Video editing for HDV

[tausifs]

Hi,

I have a US model Canon HV20 and want to archive and edit the footage to Blu Ray.

The Panasonic freesat BD recorder doesn't seem like it would be any use as it supports AVCHD.

I presume I will need a computer with a large hard drive, firewire and video editing software as well as a BD burner.

Some people with a HDV camcorder must gone this route already. Just want some advice and if there is anything else I will need.

Are there any laptops that have all the requirements ? Or would a desktop be cheaper and more practical ? Any PC recommendations ?

[JH4]

Hi again, I was the one replying to your query on the Panny BD recorder thread. What you could do is upload your HDV footage to a PC via Firewire and - with such software as Corel's/ULead's "VideoStudio", convert this to an AVCHD format. This can then be burned to a normal DVD blank ( not BD), which will play in the original HD quality on a BD or Sony PS3 player. This saves the need to buy a BD burner. (You are right in that the Panny will only accept AVCHD footage.) Hope this helps.

[tausifs]

Thanks, sorry didn't see your post in that thread.

I thought AVCHD would result in a little loss of definition which I want to avoid. I want a pixel by pixel transfer ideally.

EDIT: sorry again, so AVCHD can be as good as original. So what are the minimum PC requirements for video editing and firewire eg. RAM

And is that software free ?

Thanks.

[JH4]

Originally Posted by tausifs

Thanks, sorry didn't see your post in that thread.

I thought AVCHD would result in a little loss of definition which I want to avoid. I want a pixel by pixel transfer ideally.

EDIT: sorry again, so AVCHD can be as good as original. So what are the minimum PC requirements for video editing and firewire eg. RAM

And is that software free ?

Thanks.

I have used an elderly P4 computer running Win XP with Corel's "VideoStudio 11.5" and 1G of RAM. That will work, but is a bit slow sometimes. More RAM is the key, and a faster processor. There is a very good deal on the latest version of Corel's VideoStudio X2 on Amazon at the mo, but it's not Windows 7 certified, as yet.. It Ok for XP and Vista though. That will do all you want it to, I believe. Check out the reviews as well, on that site. There is a free trial version on Corel's site but it will have limited functionality.
Best of luck !

[senu]

You can produce BD or AVCHD discs from HDV without converting first to AVCHD though.

[senu]

Originally Posted by tausifs

I thought AVCHD would result in a little loss of definition which I want to avoid. I want a pixel by pixel transfer ideally.

It might

EDIT: sorry again, so AVCHD can be as good as original. So what are the minimum PC requirements for video editing and firewire eg. RAM

HDV is fare easier to edit than AVCHD so I would really not convert unlesss you had to and even then leave that to the Disc arthoring software

And is that software free ?
Thanks.

Nope
But they are not that costly

I have known folk convert AVCHD to HDV with little or no loss in definition . I guess the same applies to HDv to AVCHD but it should not be nessesary to do this to produce a BD or AVCHD disc

[chrishull3]

BD burners are cheap now, for me one is a must.

[tausifs]

Originally Posted by senu

You can produce BD or AVCHD discs from HDV without converting first to AVCHD though.

How do you do this, please ?

BTW, my PC would need more RAM , more hard drive and also a firewire, its a 4.5 yrs old Dell ! Seems I would be better off buying a new higher spec PC rather than trying to bolt things on to it. Hewlett Packard PCs seem to be quite highly spec'd- does anyone have one of these ? Any HP's come with a BD burner and full HD display ?

[senu]

Originally Posted by tausifs

How do you do this, please ?

Most software which can produce AVCHD disc or BD will take HDV as input
Ulead MF6+, Roxio 2010 pro Are one or 2 Ive got

BTW, my PC would need more RAM , more hard drive and also a firewire, its a 4.5 yrs old Dell ! Seems I would be better off buying a new higher spec PC rather than trying to bolt things on to it. Hewlett Packard PCs seem to be quite highly spec'd- does anyone have one of these ? Any HP's come with a BD burner and full HD display ?

Yes Ive even seen some HP laptops with it although I would steer you towards a Quadcore/17 desktop for the extra grunt they are likely to have for less money than a high end Laptop

[senu]

Originally Posted by chrishull3

BD burners are cheap now, for me one is a must.

Is it worth getting an internal one and then getting an e-sata case?; I have my sights on the LG or Pioneer203
Cases are £ 20 and drives Around £140 in a shop in my area

[tausifs]

My BD player doesn't seem to say if it will play AVCHD. Is there anything I can download from somewhere onto a DVD just to see if it will play in it ? Guys thanks for all your help so far

So it seem I only need a higher spec PC , not necessarily a BD recorder in it ?

Before I pull the trigger on a high spec PC, are there any AVCHD enabled HDD/DVD recorders out there that would do the job ?

[senu]

Originally Posted by tausifs

My BD player doesn't seem to say if it will play AVCHD.

Which is it?

Is there anything I can download from somewhere onto a DVD just to see if it will play in it ?

Even if you got AVCHD material, just burning to DVD as a data dic does not make it an AVCHD disc..you would have to author one with software

So it seem I only need a higher spec PC , not necessarily a BD recorder in it ?

Yes but a BD burner would be a plus if it didn't add to cost. bare drives cost about £150+

Before I pull the trigger on a high spec PC, are there any AVCHD enabled HDD/DVD recorders out there that would do the job ?

Yes but they are far from cheap ATM Panasonic make a few
A new PC would be better VFM

[tausifs]

My BD player is the Denon 3800BD, one of their first efforts.

[tausifs]

Senu,

so I have some suggested specs from looking at the HP Pavillion range, would these be sufficient ?

-RAM standard memory 4 GB

-dedicated video RAM 512MB

-NVIDIA graphics card Geoforce 9100

-internal drive 500GB

-IEEE 1394 FireWire® Interface

-Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe Technology

The HP Pavillion p6115 has all these. Processor type AMD Phenom™ II X4 810 . What do you think ?

Would Windows 7 be better than Windows Vista ?

[senu]

Looks Good
Windows 7 does use resources more efficiently than Vista but I have had no issues with either