The majority of people here that edit professionally and/or just for personal use (the amauture, intermediate, etc) what kind of computers are you using. I just bought a Canon HG10 and was advised to use Corel Video Studio 11 Plus and /or Pinnacle. Than I noticed that my system is to slow. I have a 1.8ghz processor 2 gig of ram and 256mb nvida graphics card. I'm sure anyone of you will say not enough power and i couldn;t disagree with you. So now that places me in a new situation. I have this sick camera (b/c when I connect it to my 60" Pioneer Plasma via HDMI I can't believe how far Camcorders came. The resolution is incredible for a "home-movie". So I want to be able to make the movies look somewhat professional but I need a machine that can perform. I've never had a MAC or worked on one. Are they any goog for these type of applications? Will I freeze up? B/c the other option is to get a new PC. I was thinking if the new Dell XPS720 it has a 3.0 GHZ Intel Core 2 Quad Processor, 3 gigs of ram and 512mb nvidia graphic card. I would appreciate any input.
Thanks ,
T.M.

Hey Tom, I've got the HG10 just like you. Here are some thoughts. I've used a Mac since my freshman year in HS - that was 1985 - so 23 years. I started using PC's (running AT&T Unix) my sr. year in HS. What you get with a Mac is the operating system. That is what's golden. Apple has had more than 2 decades to perfect its graphical O/S and yes, it's traditionally been very stable. Other than that, the boxes are incredibly overpriced and overrated. In fact, now that they're using Intel CPU's, there's really nothing special to a Mac (other than its O/S) vis-a-vis a PC. The whole RISC vs. CISC debate with the Moto chips is now over as both PC's and Mac's are essentially running the same physical platform.

With that said, here's what I recommend if you're interested in editing your footage. First, get out of the AVC format as soon as possible. If you move to a more universal intermediate file format, then you can choose any of the most popular NLE's. I use Cineform's NEO HDV utility for this purpose (and to remove pulldown from the 24P footage from the HG10). $200, cheap, done deal.

The Intel Core 2 Duo chips right now are ridiculously good. The 45NM Wolfdales have already been released - got four of the 3GHz boxes sitting in front of me waiting to be put in new machines. These things are cheap compared to what you get and they overclock insanely well. I've read reports of people pushing these babies to 4GHz on air! If you go the intermediate route, you won't even need the power. I'm OC'ing a lolely 1.6GHz (E2140) Dual Core ~$70 for the CPU right now and have no problems whatsoever editing the Cineform intermediate .avi file in real time.

Place the chip of your choice in a decent motherboard that has the expansion capabilities you require, pick up some cheap SATA storage, cheap 2Gig DDR2 800MHz (PC-6400) RAM, load XP Pro SP2, and you're good to go. Comparing the cost outlay of this rig vs. a comparable Mac and there is no comparison.

FYI, I use Vegas Pro 8 and this may be able to still be had for a steal (I paid ~$190 six weeks ago).

...I think.
I have the same general questions as Mark - how will my computer config deal with these files, etc
Your answer sounds like you have this down, but as a rookie to this, I don't follow all that you say. Like.. I assume a Wolfdale is a fast new chip, but can/should I pull my 2Ghz Centrino 2 chip and drop in the new chip? Do I need both NEo utility and Vegas software?
Sorry -really new and trying to get educated, but not near your level of computer or vid processing expertise.
Would this be a forum to post exactly what I have now, what CC I'm planning to get, and to get specific a hardware/software recommendation in basic terms?

Dan, very logical questions! Yes, Wolfdale is Intel's trade name for the new dual core CPU's using the new 45nm silicon. As far as swapping CPU's, you have to verify CPU compatibility with your motherboard manufacturer. I don't follow your "Centrino" verbiage because that name has always been reserved for the laptop platform. These new CPU's are specific to desktop motherboards.

