AVCHD is an acronym for Advanced Video Codec High Definition (although some seem to prefer Audio Video Codec for High Definition), and it is primarily used on tapeless digital cameras that record directly to a hard drive or flash memory card. In order to edit the shot material on a computer, you will need Avchd compatible video editing software.

General Information

Avchd is an effective method of video compression that is the result of collaboration between the companies Panasonic and Sony.

To be more precise, what this format does is record the video footage using the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video compression codec. The audio is stored in one of these two formats: Dolby AC-3, or uncompressed form (multichannel PCM). As the format has its roots in the blu-rat format it also includes the same kind of folder structure, including functions for improving things like menu navigation, slide shows and subtitles.

Although the format can be recorded onto DVD discs or onto a mass storage device like a hard drive. In order to play or edit the material you need to have an appropriate acvhd compatible codec installed on your computer. A compatible player is often included in the package with a new Avchd camera, and the files can also be played back as is on the Playstation 3 video game console. There are also free codecs available, but currently these are not as efficient and as reliable as their commercial counterparts.

Avchd Video Editing Software

Editing video directly in the Avchd video format was until recently a little bit of a problem, as the enhanced compression was not supported by most leading video editing application. That has now changed, and many consumer friendly video editing applications such as Adobe Premiere Elements and iMovie now support this format.

Before you start tackling HD video editing in any format you should also check that your PC is powerful enough, as both editing and - in particular - the rendering process requires a lot of processing power and available RAM. Premiere Elements for instance, is available for trial download so that you can test how it works out on your Windows PC before purchase.

More Information

For a longer description of how to use Avchd Video Editing Software, including video examples, visit this site.