HD Disc Options

[holtyuk]

Hi all,

I recently changed my camcorder from a Standard-Def MiniDV to a High-Def (Canon HG21) recording AVCHD onto HDD. I've just returned from safari (the reason for upgrading) and have about 5 hours of recordings at the highest quality setting which is 1920x1080 @ 24Mbps (MXP).

My intention was to put a new Blu-Ray writer in my PC and upgrade my version of Sony Vegas to allow me to edit my AVCHD files and create Blu-Ray discs. I got a bit of a shock at the price of the Vegas Pro with DVD Architect 5 which it seems is the version I need to create Blu-Ray discs. I don't really want to spend over £500 on the software but from looking around, there doesn't seem to be anything else around that will create Blu-Ray discs with menus at an affordable price. Cheaper software will only create a single AVCHD movie onto a DVD, which is what the software bundled with the camcorder does (although I haven't tried it yet).

Basically, all I want do is watch my recordings on my HD TV without any IQ loss and have basic DVD-style menus to allow me to navigate through the different sections. I had sort-of assumed that Blu-Ray was the only way to go, so I've got a two-part question that I would really appreciate some advice on:

1. What options do I have for watching HD recordings with DVD-menus?

2. If it's Blu-Ray, then are there any cost-effective options to getting this done?

Thanks in advance, I have already scanned the threads but can't find anything up-to-date that fully covers this subject.

Cheers,
Simon

[Andy98765]

Never used but.
Nero - Features
VideoStudio X2 - Video Editing
The two above seem to suggest doing exactly what you want! Although Nero would be very basic and the editing if like DVD editing on V8 is a lot to be desired.

[Mr Lazy]

If you can live without DVD-like menus then one option is to play back your AVCHD on a digital media player (I use the WD TV for this purpose, around £77) and store the media on one or more hard disks or on a network (ie. your PC or a NAS) - the future, IMHO, does not involve shiny round discs. For clip selection you would have to rely on the media players own GUI navigation.

[mmace]

I usually use Encore (comes with Premiere Pro) but for something I want to knock up quickly I use Nero with Blu-ray add-on, it can create menu's and encodes quite quickly

[holtyuk]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I like the idea of a networked hard drive for films etc but for my 'home movies', and I realise this will sound a bit sad , I like the idea of putting in the effort of creating the menus, printing the disc and case cover and putting it my shelf . We will probably never ever watch them more than once or twice, so it's a posterity thing more than anything.

I'll give Nero and VideoStudio a try, hopefully they've got trial versions. But I think I won't even get that far as my current PC is probably going to be woefully underpowered and unable to cope with the HD files . So the next step will be investigating what sort of spec my new PC will need to be.

I feel a new thread coming on...

Cheers!