Cineform's NEO HDV software is a utility that converts the .mts/.m2ts files from your AVCHD cam into a "lossless" intermediate .avi (or .mov) file. It also eliminates the whole 24P in 60i mess so that you're editing on a true 24P timeline in your editor (may or may not be relevant to you).

Vegas Pro is Sony Creative Software's full featured NLE. This NLE was originally developed by Sonic Foundry in Madison, Wis presumably using the company's Sound Forge audio mastering software as inspiration. I've been using Sound Forge for 12 years, so the Vegas interface learning curve for me was pretty much non-existent. If you choose to convert your AVCHD footage into an intermediate, then you can choose practically any one of the popular NLE's, even ones that can't edit AVCHD files natively.

Would this be a forum to post exactly what I have now, what CC I'm planning to get, and to get specific a hardware/software recommendation in basic terms?
Technically, there's a HD video editing forum here, but AVCHD is still like a red-headed stepchild so you might want to keep your questions here, LOL. I certainly won't hold it against ya...

Oh oh. I do have a laptop with a Centrino Duo, 2Ghz, 2gB ram. Is this not good enough? I'm planning on getting the new Sony SR11.
And I likely will only need Vegas. Is an older cheaper version OK, like 7?
Thanks

Dan, I can't say whether your laptop is going to suffice or not. What I can do is tell you my experience and let you judge for yourself. I've got a Dual Core 1.6 (E2140) that I can OC to ~2.2GHz without much trouble, 2GB of DDR2 800 and a very zippy SATA disk subsystem.

When I merely playback unedited AVCHD clips in Vegas, both cores are basically pegged @ 98% - this is with ZERO edits. When I playback the same clips rendered to Cineform intermediate .avi's, I'm sitting at ~18%. This is under preview quality (auto mode, so small display window).

Regarding which version of Vegas, there are lite versions (e.g., Vegas Movie Studio Plat) that are less expensive but offer less features too. That's totally your call. Also, you have to watch which versions edit AVCHD files if you're sticking with the format. Personally, I wouldn't even try at this point, but that's my preference.

Aaron - "wouldn't even try at this point"
Is that referring to getting anything less than Vegas 8 Pro or is that referring to trying to edit AVCHD vs an intermediate format?
If I need to convert to intermeditae format as you suggested earlier, I would get:
Cineform NEO HDV Utility - to convert AVCHD to intermediate format $200
Vegas Pro 8 - to edit the intermediate format ~$200
Maybe I will get the HG10...uh, no, I like black stealthy looking stuff..
Note - found a reputable, official Sony distributor, offering mid-late March
delivery of SR11 for $966, no tax, about $20 shipping. (not in NY/NJ either!)

Thanks for all the fast feedback - much appreciated!

Aaron - "wouldn't even try at this point"
Is that referring to getting anything less than Vegas 8 Pro or is that referring to trying to edit AVCHD vs an intermediate format?

The latter. Unfortunately, the B&H Photo upgrade deal is no longer - check the Vegas forum for the thread. So you're looking at ~$380 now. It's really too bad you missed this deal by a few weeks I surmise. But it still might be worth it because the full Vegas product includes the Cineform intermediate codec, so that might work for you. I highly doubt that the Movie Studio products come with that codec. Check Cineform's website for specific differences between the included codec in Vegas and their standalone products. Since you don't need pulldown removal (no 24P on SR11, right?), I'd bet you could easily get by with the included version, but check the differences just to make sure.

One side question for Aaron--

I like what you said about converting the .mts/.m2ts files from your AVCHD cam into a "lossless" intermediate .avi (or .mov) file (and pulling out the 24p in the process).

I was just curious, when you use NEO to do that conversion, what format do you convert to? Avi or mov? And if it's lossless, do the files get awkwardly large? I do realize that hard drives are cheap these days. I'm interested in using Premiere/After Effects to edit, so I'm just looking for the right intermediate format to work in.

