Convert Mp4 to AVI for editing?

JS12 wrote on 1/22/2011, 6:42 AM

My 8 year old Sony digital camcorder has died. In the old days it was straight forward. Capture the DV with Vegas and edit the AVI file. The new camcorder records in MP4 format. Do I need to convert this to AVI for editing purposes?

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 1/22/2011, 7:27 AM

It kind of depends on the format of MP4 that the cam records to.

If it's AVCHD or some other standard format, you should be able to edit it in Vegas if you use the right project settings.

But if it's from a Flip cam or some other under-$200 pocket cam, it could be that it uses a non-standard codec that can give you pretty iffy results.

In any event if you start our project using the option under the Project menu, you can use Match Source Media tool to match your project settings as close as possible to your camcorder's video.

JS12 wrote on 1/22/2011, 8:57 AM

The info I see in GSpot is Codec: AVC1 and Name: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. Is that one and the same as AVCHD?

Eugenia wrote on 1/22/2011, 4:20 PM

If you're using Vegas Platinum version 10, then you can edit the MP4 as-is, without re-encoding to AVI. You would need that encoding to AVI if you're using Vegas 8 pr 9 instead.

For AVI codec where you wouldn't lose quality you would need to use the Matrox AVI codec, it's free on their site. All other free AVI codecs are either not intermediate codecs, or if they are, are either not free, or very slow and create huge filesizes.

vernhalen wrote on 1/24/2011, 2:35 PM

Hi Eugenia,

I was using 9 before and was having issues with the h.264 and was converting to AVI. 10 has resolved this, I assume?

So for lossless usage of h.264 in 10, you recommend using the Maltrox AVI codec? Or can 10 handle the native h.264?

Sorry if I'm being obtuse.

Eugenia wrote on 1/24/2011, 2:45 PM

10 can supposedly handle them. Please install its TRIAL version in parallel and try it yourself.