Avchd Video Editing Software

Avgeek — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:35:41 CST

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.

Best Video Editing Software Home

Avgeek — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:40:06 CST

What the best video editing software is depends on the goals of the production and how much you are willing to spend. This article will mostly deal with applications that are suitable to use on a personal computer, for example Adobe's affordable but very powerful Premiere Elements 7.

Video editing solutions are usually categorized in two groups: systems and software applications.

Systems

A video editing system is basically a computer that is custom built for video editing, running professional grade video editing software such as the Avid-system. As this is what large movie and broadcast companies use, it goes without saying that the price tag is a figure with many zeros in it. All components are especially design to work seamlessly together, making it a fantastically powerful tool to work with.

Software

Video editing software on the other hand is nothing more than a computer program, that you run on an ordinary computer (Windows/Linux PC, Apple Mac etc.). These come in many brands and varieties, costing anything from free to thousands of dollars. Generally speaking this is a much more affordable option than a full blown video editing system.

However, if you intend to use HD video quality and more advanced special effects you should be aware that this will require quite a powerful computer in order to work well.

Examples of video editing software

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro (often referred to as just FCP) is a professional grade video editing software that has been praised for its user interface and powerful features. As the program is manufactured by Apple and intended to be run on Macintosh computers, it is a very stable solution. The application is capable of editing video in a great variety of resolutions, making it a very flexible program.

This software caused a minor revolution on the market when it was first released, being the first program in its price range to boast such advanced features. At the time such features commonly cost ten times as much.

For the home video editor there is today also a lighter version of this software, called Final Cut Express. Although the application lacks some of the very advanced functions of the full version, it is still built on exactly the same interface as its bigger brother.

Adobe Premiere

A very good, affordable and consumer friendly alternative for Widows based PCs is the Premiere video editing software from Adobe.

As this application is very easy to integrate with other well-known products in the Adobe family, such as Photoshop and After Effects, it is a very competent software solution. After Effects is a software for creating special effects such as motion graphics.

Best Video Editing Software - Recently Updated Pages

Avchd Video Editing Software

General Information

Avchd Video Editing Software

More Information

Best Video Editing Software Home

Systems

Software

Examples of video editing software

Final Cut Pro

Adobe Premiere