AVCHD + G5 Quad + Voltaic = Eternity?

[mcdj]

Just got a Sony SR7 HDD camcorder, which shoots in AVCHD. Since I'm on a PPC, iMovie '08 will not import the movies. So I bought Voltaic.

I imported my very first test video using Voltaic...a whopping 1 min HD extravaganza. The import worked ok, but it took 20 min (!). (I copied the mts file from the cam to my fastest internal drive, and used a dedicated scratch disk for the conversion, so I know the slowdown is not at the camera interface)

At this rate, a 30min vid would take 10 hours to convert. If I can't get the conversion time down, I need to rethink my Sony purchase.

Again, I have a G5 Quad 2.5ghz, with 6GB RAM, and 10.4.11.

Any tips on getting a better conversion time would be much appreciated. Better yet, a workaround to get iMovie to see the files directly would be even better.

 

[bimmzy]

Just got a Sony SR7 HDD camcorder, which shoots in AVCHD. Since I'm on a PPC, iMovie '08 will not import the movies. So I bought Voltaic.

I imported my very first test video using Voltaic...a whopping 1 min HD extravaganza. The import worked ok, but it took 20 min (!). (I copied the mts file from the cam to my fastest internal drive, and used a dedicated scratch disk for the conversion, so I know the slowdown is not at the camera interface)

At this rate, a 30min vid would take 10 hours to convert. If I can't get the conversion time down, I need to rethink my Sony purchase.

Again, I have a G5 Quad 2.5ghz, with 6GB RAM, and 10.4.11.

Any tips on getting a better conversion time would be much appreciated. Better yet, a workaround to get iMovie to see the files directly would be even better.

I'm interested to knowing whether FCP and AVCHD cameras, have the same problem on G5 systems!?

 

[0ctane]

I'm interested to knowing whether FCP and AVCHD cameras, have the same problem on G5 systems!?

From what I understand, FCP and iMovie08 only work with AVCHD content on Intel-based Macs.

Yes, Voltaic can take a while to convert films, but it works with PPC and Intel Macs, plus you can offload all your films from your camera for conversion later.