using Pinnacle Studio 11.1

[lindencot]

I have been using Pinnacle Studio 11.1 for creating movies for a number of years, I have recently changed camcorder to an HD JVC so I can film in HD or SD.
When I import AVCHD footage into Pinnacle 11.1 the Transitions have a faint large exclamation mark, but not when I import SD or WMV. why is this, also when creating movie with AVCHD files they are automatically converted to SD, any advice please, thank you

[Mike Shaw]

If my memory serves me correctly, PS11 doesn't/can't handle HD/AVCHD files. The exclamation marks mean a clip or suitable transition is unusable/inaccessible. You will need a later version of Studio - I think PS12 was the first version to handle AVCHD (but could be wrong about that). The current version, Pinnacle Studio 16, is in effect Avid Studio 2 (in other words - a completely new, and far more powerful beast). The layout is fairly similar, but you will probably find the differences mean there is a learning curve to go through to master all of its new and more powerful features.

The original Pinnacle Studio system was dropped in favour of Avid Studio - so Avid Studio 2 became Pinnacle Studio 16 - and Avid sold off both Avid Studio and Pinnacle Studio to Corel: Avid decided to stay with only professional editing systems.

So, I'm afraid you will either have to continue editing only SD, or invest in an entirely new editor. If you go for a new editor - please do make sure your PC meets the minimum requirements for the editor to work properly: the current 'HD' editors are far more demanding on computer systems, in particular RAM memory and Graphics card capabilities are the things to look for. Editors that i would suggest are worth considering in the 'home editing' range are PS 16 (Corel), Serif and possibly Magix. I believe there is a lite version of Premiere as well (but I'm afraid I don't like Adobe software, so know very little about their products). They will all require a modicum of 'learning' from the PS11 workflows, and I would suggest, if possible, you download Trial versions to try out first. The best editor is the one that does what you want and you are most comfortable using.

[col lamb]

Adding to what Mike has said, editing HD material (AVCHD, MOV, GoPro files etc) requires quite a well specified PC or laptop. The specifications editing software will run on are given as the minimum and in reality your PC should be far above the minimum specification

Before you buy I would advise to test out your PC by downloading Edius from the Grass Valley website, ignore the fact that the full veriosn is expensive the test is to use Edius to see how your files are handled by your PC.

If the editing works OK your PC should be fine, uninstall Edius and install the editor you want.

Video Studio Ultimate X6 is shown on the Corel UK website at £80.

I would recommend Edius Neo 3 which costs about £170 but it is far in excess of 2x as good as Magix, with edit software you get what you pay for

In the PC world the best editing software for AVCHD is Adobe Premiere CS6, Grass Valley Edius 6/6.5, Sony Vegas and Avid but all these are quite expensive and not necessarily in the best order, I use Premiere and/or Edius

Good luck, please let us know how you get on

[TimStannard]

In the PC world the best editing software for AVCHD is Adobe Premiere CS6, Grass Valley Edius 6/6.5, Sony Vegas and Avid but all these are quite expensive and not necessarily in the best order, I use Premiere and/or Edius

Although, in practice, you may find that Premiere Elements or Vegas Movie Studio are more than capable for what you need to do. I don't know much about Premiere Elements, but Vegas Movie Studio is dirt cheap and most of us aren't likely to exceed the 20 audio + 20 video tracks (it becomes difficult to manage when you get that many anyway).

[col lamb]

Very true Tim

The most video track I have used in Premiere was 18, never again

The only advantage of a more expensive editing software package is generally the functions contained within. To give an example some of the cheaper packages do not include for direct from timeline DVD production and often some very useful video tools are missing such as detailed colour correction and Vectorscope/waveform monitors.

For most users a slimmed down version such as Vegas Studio or Edius Neo is more than enough, I have Edius Neo on my very old steam powered laptop and I can edit AVCHD with very little effort.

Please do not forget to check out your PC capabilities using Edius, or an other trial version of edit software that can handle AVCHD files before purchasing. If your PC is not fast enough to handle AVCHD files then simply buying the edit software is putting the cart before the horse.