GH1 Workflow of AVCHD vs mjpeg and Bitrates

A

AQColors

Member
AVCHD, I've heard, takes one powerful computer to edit in real-time. I don't have an extremely strong computer, 1.6ghz dual core, 2gb RAM, but it will take MJPEG from a jvchm100u at 35mbps 1080i and play it back smooth and clear. How about the normal AVCHD 1080 24p in the gh1 and the hacked up to say, 40mbits. How would this compare to the MJPEG format and how "easily" a computer (specifically mine i guess) could handle it.
Also in another note bitrates on a hacked gh1... how does it affect the lifetime of the gh1, if it does, and is the "hack" truly bumping up the bitrate? Any info on this would be great. Thanks.

Alex

P.S. I've already bought a GH1, just haven't received it.
 
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The difficulty with AVCHD is that the video stream is not completely made up of whole individual frames (like MJPEG), rather, it is composed of whole frames followed by several partial frames that record only the differences between whole frames. The codec compares this partial information with the whole frames and then makes the partial frames complete.

Got it? Hehe, well the bottom line is that your computer has to do these complex calculations on the fly (if you are trying to natively edit AVCHD): a more powerful computer will do these calculations faster than a lesser computer. Usually to avoid stressing out a computer this way, you have to transcode AVCHD to a codec which creates a video stream made up entirely of whole frames. Judging from the specs of your machine, it's probably best to transcode your footage before editing. Also, if you can increase the RAM, do it - your editing will go much smoother.
 
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