[Dean08]

I'm currently building a new PC system for editing videos from my Sony HDR-SR12E. I need to decide what type of DVD/RW drive I need.

Can I burn the final HD footage onto a normal 4.7Gb DVD disc using a conventional DVD/RW drive on my PC?

Or do I need a blu-ray rewriter instead? I intend to play the final footage on a HDTV using a blu-ray player or PS3.

[senu]

If you want to play Bluray discs at all, buy a Blu ray writer but be aware of costs of media..
or
wait and just get a normal DVD burner in the mean time
A halfway house ( if it costs less) is a BD playback drive which can burn DVD

If you simply burn Hd def files to a DVD disc.. the PS3 should read and play them .. as a media player
If you use DVD media to "author" an AVCHD disc ( with menu ) ( using suitable software) the PS3 and a handful of Sony BD players can play it back

In either case you will get a maximum of 20-40 mins on the DVD disc ( depending on the encoding bitrate of the AVCHD)
For HDV 20 mins max, the SR 12 is AVCHD

[Dean08]

I'm using Sony Vegas to edit my videos and DVD Architect to create the final DVD. 20-40 minutes isn't that long so it sounds like I may need the explore the blu-ray route for videos any longer than that.

I haven't yet bought a blu-ray player or PS3 for my HDTV yet. Not sure which I'll get. I'm just looking for the best way to enjoy watching the HD footage on our TV.

I've seen blu-ray rewriters for PCs but the one I saw was over £150 and that doesn't factor in the expensive media as you say.

[Bodger15]

I must say this is a problem I did not take into account, the fact that you need a blu ray writer on your computer and a blu ray player to watch full hd video if you record to DVD.
My best solution for now is to edit on the PC and upload back onto my Sony SR11 hard disc and plug it strait into my Sony HD TV...

[senu]

Originally Posted by Bodger15

I must say this is a problem I did not take into account, the fact that you need a blu ray writer on your computer and a blu ray player to watch full hd video if you record to DVD.
My best solution for now is to edit on the PC and upload back onto my Sony SR11 hard disc and plug it strait into my Sony HD TV...

No, you will not be able to upload edited AVCHD files to your camcorder, or if manage to, it will not play them
and
No ,you do not need a BluRay writer on your computer to watch Hi def on unless you want to record to Blu ray discs to watch more than 20 min, but then again you could watch it off your HDD ( or an external one)

If you record to DVD media, Software ( Like Power DVD ultra) will Playback files or the AVCHD disc ( on DVD)
To simply play the files on the PC you could use Oxygen
or
Nero Showtime 4 (From Nero 8)

Incidentally I saw a £199 LG "Super Blu", external BD writer/HD DVD player ( with the appropriate software) at PC Worlds this evening with "offers" of BD -R discs ( 25Gb) for £7.99 each ( Normally £11.99)

[Artois guy]

Most of the cameras have very basic editing software that comes with the camera. In a thread somewhere on here someone was talking about a free piece of software that will "knit" avchd files together to give the effect of a movie .. which can then be burnt onto a DVD and will play really well on a PS3 ... I tried just dragging and dropping all of the MT2S files onto a DVD and playing in the PS3 and was amazed at the quality .. the only issue with it is that it is basically a computer playing file "Clips" ... ie no movie ... play the clips one at a time ... the "knitting together" software would at least mask this a little .. but you would still not have the menus and chapters etc that you would get if you use some pucker editing software ...

[senu]

Originally Posted by Artois guy

Most of the cameras have very basic editing software that comes with the camera. In a thread somewhere on here someone was talking about a free piece of software that will "knit" avchd files together to give the effect of a movie .. which can then be burnt onto a DVD and will play really well on a PS3 ...

THIS

I tried just dragging and dropping all of the MT2S files onto a DVD and playing in the PS3 and was amazed at the quality .. the only issue with it is that it is basically a computer playing file "Clips" ... ie no movie ... play the clips one at a time ... the "knitting together" software would at least mask this a little .. but you would still not have the menus and chapters etc that you would get if you use some pucker editing software ...

Nero Vision 5 (part of Nero 8) would have sorted you out ... It can output it as a single file, or create an AVCHD disc ( burnt to DVD media) with menu equally playable in a PS3 in its BD player mode But if you used the FF software (linked above) to join them first then Nero to make a menu it would actually be better as no rerendering would occur
Nero may have its weaknesses in other areas but it is very versatile.. You can also playback the files ( and AVCHD disc) with Nero Showtime 4

[manhar]

Just used Nerovision to burn Sony AVCHD files (m2ts) to DVD. After 4 hours of encoding it said "You are trying to burn using udf version 2.5 or higher. The DVD will not be mountable by WinXP" Went ahead and burnt it anyway. As stated, win xp did not recognize the disc. But power DVD & Nero show are able to play it back, but the video is jerky and broken up. Is the DVD not playable on the PC?

[senu]

Did you burn a data disc or AVCHD disc?
What is your PCs spec?
Power DVD Ultra specifies a minimum for playback otherwise it will struggle
The AVCHD disc is in effect a Bluray Movie disc on DVD media
If you have access to a PS3 give the disc a go on it and see

[manhar]

Originally Posted by senu

Did you burn a data disc or AVCHD disc?
What is your PCs spec?
Power DVD Ultra specifies a minimum for playback otherwise it will struggle
The AVCHD disc is in effect a Bluray Movie disc on DVD media
If you have access to a PS3 give the disc a go on it and see

Burnt AVCHD disc
PC - Pentium4 3.2 Ghz, 1GB Ram, Asus P4 P800E motherboard
Am trying to burn a data disc now. Will the quality be inferior to AVCHD disc?
Using Nero visio.

[senu]

Originally Posted by manhar

Burnt AVCHD disc
PC - Pentium4 3.2 Ghz, 1GB Ram, Asus P4 P800E motherboard
Am trying to burn a data disc now. Will the quality be inferior to AVCHD disc?
Using Nero visio.

It would seem Your PC is underpowered for AVCHD
The quality with data discs may be better if there has been no editing and Nero has not reencoded the m2ts files ( which it should not)
You may not be able to tell unless you play it on a PS3 or a PC with at least Core2duo processor but I think the data discs will be a little better
Can I suggest that using Nero, import your m2ts files, Having chosen make AVCHD disc but then output ( export) as HDV ( Mpeg21080i)
You will be able to watch the files far more easily and still get good quality but this is only a temporary workabout :You need a PC with more OOmph!