Thanks for your tips!
-James

I choose .avi. Yes, the resulting file sizes are 3x-5x the size of the original in my experience so far. This hasn't been a big deal for me. You can always delete them and archive the original AVCHD files on HDD or my preference: DLT. Reconvert if necessary in the future. Conversion performance is entirely dependent on CPU power at this point. There aren't any chips today or even in the near future that will be waiting for really nice SATA-2 HDD's, esp. if configured in hardware accelerated RAID 0.

Most computers find just playing an AVCHD file a real challenge. Editing is even harder, even for a fast computer. You really have to define more precisely editing. IF you just mean cuts editing with no colour correction etc, then the software that comes with the Sony camcorders is sufficient and can create SD DVD's or AVCHD discs as backups on pretty much any computer. Not sure what comes with the Canon. IF you want to get more fancy then you will need a more powerful computer, and plenty of patience!!!! Using an intermediate file system like Cineform or the HQ file structure from Canopus will make editing much faster however they may take a long time to convert to this format!!!! On my dual core AMD 4200X2 it takes about 10 times realtime to convert to Canopus HQ. Then of course it is realtime editing with no problems. Vegas will work with the AVCHD files on the timeline but rendering will take some time. It's pay me now or pay me later!!! With my SR7 I find the easiest in fact is the Sony Browser software that comes with the camera to create a simple AVCHD or DVD. Simple menus can be created etc and you don't need to buy anything other than the camcorder. Pinnacle and Ulead/Corel also make editing software that is a little more sophisticated. You will need a new fast ( 3.0G +) dual core or quad core machine to manage editing, just like the Dell you mentioned. You have more choice of software on the PC than Mac so my choice would be a PC.

Ron Evans

Using an intermediate file system like Cineform or the HQ file structure from Canopus will make editing much faster however they may take a long time to convert to this format!!!! On my dual core AMD 4200X2 it takes about 10 times realtime to convert to Canopus HQ.

Ron, that is really poor performance relative to the Cineform intermediate. When I read this earlier this evening, it didn't sound right so I ran a quick little test. Again, I'm running a lolely Intel E2140 - basically a $70 throwaway CPU installed to get me by until the Wolfdale's were released, which they now have been.

AVCHD file specifics: .m2ts (MPEG-2 Transport Stream), 17:09 minutes, 1440x1080 (24PF in 60i), stereo audio @48K, 1.9GB

Set HDLink preferences to remove 3:2 pulldown and quality=High (film scan & film scan 2 definitely overkill for these cam's and what I'm doing per Cineform's own documentation).

Started 20:57:38, convert done 21:17:01; resulting file size = 8.08GB. So that's pretty close to realtime...

Just for kicks, I tried the film scan 2 setting on the same file. Started 22:14:14, convert done 22:36:03; resulting file size = 12.7GB.

This is all very educational - seems I have a lot to learn.
My apologies to Tom Marks if I have hijacked your thread. Thanks to Ron for letting me know I can at least do simple editing with the Sony supplied software. Aaron - I alwyas get addicted to this kind of stuff so I'm Googling what I am not familiar with in your comments to make sense of it all.
I assume a lot of the data conversion is walkaway processing time - hit "enter" and come back later. Does the aproach of using an older, slower computer to convert "offline" work if time isn't a key factor?

Mac versus PC pricing?

Compare a similarly priced Dell to an Apple without adding factory RAM.

The Dell is more expensive.

Cheap PCs, are well, cheap PCs. You can buy a no name or build your own for far less than a Mac. But the OS sells.

I assume a lot of the data conversion is walkaway processing time - hit "enter" and come back later. Does the aproach of using an older, slower computer to convert "offline" work if time isn't a key factor?

Batch convert is a nice feature about HDLink that is included with the NEO HDV product. You can select all of your clips, push the button, and walk away. I'm not sure if you can batch render to Cineform in Vegas Pro since I have never had a need to even try it. I would suggest you download a trial version of Vegas (or any other NLE you might want to use) and just try it out on your laptop.

Cheap PCs, are well, cheap PCs. You can buy a no name or build your own for far less than a Mac. But the OS sells.

