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conversion problem! help before i smash my mac

M

MigranedMankey

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 29, 2011
5
0
Hey, so i have this camcorder that uploads videos to my mac in .mts format(or sum tin like that) but iMovie doesn't accept this format. I downloaded the program handbrake and got the files over to .m4v format, but it says in file kind that it's an M peg-4. iMovie still won't accept these files when i try importing. Any help would be great?


sorry if this isn't the right section
 
Good news: I used mpeg streamclip and was able to successfully convert my videos when I was having the same problem. Streamclip is pretty easy to use.

Bad news: This process is annoying and takes time & extra organization. On top of that, I found that the quality of the video was negatively affected, despite converting into various different formats.

Solution: I ended up abandoning imovie & my video recorder (mine was a sony, barely 2 years old). I bought Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere elements and a brand new HD Canon Vixia camera. Today I was able to upload my videos to my mac in a FRACTION of the time it was taking me...and the video quality was preserved.

Sorry I'm not much help but I found this problem (the problem you're having) to be so frustrating. I spent HOURS researching it on the web, purchased Mac support for this problem specifically, spent hours on the phone with them, several hours talking to them in the store, and hours on this forum and others trying to find a solution that didn't negatively affect the quality of my videos. Now I'm glad I abandoned that process and have something that is easy to use. Bad thing is that we bought the mac for the purpose of video editing, wouldn't you know :(
 
So you fixed it with a Canon purchase but blame Apple support?
I dont get it?
 
I've never been a fan of Sony's deathgrip on AVCHD and how difficult it is to use. Decent cameras, awful codec. Seriously, Sony ...if I'm recording it, I don't need your DRM-esque controls locking down the files.
 
Senex said:
I've never been a fan of Sony's deathgrip on AVCHD and how difficult it is to use. Decent cameras, awful codec. Seriously, Sony ...if I'm recording it, I don't need your DRM-esque controls locking down the files.
Click to expand...
Five things:
  1. AVCHD is now an MPEG standard and not a proprietary format.
  2. Many digital camera manufacturers use AVCHD, not just Sony.
  3. Most AVCHD camcorders are cheap. How does this make them decent?
  4. AVCHD was not intended to be an editable format. AVCHD was designed to store high-quality video on capacity-limited media. This design goal is in diametric opposition with the criteria for editable formats. AVCHD is does what AVCHD was intended to do. What makes the format awful?
  5. DRM limits copying of prerecorded content. Neither Sony nor any other company can DRM video that you shoot of your child's softball game. Your issues with AVCHD have absolutely nothing to do with DRM. Your issues are a direct consequence of the fact that you want to edit video recorded in a non-editable format.
 
MisterMe said:
Five things:
Click to expand...

Slow down partner, I was expressing an opinion. I don't like AVCHD, and never have. And I used "-esque" after DRM. I didn't say the codec was DRM; rather I inferred that it was a pain in the posterior to use, or at least has been in the past when I've tried working with it.

Didn't mean to offend an AVCHD disciple. Sheesh.
 
we had this problem at work... the answer is CLIPWRAPPER, its cheap and really good, and free if you look in the right places..
 
Senex said:
Slow down partner, I was expressing an opinion. ...

Didn't mean to offend an AVCHD disciple. Sheesh.
Click to expand...
Two things:
  1. There is a difference between an informed opinion and an uninformed opinion. When you post dumb things, people will respond. If you don't like the response, then it was your choice to post the dumb thing.
  2. Nothing in my post implied that I am an AVCHD disciple. To the contrary, I don't like the format. I do not like the cameras that use the format. However, I don't like them because I understand them whereas you don't like AVCHD because you do not understand it.
 
Just curious as someone just about ready to get into video...why would a manufacturer, say Sony, use a non-editable format in the first place?
 
Carlgo, as mentioned above, it was meant to be shot to small storage devices. When it came out, flash cards weren't too big. Another idea was to burn the content of your card directly to BD.
It is actually a great help for casual users who want to shoot and share on disk without the need to know what they are actually doing.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I am slowly sort of catching on to the video thing.

Evidently one must convert AVCHD to something else, then edit it. And you must buy a Blu-ray player to store it at its highest quality.

Wow, not easy or intuitive at any stage in 2012 (almost). Guess things can only improve from here.

My next task will be to find out the best workflow to make this at least half-way enjoyable.
 
Three things:

  1. I notice that you like to place things into numbered lists.
  2. Thanks for the undeserved insults :D
  3. Good lord, lighten up a little. You come across very 'left brain' and matter-of-fact.
 
carlgo said:
Thanks for the clarification. I am slowly sort of catching on to the video thing.

Evidently one must convert AVCHD to something else, then edit it. And you must buy a Blu-ray player to store it at its highest quality.

Wow, not easy or intuitive at any stage in 2012 (almost). Guess things can only improve from here.

My next task will be to find out the best workflow to make this at least half-way enjoyable.
Click to expand...
The AVCHD workflow for iMovie and FCP is pretty simple. You copy the whole file structure to your computer then let iMovie/FCP import the video files. Conversion to AIC or ProRes happens during import.
Adobe Premiere can import AVCHD directly, but you need a very fast computer for editing, as Premiere has (basically) to decode each frame on the fly while playback. An AIC/ProRes workflow doesn't need that many horsepowers.
 
No intent to hijack the thread, but I have a couple of related questions, and it seems like a good place to ask them.

Up until a month or two back I was using a Canon HV30 for everything. Great camera, but I got sick of tape. I bought a Canon Vixia HF M41, which records in AVCHD. I didn't know anything much about AVCHD at the time, but what I have learned on this forum makes its limitations clear to me. I haven't tried it yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if I could download and be actually editing high quality vidio from the tape machine faster than the AVCHD download and conversion processes combined. I do very much like the ability to quickly go through the clips on the M41, and cull the bad ones in camera. This is possible with tape, but much more time consuming.

Is there a god camcorder out there that records in an editable file format in the camera, on some non-tape media, so that I could quickly and easily look at clips and cull them, yet not have the conversion issue that AVCHD entails?
My Panasonic Lumix ZS8 still camera records video in .MOV format, and fills the bill nicely, but doesn't have the features of a good camcorder, and I don't think the video is as good.

What else should I be looking at in the way of camcorders to avoid AVCHD?

Thanks!
 
cgbier said:
The AVCHD workflow for iMovie and FCP is pretty simple. You copy the whole file structure to your computer then let iMovie/FCP import the video files. Conversion to AIC or ProRes happens during import.
Adobe Premiere can import AVCHD directly, but you need a very fast computer for editing, as Premiere has (basically) to decode each frame on the fly while playback. An AIC/ProRes workflow doesn't need that many horsepowers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for reply.

Not sure what you mean by file structure. I presume the movie is downloaded and opened by iMovie much like photos flow into Aperture and then you have the choice of importing them or not.

The Sony manual says movies are converted by "PMB" to create an AVCHD disc, this takes "a long time" and you need a Blu-ray disc to store it on. Is this a different process that is for an all-AVCHD workflow that is an alternative to iMovie, etc.? What would be the advantage of one or the other?

My immediate goal will be short HD movies with good sound.
 
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