I just had this discussion with Sony support. I thought some others might want to see this... Note: the discussion is in reverse, e.g., start from the bottom.
-Adam

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Customer (Adam Sturman) 06/24/2009 03:31 PM
Thanks for your response!

Regards,
-adam

Response (Whitney M.) 06/24/2009 03:27 PM
Hi Adam,

Thank you for writing back. Our engineers are working to resolve any issues between the Vegas software and that particular camera. As of right now there is no date set for a fully compatible release, but you can be assured that our engineers know of the issues and are working hard to resolve them.

If you still have a follow-up question on this particular incident, please feel free to update it. If you have a completely different question, please create a new incident.

Sincerely,

Whitney M.
Customer Service
Sony Creative Software Inc
Sony Creative Software - Vegas video - ACID & Sound Forge audio editing (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com)


Customer (Adam Sturman) 06/24/2009 02:38 PM
Great, So you are confirming, "somewhat officially", that Sony Vegas engineers are working to ensure compatibility with the Panasonic AG-HMC150 and Sony Vegas Pro 9?

Sorry I'm being a little pushy on this, but this compatibility is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for me, which may force me to move away from sony Vegas.

Thank you,
-Adam

Response (Whitney M.) 06/24/2009 02:28 PM
Hi Adam,

Thank you for contacting Sony Creative Software. Our developers and engineers are working steadily to make Vegas Pro 9.0 more compatible with that specific camera model. Please check back in soon for updates of Vegas Pro 9.0, as this issue could be resolved within the life span of the Vegas Pro 9.0 program.

If you still have a follow-up question on this particular incident, please feel free to update it. If you have a completely different question, please create a new incident.

Sincerely,

Whitney M.
Customer Service
Sony Creative Software Inc
Sony Creative Software - Vegas video - ACID & Sound Forge audio editing (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com)


Customer (Adam Sturman) 06/24/2009 12:47 PM
Will Sony Vegas 9.0 ever have full support for Panasonic's AG-HMC150 camcorder?

It works "well enough", and there are some workarounds I've discovered, but I'm dieing to have support for the timecode that this camera records in its AVCCAM .mts files.

Basically, I'm begging you to add full support for this very popular camera.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE -- Can you pass this onto the developers?

Sounds like a boiler plate response to me.

Neither response from Sony contains "Panasonic or HMC150".

Notice what they do say-

"That particular camera" and "that specific camera model". These descriptions can be used for ANY camera (Panasonic, Canon, JVC, Sony, etc.). The responses are very generic and have been written purposefully to respond to questions concerning all camera makes and models and any type of "issue" or "incident".

Send them a message and tell them that you are having problems with your Yamaha YZ450 camera and the Vegas 9 software and I bet you get the same exact response.

Be realistic in your expectations. Sony and Panasonic are rivals. Why should they produce a program to edit a rival's equipment? Doesn't make sense, right?

In that light, I haven't seen any P2 IMPORT support in Sony Vegas so far - despite the P2 cameras are out for a much longer period than this HMC150.

Your money will be better off going to Grass Valley's EDIUS or Adobe CS4 ....

I'm not sure I understand the issue. The MTS files from the camera drop directly onto the timeline. What is it that Vegas doesn't do that you want it to?

The files don't join properly on the timeline.

720/30p format is not detected properly.

The timecode on the files are not supported.

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I understand panasonic and sony are rivals, the problem is that we've invested a lot into vegas, and switching, at this point, would be too expensive.

-Adam

How do the files join? Not sure about the 720/30p issue, but my EX1 files don't preserve their timecode either.

-P

The files don't join properly on the timeline.

720/30p format is not detected properly.

The timecode on the files are not supported.

--

I understand panasonic and sony are rivals, the problem is that we've invested a lot into vegas, and switching, at this point, would be too expensive.

-Adam

How do the files join? Not sure about the 720/30p issue, but my EX1 files don't preserve their timecode either.

-P

If you have a single continuous shot that exceeds the 4gb file limit, the next clip in the series will not join on the timeline, without an audio and video "glitch." The workaround is simply to use the copy command to join the two files together into a single, contiguous file.

In the 720p/30 issue, the fact is that the camera records in 60p, and writes a flag in the mts file to tell the NLE that the framerate is really 30p. Vegas does not honor this flag, therefore, 30p video looks like hell because vegas tries to "resample" it to 30p, instead of dropping every other frame. The workaround is also simple, in your 29.97p project simply right click on each mts on the timeline, select properties, and "disable resample." The results are obvious.

As for timecode, which cameras does vegas support with timecode? only DV/HDV?

Regards,
-Adam

Ah gotcha. Hopefully they address these issues. I don't know about the timecode issue. None of my cams sync to timecode so it's never been anything I've worried about.

Yeah, the timecode issue never really was an issue, until I began to investigate the possibility of getting a second hmc150 and use the camera link function... I have a small "studio", and I was hoping to add a second camera with timecode... Looks like I'll be seeking other options now.

-A

Yeah, the timecode issue never really was an issue, until I began to investigate the possibility of getting a second hmc150 and use the camera link function... I have a small "studio", and I was hoping to add a second camera with timecode... Looks like I'll be seeking other options now.

-A

YEp, a clapper for $60 from Filmtools. Easy as pie. If they have to be some distance from each other, then just use a cheap camera flash unit. $10 at any garage sale.