Agree 100%, the O/S is the real deal. But cheap PC's don't have to be cheap PC's. If you don't trust the foreign boards from Asus, Gigabyte, Abit, etc., then go with an Intel board, particularly if you don't need to OC. Right now, I am building all of my corporate replacement PC's with the Intel DG31PR motherboard. This is a very inexpensive, well designed and built board with sufficient expansion for even moderately advanced systems. $150 will get you the board and the same E2140 I'm using right now. That's cheap but very high quality.

When I absolutely don't want ANY callbacks, RMA's, etc., I use Intel boards.

Being someone who has edited on both machines I have to say I favor the Mac right now, mostly for its out of the box stability. The reason for this is simply in the fact that Macs only get configured in a very small range of ways. PCs have a huge range of options, you should probably research and buy only components that are tested to run flawlessly with the program you intend to use. That being said, I guess it's a matter of personal choice and if you do your homework you can get a very stable PC to edit on as well.


As far as AVCHD goes I think we are making do with what we have until an efficient solution is released. Vegas may be the best right now(native), but I don't use it so I'm not positive on that. I'm sure that once everyone is running 16 core machines there will be no issues with AVCHD. I remember back in the day, just trying to play Mpeg1 video on an underpowered 386 and the frustration that caused.

Cheers

Hi Aaron. You got me trying again. I converted a 99MB m2ts in the latest Canopus convert to HQ which resulted in a 688MB file took about 2.5 times realtime. I have downloaded NEo trial but can't get it to work properly even though I have Sony AVCHD Browser software, Vegas 8, Nero 8 and Canopus Edius 4.6 all of which will play AVCHD, so there are plenty of AVCHD decoders on the system for NEO to use. Media Player 11 will play only if I tell it too ( won't just play from initial selection). HDlink converts this same file into multiple 6.6GB(explorer says its a 1440x1080 file duration 25sec)) files with just green screen on playback and cannot be placed in Vegas or PP CS3 timeline!!!. I have obviously got something wrong in the trial installation !!
Vegas 8 will play AVCHD on the timeline just like HDV and at the moment is my preferred NLE for mixing HDV and AVCHD.

Ron Evans

update I rendered to intermediate from Vegas 8 the same file and it took about 4 times realtime. A HDV file of the same length rendered to intermediate from Vegas 8 in 2.5 times realtime. At least this shows the relative complexity of conversion. I quess my old AMD 4200X2 is due for replacement!!!!!!!! Couple fo months and I will get the new quad core Intel with a X48 motherboard.

It's taking me about 20 minutes to convert 1 minute of video in Pinnacle 11 + on my 4400+ x2 to wmv 720p








Vegas 8 will play AVCHD on the timeline just like HDV and at the moment is my preferred NLE for mixing HDV and AVCHD.

Ron Evans

update I rendered to intermediate from Vegas 8 the same file and it took about 4 times realtime. A HDV file of the same length rendered to intermediate from Vegas 8 in 2.5 times realtime. At least this shows the relative complexity of conversion. I quess my old AMD 4200X2 is due for replacement!!!!!!!! Couple fo months and I will get the new quad core Intel with a X48 motherboard.

The latter. Unfortunately, the B&H Photo upgrade deal is no longer - check the Vegas forum for the thread. So you're looking at ~$380 now.
http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=115373

If you missed this the first time, don't miss it this time!

Something else you may want to consider is the NLE that you are using. I do agree with Aaron that Macs are expensive and undoubtedly overpriced. However, I don't know if I can personally make a recommendation to anyone on a platform without knowing more information. What is your end goal result? Home movies with simple edits made in a NLE? Professional or prosumer editing? If you are already set in using a particular type of NLE, then basically your path has already been chosen.

