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AVCHD too much for MBP?

plunar

plunar

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 7, 2003
334
0
With the announcement of iMovie 08, i finally gave in a just ordered a Sony HDR-UX5. It's AVCHD and uses DVDs for material.

But now I'm reading a LOT online about how AVCHD is too much for the vast majority of systems.

I have a 2.4GHz MBP (1 month old), with 4GB RAM and a 7200rpm drive. I use an external Seagate for storage.

Will I be okay? I don't want to just "try it," because then I'll be hit with a 15% restock fee....
 
Well, Steve Jobs seemed happy using one on a 20" iMac, which has a maximum of a 2.4Ghz C2D and 4GB RAM anyway, so you must be OK.
 
lol

It's probably too much for my iBook, but for the fastest laptop on the market it will be fine.

Besides, iMovie has to convert it to an editing format (probably AIC) which would be exactly the same as if you were using HDV.
 
plunar said:
It's AVCHD and uses DVDs for material.
...

Will I be okay? I don't want to just "try it," because then I'll be hit with a 15% restock fee....
Click to expand...

I think the MBP is more than capable of handling AVCHD. The problem is the camcorder you have. Apple explictly states that DVD based AVCHD camcorders are not supported.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306171

Towards the bottom under "known compatibility issues".

ft
 
unfrickin believable!

First the USB, now this. christ, AVCHD just isn't ready for primetime in my book. this is BS though. what do u expect though other than apple to hide a tidbit like that.
 
plunar said:
unfrickin believable!

First the USB, now this. christ, AVCHD just isn't ready for primetime in my book. this is BS though. what do u expect though other than apple to hide a tidbit like that.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to say that Apple's hiding that info ... but I wonder why AVCHD files from a SD Card would work, but AVCHD files from a DVD won't???? I wonder what the difference is.
 
hell if i know but it sucks. i'm really tired of this. i should've known this was too good to be true - i got the whole camera for under $600 including tax, but it can't do a god damn thing on the mac.
 
ftaok said:
I'm not going to say that Apple's hiding that info ... but I wonder why AVCHD files from a SD Card would work, but AVCHD files from a DVD won't???? I wonder what the difference is.
Click to expand...

That's really weird. I suppose you could copy files from DVD to SD cards and then import to iMovie?
 
it's a damn shame too, cause the dvd format is really quite ideal - you don't need to worry about degradation like with tape, and the new DL discs yield 45 minutes at HD, and the disks are abundant and cheap compared to SD.

just one of those days:(
 
plunar said:
it's a damn shame too, cause the dvd format is really quite ideal - you don't need to worry about degradation like with tape, and the new DL discs yield 45 minutes at HD, and the disks are abundant and cheap compared to SD.

just one of those days:(
Click to expand...

Hrm. Not sure what you mean about degradation, but miniDV tapes will a) out last DVD-R's (the dye in writable optical discs will degrade in a few years, tape will last a long, long time), and b) give a 100% quality copy every time because the data is digital.
 
When you mention degradation, if you mean the storage medium losing info and being damaged in storage, well....bad news. There is no medium that is reliable. Tape is very prone to drop out and in some cases complete failure of the binding materials. Optical discs can be largely unrecoverable if damaged,
disc drives die, flash gets fluxed. The best solution is multiple safety masters so if failures occur they can be replaced with edits from other safety masters.
And those masters should be in various storage media. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
 
Um, what if you just take the DVD out, put it into your MBP and import the movie files into iMovie? I'd think that would fine...

And if that camera is USB-only (you mentioned USB above), it's common knowledge that USB camcorders generally require drivers, and surprise surprise those drivers are Windows-only. So for Macs, it's Firewire or the highway.
 
ravenvii said:
And if that camera is USB-only (you mentioned USB above), it's common knowledge that USB camcorders generally require drivers, and surprise surprise those drivers are Windows-only. So for Macs, it's Firewire or the highway.
Click to expand...

Typically, these DVD camcorders just show up on the desktop as a DVD drive. There's usually no drivers required, provided the manufacturer uses the "standard" on the camcorder. The HDD AVCHD camcorders are USB and they work without drivers. The Standard Def DVD camcorders are also USB and they work as well.

It's just odd that the DVD based AVCHD camcorders don't work (at least according to the apple support page). I wonder what the difference is that makes the DVD AVCHD camcorders not work.

ft
 
I second that! Don't try it, or if you already did, you can use a pair of tweezers!

However, an external tray loading DVD reader should work...
 
plunar said:
With the announcement of iMovie 08, i finally gave in a just ordered a Sony HDR-UX5. It's AVCHD and uses DVDs for material.

But now I'm reading a LOT online about how AVCHD is too much for the vast majority of systems.

I have a 2.4GHz MBP (1 month old), with 4GB RAM and a 7200rpm drive. I use an external Seagate for storage.

Will I be okay? I don't want to just "try it," because then I'll be hit with a 15% restock fee....
Click to expand...

I've got a MacBook Pro with a 2.16GHz C2D and 2 GB Ram. It worked perfectly with iMovie 08 and my Sony HDR-SR5 (AVCHD files just on HDD no DVD). So if it works on my MBP it should be more than fine on your MBP.
 
ftaok said:
I think the MBP is more than capable of handling AVCHD. The problem is the camcorder you have. Apple explictly states that DVD based AVCHD camcorders are not supported.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306171

Towards the bottom under "known compatibility issues".

ft
Click to expand...

Seems to be a little difference between not supported and will not work. The list of tested devices shows some DVD based AVCHD cameras.
 
ftaok said:
I'm not going to say that Apple's hiding that info ... but I wonder why AVCHD files from a SD Card would work, but AVCHD files from a DVD won't???? I wonder what the difference is.
Click to expand...

The dvd drives in nearly all macs at present are slot loading suction drives.....

The dvd media used in camcorders are mini dvd, so the drives are the problem because the dvds do not slot exactly right, never dead centre causing all sorts of internal problems if you get one stuck in their.

The 'incomptibility' problem probably is apple's way of covering themselves against people who brake their optical drive by using the wrong discs...

Please correct me if im wrong, as this is only something i have read and heard on the grapevine.
 
scotthayes said:
Seems to be a little difference between not supported and will not work. The list of tested devices shows some DVD based AVCHD cameras.
Click to expand...

Are you sure. I double checked the list and couldn't find any DVD based AVCHD camcorders on the list.

anim8or said:
The dvd media used in camcorders are mini dvd, so the drives are the problem because the dvds do not slot exactly right, never dead centre causing all sorts of internal problems if you get one stuck in their.

The 'incomptibility' problem probably is apple's way of covering themselves against people who brake their optical drive by using the wrong discs...
Click to expand...
Could be, but I doubt it. Apple supports the DVD based MPEG-2 camcorders now and they use the same media. Besides, if you connect the camcorder to the Mac via USB2, then the slot-loading drive is not an issue. It "should" just show up on the desktop as a DVD drive.

There must be something else going on.

ft
 
Does anyone actually have an AVCHD miniDVD cam?

a lot chatter in the other threads about what can or can't be done with these cameras and imovie sounds more just like speculation. has anyone actually used this or developed a work flow around one?
 
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