The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread

[Riki Rana]

Hi Andy,
Following up on your suggestion I just returned from a long May day holiday and have shot around 96gb of video all in 1080/50p. Now would really appreciate if someone could guide me to the render settings in Sony Vegas Pro 12.
Also I am streaming from a Popcorn C300 to a Panny TV and that is the only way I will be watching the videos.
Thanks

[Andy Wilkinson]

Hi, a quick search in this section or the Vegas section should pull up some useful threads for you - but here is one to get you going.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/panasoni...50p-files.html

Not sure what advances Vegas 11 has over the 9 that I ended my Vegas days with, but if you can't work it out by doing some tests on a few clips I am sure those who are up to date with Vegas 11 and handling 1080p50 AVCHD2 on here can help. I only really use Adobe on Mac now.

I also seem to remember that some useful Vegas tips appeared somewhere in this huge long thread about a year ago [on my iPhone right now so I'll let you search back and find one of my index pages] - and then perhaps you can find some more useful info Riki.

Sure someone will offer advice!

[Riki Rana]

Hi Andy, no one has responded yet. I have had to downgrade the files and had to render them to check the recordings and have lost the advantage of having shot in 50p. I really hope someone replies soon. There are some settings suggestions abut Edius but unfortunately I am unable to run Edius on my I5 system. Maybe there is anther software which you can suggest which could do the jobe, thanks.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Will Vegas 12 not handle 1080p50 on your i5 windows box? Very surprised at that - but I rarely use Vegas now so someone else will have to help as there will have been a lot of changes from my Vegas 9 to your 12.

By "downgrading" your files I hope you kept a copy of the originals in tact...

As I mentioned before, the best approach is always to do a few tests on a few short clips to optimise your workflow (and write down notes about your findings and all critical settings used).

Only once you have established what works best - lots of pixel peeping on the resulting very short test movies once they are rendered to your choosen viewing format - would I then consider throwing a huge project at your system....which is what 96GB sounds like to me!!!

That's why my YouTube Channel (AndyKWilkinson) has a quite a few "worthless" test films on it...a few of my TM900/Vegas test results are even public too...

I can't help with Edius as have no experience of it. No idea why it would not work on your i5 computer.

[Mike Prendergast]

Riki, Here is the workflow i use with TM900 footage (i shoot 1080 60p) and Sony Vegas Pro 11:

1) Transcode the MTS files to AVI using Cineform. You can get a free copy of the software at GoPro.com
2) Open Vegas project with settings in attached image
3) Add AVI files to Vegas project. (AVI files will allow for smooth playback during editing)
4) Edit (disable smart re-sample on all clips)
5) Render with settings in attached image.
6) When you are finished with project editing, you can delete AVI files to save space. DO NOT delete the MTS files.

Originally Posted by Riki Rana

Hi Andy,
Following up on your suggestion I just returned from a long May day holiday and have shot around 96gb of video all in 1080/50p. Now would really appreciate if someone could guide me to the render settings in Sony Vegas Pro 12.
Also I am streaming from a Popcorn C300 to a Panny TV and that is the only way I will be watching the videos.
Thanks

[Riki Rana]

Thanks Mike for your reply. One question, my camera is a European model so I have shot on 1080-50p. Do I choose 1920*1080-50p (Double Pal) in Vegas. Any other settings to change ? Also forgive my ignorance , but Cineform Import does not see the .mts files, maybe I am doing something wrong.

[Mike Prendergast]

Riki, Yes match your footage (50p) for the project settings and for rendering use 25 in place of 29.97 that i have.

I don't know if there are any other changes needed.

[Riki Rana]

Hi Mike,
Go Pro Cineform the free version does not read mts or AVCHD files. Any other converter which you feel would do the job ?

[Mike Prendergast]

Sorry to hear the free version doesn't work with MTS files. I didn't know that. I have Cineform Neoscene (paid version). Here is something i just found in a quick google search. I have no knowledge of this software at all but it does claim to do the job and is free.

