Any GPU powered AVCHD Video Editors or players out there ?
I have an iMac with the Radeon 2600 graphics (I think it's about a year old). I'm looking for a video editing package (or at minimum playback package) that uses video processing to decode the AVCHD files (.mts in my case). I've demo'd a couple packages which I was told did not use GPU support and of course they brought my machine to a standstill and the video clips as well. I realize I can translate them to MP4 or something instead but I then have to manage the original clips vs the outputs. I'd at least like to have something that catalogs the files and keeps meta-data so they're organized since my Canon camcorder seems to reuse file names.
I realize Adobe's package has native editing but even on that one, I'm not sure it uses the GPU. I believe the 2600 has AVCHD support. I think it says AVC H.264 which I think is what I'd need assuming there existed such a package.
Sorry to beat the subject to death if it's already out there. It's one of the only functions where Windows software seems to have a lead.
I realize Adobe's package has native editing but even on that one, I'm not sure it uses the GPU. I believe the 2600 has AVCHD support. I think it says AVC H.264 which I think is what I'd need assuming there existed such a package.
Sorry to beat the subject to death if it's already out there. It's one of the only functions where Windows software seems to have a lead.
Comments
I realize I can translate them to MP4 or something instead but I then have to manage the original clips vs the outputs.
I don't know what you mean by managing the originals vs the output. You would convert the AVCHD files to a near lossless format such as ProRes 422 or Apple intermediate and store/edit/backup those. You can discard the AVCHD files if you want.
AVCHD, XDCam, HDV, MP4 variants are all interframe compression, which unlike intraframe compression (DV, DVC Pro, ProRes, AIC, MJPEG), aren't that good for editing. They are used so that you can record more footage onto a given storage device. Much the same way that some people will deliver stock photos in JPEG format. Some people make the very wrong assumption that if you edit and compress in the original format, you won't lose any further quality.
If you edit an interframe compressed clip, it's not frame-accurate editing and the editor has to re-encode groups of pictures as you edit, which isn't lossless. It's easy to get into the mindset of looking for an editor to support your original storage format as it seems like the ideal thing: no transcoding or conversion until you author your output.
The reality is that it's not worth it. That time you spend converting the video is more than made up for by the time you save from your editors grinding to a halt or the 5-6 hour+ render times because of the highly compressed storage formats.
I realize Adobe's package has native editing but even on that one, I'm not sure it uses the GPU. I believe the 2600 has AVCHD support. I think it says AVC H.264 which I think is what I'd need assuming there existed such a package.
I don't think Apple's drivers enable it for that card though - you might have to upgrade to Snow Leopard. They updated drivers in SL and the Nvidia GPUs hardware decode H264.
I started down this path because after importing some of the first AVCHD footage from my camera into iMove, I completely blew the disk out of space. I assume that's the AIC format you spoke of. Are there more space effective alternatives ?
What do you recommend as a workflow handling the mts files and software for doing it ? I only need the most basic editing features. The most annoying thing right now is I have organization like I have in Lightroom where I know which pictures I have and from which days. Right now I just have a bunch of mts files I've manually copied over and of course aren't too useful by themselves.
I started down this path because after importing some of the first AVCHD footage from my camera into iMove, I completely blew the disk out of space. I assume that's the AIC format you spoke of. Are there more space effective alternatives?
I'm afraid that's the nature of High Def footage and it's why Blu-Ray movies are 30-40GB in their delivery format. 500MB-1GB per minute is common in HD edit formats so you are talking about 100-150GB per project. Hard drives are dirt cheap though and you can get 1TB drives for $75.
HDV isn't so processor intensive as AVCHD and it is quite well compressed (about 1/5th ProRes). It's still an interframe compression though and it will probably take ages to convert to it if you have a lot of footage.
What do you recommend as a workflow handling the mts files and software for doing it ? I only need the most basic editing features. The most annoying thing right now is I have organization like I have in Lightroom where I know which pictures I have and from which days. Right now I just have a bunch of mts files I've manually copied over and of course aren't too useful by themselves.
You might be able to get by with VoltaicHD ($40):
http://www.shedworx.com/voltaichd
The basic edit features should be coming next month.
Final Cut Express would be a good purchase as it supports native AVCHD editing but it might be too much to spend ($200) on your project:
http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/
I still wouldn't recommend editing in these formats despite the support because I've seen Final Cut screw up with all these formats including XDCam and HDV whether it's performance issues or video corruption, it just doesn't happen with the intra-frame codecs. It's not impossible to use these workflows and in a lot of cases, it might be the best route. I would say that as a habit, it's best not to edit in these formats.
I personally can't stand iMovie even for the most straight forward projects. The fact that you can layer video clips alone in FCE is worth it so that you can put proper title sequences in place. To me iMovie highlights Apple's assumptions that consumer software needs to be dumbed down to the point of near uselessness. Continually pushing the bar down on the expectations is what dumbs consumers down as they aren't forced to step up and learn something. If they cut iMovie from the iLife package and added Final Cut Express and sold it for maybe $99 instead of $79, they'd get a lot more sales and I bet people would be much happier knowing that they don't have to mess about with importing in iMovie 08 to then move the files to iMovie 07 for editing.
You might be able to get by with VoltaicHD ($40):
http://www.shedworx.com/voltaichd
The basic edit features should be coming next month.
Final Cut Express would be a good purchase as it supports native AVCHD editing but it might be too much to spend ($200) on your project:
http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/
Looks like shedworx has something called FlamingoHD which will catalog and organize the originals. That's actually about 70% of my pain. Since I have only mts files, I have no idea what date they were taken or even what's on them. I got a reasonably competent media player called VLC which seems to actually play the video at a reasonable speed (who knows what corners they cut to do it) but at least I can see what's there.
What does FCE offer for cataloging the video itself ? I see it's $140 at Amazon which takes much of the sting out of it. Do folks just import their whole clips in AIC and leave it there or is that format just a temporary one till editing is complete ? Sorry for the question, I don't know a typical video edit workflow. My needs are pretty basic and my videos are mostly family and friends.
Thanks again for the help. I feel I have some basic knowlege of the pieces now which is a far cry from where I was.
Ben
What does FCE offer for cataloging the video itself?
It should do the same as Final Cut Pro, which has a project bin and you drop clips into it. It then has a folder that keeps them together under that project name. Video management is usually pretty basic as video doesn't need all that much to describe it.
Do folks just import their whole clips in AIC and leave it there or is that format just a temporary one till editing is complete?
It depends on what you want to do with the footage. For commercial projects, original footage is often kept in case the client comes back and wants another edit done. For home movies, you generally just capture, edit, author to disc and burn a disc, then delete the source files. If it's important footage, you can also keep a backup of the disc image on a hard drive along with an HD version of the edit if you are authoring to DVD.
You can import those in future if you ever decide to edit them again but home movies will rarely be re-edited.
If all you need is basic chopping of clips and no transitions, titles and so on, Final Cut Express will probably be more than you need and you'd save a decent amount of money with just an AVCHD converter.