Calling all internet video / camcorder experts

[MaxRules]

I just picked up a new HD camcorder for the upcoming 6x6 ride at Haspin. My old JVC hard disk camcorder is still a good one but the video quality is not up to today's standards. I picked up a new Panasonic HC-V201. It records on SDHC memory cards which is much more off-road friendly than a hard drive. It seems to make great videos but the format it uses to record video has me second guessing this type of camcorder. It records in AVCHD format which is not recognized by Windows. You need to use a special program that came with the camcorder to do anything with the video. It's the one and only way to see the files, edit them, or burn to a DVD. Does anyone have experience with this type of recording? Is it worth learning everything new and relying on this program or is there another type of HD camcorder that would be better and easier to manage?

[amphibious drew]

Flip was very similar. There is most likely a work around using a converter program. Just google what format it uses to what format you want and you should find something.

[frabbit]

Drew, not on subject, but can you please tell MaxIV Mark his mailbox is full?

[George]

I use Pinnacle Studio to do my vids. It will convert a half-dozen or so formats including AVCHD. I'm using version 12 but I think they're up to 16 or 17 now.

It is pretty easy to learn.

[Mike]

I use a Panasonic camera to record my videos as well and it uses the same AVCHD format. I tried a handful of conversion programs before choosing one called "Voltaic". It seemed to convert the best without losing any quality but this was several years ago when I bought the camera so there may be better software available now. Typically I come back from a ride and the first thing I do is dump all of the movies from the weekend into Voltaic. It will queue them up and convert them one at a time until they are all done. Unfortunately it can take hours to convert them, but there are usually 5-6 hours of video to convert so that's to be expected.

Once they are converted you can then edit with your favorite movie editing software and you won't be tied to the default software.

[Nick O.]

That's odd, all of our computers are capable of playing AVCHD files. I believe nearly all cameras record in this file type to reduce size but keeping quality. Check to see if your media player is up to date. An alternative would be to download a different program to open the files. The software included with cameras is usually junk and I'd just keep the disk in the box.

I've used many video editors, but the best bang for the buck would be Sony Movie Studio. It costs about $100, but it's a program that professionals use, and it's easy enough to learn in a few nights. I've made over 50 videos with it and can whip up a 3 minute work of art in 1.5 hours or so.

[MaxRules]

Thanks everyone for all the info. It sounds like AVCHD is becoming more common than I thought. The camcorder seems to work well. The power OIS (optical image stabilization) really works great. It takes out the shaky look of the video and makes it all easier to watch. It's barely one week until show time, I'm ready for action!