Posted on by Why Not

Canon HG10 AVCHD Camcorder Video Sample

UPDATE 2008.12.01
HG10 raw AVCHD sample

Check out the video taken using Canon HG10 AVCHD 40GB High Definition Camcorder here.

  • 13.7MB
  • Encoded in H.264
  • 960×540
  • 29.97fps
  • Auto setting in camera
  • The game in the clip is “Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory”

Canon HG10 AVCHD Camcorder Screen Capture
The price @ Amazon.com is $761.60 at the time of this post.

The video clip is imported and edited using iMovie ’08 on a MacBook Pro Core Duo 2GHz running Mac OS X 10.5.1 Leopard.
I was importing the clip using Final Cut Pro, and for some reason it crashes during the import process.

I will test the camera using Sony Vegas later.

90403

71 Replies to “Canon HG10 AVCHD Camcorder Video Sample”

  1. Hello,
    Thank you for posting these footage samples. I just got my HG10 today and am very happy with it. I originally bought a Sony SR-82 and the video quality was terrible – especially in low light. But the Canon is 200% better!
    Could I ask you, where during the editing/importing process do you choose to save in the H.264 encoding? I am fairly new to the camcorder/computer thing so forgive my ignorance.
    I’m also on a MacBook Pro, 160GB, 2GB RAM, Duo 2.4 GHz.
    Again, thank you for posting!
    John

    I will be posting more regarding with AVCHD camcorders in general. I am currently working with Panasonic HDC-SD5 and Canon HG10.
    To answer your questions, I use iMovie ’08 to re-encode the video clip, it has a native H.264 support. If you’re using iMovie ’08, “Share” the video then select the “sizes” of your to be exported video. In general it will automatically re-encode the video clips in H.264 format.

    I was planning to use Final Cut Pro, but as of current I have been having problems importing AVCHD video directly into Final Cut Pro. I will post my reports on working in Final Cut Pro with AVCHD camcorders.

    Thanks for the comments and the questions.

  3. i have an HG10 and im using FCE4 with my mac book pro but the footage i imported wouldnt play smoothly. it shows me a message about dropped frames.. i guess my mac doesnt have inough processing power to manage larger amount of footage. i have 1.83 GHz intel core duo with 1GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM. does anyone know whats the ideal configuration for editing? do i need to increase my memory to be able to edit without having dropped frames? is that the case?

    I’d recommend having to upgrade the RAM to 2GB. My 15″ Macbook Core Duo 2GHz has 2GB RAM (the maximum on this model). BUT I upgraded the hard drive to a 7200 model.

  4. thanks for advice. i will try to upgrate the RAM.
    would you recommend me to upgrate the hard drive as well? sorry i dont know much about technical stuff.. is it possible to upgrate from 1.83 GHz to 2GHz? i was trying to find information on mac.com but couldnt find anything..
    and how is it with your mac. when using avchd format, no problems with editing, dropped frames or anything like that?

    I have no problems editing the videos. Remember, iMovie ’08 and Final Cut Pro/Express convert the AVCHD files to Apple intermediate codec on the fly during import.

    I don’t think you can upgrade the processor on MacBook Pros.

    Upgrading the hard-drive is not as trivial, but do-able.

    If you have cash to spare, newer MacBook Pros are a lot faster.

  5. Is it the Mac or the camera that produced that kind of quality. Best demo I have ever seen. I was planning to get that camera but will I get the same results on a Tosheba laptop 1.8 centrino with 1 ghz.?

    I’d recommend having a dual-core processor to work with AVCHD. Core 2 Duo or higher preferred. The camera produce good quality footage. It is pretty easy to edit it on the Mac compared to any programs on Windows. I use Sony Vegas on Windows that has a native support for AVCHD. search for AVCHD in my postings, you might find some more useful informations.

  6. i have a macbook…Black one..
    Dont know to much about computers, but i put leapord and ilife 08 on my system!
    I am looking to buy a HV20 or HG10… which one would work best and easiest with my computer?
    Would i need to buy an external harddrive?
    PLEASE SOMEONE e mail me with advice! I am in a rush to buy!
    thanks so much
    Rich

    What processor do you have in it? Intel Core Duo or Intel Core 2 Duo?
    When did you buy it?
    How much RAM do you have?

    HV20 uses HD miniDV and miniDV tapes as medium.
    It’s a great HD camcorder. As long as you are fine working with tapes.

    HG10 is a Hard-Drive based AVCHD camcorder.
    The more RAM you have, the better.
    The faster the hard-drive, the better (7200RPM)
    The faster the processor, the better. Core 2 Duo is recommended.

    You might need an external hard-drive to store the footage from the camera on both cases.

