Convert HDV m2t files to Avid format

Zwampen wrote on 4/20/2007, 7:19 AM

Hi,

We have a JVC GY-HD251 camera tha can record 720p50 HDV. We also have Avid Xpress Pro and Avid Xpress Media Composer (with Mojo and Adrenaline). We have successfully captured and edited 720p50 HDV material in Vegas 7 and downconverted it to DVD (!) for the client.

The Avids don't like the camera we have so we can't get them to speak to each other. Does anyone know if I can import the m2t files captured with Vegas into the Avids? I tried to import them directly but the Avids said it was an unsupported MPEG format.

I know I can use a quicktime export from Vegas and reencode the files to a Quicktime HD "DNxHD" format that the Avids can handle. It takes a long time and is probably destructive. I would like to have a better workflow here that preferably is non destrucktive. Any ideas? Thanks.

Comments

kkolbo wrote on 4/20/2007, 7:47 AM

What you have here appears to be an Avid problem. I am not an Avid expert, but their specs on the Avid web site say that Avid Express Pro will accept the format from the JVC camera, but it will only except it as 720p/29.97 when it is HD. It does not appear to be able to handle the 720/50 that you using. (I love Vegas)

During a capture, Vegas simply does a data transfer of the video from your camera. It doesn't do anything to the video. Unless you shoot in a format that Avid can handle, you will have to transcode the video to a format that it can handle.

John_Cline wrote on 4/20/2007, 7:49 AM

Perhaps you can use this free tool to convert the .M2T transport stream files to standard MPEG2 files. It doesn't re-encode the files, it just converts the format, so there's no quality hit.

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/HDTVtoMPEG2

John

Zwampen wrote on 4/21/2007, 4:28 AM

Ah yeah. I will have give it go when I get back to work on Monday. Any other suggetsions?

blink3times wrote on 4/21/2007, 5:40 AM

I have avid liquid and vegas... depends on the M2t, but I can usually import the vegas m2t files... granted i have not tried 720/50

But they just did a update in liquid (from 7.1 to 7.2) which included 720p support... are you sure your cam will not work in the new liquid 7.2?

blink3times wrote on 4/21/2007, 7:01 AM

Never mind... there is a thread here on the Avid board... apparently liquid still has problems with 720/50

http://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/thread/224387.aspx

Zwampen wrote on 4/21/2007, 3:29 PM

Yeah, it's a shame that Avid hasn't adopted the protocol for controlling this camera and HDV 720p50. It seems that there are no plans for that either.