trying to convert AVCHD files!! some help please

[carolineUK]

hi

I bought a sony camcoder, not mini dv but just a regular camcorder. And its HD and outputs files as AVCHD .

ive got a macbook and aparantly you can just import the files into imovie and ta-da!!! convert using imovie and export no hassle.

Now, I also have an ibook and a G4 and im trying to find good converters for them. Unless i updated imovie?! im running 10.5.8 on both machines.
Does anyone have any ideas?


If your woondering, i prefer to use my macbook for maya. i use the work horses for video editing. With all this modern technology (lol) i just want to find an effective way to get the clips off the camera, onto my machine and start my editing in FCE.

i tried isky and that works. but it has a watermark !
Any other suggestions please?

Il probably run vids to the tv but other vids i want to either burn to cd or edit in FCE, i would like to know of a good prog which i can use to convert my clips to.

Once im sorted, il feel happier. Just feel a bit like a headless chicken...

any help will be welcome as always.
please do help out

CarolineUK

[mrplow]

What's the exact model number of the camcorder?

[carolineUK]

What's the exact model number of the camcorder?

hi.
its sony HDR-CX115e

[carolineUK]

After trawling the net, spending ALL day looking at how this can be done, i finally worked it out.

if you happen to have the old power pcs like me, your ppc will refuse to import or support AVCHD files.

Now i almost died when i saw this as ive splashed out on a sony camcorder qhich outputs in AVCHD.

ANyway, heres what i did.

if you are lucky enough to own an intel mac you can use that to IMPORT into
Final Cut Express.
Go to
SHARE> EXPORT MOVIE.

chose your desired location and settings ie, large or even HD format(original) as from the camera.

save the file and put it on a mem stick.

put the mem stick in your intel mac and import into FCE if you have it.
Im pretty sure this will work with imovie to.

Im still running imovie 6! but progressed to FCE 4 oon the PPC.

Thats how you can do it basically.
The hurdle is getting around the AVCHD thing. PPCs wont read or support them.
By using your intel mac, in seconds you can export as a .mov or whatever you like and it keeps the original quality and sound.


I think if you DONT have an intel mac then like me (im doing this anyway) upgrading from imovie 6 to imovie 8.

Im not sure how to do this with just PPCs. I think there are hacked progs out there which trick the computer into reading the AVHDC files with no hassle.

However I have no idea where that can be found.

You can also use converters such as isky.
These do take an AGE to convert. ie a 2 min clip could take 45 minutes to convert!

Carolineuk

[MightyGem]

Don't get iMovie8(I'm not sure if you can these days). Compared with iMovie6 it's useless. Get iMovie11, it's virtually the equivalent of 6.

You can convert theAVCHD video file(.mod) using MPEGStreamclip very easily.