How to edit AVCHD in Vegas 7.0d?

kplo wrote on 4/8/2011, 10:52 AM

Hi All,
I have some AVCHD files from a Sony consumer camcorder that I need to bring in to 7.0d for editing to a SD DVD and WMV for the web. Footage will be mixed with 30p DV from my DVX100a. I know about the de-interlacing 60i bit, but need a (preferably free) way to get the AVCHD clips onto the Vegas timeline so I can transcode them to Cineform with the encoder included in 7.0d. (I know it's an older version, but that's ok).

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
TIA
Ken

P.S.: Yes, I tried the search function but mostly references to V 10.

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 4/8/2011, 11:22 AM

First, the Cineform encoder in 7.0d only goes up to 1440x1080; you cannot do 1920x1080 "full" HD.

If you don't mind that limitation, you could download the trial for 8.0c (still available on the Sony web site, if you know where to look), and render out from that, using the Cineform 1440x1080 template. You can't use later versions of Vegas, because the Cineform render was taken out. If you want full 1920x1440, you can render to uncompressed, but it will take a lot of disk space, and playback will be slow unless you have a really fast disk drive. 8.0c may have some other format (Sony YUV?) that is fairly lossless and could be used in 7.0d. Perhaps someone else has an idea.

Another thought would be to use any of the later versions of Vegas, install the Debugmode frameserver, and then serve out of that into 7.0d.

I just tried both of these things, and the frameserving option is definitely the way to go. I served out of Vegas 8.0c back into Vegas 7.0d. I used a 1920x1080 AVCHD file. I got full 29.97 playback in 7.0d (and that was Best - Full!!).

I can't remember what the trial limitations are for Vegas Pro, but I think this will work with the trial for a few days or weeks. Of course you won't be able to do it again, but perhaps you will like the newer version of Vegas enough that you'll want to upgrade. I have 7.0d, 8.0c and 10.0a installed on my computer. 7.0d is still the ultimate rock, having the stability of Vegas 4, 5, & 6, combined with a lot of great features. I use 8.0c for encoding because the speed is definitely faster (it got slower again somewhere between that release and 10.0a). I use 10.0a only when I need a specific feature only found in that release. For me, the one thing I find essential is Elastique, the sound speed/pitch change upgrade. It also handles mp4 files much better than anything else, so when I need to deal with those I use 10.0a. I find very little else that is useful in this release, and it botches handling of several formats that I use a lot (like the MainConcept DV files). I think some of this is fixed in 10.0c, but I've seen too many negative reports about this release and am waiting for 10.0d before I try to move more work from 7.0d to 10.x.

[edit]Here's the link to where you can download earlier versions of Vegas:

Download Other Versions

rmack350 wrote on 4/8/2011, 11:27 AM

I think if you could transcode the AVCHD files to Lagarith or DNxHD before importing to Vegas7d then you could just skip the Cineform step.

I'm not sure what to use to do that, though. Looking around I see people talking about VirtualDub or Super. I'm reluctant to recommend Super because it often triggers virus scanners. Not confidence inspiring.

Rob Mack

i c e wrote on 4/8/2011, 9:11 PM

Yeah, AVCHD is a nightmare to start with in seven? wow. you have a full blown crashing party.

Go to eight or higher, save yourself a few months. :)

peace.

ice

kplo wrote on 4/9/2011, 10:08 AM

Thank you all for the suggestions.
John: I'll also try the frameserver route.
I probably wasn't clear that I was editing in an SD timeline.
I downloaded MPEG streamclip, and the "Read Me" indicates that it will transcode
MP4 to other formats. I tried a test transcoding a Quicktime file to DV. It worked in Vegas after I changed the file extension to .avi instead of .dv.!
Hopefully, it will do the same for AVCHD MP4s.

Thanks again,
Ken

johnmeyer wrote on 4/9/2011, 10:23 AM

I tried a test transcoding a Quicktime file to DV. It worked in Vegas after I changed the file extension to .avi instead of .dv.!I am sure you understand this, but just to make the point for others who may be reading, if you download the Vegas 8.0c trial and use it to read, and then frameserve back into 7.0d, you avoid having to take the time, the disk space, AND the quality hit involved in transcoding: you simply put the video on the timeline in 8.0c, use the "match" feature in the project properties to make sure the project properties in 8.0c match exactly the AVCHD clips you are using, fire up the Debugmode Frameserver, and frameserve out in RGB24 to an AVI file. When you open that AVI file in 7.0d, you are reading exactly the video in the original AVCHD files, without any re-encoding and subsequent quality degradation.

