I have some videos in AVCHD format and have been editing them in Vegas. I found out on this board how to render them back to AVCHD and play them in my PS3. Is there a way to render them to play in regular DVD players (Obviously in non-HD quality)? Also, what is the best way to convert them to small files to be emailed or viewed online? When I tried converting to a Windows Media file, the result was 400MB and 5 minutes long.

P.S. I still want to record in HD, but want to have the option to later burn in HD format (which I already know how to do) or to burn a DVD in non-HD format.

Thanks

Standard definition DVD should be easy...

Just drag the file into DVD Architect; it should transcode down when preparing the disk image. (Works with VMSP/DVD AS, using an HD intermediate file)


As for email? Take into account that, for the same type of compression, HD will be 3-5 times larger than standard definition: HDV MPEG2 is 13GB/hour, where standard definition MPEG2 (a DVD) is ~4.5GB/hour...

By the time you get the file small enough to email, there won't be any "HD" left...





{And your subject is bit off: downgrading the /quality/ can be done with various filters/effects.... Add noise, blurs, desaturate the color, use the color corrector to bias the white balance, etc...

Much different from attempting to keep as much quality while downscaling the video <G>}

You say you can render them back to AVCHD? Can someone please guide me to where this information can be found. Is this also possible with AVCHD files edited in Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 8.0? To be able to render files back to their native AVCHD format so they can be played in a PS3 as well as a AVCHD capable Sony BDP in their original full HD quality?

That would be like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that I've been looking for.

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Ernie
Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD HDD User

Yes, that was actually a question I had here a few days ago and someone answered for me. So once you have finished editing your movie in Sony Platinum and you click on Make Movie, then click save it to hard drive, then you want to choose MainConcept MPEG-2 (*.mpg) as the Format.

The post I read said to choose the Blueprint template, but I didn't know what that was so I chose HDV-1080-60i as my template and it worked great (truth is I have no idea what the template means and maybe someone can post a reply telling us if that was the right template to pick). The file rendered with an m2t extension and then I burned the file onto a regular DVD using Nero and played in glorious HD on my PS3. Hope this helps.

Note that MPEG-2 is NOT the same compression as AVCHD (which is a variation of MPEG-4, just like WMV9 HD is an MPEG4 variant)

HDV is the MPEG-2 format used by high-definition on miniDV tape cartridges.


Which just shows that a general purpose computer [and the PS3 /is/ a general purpose computer with a customized interface rather than a mouse/keyboard] can decode various video file formats as found on a /data disk/...

Thanks Wulfared. I have a question. I thought that the m2t extension was AVCHD. Is this incorrect? If so, should it matter to me that I am converting to the MPEG format and not AVCHD when I play it on my PS3? Quality-wise, am I loosing anything? Is there a way to get it to AVCHD using Vegas?

Thanks

Until recently all the files I encountered with the .M2T extension were MPEG2 (HDV) files however recently I have encountered some which were AVCHD (which is to be expected as HDV has been around longer). I was under the impression that .M2T was a Multiplexed Transport Stream, but I could be wrong. But I have read too many incorrect explanations so I await verifiable correct sources...




Rich

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FireWire Survey

As the thread shows, there is some confusion over "m2t"... I learned it as an 8.3 version of "m2ts", and THAT four-letters I learned as "MPEG 2 Transport Stream" (vs what I believe is called an "elementary stream").

I think the AVCHD systems have been adopting it to avoid creating more odd extensions (on top of the MOD/TOD/etc. that are being found on the hard-disk cameras).


Unfortunately, in VMSP (I have v7), the MainConcept codecs are locked to predefined templates -- the MainConcept AVC coded only creates 320x240pixel iPOD video files. The Sony AVC codec templates are "QVGA" (Quarter VGA -- 320x240, but support widescreen)

VMSP8 added read support for AVCHD, but I don't know if they added write (render) support. I've not read of anyone /editing/ an AVCHD and still producing a file that a PS3 would play -- most of what I've read seems to indicate that they are just doing direct transfers from hard-drive cameras to a DVD, possibly using camera supplied copy software (or are using the minidDVD disks directly from miniDVD cameras).

Gossip has it that the native BluRay video format IS MPEG4, hence some machines being able to play AVCHD as is. "HD DVD", I believe, uses MPEG2 (similar to the HDV capture format).


I'm not familiar of any BluRay Authoring package -- should such be released, I'm sure it will include the proper encoding... and, what might be desirable, the ability to burn short videos onto standard "red" DVDs -- then one would be capable of producing DVDs with behavior similar to the ones coming out of miniDVD cameras.

Thanks eyel,

I tried it on a movie that I had previously edited and had burned to DVD. But instead, when I selected "Make Movie", I chose "Save it to your hard drive". I chose MainConcept MPEG-2 as the format, and HDV-1080-60i as the template. That rendered the file with the .m2t extension. I then burned it to DVD (no folders, just the file) and then tried playing it. First I tried to play it on the computer using the AVCHD Player. No deal, couldn't recognize the disc. Then I put it in my Sony BDP-S1 and it just saw it as a "Data Disc" and wouldn't play it. So I'm not sure where I went wrong. Maybe I just need to start from scratch instead of using a movie I had already rendered. Or maybe the file was supposed to be in a folder with a certain name on it. I know the AVCHD DVD's made by the camera or by using the AVCHD Creator in PMB have several different folders and files on them.

Any help would be appreciated.

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Ernie
Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD HDD User