Can't get the video off of rented Panasonic 150. Please help!
 

I rented a Panasonic HMC 150 to try it out for an event this weekend. After I got it in the mail today, I tried it out and then tried getting the files off of it. I am running Vegas 8 on a completely underpowered computer, but was told that you can edit AVCHD on an underpowered computer...it'll just make you pull your hair out! I just want to get the files on my computer...I'm not in a time crunch to edit them. I can even get a new computer before I edit them. But I have to send the rented camera back. Any help you can give me is appreciated!

Leslie

you could try Cineform Neoscene....

This idea may be impractical, or not.

If you have an external HD, do you know any videographers that would download the footage for you onto the drive? If you do that might be the quickest way to do it. Or they might possibly let you use their gear to do so.

Hi Leslie,

Have you tried taking the card out of the camera and make a copy of it ?
Note that the card is SDHC and it has to be used on a compatible card-reader.

Cheers !!
Azman

You were somewhat misguided by someone who talks a big game of knowing AVCHD but actually has no experience with it.

With lower bitrate AVCHD such as 1440x1080 12Mbps or lower you might get by with a slightly underpowered computer. My laptop with dual core 2.0Ghz processor will stumble and try but editing and rendering is a gambling experience.

My 14 month old desktop with Q6600 2.4Ghz quad core would edit 1440x1080 12Mbps kind of OK but 1920x1080 17Mbps brought it to it's knees with one software package, another would edit OK so that machine has been replaced with a new Core i7 based computer.

The Panasonic you rented will in PH mode record at a bitrate of 21Mbps and there is NO WAY that can be edited on an underpowered computer without transcoding to some other format (which can easily result in some image quality loss). Neoscene is often suggested to transcode with however its files are not compatible with all NLE's. Sony Vegas is one that it is said to be compatible with.

To get the files off the media card you need an SDHC reader that plugs into the USB port. These are inexpensive and found in many electronic stores or you can order them from amazon.com. You simply copy the files over to the hard drive (I recommend an external hard drive because you really need a new computer if you are going to play in the AVCHD game).

Core i7 with a decent 512MB or greater graphics card will be the way to go.

I edit AVCHD frequently (and battled it on a slightly slow quad core) but stay with NLE's that have been capable of editing it natively with no transcoding for a couple of years now. I use Pinnacle Studio 12 on the Core i7 machine and Cyberlink PowerDirector 7 Ultra on the Q6600 machine (PD7 being a bit less demanding of computer resources), so I have a bit of first hand experience on which to base my comments.

Bruce, how does Vegas do with AVCHD? I'm looking at a used Panasonic tomorrow, and have every intention of buying it, but I really have no idea of what I'm getting into.

Just try downloading the AVCHD Transcoder from Panasonic, it's free, and transcode to DVCProHD. It may not be as good as editing native, but you do not need a new computer to work with it then. Be advised that on lesser computers the transcoding may take a while, depending on how you shot your project. But in the end it's worth the results.

I now have a Panasonic HMC150. All you need is a card reader ($10), and you drag and drop the footage from the card onto your computer.

Don't you hate it when someone asks for help, then you never hear from them again?

Pretty tacky, Leslie.

A bit severe, D.R.

We must keep in mind she is:

1. A new boot.

2. She likely does not have the auto-notify feature turned on, so by the time she figured out her solution she probably forgot she even posted here, and she never knew any suggestions were even offered.

3. Is this how we treat new members?

D.R., you never offered any advice, so I'm surprised you would join in this thread for the sole purpose of criticizing someone new. If you had offered some sage advice, and then never heard back it would make more sense, but even then it would be a bit thin-skinned to actually come out and say such a thing.

Leslie, if you found a solution, please share it with us if and when you read this thread.

You likely found how simple it is to get the footage from the camera from the place you rented it from, I'm guessing.

Sorry for the slow response back. At the time of my post, I expected to have to send the SDHC cards back with the camera. I called the company and was able to buy the SDHC cards from them for market price, so I was able to take the pressure off by buying me a little time to figure it out. In addition to that camera, I had also rented another camera (Canon XH-A1, which I have used before buy still needed to get it set for the wedding and with the cameraman that I hired and needed to supervise). On top of all that, it was my sister's wedding, so not only was I in charge of all the video stuff, I was in the wedding and had a TON of other responsibilities...So please excuse my slow response.

I did download the NeoScene trial. It seems to be working just fine. What was the problem with the NeoScene files and Vegas 8? I didn't understand that post.

Thank you guys for all your help!