Newbie question - Transcoding AVCHD on a pc

[Sean Scarfo]

I'm getting ready to purchase a HF S100 camera. I'm familiar with some prosumer (HMC-150) and AVCHD on a mac/FCP is as simple as log and transfer. However, at home I use a pc and probably intend to use Sony Vegas. What codec/format should I transcode 1080/24p AVCHD video to?

I'd like to make it easy to take to a mac and work on FCP if I have to.

I tried searching, however I didn't see an answer to this directly, so I apologize if this has already been answered.

[Guy McLoughlin]

One answer is the Cineform NEO SCENE CODEC, which costs $129, and creates video files that are editable on both the Mac and Win platforms. ( you have to buy a copy for each computer ) NEO SCENE will also take care of removing any reverse telecine issues.

http://www.cineform.com/neoscene/

[Rob deJong]

Will that codec be accepted by AVID Media Composer?

[David M. Spell]

Rob. No, Cineform cannot be cut natively on an Avid. Not current versions of Media Composer. Supposedly, MC5 will support AVCHD natively, for now, you'll have to import it. I had a very hard time transcoding Vixia footage correctly for a number of reasons but eventually I got it right, So, here's 2 options for you. Both cost money. There are other methods but I have 1st hand experience with these.

1. use Cineform and them import to Avid (not a great option as you are transcoding 2x and need tons of storage space!) But I will say Cineform is pretty impressive.

2. transcode to Avid friendly format using TMPGenc 4 (I suggest you try before you buy!) TMPGEnc - Products: TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress - Product Overview This program is pretty impressive although I've read some negatives about it here and elsewhere. Good luck!