    In general, HV20 uses a much less compressed format compared to HG10.

    hope this helps, or this might even confuse you more.

    v

  8. so is me 2400Celeron processor no good for editing DV tapes?
    I so want to get an inexpensive camcorder and had already decided on a canon as I keephearing good things about them .
    How much ram do i need to have at my disposal by the way

    In general, Celeron is not a great processor. But I believe that Celeron could handle DV editing, but not as pleasant. If you could tell me the specifications of your computer, I can give you a better answer.

  9. The problem I’m having right now is that iMovie 08 will not import the video from the HG10 in its full resolution, that being 1080/60i or 1080/24p.

    So as it is right now, I’m archiving my AVCHD directly to BluRay with the hopes that one day soon I’ll be able to do post-production on my home videos without losing quality.

    iMovie ’08 will convert the AVCHD video to Apple Intermediate Codec Video format. It will import the video to 1080i, but it won’t understand 1080/24p. As far as I know, Final Cut Pro will preserve the quality. I do not have Final Cut Express 4 yet, so I can’t tell you if it would import AVCHD to its original settings.

  10. im using FCE4 and HG10 and it does the same, convert the AVCHD into AIC video format at the resolution of 1440×1080. is that the same as 1080i? am not sure..

    That was the case with Final Cut Pro 6.0.1, but 6.0.2 fixes that. I don’t have Final Cut Express 4 yet, sin I already have Final Cut Studio 2. I’ll see if I can get Final Cut Express 4 and answer your question.

    1080i means 1080 pixels on vertical resolutions and interlaced.
    HD resolutions on HG10 is 1920×1080

  11. so if with FCE4 in AIC format its 1440×1080 resolution and HG10 is 1920×1080 does it mean that thats a loss of quality? sorry for asking i just want to make sure.

    That means you’re losing the resolutions.

    Try using “Easy Setup” when you’re creating new project, and choose the right format and resolutions.

    Once again, I don’t have Final Cut Express 4 yet. If there’s anyone else with Final Cut Express, probably they can answer your answer better.

  12. Really helpful posts. Heres another question!

    Here are the specs:

    Intel Mac (2.2 Core 2) with 2GB SDRAM. Running OS X 10.5.1
    iMovie 08 7.1.1
    Canon HG10 Cam

    I am shooting in the HXP mode (highest resolution). The camera captures at 1920 x 1080i but Ive been told it really is 1440 x 1080i when its exported.

    I bring it into iMovie at the largest possible size option, which is FULL – 1920 x 1080. (However it says “this setting has no effect for MPEG2” – which I believe this is?)

    In any event, when I go to re-export the movie using Quicktime option, it lists the current size as 960 x 540. Is that basically saying thats the hghest res of iMovie?

    I can get in and change the export size to 1440 x 1080i 16:9, but that seems like an added step. Shouldnt the video already be imported at 1920 or 1440 x 1080?

    Am I missing a step here, or how the numbers should add up.

    Also When Im viewing the raw footage from the Mac hooked via dvi/hdmi on a Sharp Aquos, seems like Ive lost a lot of resolution.

    iMovie ’08 can export to 1920×1080, but you have to use the “Export using QuickTime” option. The full resolutions should be 1920×1080 not 1440×1080 as far as I know. The minimum bit-rate for 1920×1080 is around 16Mbps. Remember that the footage recorded using this camera is interlaced.

  13. Just thought I’d follow up… Has anyone found out if FCE or FCP allow to work with AVCHD, import the movie at full resolution (1920×1080 either 60i or 24p)?? I’d rather not have to buy a PC and move to Vegas …

    I use FCP 6.0.2 and it can import the AVCHD at its native settings. Whatever the camera is recording the video at. I don’t have FCE 4 yet, so I can’t give you the answer as of right now.

  14. in FCE4 there is a choice for HDV to set it up in 1080i60 or 720p30. both are t

    he apple intermediate codecs though.

    That should work just fine. I don’t have FCE4 yet. But, FCP 6.0.2 imports the video perfectly.

  15. hi there
    I just bought aCanon hg10 and i can’t import the footage, final cut doesn’t recognize the camera, even after i installed the drivers.
    The thing is I have a macbook 2.0gh, 2GB RAM, etc…the corel application disk does not have any .dmg file for me to install the importing program, so my question is, how can i import AVHCD footage without those programs?

    What version of Final Cut do you have? Final Cu Express 3.5, Final Cut Express 4, or Final Cut Pro (I have to ask). To import using Final Cut Express 4/Pro 6.0.2, you need to go to:

    File
    Log and Transfer

    iMovie ’08 can also import directly from the camera.

    Remember, you need to have the camera plugged in to the power source.

