easy batch-convert HDV m2t's to a low-res light-weight format?
 

Our editor is often on the road with an Asus eee and often also edits on an old low-spec pc, so his equipment is not very hd-capable. Now, all rendering and encoding is done on a different (much more powerful machine anyway) so an ideal solution would be a way to have him edit with a light-weight low-res format (like normal DV) and I just swap out the files in Vegas.

What's the simplest way to fix this? Swapping out the files is something that's quick to do manually so all I need is some sort of batch converter that suits the job. (using something like GearShift is not necessary and I also haven't had good experiences with that)


(edit: this is only for editing, no color correction or anything like that, so the low-res converted footage can look like crap as long as the timing is right)

Ahum... bump?

First HDV is the same bit rate as DV so it should not be any different they are both 25mbs.

Updating to a macbook pro would be the best way to add more editing power and save an extra transfer process.

A decent low-res (off-line) edit workflow is the Photo-JPEG codec @ 25% to 50% frame size and 75% quality.

True, but the processor may let you down. You'll need more processor power and probably memory to decode the mpeg stream. Without knowing the iron's specs, it's hard to know whether there's enough beef there now.

You might want to simply down-res to DV in the camera before you download to the pc. If the timecode's good you can edit the DV and then re-capture in HDV when you're ready.

Tmpgenc Xpress is $99, can batch process, and accepts .m2ts.

There's probably a freeware solution out there somewhere though... in fact I just checked and MpegStreamClip says it does batch processing. Havent tried it though... MPEG StreamClip

Indeed, MPEG StreamClip is a great tool, I use it frequently. Batch-converting the m2t clips to clips using the Photo-JPEG codec @ 25% frame size and 50% quality will be great for offlining on a laptop while on the go. Very small file sizes with decent picture quality that is both disk space and processor friendly, which is very important when working on a laptop.

There are many different digital video file types available out there, which can make file conversion difficult for the inexperienced. M2T files and MPG files are actually not completely dissimilar, as both are different types of MPEG2 video files. As a result, this is a much less complicated conversion than many other possible video conversions. If a quick file renaming trick doesn’t work, there are many conversion programs available on the Internet. I’d like Pavtube MTS Converter for MAC.
How to convert M2T to MOV on MAC » Camcorder Video Share