can HD footage be edited/converted down to SD ?

zorba11 · 11-03-2009, 2:44 PM

sorry me again!

can HD footage be edited/converted down to SD ?

how easy is this?
I'm thinking, if I go for a cam that can record in HD only, ideally I still want to be able to disseminate SD copies for friends / family etc. to view on SD systems.

Also what about youtube and other internet video apps - can they play HD ?

many thanks

**senu** · 11-03-2009, 3:00 PM

You could keep all these questions in one or 3 threads you know..

The answer is
Yes
HDV and AVCHD can be rendered out as SD after editing
As editng on a PC is non destructive, you could have a Hi def output as well, and then also the You tube friendly formats

However with HDV, you can shoot Hi def but capture to PC as SD (DV AVI)
With AVCHD you dont have this option as AVCHD camcorders cannot downconvert " on the fly" as HDV camcorders can

Is it easy.?? .its as easy as asking the software to do it.
Is it quick.?
..Most probably not..
Even with a basic Quad core system with loads of RAM , it still takes time but it is possible and you may have the patience for it
AFAIK some of these hosting sites dont need you do convert as they do it automatically

Mr Lazy · 11-03-2009, 3:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

You could keep all these questions in one or 3 threads you know..

LOL

zorba11 · 11-03-2009, 4:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

You could keep all these questions in one or 3

Sorry guys! On other forums I participate in the protocol is always that if a new question arises in a thread, unless its directly related to the subject of the original thread, then one should create a new thread for the question.

zorba11 · 11-03-2009, 4:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

However with HDV, you can shoot Hi def but capture to PC as SD (DV AVI)
With AVCHD you dont have this option as AVCHD camcorders cannot downconvert " on the fly" as HDV camcorders can

I guess the same applies for playing content on an SD TV directly from the cam. That is to say, with HDV you can downconvert your HD content to SD "on the fly" as it goes down the wire to the SD TV, but anything in AVCHD format can't be downconverted ?

ta

**senu** · 11-03-2009, 5:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zorba11

I guess the same applies for playing content on an SD TV directly from the cam. That is to say, with HDV you can downconvert your HD content to SD "on the fly" as it goes down the wire to the SD TV, but anything in AVCHD format can't be downconverted ?

ta

No not quite
This is simply a function of HDV camcorders
The HDV camcorder actually turns the mpeg2 1080i to DV AVI at the point of capture before it gets to the PC. It is not a passive feature and you would have to specify that it does this as You would use the same firewire cable whether capturing from it as HDV or DV

With Playing to SD TV, if you connect any sort of camcorder , even to HDTV via composite analogue or s-video, you will get SD
SD TVs dont have HDMI and those which have component tend to only accept 576i if the camcorder output via component supports that

jwramsay · 15-03-2009, 10:26 AM

I found something great about Sony DVD Architect Pro 5.0, that you may find helpful.

I can edit my Hi-Def timeline using Sony Vegas 8.0c, producing an M2TS AVC file and an AC3 file (5.1 surround).

Pull these into DVD Architect, replacing the corrupted soundtrack on the M2TS with the AC3 (major BUG alert there!). This can then be used to create either an AVCHD "Blu Ray" disk or it will convert to MPEG2 with AC3 to make a "DVD". The conversion does take a while, but saves having to do the project twice.

Any yes, youtube does allow uploading of M2TS files with the limitations of 10mins or 1G file size. Works very well actually.

mmace · 15-03-2009, 5:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

Is it quick.?
..Most probably not..
Even with a basic Quad core system with loads of RAM , it still takes time but it is possible and you may have the patience for it

depends on the PC, mine can render SD MPEG2 DVD ready in about 6x (60 minute clip will take 10 mins rendering)

if I render out as AVCHD and then convert that to SD in something like ConvertXtoDVD it takes not much more than 5 minutes to do over an hour.

**senu** · 15-03-2009, 6:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmace

depends on the PC, mine can render SD MPEG2 DVD ready in about 6x (60 minute clip will take 10 mins rendering)

True, an i7 system with 2-3Gb RAM and a decent modern Graphics card is " cutting edge" though

Also not all software can take advantage of 8 " threads"

mmace · 17-03-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

True, an i7 system with 2-3Gb RAM and a decent modern Graphics card is " cutting edge" though

Also not all software can take advantage of 8 " threads"

ConvertXtoDVD only uses 1 thread and it's still stupidly fast

**senu** · 17-03-2009, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmace

ConvertXtoDVD only uses 1 thread and it's still stupidly fast

Is this on any system though?
My remark about the i7 system is that the system as a whole ( FSB, RAM speed), not just the processor is optimised for speed
As such with even only 1 thread the 2 tiers of onboard cache are being utilised
If you used ConvertXto DVD on a low end C2D or even P4 with 1Gb RAM would it still be fast?
Canopus Procoder is quite fast too

mmace · 17-03-2009, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

Is this on any system though?
My remark about the i7 system is that the system as a whole ( FSB, RAM speed), not just the processor is optimised for speed
As such with even only 1 thread the 2 tiers of onboard cache are being utilised
If you used ConvertXto DVD on a low end C2D or even P4 with 1Gb RAM would it still be fast?
Canopus Procoder is quite fast too

no idea!
I know it automatically overclocks too when software only uses 1 thread as it knows it can get hotter as the rest of the CPU isn't in use

alpine101 · 17-03-2009, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmace

ConvertXtoDVD only uses 1 thread and it's still stupidly fast

The current version also has a bug which causes glitches in the SD output, it's been mentioned on their forum for a couple of months now but remains unresolved as far as I am aware.
My best SD DVD results from AVCHD, once I altered the output to be upper field first, have come via my old fave Ulead VS11.5 with the output bit rate set to 9Mbps.

**senu** · 17-03-2009, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpine101

The current version also has a bug which causes glitches in the SD output, it's been mentioned on their forum for a couple of months now but remains unresolved as far as I am aware.

Which and how common are they?

Quote:

My best SD DVD results from AVCHD, once I altered the output to be upper field first, have come via my old fave Ulead VS11.5 with the output bit rate set to 9Mbps.

How fast is it
Also 9Mbps is the absolute max encoding bitrate for SD mpeg2 isnt it? Some DVD players choke on this much

alpine101 · 17-03-2009, 6:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

Which and how common are they?

I have a bought version 2, and I tried version 3 last week, but I got this pixellation on fast motion. When I investigated, I found that this was mentioned as an accepted bug. It may have only arisen on recent subversions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by senu

How fast is it
Also 9Mbps is the absolute max encoding bitrate for SD mpeg2 isnt it? Some DVD players choke on this much

Not brilliantly quick, since of course there is no smart render. They work at 9Mbps on the 4 DVD players I've tried to date. 2 good ones, and a couple of cheapies. I use good TDK media since normally I'm making AVCHD on them.