    If you have anymore questions, I’ll be glad to answer them.

  16. When I export a AVCHD project, I know that final cut express 4 converts the footage to a different format for editing. What format should I use to Export the project to tranfer files back to AVCHD, or whatever is the HD format for Burning? thanks

    AVCHD is a compressed format. You do not go back to AVCHD. I usually export the video to h.264 format in HD resolutions.

  17. would you say that h.264 format is the best exporting option in Final Cut Express 4 for HD quality, and finally for burning project to HD/Blueray? If you are using AVCHD source files?

    I discovered that Final Cut Express supports AVCHD, but not at the full 1920 resolution or whatever, it loses some resolution. I guess Final Cut Pro supports the highest resolution. that kinda suks since I dont wanna spend $1200 for FCP but I want to get the best picture from my AVCHD camera for editing. I guess I bought the HDD camera ahead of the curve and have to wait for some catching up by the industry. If they haven’t realized the popularity of AVCHD yet, they must have by now with the great prices on Cannon, and the new Sony ones have video quality just as good as HDV demand is skyrocketing.

    For certain, AVCHD is a compressed file format. Both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD format utilize h.264 codec. Even if you’re working with AVCHD files directly, the final product has to be decompressed and transcoded into a different format. What you see in the playback is the uncompressd stream of the video file.

    I tested Final Cut Express 4 with AVCHD clip, and it seems that FCE4 can import the 1920×1080 video in 1080i or 1080/60 format.

    What you see in he quality of the video must be the horrible interlacing of the stream. Remember that HG10 is essentially a 1080i camcorder. I have Panasonic HDC-SD9 an it is a 1080p camera. Unfortunately it is not fully supported in Mac OS X yet. But the video quality is much better compared to the 1080i camcorder.

  18. thanks for the info, big help. actually, I have the sony sr-11 but I think its supposed to be pretty much the same quality as the HG-10. Not exactly sure. Im more of a editing nut but just now making the transition from PC/adobe premiere to Mac/FCE and FCP. I just wanted to make sure I was getting the best quality out of my camera after editing. this site is helpfull, I’m glad I stumbled on it.

    Glad that I can help. If you have anymore questions, leave me a message here. I did check on FCE4 and it can handle 1080i AVCHD clips.

  19. I just bought an HG10 and love it. I use VoltaicHD to convert the AVCHD files into .mov files so iMovie can use them (I don’t have iMovie ’08 yet).

    Could you give a little tutorial that includes both your import and export settings so that you arrive at the highest quality for HD streaming (like on Vimeo or Daily Motion that support H.264).

    I’ve got the process working, but my exported files look pretty bad. I could really use the help! And I haven’t seen any step by step tutoials for the HG10 after lots of googling, so I think others would appreciate it, too. Thanks!

    Thank you for another posting idea. I will post some general steps in working with AVCHD camcorder and exporting the movie.

    There are many different settings for H.264 movie, but usually I’d keep the bitrate fairly high based on the movie resolutions.

    Stay tuned. Once again thank you.

  20. I just got the HG10. My friend told me it was a bad move and I should have gotten a 3CCD panasonic HD SD unit, but I think I made the right decision. Maybe you guys can confirm?
    Here’s my goals.
    1. I wish to preserve the HD footage in the smallest footprint with the best quality (who doesn’t). With my old mini-dv SD, unit after import I used to compress to .mov using Sorenson 3 at 400FPS for 1 hour video files that were about 1 to 2 GB in size after compression. No remnants or wavy lines which I define as acceptable.
    2. I wish to create SD DVD and HD DVD

    So, when I ran compression it defaulted to AIC and created a really big file that was acceptable quality, but way too big. Is that HD or am I doing something wrong? I then tried my old Sorenson 3, only to find horrible quality with zig zag lines on every edge in the videos. So,

    I can’t quite figure out my workflow using FCP 6.0.3, I import the video using the “log & transfer” method, but then I am lost after that, because the preview in FCP is great, but these transfers stink. thoughts?

    Steve,
    Canon HG10 is a great camcorder. I am using one in conjunction with Panasonic HDC-SD5/SD9. It is a sound purchase.

    First, you want to preserve the original data, the MTS files, including the directory structure.

    Second, you’d want to record the video in 60i or 24PF mode. The preview might give you some interlacing (the waviness), but when you actually export the video, you’ll get a progressive video.

    I will post some workflow on working with AVCHD camera in FCP 6.

    AVCHD is a heavily compressed format, that’s why the AIC video seems to be much larger. I used a DVCPro format, and it is just as large as the AIC or Apple ProRes files.

    Please check back.