Given that I was able to get full 29.97 fps playback within 7.0d at Full-Best (i.e., the highest qualtiy) preview resolution, I can think of no downside to doing this. In addition, it will give you some experience with 8.0c, and perhaps you will find that you want to upgrade ...

kplo wrote on 4/13/2011, 1:32 PM

Well...
I downloaded the 8.0c from the Sony site. Installed it, but it won't run as a demo. Keeps asking for a serial number. Checked the web for demo versions, but all I see are cracks and hacks. Not going that route. There must be working demo somewhere on the Sony site. (My 7.0d ran as a demo until I registered it online).

As always, any help is appreciated.
Ken

johnmeyer wrote on 4/13/2011, 2:09 PM

I downloaded the 8.0c from the Sony site. Installed it, but it won't run as a demo. Keeps asking for a serial number. Checked the web for demo versions, but all I see are cracks and hacks. Not going that route. There must be working demo somewhere on the Sony site.That is very surprising. Did you use the link I provided in my previous post?? On that page is a link to download a file called:

vegaspro80c-trial_enu.exe

That is the Vegas Pro 8.0c trial. To save you the time, here is the direct link. Just click on this, download, and install:

Vegas 8.0c Trial Direct Link

rmack350 wrote on 4/13/2011, 2:39 PM

I am sure you understand this...

Frameserving gives you a stream of uncompressed video from one instance of Vegas to whatever you want to use to read the stream, including another instance of Vegas, even if it's a different version. It never writes an actual file to disk but insteads just passes a frame in memory from the server (vp8) to the client (whatever is reading the signpost AVI file). It's a fine way to go about this because it's fast and takes no disk space (aside from the VP 8 download and install, and the frameserver download and install)

The problem with it as a suggestion is that it's a bit indirect, and it doesn't give you a new set of files that correlate to the old set of files, rather, it just gives you a stream that you can read with your older version of Vegas, and then you can pick what you want and render those areas to a new track or just as new files.

As advice goes, I think the frameserving process just isn't obvious and intuitive until you've done it once, but it's very worthwhile to make the effort and get familiar with the process.

Since the initial plan was to get the files into Vegas 7 and then transcode to Cineform, it ought to be just as acceptable to transcode to another decent codec outside of Vegas. Lagarith or DNxHD are both good choices. Of course, I don't know what to use that could do it all as a batch job. If you bought Neo Scene it can do that, and I assume MPEG Streamclip can do it, although all it does for me is ask for a quicktime mpeg2 viewer.

So, pick your poison. You're right that installing VP8 trial would get you familiar with VP8. Can it still be bought?

Rob

kplo wrote on 4/13/2011, 3:53 PM

Thanks John! Got it. I don't know how I missed that file on their site.
Old age, old eyes (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it).

Thanks again,
Ken

kplo wrote on 4/13/2011, 9:55 PM

Spoke too soon. The "trial" version still asks for a serial number.
What the??????
I even un- installed the previous version of what I thought was the trial, re-booted and installed the "trial". No joy. Asks for a serial number. (Yes, I downloaded the correct file). Really weird. I was thinking of buying 8.0c, as this is not a powerful computer, and would handle HDV stuff ok. But...
Ken

NickHope wrote on 4/13/2011, 11:24 PM

Lagarith or DNxHD are both good choices.

My recollection, from 7.0 days, is that Quicktime support wasn't as robust as it is now, even with 7.6.2 or earlier installed. So DNxHD might cause problems?

I also recall Lagarith being less responsive on the timeline than Cineform, and of course the files are bigger.

I'd still say it's worth Ken trying both though, or even UT Video Codec, before spending.

Ken, if you have a lot of files, Proxy Stream is great for batch converting.

amendegw wrote on 4/14/2011, 2:27 AM

"Lagarith or DNxHD are both good choices."fwiw, neither Lagarith & DNxHD are native to Vegas - they must be downloaded and installed before they can be used. Here's the links: DNxHD 2.3.4 and Lagarith

Good Luck!
...Jerry

kplo wrote on 4/16/2011, 12:01 PM

Solved my dilemma (sort of).
Since Vegas 8.0c demo would not install on my computer as a demo, I installed it on my laptop ( older Toshiba Sattelite A215 w/AMD Turion TL56, 2 gigs RAM &Vista).
Brought the .MTS files in on a thumb drive and rendered to an external 500GB drive in a USB enclosure as regular DV files.
Loaded those into V7.0d and edited normally. It worked!

Thanks to all of you for the help.
Ken