If your NLE is still undecided, then think about this. iMovie can be a blessing or an burden. I suspect most professionals or prosumers would steer (run?) away from iMovie because it would shackle them too much. But if you are just a home movie kind of guy, then I would suggest running over to an Apple store and hop on a Mac and give iMovie a shot. What you pay for is a simplified way to do simple tasks. I'm not suggesting Windows programs can't do the same thing, it's just that Apple's main focus is about user experience. How to keep things as simple as possible.

Macs and PCs are both CPU bound when trying to edit raw AVCHD, and both have either workarounds or built-in solutions. iMovie creates smaller thumbnail versions which makes the editing real-time friendly. Aaron has a great suggestion to switch to a more CPU friendly intermediate codec. The only counterpoint I would have for that, is then why bother going to AVCHD in the first place?

If converting runs real-time, then the advantage between a disk vs. tape is less than perceived. I see the biggest advantage for disk over tape to be there's no longer any need to convert to begin working in an editor. If you need to spend time 1:1 to convert from AVCHD to an intermediate codec, that's the same time you would have spent going pulling from tape. Yes, there's all sorts of other topics that can be pointed out, cost of tape vs. cost of disk, backups, etc. Perhaps, that's a discussion for another day.

But back to the original topic, PC or Mac for editing AVCHD? IMHO, the question needs to come back to you and ask, "Which NLE are you planning on using?" And if you don't know, then what kind of editing are you planning on doing?

The job should decide which tool you intend to use, not you choose the tool, then find a job to do.

Overpriced in comparison to what?

Compare a MacPro with a similarly configured Dell?

Also, the OS sells the product, at least to me.

Mac price discussion is not really the topic here, it's more about what NLE should someone choose. But I digress. I do think that Mac products are expensive, but that does not necessarily stop me from buying a Mac. I use a Mac everyday. I value my productivity above costs and I spent well over $3,000 on my MacBook Pro. For me and my work, which supports my lifestyle, I need to use a Mac. Sure, we can argue that brand X has a cheaper computer, but then we'll walk down the discussion of, "well, are they comparibly equiped laptops". Then that will dive through another series of discussions, blah blah blah.

Perhaps, maybe I can change my point of reference to make the discussion easier. Macs use more expensive parts and give less options to remove things that I as a consumer may/may not want. They bundle more equipment into the computer which makes the overall product a more expensive purchase.

On the brand X model of systems, the manufacturers tend to give me more control over the hardware and don't lock me into buying a complete bundle.

So, are Macs overpriced? No. Are Macs more expensive? correction, are Macs more expensive then comparable equipped PCs? No.

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=115373

If you missed this the first time, don't miss it this time!

So I buy 6 as cheap as I can, and only then I buy/activate the upgrade?

Think I'll wait to see what Sony includes with the SR11, then maybe get my toes wet with more advanced software.

Dan, yes, you buy v6 and then pick up the v8 Pro upgrade. You have to install 6 in order to install 8 (I uninstalled 6 afterwards). I went this route and had no problems. This is truly an incredible deal and you get the Cineform intermediate codec thrown in.

Leonard brought up some excellent points in his first post in this thread. To clarify my position, which obviously is not the way for everyone to go, I required the Cineform product since Vegas does not remove pulldown from Canon 24PF video. So the time spent rendering AVCHD footage to Cineform is required regardless of whether or not I can effectively edit AVCHD clips on my PC. I knew this before purchasing either the HG10 or Vegas Pro 8 thanks to several informative threads in this forum.

So, in my case, even though I'm back to near realtime capture ala HDV, I'm still benefitting from AVCHD vis-a-vis HDV at the acquisition phase because of HDD vs. tape. One other point that is absolute is performance of both AVCHD editing and rendering is entirely CPU dependent at this point in time. I fully expect hardware accelerated graphics adapters specifically spec'd for AVC/H.264 decoding in the very near future.

Regarding the Mac vs. PC debate, my problem with both Mac's and brandname PC's is that generally speaking, you're locked into a proprietary, non-upgradable model. You just can't rip out the mainboard and CPU of your Mac Pro or Dell and replace it with more current technology when your hardware's age starts to become a problem. At least on the PC side, you have the chance to spec out your own components and assemble with an upgrade path in mind.