  21. ok, I’d sure appreciate the workflow. A few things you said confused a bit.
    preserving the MTS files?
    Does that mean the contents of the stream directory?
    Do I just save those files on a hard drive someplace? That seems like a winner to me as they aren’t that large when compared with the Scratch Final cut files.
    The default setting for the camera is 60i and I set it to XP.
    Should I change to 24f? what would the difference be?
    I shot my families dance recital today, the quality in FCP is awesome, but now I’m struggling try to get a dvd burned for my folks. thanks for your initial answer, much obliged.

    Copy the whole “PRIVATE” folder.

    PF24 refers to Digital Cinema mode that resembles the Film quality. It actually looks good.

    From Final Cut Pro, you’d want to export to QuickTime format, and use either DVD Studio Pro or iDVD.
    I just can’t remember the workflow for that on top of my head.

    I’ll read on it again, and will keep you posted.

  22. Ok, got a cinema mode, So I’ll try that and compare.
    Meanwhile. There is no Private folder.
    Here are the folder structures:
    Canon HDD>AVCHD>BDMV
    Canon HDD>AVCHD>CANON
    The Canon subfolder appears to have jpgs in it, so I am figuring that’s where photos go?
    The BDMV folder has the following Subfolder Structures:
    …BACKUP
    nothing in this folder
    …CLIPINF
    several numbered files with extensions of .CPI
    …PLAYLIST
    Two files with extensions .MPL
    …STREAM
    several numeric files with extensions of .MTS
    Then at the
    …level are the following two files:
    index.bdm
    movieobj.bdm

    So, is this BDMV folder what you would think I should drag & Save or just stream as I was thinking?
    I suppose there’s meta data about the .mts files in the other folders but not sure.
    And, am I correct in assuming the other high level folder, called CANON is the photo side of the equation?

    I was looking at a different camera instead of the Canon HG10. Just copy the whole “AVCHD” folder to another hard drive.

  23. Okay I have tried very hard to read and understand these posts.. I have a Macbook Pro, Final Cut Pro and a Canon HG10. I can’t get Imovie to import the clips ( I am trying to import the CPI files) or recognize anything on the Canon HDD that mounts on my desktop. Is there a simple HOW TO sequence anywhere on the web that anyone knows about?
    Please??
    Thank you!!

    In Final Cut Pro 6, do “File” > “Log and Transfer”.

  24. Hi,
    I have got a problem with my Canon HG 10.
    The video that I can record is not as good as the simple video that I downloaded from this website. Tha pictre is very noisy in a low light.
    Need some help, please.

    Unfortunately, most consumer grade HD camcorder does not perform that well under low light. You can try shooting the video with the camera light turned on.

  25. I was just wondering what settings were used to capture the sample video. Because I have got the same Canon HG 10 camcorder, but I can not get the same good quality, even the light turned on.

    I had it at the highest setting possible; 1080@60i. It was also set in AUTO mode.

  26. What do you think what can be tha main reason of my problem ?
    Maybe something is wrong with my camera, or it may be because of the software that I used to download the video ? Your sample video is just great in low light, but mine is very noisy. I contected the Canon customer service but they could not help me and told me just to exchange my camcorder. But I am not sure that the bad video quality is because of the camcorder, what is your opininion?

    Thank you very much!!
    Gagik

    I can’t really tell you what really is going on with your camera. Of course in a low-light situation, most consumer-grade camcorder suffers the same problem.

    I remember I recorded the clip in 60i mode.

    Try playing with different modes in low light situation. NOT IN THE DARK, of course.

  27. Ok, here is what I can not understand. You have got a sample video, recorded by the same Canon hg10 vieocamera that I bought (right ?). But the quality of the sample video is way much better than the one I recorded. My question is why I can not get the same quality,if the cameras are same ?

    Thanks a lot ! !

  28. Great Posts here, really appreciate all the information..I have a question. I was in Best Buy today and decided to go with my gut and get the Canon HG10 over the MiniDV. Instead of using the Corel application, what applications should i buy to make the best available movie.. I should buy a new MacBook Pro and is the new Final Cut 2 the best option, does it lose quality? Thanks a lot

    Dan

    Dan,
    On Windows XP/Vista, my personal preference is Sony’s Vegas Movie Studio 8 Platinum Edition.

    Get the trial and see if this would solve your problems.

    If you like it and willing to get it, buy Sony’s Vegas Movie Studio 8 Platinum Edition.

    Technically, you don’t really need a Mac to edit your videos. I’ll get into that in another post. Canon HG10 works great with iMovie ’08, Final Cut Express 4, and Final Cut Pro 6. If you want more editing features without paying too much, get Final Cut Express 4 with the MacBook Pro.

    I have posted some videos on this blog, and check out the quality.

