Help me import HMC150 footage on a Mac

B

Billybuzzz

Member
Let me start by saying Hello and thank you to all of the kind DVX members. Several of you helped me decide to get an HMC150. I've always run Sony before, so Pana is new to me. I really like the camera so far, at least until I tried to import the footage. I'm running Final Cut Studio 2 on a Mac G5 PPC. Now i'm aware my Mac is not up to date enough to import my footage into FCP.:(
I tried to convert my clips using Toast 9. It went through, but very slow, and when I play back the converted clips, they are out of sync
I'm pulling my hair out here people!:crybaby:
I just spent $4k on a camera, cards and batteries etc, and can't seem to get a single clip to work. If you have a soul and know how to help, please respond, I'm in need of your knowledge. I can't afford a new Mac Pro Tower yet, so that is not my answer. I hope me and my HMC150 can still be friends.:beer:

PS: In Toast, how do you convert the files properly? I cannot find anywhere where I can choose diff. codecs. What seems to work best from your experience? Thanks a Zillion.
 
Billy
Don't fret just yet. Do a search on the forum for "toast" and you should find the info you need. You need to follow a certain protocol -- including avoiding certain Toast updates that might make your audio out of synch. Once you get your work flow figured out, I think you'll be quite pleased with your purchase of the HMC150.
 
Thanks guys. I'm running Toast Titanium 9.0.1 right now. Could someone please explain how to convert the footage for FCP 6. Should I not update my Toast to 9.0.5?
Thanks everyone, if it wasn't for you kind folks, the HMC150 would be going back. I love the camera so far, but it has to be easy for me to work with. I use my cams every day. :thumbup:
 
Still can't get the footage to convert right. Shot at 720/30p, i have tried several diff codecs to no avail!!!! I'm going to shoot myself soon. With a gun, not a camera:crybaby:
 
I dont know I dont shoot anything interlaced but I have tested 1080/30p and had no sync issues.


are you setting your audio to Linear PCM 16bit 48k?
 
Not sure if the HMC 150 has 30A and 30AN modes like the HVX 200, but I recently ran into synch issues trying to transfer 720p 24A footage on the HVX. Switched it to 24AN (advanced native) and it worked fine.
 
So let me get this straight (because I plan on purchasing a HMC). So, you import the AVCHD clips into FCP or imovie as "Apple Intermediate Codec" files (correct so far?) at which point they are huge so you convert them to ... to what? And why are there so many problems here? Why not just use compressor?
 
Entity said:
So let me get this straight (because I plan on purchasing a HMC). So, you import the AVCHD clips into FCP or imovie as "Apple Intermediate Codec" files (correct so far?) at which point they are huge so you convert them to ... to what? And why are there so many problems here? Why not just use compressor?
Click to expand...

Entity,

No, AVCHD is not supported by his computer. I've tried to Log and Transfer AVCHD on a PowerMac G5 and it wasn't compatible. PRETTY LAME, APPLE.

Sounds like he can't yet get his footage in, as native AVCHD or AIC or ProRes or anything. Not his fault, just a limitation of the equipment. If a G5 can do native HDV, it should not be crippled from editing AVCHD.

-Andrew
 
Ok, so I shouldn't have any trouble with my intel aluminum imac from 2 or 3 gens back? Wat is the difference between the AIC that imovie imports it as and native AVCHD? I have a HF10 and an older version of FCP so I just use imovie to import as AIC. What is the difference between that and AVCHD native?
 
Take what I say with a grain of salt, as I'm a Vista x64 person.

I believe that the Apple Motorola chips simply aren't compatible. The post G5/Intel chips should work. That's not Apple's fault... for whatever reason AVCHD won't work with the Motorola processors, however fast or whatever generation they may be. Intel only.

AVCHD is a very efficiently compressed codec that is very processor intensive. Much more so than HDV, so just because your computer can handle HDV doesn't mean squat when it comes to AVCHD.

Entity, as to your iMac from a few generations back... hard to say. Like I said, I'm not a Mac person, so someone with much more Mac experiance should answer. But (and please take this with a grain of salt) I don't think it would be an issue if you have a enough horsepower in the CPU.
 
Would someone do me a huge favor, PLEASE!!!!
If you are using Toast 9 Ti. to convert your footage, and have been successful, please give me your recipe. I have tried dozens of options and everything still comes out 5 or 6 frames out of sync. What I need to know is.
1-What version number of Toast.
2 -What Rec Format of HMC150 footage used.
3 -Codec used in Toast to convert, and specific settings.

You would be saving a fellow user from drinking:beer:
 
Please help me!

Please help me!

Would someone do me a huge favor, PLEASE!!!!
If you are using Toast 9 Ti. to convert your footage, and have been successful, please give me your recipe. I have tried dozens of options and everything still comes out 5 or 6 frames out of sync. What I need to know is.
1-What version number of Toast.
2 -What Rec Format of HMC150 footage used.
3 -Codec used in Toast to convert, and specific settings.

You would be saving a fellow user from drinking:beer:
 
I gave you the link to my thread a few posts back. It has all my settings and even screen shots of Toast.

I'm using Toast 9.0.1 have succesfully transcoded 1080/24 - 1080/30p 720/24 and 720/60p (all though i didnt use the audio for 60p so dont know if there were sync issues.

I shoot 24p almost exclusively and transcode to AIC

Also make sure your FCP sequence settings match what you are transcoding to.

Sounds like you are not using the proper audio sample rate somewhere.
 
bikefilms said:
No, AVCHD is not supported by his computer. I've tried to Log and Transfer AVCHD on a PowerMac G5 and it wasn't compatible. PRETTY LAME, APPLE.
Click to expand...

AVCHD wasn't available as a codec in any cam when Apple stopped selling PPC computers four years ago in 2005.

The first AVCHD camcorder, Sony Handycam HDR-UX1, went on sale in September, 2006 and recorded on 8 cm DVD media -- more than fourteen months after Apple moved to Intel.

Not certain how it is Apple's responsibility to make four year old hardware powerful enough to transcode a computational intensive codec that is just becoming more mainstream.
 
It is a bit of a PITA to be using PPC with the 150. Your other option besides Toast is Voltaic, but that's painfully slow.

The ultimate option to befriend someone with either a macpro and/or the intensity card. That's what I do.. I go to a friends house, buy him a coke while it transcodes and then I cut it on my G5. Works really well this way and it's like .40 percent of the runtime. Not the greatest to have to always rely on someone else, but its working for me till I get the Mac Pro. 1500 bucks for a computer that will last me a few more years isn't that big of a deal.

I feel ya pain, but you are using some out of date stuff and Apple really isn't supporting their old hardware. I'm in the same boat for a little while.
 
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