MTS to AVI Converter free for Windows

[Riki Rana]

I am trying out EDIUS and am very happy so far as I am able to view and edit my clips which I could never do in Vegas. Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help.

[Tom Roper]

I'm not sure why the Cineform step is needed. If it's not possible to get smooth playback of the MTS files with Vegas 12 with an i5 processor, then select the desired MTS files from the media bin, right click and choose "create proxy video." Then in the preview window, select "preview auto" to view the proxy files or choose "Best Auto" to view the native MTS files, your choice. This is all explained in the Vegas help. FWIW, my Dell laptop with i7 is nothing special, although it does have the GT555M nVidia CUDA open CL graphics card, it speeds through the native MTS files of my TM900 easily, and also my AG-AC90, 1920x1080/60p.

[Riki Rana]

With OIS on does one need to always press the OIS lock button on the LCD screen or is it only when extra stabilisation is needed whilst zooming. Is the stabilisation without holding the hand icon good enough ?
Also what is the max zoom to use with best results. Thanks in advance.

[Tom Hardwick]

Only push the on-screen stabilisation button when you want the maximum stabilisation and you can put up with the not-inconsiderable side-effects. You can zoom or pan or tilt without the camera 'carrying-on'. Put it on a tripod to see what I'm talking about.

The stabilisation afforded by simply using the OIS button is pretty good, but again, the side effects are pretty noticeable if you pan or tilt.

Max zoom? You can switch it to the 20x with no loss of resolution. Although it's digital from 12x to 20x it's using a mega-pixel chip, so that even at 20x it's still 1920 x 1080. Better yet it remains at f/2.8 max from 12x to 20x, so it's a neat solution.

tom.

[Alan Christensen]

I have been using 3 TM900's for the last two years to shoot events. They work great except for one thing. When the camera is recording continuously and has to start a new file (after the prior file has reached 4GB), there is a sizeable dropout on the audio and a bunch of duplicated frames in the video. The camera does create the correct number of frames as it transitions from one file to another such that the multiple cameras will stay in sync. However, the audio dropout is a problem if you are recording a concert and end up with a hole in the audio. The 4 frozen video frames that you get at the junction of the files is also a problem if you have fast action as viewers will notice it. However, with video you typically have multiple camera angles and can avoid the video with the glitch at that point in time. The audio is more of a problem as I have different types of mikes on the various cameras and substituting in audio from camera2 to plug a hole in camera1's audio doesn't end up with a great result. I have always shot events in 1080/60p because of the flexibility that it gives me in post. It just occurred to me that the problem might be less severe in 60i as the camera processor might have less work to do. However, this wouldn't be a great solution anyway because I really like the 60p.

I am looking to add a 4th camera as I am moving towards using more static cameras and fewer manned cameras. I really like the intelligent exposure on the TM900 as it keeps from blowing out areas of the stage that are under brighter light when I am zoomed back. I'd like to get a new camera that has this same capability, that can be easily color matched to my existing cameras, and that fixes the audio glitch at the file junction.

Does anyone have experience with the TM900 follow-on cameras that would shed light on whether or not Panny fixed the audio issue with the new cameras? For critical events today I use a PD-170 to record the audio track. But this is a hassle to set up, synchronize, and download the tapes. Any thoughts of a new camera that can be matched with my current cams and that solves my audio issue? Something that doesn't break the bank...

[Riki Rana]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

Only push the on-screen stabilisation button when you want the maximum stabilisation and you can put up with the not-inconsiderable side-effects. You can zoom or pan or tilt without the camera 'carrying-on'. Put it on a tripod to see what I'm talking about.

The stabilisation afforded by simply using the OIS button is pretty good, but again, the side effects are pretty noticeable if you pan or tilt.

Max zoom? You can switch it to the 20x with no loss of resolution. Although it's digital from 12x to 20x it's using a mega-pixel chip, so that even at 20x it's still 1920 x 1080. Better yet it remains at f/2.8 max from 12x to 20x, so it's a neat solution.

tom.

Thanks Tom for your reply. I will check out your suggestions.