Editing .mts from Panasonic AG-AF100

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LightupChoiceFry

Active member
Hi, I am going to be editing a film from .mts files shot on a Panasonic AG-AF100.

Is there a nice recommended computer system/program set up that others have had great success with, that can be retrieved on a modest budget?

I am worried my current PC with 2GB ram/Dual Core/Premiere Pro CS4 may not be able to handle it, as I am seeing the lag playback occurring on VLC. With HDV it wasn't a problem, but I know I need a faster set up. What would good specs be for a possible update?

I am open to all suggestions here, even if going with a mac computer with final cut pro would be recommended.

I just want to edit on a system and program that has a modest budget, and will give me the least amount of issues/bugs/lag on scrubbing,etc as possible.

Thank you for your time
 
I upgraded an older pc last year with a very modest HPE-130f with an AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 945 Processor 3.00 GHz with 8 GB RAM on Windows 7 64. I'm running Premiere Pro CS4, and it can handle .m2ts edits, though they can be a bit choppy at times if I'm running other programs on the computer as well. It's really just some pixilated artifacts that occur during scrubbing more than anything when this does happen. I'm guessing an upgrade to CS5.5 with the mercury system that is suppose to make the edit much smoother would yield the best results along with a slightly better computer on your end. I'm betting you could do an upgrade on both software and hardware for just $1,500, depending on if you have the full CS4 production premium suite or not.

I'm actually editing the format right now and not seeing any issues.
 
I have windows vista, I'd like to just get what I need, like more ram or a better video card, etc, I just don't know the technical specs that I need to tell a computer guy what to do to the computer. What are the specs I should get to get it where I can edit .mts in CS4 without an issue with scrubbing and all that. I don't want to convert the files, or buy a mac.
 
okay so I have a 32 bit Windows Vista and with 3GB RAM, and a Duel Core Processor 2.30 GHZ. I should get all those up right?

I am okay now with converting the files for Premiere PRO CS4, what is the best way to go about doing this, in other words, what's the best format and program to use so to not lose any quality and keep everything the same?

I also need to export OMF files from PPCS4, it allows you to do this correct?

appreciate all the help so far.
 
LightupChoiceFry said:
I'm just going to update my computer with more RAM and the OS, and just use Premiere Pro CS5 since it can handle .mts and export OMF's.
Click to expand...

The only problem with doing this is that Windows 7 and CS5 will draw down your processor very quickly, making rendering times painfully long. if you have the cash, i'd just get a new computer.
 
yeah that's what I've been realizing from research. I'm just going to get a new computer, but it's tough deciding on something with a budget. It seems that for under 1000 I can get an HP or Dell PC desktop minus the monitor since I have one...with some customized specs that match CS5 requirements, but then I read posts that indicate necessities on buying something double or triple the price with more advanced specs for video editing. The same thing happened when I bought my computer two years ago to handle editing HDV footage better on CS3. I spent under 500 and never had an issue computer related(just related to the bugs of Premiere CS3).

So I'm at a wall on what to do. I know if I purchase the modest man's editing machine for .mts footage on CS5 I'll be fine, but I know it won't last as long as one that would cost triple the price. I don't edit much, and make a film every year or sometimes less. For people that edit massive amounts of footage nonstop, I understand the necessity to purchase an expensive mean machine for editing.
 
LightupChoiceFry said:
yeah that's what I've been realizing from research. I'm just going to get a new computer, but it's tough deciding on something with a budget. It seems that for under 1000 I can get an HP or Dell PC desktop minus the monitor since I have one...with some customized specs that match CS5 requirements, but then I read posts that indicate necessities on buying something double or triple the price with more advanced specs for video editing. The same thing happened when I bought my computer two years ago to handle editing HDV footage better on CS3. I spent under 500 and never had an issue computer related(just related to the bugs of Premiere CS3).

So I'm at a wall on what to do. I know if I purchase the modest man's editing machine for .mts footage on CS5 I'll be fine, but I know it won't last as long as one that would cost triple the price. I don't edit much, and make a film every year or sometimes less. For people that edit massive amounts of footage nonstop, I understand the necessity to purchase an expensive mean machine for editing.
Click to expand...

I had my last comp for 4 years; whereas, the big driver for my change in purchasing a new comp last year was that the market had shifted from needing to edit standard definition to editing HD - even at the average consumer level. That HP I listed above is nothing compared to what the pros are using, but for what I need from a week to week basis - it will last a few years.
 
In order to let your pc play avchd files fluently, you can upgrade you pc more powerfully. Buying a mac will cost lots of money, and many mac users also have problems in playing or editing mts files with FCP, imovie or fce. I know that many AVCHD camcorder users don't want to make a conversion, for it will degrade the quality. I think if you have not a suitable program to support mts, you can convert them to mp4 with same codec, same resolution, higher bitrate, which can even give your higher quality. This is my opinion.
 
LightupChoiceFry said:
Hi, I am going to be editing a film from .mts files shot on a Panasonic AG-AF100.

Is there a nice recommended computer system/program set up that others have had great success with, that can be retrieved on a modest budget?

I am worried my current PC with 2GB ram/Dual Core/Premiere Pro CS4 may not be able to handle it, as I am seeing the lag playback occurring on VLC. With HDV it wasn't a problem, but I know I need a faster set up. What would good specs be for a possible update?

I am open to all suggestions here, even if going with a mac computer with final cut pro would be recommended.

I just want to edit on a system and program that has a modest budget, and will give me the least amount of issues/bugs/lag on scrubbing,etc as possible.

Thank you for your time
Click to expand...

What *is* your budget? I built my computer for around $1k four years ago (not including monitor or software), and I'm still using it for AVCHD (CS5 made things a lot easier).

If you have the technical know how (or know someone who does), I would recommend just doing a motherboard/CPU/RAM upgrade, and installing Windows 7 64 bit. That's will only cost you around $600, assuming that your other existing hardware will function with the upgrade. And that $600 will get you a fairly fast setup.
 
butter1093 said:
I think if you have not a suitable program to support mts, you can convert them to mp4 with same codec, same resolution, higher bitrate, which can even give your higher quality. This is my opinion.
Click to expand...

Converting the original .mts files to another format will not give you higher quality, even if you set it to a higher bitrate or uncompressed. What you start with is all you've got to work with - there's no alternate codec or format that can perform miracles.
 
I'd just build a new computer. Base it on the i7 2500K CPU from Intel (or better). Get at least 8GB of memory. Upgrade to CS5.5.

Do that, and it should be smooth sailing with AVCHD for the next couple years.
 
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