  29. i wonder, if cannon record in 60i does it mean 60 frames per second? and if so it is possible to do 60fps project in FCE4? i would love to do some very slow motion..
    thanks

    60i = 60 interlaced fields per seconds. Roughly equals to 30 frames per second.

    For more reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_rate

  30. Maybe I missed something but is there a way for me to play the native ACVHD file on the HV10 directly for viewing on my MacPro or do I need software for that? Im very frustrated that the SW with the HV10 doesn’t support Mac! Also, is there SW that simply *just* plays the original ACVHD file on my Mac..I’m not needing to edit, just play…or do I need to convert to iMovie, etc first before viewing? thanks!

  31. Sorry, one more question if you can help. Simple, I think: I simply want to be able to move my AVCHD files from the camera to my MacPro for archiving and then back again at a later time for viewing. I can move using Finder and put back using Finder…but when put the .MTS files back the camera doesn’t recognize that its there and therefore I can’t play it. Do I need iMovie or Inagemixer to put the file back in the right format/structure to allow for this to happen? thanks!

    Copy the whole “AVCHD” folder AS IS. You can copy the other folders too.

    Take a look at the folder structure in the camera, and you should be able to reconstruct everything if you still have all the files.

  32. thx but a whole host of problems with this approach. First I get an error when drag/dropping the entire AVCHD folder and its sub folders back onto the HF10 “you do not have sufficient priviliges for some items”. Secondly, I cant understand how this could work after i’ve accumulated say 30+ clips over time/days and lets say I only want to transfer back 1 of those clip so I can play it back on my HDTV. If I copy the entire folder AS IS, then im taking with me ALL .mts files in that folder, which would likely exceed the memory capacity of the drive. This all seem exceedingly complicated and this camera is not ready for general availability to ‘avg’ folks don’t you think? My goodness, one would think that the process of archiving footage would be the FIRST feature that works well and easy wouldn’t you think? thanks in advance for any further assistance/clarification!

    What program are you using to import the AVCHD files?
    If you are using Final Cut Express 4 or Final Cut Pro, you can use the “Log and Transfer” to import the files.

    I actually archive the Hard Drive content periodically. I generally avoid the hard drive content to get too large.

    For example, I copied the whole camera hard drive content to another hard drive, then I emptied the camera.

    In the external Hard Drive, I created a folder with all the content from the camcorder. Repeat the process with new content from the camera as needed.

    I’d get into the whole archiving process in the coming weeks.

  33. Thanks for taking an interest in my plight. I’m not using any program at the moment on the Mac side-just finder to read the directory on the HF10 and drag/drop to a dir on my MacPro. I’ve messed with ImageMixer on Windows running under Parallels and it actually does most of what I need except it won’t let me change the sub-dir I want to store the clips in, very strange. The player in ImageMixer is very jerky too, but that just could be a parallels problem. I’ve ordered iMovie and hope that atleast the import function works, but I’m hating the fact that I have to convert the .mts to play it.

    I don’t fully understand your comments about archiving and would certainly appreciate a deeper lesson. I suspect there are others out there willing to do the same thing. I’d even pay for it! Frankly, I’m contemplating returning the camera and going for HDV format until this stuff gets the kinks worked out. I spent all day searching web yest looking for information on this issue, but its very sparse. You’re blog is excellent and I appreciate you’re willingness to help people for free. It makes for good Karma 🙂 cheers

  34. Hello,

    I have the Canon HD10 and Final Cut Express HD 3.5 — I am wondering how I can capture the files from the camera into Final Cut. I also have Quicktime 7.4.5 and iMovie 5.0.2 —

    The computer recognizes the camera and has allowed me to copy the entire AVCHD folder to my harddrive, but I cannot import these files into any of my editing programs. Further, none my editing programs recognize the camera, so I am unable to use the capture function.

    Any tips on how I can make this work with my current set-up? Or do I need to upgrade to FCE4?

    Thanks a bundle!

    Julie,
    To work with AVCHD on Mac OS X, you need an Intel Mac, iMovie ’08 or FCE4 or FCP6.

    Hope this helps.

  35. Great article, and it’s awesome that you’re keeping on top of most comments.

    Heres my Q.

    I have a Canon Vixia HF-100, and a MacBookPro (iMovie, FCE). I’m looking for a workflow that will assist me in doing the following…

    1. Transferring and archiving maximum resolution, smallest footprint. I originally just copied it over using iMovie, but recently learned that H.234 was the best format.

    2. I want a solution to make all this HD footage accessible on my 52″ Plasma. I have an xbox360. What’s the best way to have it viewable on my wide screen?

    3. What should i be shooting in? CINE?

    Thanks for the advice..

