[Stimposs]

Hi guys,
I am really keen to get an HD camcorder to use and edit on my new (and very powerful) iMac 24inch. I specifically love the Sony TG3.

Reading about the options however has left me a little confused as i am beginning to realise that i can only playback HD recordings on my iMac - even more confusing is the stuff written about the Sony TG3 and the complications with the Sony HD AVCHD encoding....and from what i gather it doesn't work well with an iMac. For example read this review on Amazon -

Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: Sony TG3 High Definition Digital Camcorder

So is it possible to easily watch HD recordings using the TG3 with a mac? and also is there any easy way to actually burn HD discs with a mac?
thanks a lot,
michael

[A n d r e w]

The TG3 is compatible with iMovie '08 and iMovie '09. AVCHD is "transcoded" to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) upon import. This is still high definition, depending on your settings. The file size is much larger because AIC is nowhere near as compressed as AVCHD which is what makes it easier to deal with. VLC is a freeware multi-format media player that plays AVCHD - but please bear in mind that even very powerful quad-core machines can have playback issues with AVCHD. However, I edit AVCHD (transcoded to AIC) on a Mac mini and, aside from a bit of stuttering when playing a clip in VLC, I don't really have any issues. Apple does not support Blu-ray, but you can burn high definition discs using Roxio Toast. Burning high quality standard definition DVDs is made very easy with iDVD.

[Stimposs]

ok great thanks Andrew - thats what i needed confirmation on. thanks very much