I suppose it's just dumb luck that Pinnacle and Ulead preform flawlessly, right?

I don't own a avchd cam. I own HDV cams, but it shouldn't make one stinking bit of difference.... it sure doesn't with ulead and Pinnacle. I can capture as M2T and render to avchd just fine. I can even re-import and edit again.... and again.... and again....

This IS NOT a computer problem, an operator problem, or a codec problem, it's a WEAK avchd editing system in Vegas. Shame on Sony.

I don't own a avchd cam. I own HDV cams, but it shouldn't make one stinking bit of difference...

That one statement alone shows a tremendous ignorance of the AVCHD format, but it tells me what I need to know.

And one read from that stupid statement tells me exactly the kind of person I'm dealing with.

Hey kids, play nice. These kinds of comments are uncharacteristic of either of you.

"Hey kids, play nice. These kinds of comments are uncharacteristic of either of you."

Nah...

Spot and his "extensive testing regime" was just trying to tell me that you need a avchd cam to produce avchd disks and and blu ray disks. That shows you just how "extensive" his testing regime really is.

And one read from that stupid statement tells me exactly the kind of person I'm dealing with.

Now, now. Frustration with software is always painful, but it would be interesting to try to get to the bottom of this without killing each other. I don't edit AVC, I don't think it is worth it given that my video is captured in HDV, and that is a better starting point for editing than is AVC. That aside, I own a PS3 and have therefore been using various techniques (trying to find the optimal) converting a ton of vids to AVC lately, and for the fun of it I went through a bunch of them and dropped them on my Vegas 8 time line.

I had no problem with any of the vids, they are encoded from Quicktime (I think), Nero, Super (ffdshow I guess), Vegas and Premiere Elements (I guess they both use the MainConcept encoder, so there shouldn't be a difference). As I said, all of it ingested by Vegas no problem.

Interestingly, since I do this for fun, my PC is a total mess when it comes to codecs and junk. I probably have way more than is healthy, so if it doesn't work because of a conflict, mine would be a good place to find a conflict. Problem is, it works like a charm. No problem.

So, Vegas as such it doesn't seem to be. Must look elsewhere.. Can you provide us with a small AVCHD clip that doesn't work or a link to someone else's that doesn't work for them and/or you?

Ingesting AVCHD from a camcorder and editing it are far, far from the same discussion, Blink. This thread is not at all about printing to disc. It's about ingest and edit.
My posts are entirely coming from the perspective of ingest, editing, and codecs. You're coming from the perspective of BD printing.
To relate ingesting HDV to being "the same" as AVCHD is absurd. Different codecs entirely.
The thread topic and discussion have entirely been from the perspective of ingest/editing of AVCHD, not a print to BD.
If you don't have an AVCHD camcorder, you don't have experience in the topic.

If you give me a place to upload to then I will gladly send you 2 clips. BOTH clips are no problem for the PS3, Pinnacle and ulead... but only one clip will be accepted by Vegas.

"My posts are entirely coming from the perspective of ingest, editing, and codecs. You're coming from the perspective of BD printing.

You see Spot... this is your problem... you don't READ... you just babble.
I AM talking about ingesting avchd.

I can render m2t over to avchd with vegas no problem. But if I try to import the avchd that vegas created, about 50% of the time it will fail. Or if I try to import avchd that another program has produced, it will mostly fail.

What you KEEP so conveniently ignoring is the fact that other programs have no problems with the clips that Vegas fails at.

And furthermore... I do not use Vegas to burn avchd disks... that's a joke all by itself. The disks that Vegas produce are not recognized as true avchd disks. In other words they won't start automatically when you put them in the PS3 I render over to avchd with vegas then I use something a little better quality for the burn (Ulead)

Spot, I think this is another BB situation and should be dealt with in the same way.

"Spot, I think this is another BB situation and should be dealt with in the same way."

Well, I'm certainly glad you decided to jump in and offer assistance. Have you got any other helpful info that's of relevance, or are you just interested in blindly calling me names?

I guess 4eyes, LShorwitz, dspenc1, and a whole host of others should be noticed as a "BBsituation" as well since they share similar issues.