    I’ve been busy with some other projects, and took me a while to get to your questions. Let’s see:

    1. H.234? Do you mean H.264?
    Final Cut Pro by default will import AVCHD videos into Apple Pro Res 422 format which translates to roughly 1GB+ for every minute of 1080i AVCHD video. FCP has the options to import AVCHD video into Apple Intermediate Codec also; you can find the options in “Log & Transfer” preferences. I can’t say much about Final Cut Express because I already have Final Cut Pro 6.x.x. iMovie ‘08 automatically imports AVCHD video into Apple Intermediate Codec, and you have the options to import 1080i video into 540p video. After that you can export the videos into H.264 format.

    2. I do not know much about XBox 360, but I do remember that XBox 360 does support H.264 format now. Depending on your HDTV set, 540p or 1080i should looks great through the XBox 360.

    3. CINE mode will give you lower contrast settings. It is in my experience not a good idea for shooting in a lower light conditions.

  36. HI,

    very nice and helpful website,i have newest top of the range macbook pro,and i have FCE,IMOVIE 08 and a sonny SR12E an AVCHD format camera,i have used the log and transfer option and learned a few things in it,but i don’t know how to set the scratch desk i know that i should use an external hard disk and i am going to buy one today but i don’t know which kind is good and fast do use on my macbook:

    1.should i buy a fire wire hard disk?

    2.after log and transfer i can use the cutting option but i cannot drag the video effects,is it because i did not use the rendering?

    3.can you tell me what is that thin red line on the top of my timeline?
    4.after i buy the external hard disk what should i do with the settings of the scratch disk?

    5.is there any settings that i should know about and how to set them?

    thanks a lot in advance and have a nice day…

    1. Yes, buy FireWire hard-drives, so you can backup/store your files somewhere else. They in general are portable.

    2. The video effects can be added after you place the clips on the timeline.

    3. The Red Line above the timeline indicates that the video clips are not rendered yet.

    4. I generally prefer having a minimum of 2 different drives to work with Final Cut. I’d set one hard drive at the scratch disk. Preferably, the scratch disk is not your main hard drive where the system resides. If possible, use a hard drive exclusively for the scratch disk.

    5. For now, you can have Final Cut automatically adjust the settings based on the video clips you are importing. It is easier to have all the clips in the same format and resolutions.

    Good Luck.

  37. This site is a great resource, hear is another question, I have a sony sr-11 and FCP 6.0.4. What is the best setting to use for the sequence in the “Easy Setup” window? I was going to go with HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60, thanks for any help you can give

  38. I just got a HG10 and I used Log and Transfer in Final cut to create .mov files . I then wanted to do a reverse telecine process so I used thie instructions found on the apple site here for the workflow
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2410?viewlocale=en_US

    now at the end I have a video that only has some iterlacing on the front and end of the clip but its no longer in 16:9 and is compressed in to 4:3 seems like. What did I do wrong?

  39. I know AVCHD video files are huge, but is there anyway you can put up a link to a RAW file, so I can download it and test it out in some of my own editing software?

    I need to see if my machine/software is capable of handling these files before I run out and buy a camcorder (I’m thinking of the Canon HF10). Even just a very small (few seconds) file would help with this decision process.

    Please check back in a week or so.

  40. I second what Mike asked, if you could provide a short raw avchd file from the HG10 that could be downloaded and tested on different editing software that would be soooo useful. I want to use sony vegas platinum 9 but have seen lots of comments about how difficult it is to get the HG10 files into vegas.

    Thanks for a very useful site.

  41. I am losing my mind! I have been trying to import from my HG10 to FCE4 by following all the instruction and it leaves the clip idle in the queue. I can preview in the log and transfer window but when I drag clips into the queue it won’t finish importing. I just updated FCE4 as well… still no love. Help me before I end it… please.

    Do you have XViD component and/or Perian installed? Remove them and see if it helps.

    What is the specs of your Mac?

  42. I don’t have those installed. I have a Macbook 2.4. I forgot to mention that I downloaded this copy of FCE4 if that matters.

  43. sorry this is out of topic question but i need advice. i want to buy 1TB external hard drive and just want to know what is recommended. i heard that hard drives with firewire connection are the ones to go for but it seems to me its all USB out there…i have a MyBook Premium ES Edition 500GB but im not very happy with it as i cant transfer more than 4GB at one time (dont know why but it always stops after 4GB) and also it is USB..
    with all these AVCHD files im in desperate need of more space..
    any advice/recommendation?

  44. Looking for educated advice.

    I am interested in purchasing a form of Final Cut, but I am having a hard time differentiating the difference between:

    Final Cut HD 3.5
    Final Cut Express 4 and
    Final Cut Studio Pro 5.1

    I am looking for an entry level video editor that will satisfy my needs, with a range of options in the easiest possible way, something that I can use “semi-pro”.