But I totally agree with Leonard when he says the app should drive the decision, not the other way around. That was one of the main reasons why OS/2 failed in the marketplace. IBM knew its true 32-bit, pre-emptive multitasking, multithreaded O/S was far superior to MS Windows. However, it failed miserably on the marketing side and so the apps for the platform never materialized. In the end, even those "in the know" had no chance but to choose Win32 over OS/2 because that was the API used by all of the ISV's.

Gents:

From a moderator standpoint, just want to let you know that metadiscussions about Macs vs PC's tend to get pruned out here on DVi as it's been done to death, so probably best to table the discussion of "are Macs overpriced?" and focus on which format offers which possibilities for editing AVCHD.

Outside of that, I'm reading this thread as I'm about to recommend a camcorder for some dear friends who are expecting their first kid and would like to see them in an HD hard-drive system, but wary of what this will mean for them when they want to start editing. My best guess is that the kid will probably be at least walking by the time they have enough energy to think about making their first "greatest hits" video and by then this nut will be cracked (one can hope), but being that they are PC users (and I am not), is there an entry level solution for them that will do the trick, something akin to iMovie? I'm hearing from you guys that converting the files to AVI first is smart, but then what might they use to edit after that. Thanks!

Charles, unfortunately, there really isn't an inexpensive turnkey solution ala iMovie on the PC platform. That has always been one of Apple's strengths. Instead, the consumer is left self-spec'ing the hardware, software, O/S, etc.

If you render your AVCHD footage out to a more universal file format, then you can choose just about any NLE that you'd like. Of course, that choice is highly personal and I'm not sure you want to walk down that road, LOL. Having said that, a lot people seem to like the Vegas Movie Studio product(s), particularly bang for the buck.

For an amateur shooting the family they don't need anything more than the Sony software that comes with the AVCHD cameras. AVCHD backups and conversion to SD DVD with menus, especially for a PC man. Don't know about the Canon etc but would be surprised if they didn't do much the same. The ability to select scenes by a number if categories ( like date etc or even faces in the Sony software) is something just not possible from tape. This for a family amateur is a lot more useful than the occasional need to do fancy editing. When that desire arrives then buying a suitable program to edit will be the cost of entry. There are already a number of PC programs around $100 that will do this just fine, in fact some better than the expensive pro NLE's!!! Though I would leave in AVCHD and play back in a PS3 or Blu-ray player. Again a lot more convenient than tape.

Ron Evans

It's taking me about 20 minutes to convert 1 minute of video in Pinnacle 11 + on my 4400+ x2 to wmv 720p

Could someone please comment on this? I am SOOO close to buying an ADVCHD camera after a ton of research adn waiting for technology to be great on it (as opposed to when AVCHD first came out for consumers).

The above concerns me, are you talking about when you've finished editing AVCHD and then want to render it out to a final product? Isn't this an absolutely massive amount of time??

Could someone please comment on this? I am SOOO close to buying an ADVCHD camera after a ton of research adn waiting for technology to be great on it (as opposed to when AVCHD first came out for consumers).

The above concerns me, are you talking about when you've finished editing AVCHD and then want to render it out to a final product? Isn't this an absolutely massive amount of time??

i don't know about pinnacle, because it doesn't have a demo that supports avchd, but both premiere elements and vegas studio 9 natively support avchd, meaning you can directly import an avchd file into the program, and edit the clip without converting it, and then export it in whatever format you'd like.

granted, editing avchd takes a pretty stout computer, but some programs handle it better than others.

for example, i've got a AMD X2 4200+ (2.2ghz) dual core, with 2gb of ram, and editing avchd is tortuous in premiere elements, but is perfectly reasonable in vegas studio 9. and yes, it does take a while to render out, but that is after the editing is done, i'd say about 10-15 min per minute of video. but compression takes a lot of horsepower, especially the newer, more efficient (visually) codecs. you can either do it fast, but that will cost you some fast and relatively expensive hardware, or you can do it with cheaper with slower hardware, but the price savings is paid for in time it takes to complete.

