Thank you for the reply Eugenia. First, it isn't pirated (I don't think, it's on a friends computer, but I don't think her husband would do that). It is version 7.0.1 Professional, so is there any hope? Could you explain 'force it to use the ffdshow tryout's mpeg2 decoder instead (you need to specifically tell it to install the mpeg2 decoder though).' with just a little more detail? Thanks again. Cin

Download
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=173941&package_id=199416&release_id=439904
During the installation, select the custom installation and make sure you check the "mpeg2" decoding option (by default it's unselected).
Then, go to AE's program folder and try to find its mpeg2 decoder DLL file. Move it away from that folder. This way you can force AE to use the external mpeg2 decoder that comes with ffdshow. If not, you are out of luck, you need a newer AE version.

Hi Eugenia,
Can't thank you enough for your reply. You truly are world class when it comes to these matters. I feel lucky to be surrounded by such knowledgeable people who are so willing to take the time to share.
I did what you said to the best of my ability with no luck, but from what I've gathered on the Internet, I guess it just isn't meant to be. Here is a little excerpt that I got from another forum, but it didn't work for me. However, it got me to thinking of something else. I brought my .m2t footage into VMS and rendered it to .AVI, then AE was happy to play with it. Could you tell me if this is a bad thing to do, or if there is a more lossless way to do it? Thanks again. Cin
Re: Sony m2t file workaround
by Dave LaRonde on Jun 9, 2008 at 1:33:12 pm


[Craig Stewart] "the solution is as simple as this - rename the .m2t to .mpg "

That's not a really terrific solution if you intend to use the footage in AE. Read on:


Dave's Stock Answer #1:

If the footage you imported into AE is any kind of the following -- Native HDV, MPEG1, MPEG2, mp4, m2t, H.261 or H.264 -- you need to convert it to a different codec.

These kinds of footage use temporal, or interframe compression. They have keyframes at regular intervals, containing complete frame information. However, the frames in between do NOT have complete information. Interframe codecs toss out duplicated information.

In order to maintain peak rendering efficiency, AE needs complete information for each and every frame. But because these kinds of footage contain only partial information, AE freaks out, resulting in a wide variety of problems.

----------------------------------------------------------

So..... just to make sure if I've got this straight:

You're proposing to change the suffix from .m2t to .mpg..... which is MPEG, yes? A temporally-compressed codec, yes?

It sounds to me like you'd just be swapping one problem for another.


Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA

You can definitely export to AVI, but what kind of AVI? You don't mention a codec. The only codecs that could work well in your case, for free, is Lagarith. Download and install it, and then select "configure" in the "custom" AVI dialog to try both its RGB and YUY2 modes (YUY2 creates smaller filesizes, but I am not sure AE will play ball with that mode). Also check "multi-threaded" in that dialog if your PC is a CoreDuo or Hyperthreaded.

Thank you again Eugenia. Is what i did was bring the .m2t files into VMS9 and went to 'Render As' selected under 'Save as type' and choose 'Video for Windows (*.avi)' 'Template:NTSC DV' and then render away. I know you ask people about what codec, and I believe that AVI is only a 'container' not a codec. I have to be honest, hundreds of hours later, I still don't understand the difference, so I can't really answer your question properly as to what codec I used. I will use Lagarith if you think that is better than using VMS to get the files to AVI. After they are AVI, and I work with them in AE, how would I then bring them back to VMS or DVDA so that I can render the final project back to HD to burn them onto a standard DVD? Thanks. Cin

Using NTSC DV to export is a major mistake, because you said your footage is HD. You lose a ton of quality by doing this. This is why I suggested you install and export with Lagarith, which is a lossless codec.

Thank you once again Eugenia. I will download and install Lagarith right now. One last question (I hope) ;) After they are converted to AVI via Lagarith, and I work with them in AE, how would I then bring them back to VMS or DVDA so that I can render the final project back to HD to burn them onto a standard DVD? Thanks. Cin

Lagarith, again. That's why we use lossless codecs for these moving jobs, so they don't lose quality.

Got it :) Thanks again for all the help. Cin