    I have an Macbook with the following:

    Mac OS X 10.4.11
    2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
    1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDram

    and I am using a Sony DCRSR45-HDD, I believe the format is MPEG-2 and would like to confirm which Final Cut will support this format without video visual loss. Or any advice someone could give me, overall what is the best bang for the buck and do a fantastic job. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    I’d say get Final Cut Express 4. It supports newer format, and definitely better than FCE HD 3.5. If you couldn’t get the latest Final Cut Pro, then get FCE 4. (Buy Final Cut Express 4 from Amazon.com for less)

    Another thing you want to do is to max out the RAM on your MacBook. I believe your MacBook can take up to 2GB of RAM.

  45. Hi,
    Awesome site for the plight of the new HG10 user! I have an iMac with lots speed and space. Have iMovie08 on board, but how on earth do i pry the video files off to my machine when I connect the HG10?
    Like many other people who have posted, I cannot transfer the video to the mac. As i read through the posts, I see the same file structure that other users discuss, and start to get a glimmer of hope for a solution. However, I’m not that sophisticated and don’t use FCP or whatever, just plain old iMovie ’08.
    In case I missed the rudiments of video transfer, can you please outline them again for me?

  48. Whew – fantastic site, I feel a bit like a loner w/o having gone to the Apple way… 🙂

    I just bought the HG10 and tested it out at Zion National Park…stumbled into the problems of getting it to my PC ok..as I use ulead studio and plain ol windows movie maker for my videos.

    Just saw above the tip to use VoltaicHD to convert – will give it try..

    …and just seeing all of the comments makes me put an iMac on my xmas wish list!!!

    Cheers ,Tammy

  49. So I realized that AVCHD is only recognized in FCP 6.0.2 or later- which assisted me with my importing problems (Intel Mac, Leopard, FCP 6.0.4)
    Now I am trying to comprehend whether or not it is TRULY possible to import and achieve 1920 x 1080i (I think I have tried every Log and Transfer/custom video settings combination possible to no avail. The largest resolution I can achieve is 1440 x 1080. Do you have any info regarding this matter? AM I CRAZY!

  50. what is a CPI file? The movies from my camcorder are in CPI format
    and I can’t open them at all. WTF

  51. I have FCPro 5 and Express. Is there a way to download HG10 AVCHD to Express and then work with it on FCPro?

    If you have FCE4 and imported the videos to Apple Intermediate Codec, it should work with FCP5

  52. I am using nero rom to burn avchd file from my HG10 and when I try to burn, the program tells me that my dvd-r (4.7GB) is too small for the amount of data I am trying to burn (37 GB). Is there an option to keep replacing a full dvd with a new dvd so that I can put all 37 GB on 8 or 9 DVDs?? Otherwise i dont know how else to burn my data so i can view it in a blu ray. Any suggestions??

  53. Well i have a sony HDR-SR11 and have been playing for a long long long time, so here are my settings. Using a PC i back up raw files to a external Hard drive i can play this on my ps 3 native with full DD5.1 files look outstanding very happy i can also play from camera on my ps 3 aswell. editing my videos are now easy i use my mac using imove and import at 1080i ( i bought a HD camera so want it in HD, i would have got a SD camera if i was not import at full res)anywy imovie 08 is great and so is 09 not worth the funds tho.

    after i have done all my playing i need to export and this is where every one seems to have problems and i have now found the setting for my camera so i hope it helps others.

    i found the best way to export is back in to avchd so export setting must be mp4 video on with H.263 what to set the bit rate, no one could tell me so i have my own idea and seems to work very well. you do need to no your cameras bitrate and set imovie to the same (my camera records @ 16.9 so i set imovie to 16900.
    set at normal quality if you set at best it will NOT play back on a ps3. now you have your AVCHD export burn on to a normal DVD using toast (do not use IDVD you already have your movie)

    now play on your blue ray player or ps 3, dont no about xbox as i dont have one

    hope this helps

  54. Has any one had experience with Sony HDR CX 100? I am also looking at the Canon Vixia HG 10 and I do not know which is better. Any advice? Thanks.

  55. help. New Mac Pro 2gb ram, 1.32TB hd… but canon hv10 + FCP 6 won’t log and capture, but iMovie recognizes and imports. Was able to get it to work once before, lost setting. newbie. Was hoping you could answer:

    1. how do i get FCP to communicate with hv10?
    2. best import settings pref HD
    3. best way export settings for .mov to DVD…?

    Help ?

