System Requirements for HD rendering

ANDREMIKE wrote on 5/26/2009, 7:43 AM

My Canon ELura 100 just died on me and I am in the market for a new camcorder. I have been looking at HD camcorders and would be using Vegas movie studio to do my editing. I'll need to update my current version with the Platinum edition. Does the platinum edition do "standard" video editing as well as HD editing? My computer is only a 1.3GHZ with 512mb of RAM. Will I be able to do HD rendering? I don't want to buy a new computer yet.. I imagine it will just take a long time.. I only will be burning DVD's, not Blu-ray's, if that matters.

Any Suggestions on a new camcorder? I want to stay under $700.00. I have been looking at the Canon HF20 and the HG20. I have also seen the HV20 which is tape based, but I think I want to move away from moving parts... What do you guys think of the DVD camcorders?

Comments

stevec5000 wrote on 5/26/2009, 12:05 PM

With your old computer you might be able to render HD, if you are willing to wait long enough and have a big enough hard drive, but you won't be able to play it back and watch it. You need a processor that's over 2Ghz and a good graphics card that does HDTV in order to play it.

Ivan Lietaert wrote on 5/26/2009, 12:08 PM

Stay away from dvd camcorders, they are bound to give problems for editing.

Markk655 wrote on 5/26/2009, 1:02 PM

For those camcorders (AVCHD), you will need a new computer. See here - http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiopp/sysreq

ANDREMIKE wrote on 5/26/2009, 2:39 PM

I have more questions....

If I am only buring DVD's (or creating MPEG2's then I have no reason to render in HD right? So do I really need a faster system? I'll be able to edit the HD video and then render in MPEG2 with ease right? I have a 200 gig hard drive. Plus when rendering video's there only as big to fit on DVD or about 4GIG/60 minutes...

But by having a HD camcorder and rendering in 480 I will get better results in my video right?

With the AVCHD format, how is the data stored on the Hard drive when capturing. Can the files be easily broken up so I can store the raw data on DVD's?

stevec5000 wrote on 5/26/2009, 6:12 PM

You will be able to burn DVDs and crate MPEG's with a system that slow if you can wait long enough, I used to do it 10 years ago but you won't be able to edit HD or anything. Your video card probably doesn't even support it.

ANDREMIKE wrote on 5/27/2009, 12:01 PM

I won't be able to edit the HD video? How will I get it off the camera to then edit it and then burn a DVD? That doesn't make sense..

ANDREMIKE wrote on 5/28/2009, 5:08 PM

I still need help with this... Does a HD camcorder only record in HD? or can I change the settings on the camcorder so my older PC can capture and edit video? The render to make a DVD. Or will I be able to see the AVCHD video on my PC then render to MPEG2 for DVD? Could my video card not support the viewing? How do I know if it could?

I need to buy a camcorder and need to figure this out. I hate to buy a camcorder to only learn I can't get the video off of it.,..

What if I buy a standard definition camcorder that is FLASH based? I guess the files are MOD files? Do those work with Vegas MS?

Markk655 wrote on 5/28/2009, 6:23 PM

Andremike,

You ask a few questions...

1. Some HD cameras offer different bitrates and different resolutions. Some don't. Check before you buy. Typically to "future-proof", you would rather capture footage in HD so you will have it inHD if you ever wanted it later.

2. It is unlikely that your PC will provide anything more than jerky performance just trying to playback AVCHD. You can always download a copy of Vegas and find an AVCHD clip on the web to download. Just to test.

3. There are programs out there that convert AVCHD to mpg, wmv or other formats. For example - Voltaic HD, Elecard Converter Studio and AVCHD Upshift not to mention converter programs such as Super (eRightSoft). They all have pros and cons and the output is variable. If you use these, record in HD with an AVCHD camcorder, use your computer (overnight) to decode the HD files to HDV (or other format) and then bring it into VMS.

In summary, get a test AVCHD clip to play with, download demos of all the software and try to find a workflow that you are happy with - before buying the camcorder.

Flash based doesn't mean that it isn't AVCHD or .mod files. It just means it stores to a flash card. The AVCHD files do work with VMSP.

ANDREMIKE wrote on 5/28/2009, 7:18 PM

but it looks like a SOny HD camcorder can record in MPEG2 or MPEG4. What are the output files on a Canon? Can i record in both SD and HD.

Do both cameras allow me to convert the HD file to SD or MPEG2 with additional SW?

Markk655 wrote on 5/29/2009, 5:28 AM

Which specific models are you comparing? Different models have very different capabilities.

Regardless of the camcroder you choose, any number of software applications can allow you to convert and/or downgrade your footage.

I also had another look at the first message in this thread. My suggestion is also to stay away from DVD-based camcorders (they are bulkier, more difficult to work with etc...I have a first generation Panasonic AVCHD/flash media camcorder that I love. Given the improvements in focus, manual capabilties, resolution (now 1920x1080 is pretty standard), bit rate (some models take AVCHD to the max at 24 Mbps (mine tops at about half that), you won't be disappointed with the footage. However, working direct with AVCHD on a computer below the minimum specs will likely prove frustrating . You can eliminate some of it by converting your AVCHD files to HDV. You will lose some resolution (down to 1440x1080 anamorphic HD), but the footage will still sparkle. Editing and rendering in Vegas will go much faster with HDV than with AVCHD (even if both are in 1440x1080).

ANDREMIKE wrote on 5/29/2009, 7:12 AM

I have been looking at the SonyHDRXR100 or the Canon HG20.

The Sony will allow me to record in MPEG2 or MPEG4. The Canon has better sensor. I like the Canons but I am not sure what type of files it records to... Does the Camera allw me to record in differnt modes? HD or SD? Is the Canon output files compatible with VMS? Hopefully my PC could downconvert the HD video to a SD video