AVCHD & mac workflow

I'm not new to shooting, but I am new to this site and to shooting with an AVCHD format camera. I use Final Cut Pro 6 on a nearly new MacBook Pro. I would love to hear the workflow of others with similar systems.

For my "test" upload I shot 60i, did no color correcting other than "broadcast safe" in FCP, and used Compressor (which, frankly, confuses me) to encode using H264 (there was a preset that was for footage shot 601). For a 24 second clip the file size was 147mb.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Not a mac user, but for pc I just use CS4, import the mts files right into the editor and then export with no problem. Seems to work great. The preview window glitches a while trying to watch, but it play fine after rendered.

Presently not a lot of agencies accept H264. Try to stick with MJPEG for interlaced and PJPEG for progressive. I also use Premier Pro so no help with Mac or Final Cut. A 24 second HD clip can easily be 500-600 Mb. Good luck.

mac user, I use premiere pro and after effects. Use iMovie for a quick chop if everything else is okay in the clip. Mjpeg.

I render everything from FCP as PJPEG for progressive or MJPEG-B for interlaced.

It's worth noting though, that AVC is a pretty poor original at only 18MB per second. HDV is acceptable which is shot at 25MB per second. I use XDCAM HD which is 35MB per second.

Thanks for the replies. I will try PJPEG and MJPEG-B. I hear what you said (beaucroft) about AVCHD quality, and I think it is also worth noting that the format has come a long way in a short time. New cameras are at 24MB, and from reviews I've read, they are ready for prime time.

You can output from FCP directly using the export using quicktime conversion feature in FCP. In your OS system settings there is a checkbox for "show legacy codecs" When you have it checked PJPEG and MJPEG will show up as export options. Compressor works, but it takes some getting used to, as the way you set up files is not very intuitive.

I have read reviews that say the AVCHD codec actually surpasses HDV in respects to quality and artifacting. I think it is a codec that will catch on pretty fast, especially if they can a make it more edit friendly. I believe Premiere takes it right in, but FCP converts it to the prores codec to edit doesn't it?

Scott

Ah, thanks scott for the output tip. I guess I figured if there's a whole separate app for compression, it must be better...I appreciate your advice. I looked, but where exactly do I find the checkbox for showing the legacy codecs?

FCP and iMovie do convert to ProRes422 or Apple Intermediate Codec, yes. make the files damn big, too!

I use compressor to export, its helpful if you need to be exporting a large number of clips, but It does take alot of getting used to. My work flow tends to be to make each clip its own sequence, make all color correction / other adjustment I want, when I'm finished I export them using compressor, I have custom Pond5 Motion Jpeg preset that I can apply easily to all the clips.

About AVCHD, from what I hear the newer generation of AVCHD camera are on par with HDV quality and artifacting go.

cbertucio- - I can see how it makes sense to "batch" export using Compressor. Is it too much to ask to get a list what your custom preset settings are? It would save me alot of trial and error...