    Great site btw an very helpful in many respects 🙂

  56. I lent my Canon HD10 to a friend. Now, it no longer exports in .mov but in some weird file format no one’s ever heard of. I would be very very grateful to anyone who knows how to reset the camera to its presets or otherwise can tell me how to get the camera to once again export .mov’s.
    Thank you in advance!
    ps I realize this is a dumb question but this is my first time around the block with this kind of camera, if that’s any excuse.

  57. If you are looking for better audio during recording on your hg10 or and other camera, I have been using a rode video mic, cost me $129.00 total delivered from ebay.

  58. So well, after trial and error over two nights in a row I’m posting now. First time I do. But I just can’t help myself anymore.

    The specs:
    Canon HG10
    MacBook Pro 10.5.0
    FCP 6.0.5
    Toast 9
    ffmpegX
    …and some more.

    Question:
    How can I transcode the AVCHD footage that I locate in the folder called “STREAM” on the HDD of the camera into Apple ProRes 426 (HQ) in order to edit it with FCP? I need the best possible quality of course.

    Nothing worked so far. I tried a lot. Only with Toast Video Player I can play the files. Strange enough.

    Thanks a lot in advance,
    Gerrit

    1. Gerrit,

      Do you still have the AVCHD folder structure intact?
      In the Camcorder there folder structure starts with AVCHD > BDMV > ………..
      Make sure you do not take anything out of the structure.
      When you want to archive the videos, copy them out of the camera as is, into another hard drive.
      In FCP/FCE you can mount the AVCHD folder and FCP/FCE would see it.

      Hope this helps.

      v

    2. .
      I have hg10, im trying to import my videos to my new mac book pro , using I movie 8, but the clips are in jpg format. I cant seem to figure it out. Thanks
      Steve

  59. Hey John,

    I am seeing you really know about your stuff.

    I have an issue, I am exporting a 4 minute music video from FCE HD 1920*1080i. This is a 3.5 Gb file and when it is played by Quicktime it looks good but when the dissolve transitions come up as well as slow motions then the image starts to blink intermittently.

    Would this be an issue of the bit rate or the interlacing?

    I am just exporting the video for Quicktime as it is, I am not going to the details.

    Thanks a lot mate,
    Clem

    1. Clem,

      I noticed that you have the video in 1080i; interlaced. A lot of times this would effect how the transition looks.

      What I would do is to test if the same issue persisted when you convert the video to 540p.
      Make a copy of the video and work on a 30 second segment. I usually imported 080i video into 540p clips.

      I hope this help.

      v

  60. I have hg10, im trying to import my videos to my new mac book pro , using I movie 8, but the clips are in jpg format. I cant seem to figure it out.

  61. 1. how new is that macbook? 2. it needs to have the intel chip to process avchd 3. i movie 08 will not work if you do not have the intell chip in the macbook. 4. email me or link up on skype, or if yyou are in the US on phone. 5. start with email.

  63. sorry i do not have access to imovie 08. OPTIONS: 1. you could use imovie 09 2. if imovie 08 is able to read those avchd files, you would know, if my memory serves me correct, the work flow should resemble this, open i movie, connect hg10 with usb cable, turn on, toggle to (View mode), imovie should automaticly detect camera and open import window, if that has been happening, then you import all or click manual and click the ones you want. if this is happening then the files are there. NOTES:you mentioned JPEGs, you could just be viewing the thumbnails in your finder. Now, option 4. Get final cut express and use “LOG AND TRANSFER” it wil permit you to view the files on your cam and set ins and outs and just import your good takes from with in a long shoot to minimize the large file decompressing on your drive, you will find the will fill up your macbook as well as multi terabyte drives very quickly. . email me calvinfahey@yahoo.com and we can swap phone numbers, i have been down this road and there was a lot of avoidable pain.

  64. I have an HG10 and I love it although I cannot seem to get my IMAC to import the movies anymore. It did when I first got the camera, and for the last 1 year or so I have been on the phone with Apple, at the Genious bar etc, and no one seems to know why this happened. Could it be a problem with the camera, as I also tried it on my PC and it also did not work. All I see is .mts files, and when I bought a .mts converter to change the format I lost a considerable amount of clarity and crispness. Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

  65. If other Macs can not import the files it is the camera. Go to the Apple store and all of their machines have FCP on them. In FCP or FCE use log and transfer. Open FCP, Turn on Cam, File, Log and Transfer, on the left you will see all the clips, click on one and drag it down to automaticly import, or click on one and then in the viewer window put an in and an out to import a few seconds and click IMPORT. IF IT WORKS THAN THE CAM IS GOOD AND THE COMPUTER YOU HAVE HAS A PROBLEM.

  66. Pingback: Los Angeles CA Jobs » Blog Archive » Video Editor – AVCHD (Los Angeles)

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