Sony HDR-SR1 Questions about format
 

Ok, I've been using my Sony for a couple of months and love it. But I have been using it by viewing the videos with the browser, or converting to MPEG2.

Now, I'd like to understand how I can share my HD videos with others. So, I have several questions, to which I'd like some answers

• I have the player on my PC for AVCHD format that came with the Sony software. But is there a AVCHD player that I can tell others to download and install, that is free, that can play the Sony AVCHD videos that my HDR-SR1 produces and saves as *.m2ts and *.modd files?
• Are these the files that a player uses? Or, must there be a conversion process to put them on disc, so that others can see it?
• The player that I do have, doesn't seem to play my PC videos from files. When I launch the "player", it asks me to insert an AVCHD disc in the DVD drive. What kind of discs do I need to buy, to allow me to record these AVCHD to this drive?
• I don't even know what type of drive is required. I don't find any mention about the drive type, in the manual. I have a "TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L532M". Can this drive burn the discs in AVCHD format? If not, what type of drive and disc is required?
• I'd like to be able to send the video data files to family and have them be able to view them in AVCHD format? What is the best way to achieve this, that requires the least investment in software? I'd like not to have to downconvert these to MPEG2, so that others can see the videos.

Any help would be appreciated. The owner's manual is very skimpy on how to share videos with others, in AVCHD format.

Right now, there is not a software media player that is optimized for AVCHD (MTS or M2TS streams). I have had some success with both Nero Showtime with its H.264 codec and Windows Media Player (using the Cyberlink MPEG codec that comes with their PowerDVD player). However, playing back AVCHD smoothly requires video card hardware acceleration and a dual core or very fast single core processor. I expect the software media player situation to change soon, probably coincident with CES next week.

Hardware players are somewhat problematic. You can put M2TS files on a standard DVD but you will have to have a computer with software player to play them back or a Blu-ray disk player. Standard DVD players will not play the files. Perhaps one of the companies that have out DVD players that will play back DivX and Xvid files will update their firmware to play AVCHD. We may know more next week.

Currently, there is no way to edit AVCHD in its native format without converting it first to something else...like high bitrate MPEG2. Sony has said it will support editing AVCHD with its Vegas software through a version update in the Spring. However, I expect this to be through an intermediate codec like they did for HDV initially.

So, for now, IMO your best bet is to convert the AVCHD to MPEG2 and author the files to a standard DVD for sharing with your family.

DIVX will also work just like Windows Media 11 with the Cyber link codec but although both are flawless when it comes to HDV playback, its havoc for AVCHD playback so you may want to try Elecard for AVCHD playback.

Download the main player and the AVC PlugIn
http://www.elecard.com/products/prod...r/mpeg-player/
Keep in mind that you may want to uninstall it from your computer after you view the AVCHD files because it destroys the flawless HDV playback of Windows Media and DIVX but their may be something in the options menu to fix that.

I understand the current limitations with this format with regards to editing and sharing. But seems that I should be able to at least do, on other PCs, what I can do on mine. That would be acceptable, for now

• Is it possible to install just the player, from my install CD, to another computer
• Then, burn my current HD files to a DVD in the same HD format that can then be viewed with the player, in HD?

That would at least allow me to send a DVD to a family member and have them be able to view it, without having to down-convert it. I find the HD that I can see on my laptop, far superior to what can be seen as MPEG2.

Bare bones requirement would be for a family member to see the same high quality video that I can see on my laptop. Since I can do it on my PC, there should be a way for them to do it on theirs, as well. Obviously, I could install the complete installation package on their PC, and then I could transfer all my video files to theirs but it would be easier if I could just install the player and then send them a DVD.

If you know some family or friends that don't mind watching your HD copies on their laptop then that's great. When I bought my SR1 I knew that I was the only one that was going to be able to enjoy my own footage in HD quality because I have an HD tv, but even if I edited my footage on my computer and was able to burn it in HD quality on a dvd, the only way I could view it or anyone that I know could view it would be on a computer because I don't, or anyone I know doesn't as yet own a blue-ray HD dvd player. I'm afraid it's going to be a long time to come before most of the general public owns equipment that plays or records HD media.
About three years ago I invested a lot of money on a Sony VX2000 and on a PowerMac G4 computer to edit my SD footage and now everything's going HD! Now I suppose that three or four years from now they'll find an even higher quality video format for us to buy and all our HD equipment will be obsolete!