Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hi all

I've bought myself a Panasonic HDC-TM900 and are super happy with the quality the camcorder delivers compared to my Canon 7D which I previously used for video.

I have been reading through a variety of forums, and just gets more and more confused about how I should convert my videos so I can see them in super quality on my computer and my TV.

I need a simple workflow for the various options and hope you are able to give me some tips on how I should do in the following situations.

If I have to use video clips on the computer, on youtube and on our own website Frydenlunds hjemmeside - Vores liv i tekst og billeder in what format should I convert to and what codec to get the best quality.

I'm recording in 1080p/50 pal. I use HD Writer AE 3.0 to download files onto my computer and it's no problem.

Converted to which format and size is best suited for the following:

TV
PC
Website
Youtube

Should I convert to MP2, M2TS, mov, avi or something else?

I have Vegas Movie Studio Platinum HD 10.0 in the trial version because I do not quite know what program I would otherwise have to use. I also have Adobe Premier CS3 which I have not been so happy to work in.

My PC is a laptop with an i7 processor 4 gb ram and a Geforce GT 230 M CUDA and 1024 mb.

I've seen some videos made with the TM900 and the quality is just super, so I'm hoping some of you can give a push in the right direction.

Wishing you all a wonderful day.
Best regards from Denmark

Pallet Thilqvist / CTFoto.dk - Din Hestefotograf

Help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hi Palle and welcome to DVInfo.

Anyone got some tips to help our latest new member out?

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hi Andy..

Thank you..

And yes guys.. Would appriciate some help..

Sitting here messing around with Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0, and to be honest, it looks like s...
Would be very happy to get some help in here...

Best regards
Palle

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hello Palle,

Congratulations on the TM900, and welcome to the forum.

As you may already know, if you're running Windows 7, you can view TM900 (MTS) files natively. The free image cataloging programs Window Live Photo Gallery and Picasa, will allow you to import, catalog and view your video clips. Also, the free Windows Movie Maker will allow creating basic videos with your clips.

No conversion is needed to edit your clips with current Vegas editing software. The learning curve is a bit steep, but if you follow the built-in tutorials, you'll soon be creating videos with minimal fuss.

For uploading videos to Vimeo or YouTube, a good format to render from Vegas is "Windows Media Video V11 (WMV), 6 Mbps HD 720-30p" or "Sony AVC (MP4)".

Good Luck

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

I beg to differ with the Vegas Learning curve. It may be challenging to a first timer, but Avid back in the day was impossible to learn without a class dedicated to it. It's not as hard as you think to master Vegas.

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hello Dan..
And thank you..
I found out about watching the movies on my own computer, but on my wifes laptop with Vista I need to convert / downscale the clips a little, so that she also can watch them..

And thanks to your tip about rendering, I managed to upload one of my first videos to youtube on YouTube - klip_19032011d.wmv

I'm almost satified with the result, but I think the video is missing a little contrast and sharpness..

But let me hear your opinion..

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Congratulations on your first upload.

You may want to experiment with increasing your rendering bit rate to "12 Mbps". Choose "Custom" from your initial "6 Mbps HD 720-30p" rendering dialog. Select the "Bit Rate" tab. Under "Target Bit Rate (bps):" "Internet/LAN" should be selected. Replace "6 M" with "12 M". Your dialogs may be slightly different, but the goal is to double the bit rate of your rendered video, and improve sharpness.

I'd say your contrast is fine, but you may want to increase color saturation. If your TM900 uses the same menu structure as the TM700, by choosing "Record Setup" then "Picture Adjust", you can make changes to "Sharpness", "Color", "Exposure", and "WB". Your tastes may differ, but I usually use "Color +3" and "Exposure -1".

Good luck

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hi Dan
Thank you once again..
I'll try to set the color and +3 and exposure -1 next time I make som video..

I tryed to make the bitrate 12, and wanted to upload it to vimeo, but there was some error on vimeo, so i didn't manage to upload anythng.. I'll try again this afternoon..

But Dan can you please tell me, which render settings do I have to use, to get the best overall result on my video clips??
I think the rendering to wmv makes it look a bit blurry on my laptop!...
Best regards
Palle

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hi Palle,
congrats on your new camcorder! If you like TM900 video better that 7D - you did the right thing that you got one (tm900:), although i would wait to see how it will compare to HF G10, but don't worry, I'll post that video very soon:)
Best quality is a very tricky question, youtube and vimeo - MP4 10Mbps and up would give you good quality, your personal website - this is where tricky part starts, flash 1.5 Mbps and up, depending on how large you want your file to be, progressive download is probably the best, but larger files will not play smooth on slow web connection, macromedia flash files will not play on the majority of mobile devices, unless your website will have mobile version; if you choose render to wmv files for your website - not all Mac users will be able to watch them, and with comparable quality they will be much larger than flv (flash) files.
What video editing software to use - is totally mater of personal preferences, and of course your budget,
all the best,

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Palle,

Here's a webpage that will provide some additional details. It is slightly dated, but most of it is still relevant.

Eugenia's Rants and Thoughts Blog Archive Exporting with Vegas for Vimeo HD

Good luck

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

I am looking at the Vegas product comparison and it says only the full blown Professional version ($600) supports 50p and 60p projects. So if you want to keep 60p, Vegas Platinum HD 10 is useless?

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hi

It is a problem outputting 50p. You can do it using Sony YUV uncompressed, then using something like x264/MeGUI encode to 50p H264.

Even Vegas doesn't give you many options to output 50p or use higher bitrates, what I found anyway.

Regards

Phil

Re: Need som help with HDC-TM900 files
 

Hi Buba.
I have tried to make my settings as you told, and have also uploaded several videos on Youtube (on my wifes account sivvej ) and I think the videos is ok.. (please ignore the music, is only as a test!)
Only complain is that I still think my videos is missing a little contrast and colour.. proberly because I forgot everything about Dans advice, to set exposure -1 and color +3 ;)

But let me hear your oppinion about the videos I uploaded...

I was that close to wait until the new Canon Legria HF G10 arrived in Denmark, but desided to buy the Panasonic instead.. And until now I'm happy with it.. But I'm also looking forward to se the videos from the HF G10..

Dan
Thanks for the link. I'll study it later on..

Patrick and Phil Lee
Until now I'm happy with 25p and the Trial version of Vegas Movie Studio Platium..
Later on I'll maybe use another program / version, but right now I just have to learn about the different possibilities with video clips instead og still pictures..
But thanks for the tip both of you..

:0) Palle