15 Replies Latest reply on Oct 14, 2009 4:34 PM by Jim_Simon

How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

blackrosekiller Oct 13, 2009 11:18 AM

I have an AVCHD 1920x1080 60i 29.97fps project (shot on a Canon HF10) that I need to export as a self contained (audio/video together) uncompressed file that's playable in Windows Media Player or Quicktime Pro and that can be edited again later on if need be in Premiere Pro CS4.

I have all the latest updates to CS4 and drivers, etc. My PC is an i7 2.93 GHz, Vista SP2 32 bit, 6 GB RAM. I have a GTX295 video card.

Here's what I have tried so far:

-I tried exporting as a Quicktime file and despite choosing widescreen the video plays back vertically squeezed.

-I tried exporting using Uncompressed AVI and the file played back in Windows Media Player with aduio only and no video.

-I chose Microsoft AVI and then chose "codec none" so it would be uncompressed. I got video and audio but the video stutters.

If I export to a Blu-ray MP4 or reduce the quality to a DVD AVI (720x480) it exports and plays back fine.

On a different note, if I take the widescreen DV AVI and bring that into Quicktime Pro it looks vertically squeezed.

Can anyone tell me what settings I should be using to export? I want to be able to archive the file and reuse it later without losing quality.

Can anyone recommend optimal settings to go to burn to Blu-ray too? What's the best quality format to export to?

1. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Harm Millaard Oct 13, 2009 11:33 AM (in response to blackrosekiller)

-I chose Microsoft AVI and then chose "codec none" so it would be uncompressed. I got video and audio but the video stutters.

That is a correct setting, but the stuttering is probably caused by your lacking disk setup. An alternative might be to use Lagarith, a free visually lossless codec.
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2. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

blackrosekiller Oct 13, 2009 11:49 AM (in response to Harm Millaard)

I thought that maybe it was too much of a strain to play from my desktop so I moved it to my RAID drive and played it from there. Same problem. Is that wahat you meant by "lacking disk setup".

Is the Lagarith codec built into Adobe's Media Encoder? If not, where can I get it and will it have any impact on anything else if I install it (i.e. overwrite any other codecs).

I recall seeing 2 codecs to choose from under Uncompressed AVI but I thought that the whole idea of uncompressed was to not use a compression codec. Should I be using the Uncompressed AVi or the Microsoft AVI preset to work from?
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3. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Jim_Simon Oct 13, 2009 1:17 PM (in response to blackrosekiller)

Lagarith is safe to install. It's an excellent, free codec for DI work.

Choose Microsoft AVI as your starting point, then Lagarith as the codec on the Video tab. Make sure all export settings (frame rate, resolution, fields, etc.) match exactly your source footage.
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4. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

blackrosekiller Oct 13, 2009 1:29 PM (in response to Jim_Simon)

Thanks. I'll try that.

This may be a stupid question but if I export using the Lagarith codec will others be able to play back the AVI in Windows if they don't have the codec installed?

I keep hearing about Huffyuv too. Any thoughts about this codec?
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5. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Harm Millaard Oct 13, 2009 1:37 PM (in response to blackrosekiller)

Both Lagarith and HuffYuv are good and free. They are about equal in performance.
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6. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Jim_Simon Oct 13, 2009 3:25 PM (in response to blackrosekiller)

Others will need the same codec installed to play the files.
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7. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

blackrosekiller Oct 13, 2009 11:11 PM (in response to Jim_Simon)

The MTS files that I imported into my project are 1080i 29.97 fps, upper field first, 1.0 pixel aspect ratio.

I tried encoding an AVI with the Lagarith codec with these settings and had better results this time but the frame rate still stuttered.

I even tried making an MOV with the H.264 setting and had strange results.

I can make an H.264 MP4 at 1920x1080 with no problem.

What are the exact settings for an MOV or AVI just in case I missed something? I really want to have an uncompressed file to archive that can be easily edited later on. I'm thinking that MOV would be the most flexible format.
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8. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Harm Millaard Oct 13, 2009 11:53 PM (in response to blackrosekiller)

I'm thinking that MOV would be the most flexible format.

As long as you are on a MAC. Not on a PC. It is called QuiRckTime for a reason.
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9. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Jeff Bellune Oct 14, 2009 4:14 AM (in response to blackrosekiller)

My first choice for HD MOV export is Avid's DNxHD codec. Avid provides it as a free download. Second choice is Photo-JPEG. The Animation codec has slipped to third because it's slower and creates larger files.

-Jeff
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10. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

blackrosekiller Oct 14, 2009 8:09 AM (in response to Jeff Bellune)

Apple pushes the H.264 codec. Is that any better or any worse? I used H.264 when trying to make my HD MOV and half way through the MOV the video freezes. I don't understand why because I can go to the Quicktime site and play 1920x1080 MOVs with no problem that have been created using H.264.

Despite the codec being created by Avid, will it run fine in Premiere? Sorry to ask so many questions but I'm kind of new at this whole codec thing and this is my first HD project. Working with DV AVI was a no brainer.
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11. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Jeff Bellune Oct 14, 2009 10:15 AM (in response to blackrosekiller)

H.264 isn't lossless or even close. It is a more efficient compression scheme than MPEG2, but it is still heavily compressed. At HD resolutions it can produce very, very good results, but the CPU overhead required to decode it is immense. The other codecs I listed don't require near as much CPU power to decode, and they are closer to lossless than H.264.

DNxHD works just fine in Pr.

-Jeff
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12. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

blackrosekiller Oct 14, 2009 10:28 AM (in response to Jeff Bellune)

If I can successfully export then I'm still assuming that if I send the file off to a distributor that they are going to need this Codec to do anything with the file.
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13. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Jim_Simon Oct 14, 2009 2:00 PM (in response to blackrosekiller)

They will. That's where Uncompressed comes in handy. No codec required. (Makes for really big files, though.)
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14. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

blackrosekiller Oct 14, 2009 2:24 PM (in response to Jim_Simon)

I just wish I could get uncompressed working. I tried both microsoft AVI and chose no codec and chose Uncompressed AVI and unless I'm doing something wrong with the settings I either get no video and just audio or extremely choppy video like it's either slow motion or missing frames.
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15. Re: How do you export a 1080i AVCHD project as an uncompressed file

Jim_Simon Oct 14, 2009 4:34 PM (in response to blackrosekiller)

The first option should work fine. Perhaps your system just can't handle the Uncompressed file. It requires some serious hard drive throughput for HD video.
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