HMC 150 transcoding questions

P

pd17

Member
I'm looking at this camera for event/corporate type work . I shoot video but video editing is the majority of my work . The post phase is of importance to me . I currently use FCP 6.0.5 and Avid Media Composer 3.0 . I also have Premiere CS3 but don't use that much . I have a 2.5 Mac Book Pro from early 2008 (Peryn processor) with 4Gb of ram and a 7200 internal drive as well as raided external storage . I also have a dual 2.0 G5 . As I see it my options are probably to transcode to Prores on the Mac Book Pro or to use the Panasonic DVCPro Hd transcoder and/or Toast 9 on the G5 . I'm trying to get an idea of what the speed of the transcoding is using these different combinations . How long to transcode 1hr of footage with Prores on the Mac Book Pro , how long using the Panasonic software or Toast 9 on the G5 or Mac Book Pro . What are the preferences of you owners out there and what do you think gives you the best quality . Thanks,

Dave
 
OK. Maybe I gave out too much info . What I really want to know is how long it takes to transcode media in to either Prores or DVCHPRO HD. Faster than real time ? 2 to 3 times as long as the clip length ?

Dave
 
I transcode using Toast 9 or VideoPier HD, which does or will soon support the HMC150.

On a 2.66 GHz MacPro, VideoPier HD 66 seconds to convert a 53 second clip captured at 720/24p to DVCProHD. On my configuration, that's just about average for all conversions except Voltaic which is much slower.

AVCHD to DVCProHD convert requires Windows, so that isn't a factor.
 
Thanks David ,

One thing that I'm not clear about is what format does Toast 9 convert to ? Is it DVCPro HD? I tried VideoPier Hd with some downloaded files but could not import them into FCP once they were converted . I'll try again. I'd like to use Toast 9 to convert on my G5 and edit on the MacBook Pro .


Dave
 
Toast 9 converts into regular QuickTime movies and lets you specify the codec. When transcoding AVCHD material you usually choose a codec which supports HD. This is either DVCProHD, AIC or ProRes (HQ). Note that not all intermediate HD codecs support full HD resolution. Some of them store only a portion of the horizontal resolution.

Final Cut Pro will also transcode your footage, but I haven't tested it for quite a while.
 
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Using FCP, on a 2.8GHz 8-Core Mac pro, I'm seeing transcoding times (to ProRes) around 1/2 realtime for HA footage.... that is, about 1/2 hour transcoding for each hour of footage.
 
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pd17:

You elect which codec to convert to using Toast. There is nothing automatic about that choice. I convert to DVCProHD, but you need to set the size, etc consistent with the MTS files. Also set the audio to aiff 48/16.

VideoPierHD requires you to do the same thing

My suggestion to you is to look at the dialog boxes when choose to export. Those disclose what the default setting will be, and what choice you have.

The better approach is remember that these are tools. And because they are new, they must be learned -- capabilities and alternatives.

Good luck
 
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Using the MainConcept Transcoder, I transcoded ~65 minutes of video in about ~40 minutes. Wasn't really timing, but thats about right. It was definitely slightly faster than real time.

I just did an actual test.... it took me exactly 14 seconds to transcode a 26 second clip. The footage was captured in PH mode at 720/24p.

I use a Core 2 Duo Conroe @ 3.5ghz. (I have a wolfdale in box next to me about to be put in!), I have 4gb of RAM at 900mhz with 5/5/5/15 timings, and I have a RAID10 array.
 
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