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HD footage - from cam to disk playback

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Hi all, my first post here so briefly my set up so far is:

MacBook Pro 2.16GHz Core Duo 2GB (OSX 10.4.11)
MacBook Air 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo 2GB (OSX10.5.4)
Sony HDR TG3

We do little video at home, but I've had great success with regular comcorders and iMovie and iDVD. I find the 'Magic iDVD' function particularly useful to just get everything on to a playable disk.

So, on to my questions.

Ideally I'd like to do the same with the HD footage we're now getting from the TG3 - one touch, all done - is this possible?

I've heard you can burn HD footage to a normal DVD (something I could do with my MacBook), does this have any play back problems with anything other than the PS3?

Would you recommend upgrading to Leopard on the MBP, or can the Air handle it?

Lastly what hardware for playing and recording blu ray disks would you recommend? (I have an XBox so no need for another gamestation)

Thanks for your time,

TP
 
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Okay, no responses yet, but I've thought further on the issue and I've got three options I think that may be viable:

1. Set up an installation of Windows Media Center
TG3 > MBAir > iMovie > MediaPC > XBox360 > TV

2. Buy Apple TV
TG3 > MBAir > AppleTV > TV

3. Use Mac Mini as a DVD AVCHD player(?)
TG3 > MBAir > iMovie > MBPro > iDVD > DVD AVCHD > Mac Mini > TV

The last option seems the most complicated, but uses stuff I already have....assuming a PPC Mac Mini can play DVD AVCHD.

Any thoughts..?
 
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So several hours later and half a million forums read, I'm still none the wiser.

I've got the footage into iMovie08, edited it down to two seperate projects and now it's the mysterious "Export" function.

As I understand it, I need this stuff in avchd format yet there is no obvious export choice for this.

People around the world only talk about importing avchd - so how can I create an avchd disk without exporting?

Export using Quicktime gives several options as attached...

Any ideas which option would give avchd?

Picture 1.png

Picture 3.png
 
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Sorry if I'm being slow . . .

Is what you want to do just to maintain the HD quality of your 'footage' for playback on TV (somehow)?

If so avchd isn't really supported as an output format. It's used as a capture format.

There are several 'containers' that can handle HD resolution video. The obvious one to go for on a Mac is Quicktime H.264 which can support all the common HD resolutions including the 1920x1280 that your camcorder is capable of. Though you'll probably want to crop that to 1920x1080 for TV output.
 
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Sorry if I'm being slow . . .

Is what you want to do just to maintain the HD quality of your 'footage' for playback on TV (somehow)?

If so avchd isn't really supported as an output format. It's used as a capture format.

There are several 'containers' that can handle HD resolution video. The obvious one to go for on a Mac is Quicktime H.264 which can support all the common HD resolutions including the 1920x1280 that your camcorder is capable of. Though you'll probably want to crop that to 1920x1080 for TV output.

More or less.

THe reason I'm talking avchd is because forum advisors suggest a DVD with an AVCHD file on it will playback on a PS3 or other blu ray player.

Are you suggesting QT H.264 will not lose definition?

If so, great. Then all I need to know is whether the Mini or Apple TV is the better option as a medium for playing these on our TV. I've read reviews of the Apple TV that are somewhat scathing, but my Mini doesn't have the Remote functionality or the DVI to HDMI cable.

I guess I'll also need some sort of storage for the masses and masses of disk space these things require.
 
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Can't be certain a PS3 will play AVCHD but if it can there's nothing to stop you copying AVCHD files onto a DVD for playback. Your only limitation is space. A DVD isn't going to hold that much but it depends how big your files are etc.

Are you suggesting QT H.264 will not lose definition?
Not if you choose to export at a HD resolution.

I know little or nothing about about TV so I'm going to have to skip that. A Mac mini will do the job. Though again you're going to have to consider storage space. An big external HDD should do the job.

As far a remote functionality and cables go - you can buy an Apple remote and a mini-DVI to DVI cable from Apple. Then you need a DVI to DVI, VGA or HDMI (these are readily available) cable to connect to your TV. You'll also need some kind of audio connection cabling.
 

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