Viewing AVCHD (.m2ts) files from laptop on an HD TV

[Anindya Ghosh]

I purchased an HG10. I want to play the videos saved on my laptop hard disc on my HD TV (which I am in the process of purchasing). My laptop does not have an HDMI port.

What is the best option to see the .m2ts files on an HD TV?

A. I don't like the option suggested by DELL customer support of using the s-video output of the laptop. I feel I will lose the HD quality. Am I correct?

B. I thought of using the Vista Media Center in the laptop to play the video. I can add a Media Extender (like Linksys DMA2100 or DMA2200) to view the files in the HD TV. Is this a good idea?

Problem with Option B - How does Media Center play my .m2ts files?
As expected, the .m2ts files are not playing on Media Center. I used the Corel Software that accompanies the HG10 camera to convert the files to MPEG-2. But media center is not playing the media clips if I choose a Hi-Def resolution of 1440x1080. Can I download any codecs so that my media center will play mpeg-2 with 1440x1080 resolution?

If I should be thinking something totally different, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!!

- Anindya

[Aaron Courtney]

Originally Posted by Anindya Ghosh

If I should be thinking something totally different, please let me know.

Yes, you should be thinking differently. Your best option is to simply connect the HG10 via HDMI or component vid and watch your clips in that manner.

You didn't say why you transferred the footage from the cam to your laptop. If you're out of disk space on the HG10, transfer clips over to the laptop to free up space and then transfer the clips you want to view back to the camera. Also, I wouldn't exactly say that you're backing up or archiving your clips by storing them on a laptop. So that's something to think about.

You also didn't say you were doing any serious editing. If you're not, then forget about all of the conversion/compatibility/AVC hardware playback requirement headaches and just wait for the Blu ray/AVC burners to either become available (e.g., Canon DW 100) or hit attractive price points.