A lot has changed since February when virtually all of these prior posts above took place.

AVCHD on the PC is now available with 9 mostly low cost editing and authoring programs, some of which (IMHO) are much better than iMovie, particularly the newer iMovie in terms of functionality. Among these 9 choices, Pinnacle has released a newer version which adds a number of new features.

AVCHD remains a very difficult format to handle unless the computer is a recent quadcore, and any of the machines without this capacity will either take a long time to convert AVCHD to another format for editing, or will perform slowly and lack smooth editing when editing AVCHD directly. The good news is that quadcore chips have fallen into the $200 range so that adequate PCs can now be had for well below $1000. The Mac still does not do quadcores except in the MacPro family, and is thus a comparatively expensive choice for AVCHD. Also, the Mac family has yet to provde any Apple products, software, or support either for AVCHD authoring on red laser disks or BluRay authoring on Bluray burners, leaving you with no way to distribute your output.

I agree with the advice to avoid AVCHD if your hardware is not up to the task, and 1440 by 1080 HDV offers a much less demanding option. If you are looking for the ultimately in portability and razor-sharp video however, the 1920 by 1080 video with AVCHD camcorders is outstanding.

Several of the PC programs offer trial versions, thus allowing a complete comparison before making a purchase. This also allows someone with an underpowered piece of hardware to see what type of sluggish performance they will encounter without making any expensive purchase in advance.

The 9 PC programs which handle AVCHD nicely are:

Corel VideoStudio X2 Pro
Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 12
ArcSoft Total Media Extreme
Sony Vegas 8 Pro
Nero Vision
Corel Movie Factory
CyberLink Power Director 7 Ultra
Adobe CS4
Sony Vegas Home

There are also other AVCHD editing and other tools such as TMPGE Express, Vaast Upshift, Elcaset, and others, as well as freeware / shareware which round out the toolbox for those of us who like to dabble further.

Larry

adding on to what Larry said, you can also shot AVCHD in 1440x1080, which is far less demanding on the computer than 1920x1080 is, and the lower the bit rate, the lower the demand on the computer to process it. granted, lower bit rates have lower visual quality. 1440 vs 1920 in and of itself is subject, and you may or may not notice an appreciable difference in quality, so shooting 1440 @ 12Mbps may look just as good to you as 1920 @ 17Mbps.

I have tested most edit packages currently available on the market and by far, I found Corel VideoStudio X2 Pro the best to handle AVCHD video. It does not play AVCHD faster than any other package but there is a very neat background processing feature that allows for converting AVCHD clips to low res 320x240 AVIs proxies. That process is pretty fast, about realtime on a mid-range dual core laptop. Editing is then very easy and picture and video are always in sync. When choosing to ouput your sequence, the program will use the AVCHD clips for final export. There are a few shortcomings in the editing interface but overall, this is a fantastic piece of software to edit AVCHD.

Thierry.

I share the opinion of Thierry, and personally own and use 8 of the 9 PC programs I listed, (as well as Final Cut and iMovie on the MacPro up until recently). I refuse to buy any more Adobe video software after having bad experiences with Premiere and Premiere Elements.

There is a small splicing issue with VideoStudio X2 Pro which is now partially if not entirely corrected with a patch. It may not effect all AVCHD camcorders but did show up for some of the modes of the HF10/HF100 until the patch was released.

I would hate to only have to use one AVCHD program for all of my content here, but if I had to choose only 1, I would probably go for Cyberlink Power Director 7 Ultra with VideoStudio X2 Pro being almost neck-and-neck. On a dual core, I think VideoStudio X2Pro would be my first choice.

Larry

most of the programs that larry listed have demos available for them. download them and try them out to see how well they run on your computer and what you think of the interface. you can find AVCHD sample files on the internet. you may find that you love a particular program and hate another.