I'm concerned. I have sent you a PM for some data.

I have referred the matter to CyberLink.

Dafydd
[Moderator]

Hi Brady,

Thank you for all the PM's and the emailed data.

I have today sent you a "file patch" - which is a temporary solution provided to me by CyberLink RD. Please let me know how you get on.

Dafydd

Here is a update on the AVCHD issue:

The program that converts the AVCHD files to MPEG2 works great, but there was a small bug when trying to process multiple files.

Over the last 7 or 8 days, I was in constant communication with Dafydd, and Dafydd was in constant communication with Cyberlink's programmers. Once we identified the exact sequence of events that caused the problem, the programmers provided a fix fairly quickly.

I loaded the fix last night I was able to convert about 25 AVCHD files without a problem. I burned a Blu-ray dvd this morning. I must say that my kids look extraordinarily good in glorious 1080i.

I am very impressed with this amazing support from Dafydd and Cyberlink.

AVCHD is a failry new format used mostly in HiDef camcorders with hard drives. 2007 is the first year video editing companies provided the ability to process these files.

Cyberlink's process for importing AVCHD blows Ulead's process away. Ulead's process is so quirky, many users posted threads in their forum saying it didn't even work. Someone finally posted the 8 "easy" steps for importing AVCHD files. I downloaded and tested a trial version of this software a few months ago; I'm glad I didn't buy it.

Cyberlink's process is intuitive and very straightforward. You open the AVCHD file just like any other media file. This is the way it is supposed to be.

Dafydd, thanks so much for the support you provide.

BradyB

Hi,

I'm having the same issues with AVCHD in that PDR crashes even when one AVCHD file is opened. Is the update to the AVCHD patch discussed in this thread available for anyone to download?

I see on the PDR patch page, there's a message stating that the AVCHD patch is being updated. I assume it has to do with this problem. Does anyone have a rough idea about when the patch will be available?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Clark,

Please send me your e-mail address in a Private Message and I will forward the fix to you.

Brady

Here is an update:

I sent Clark the fix for AVCHD and requested that he report back to see how it is working for him.

By the way, welcome to the Cyberlink Forum Clark!

Brady

Brady,

Thanks for sending me the patch. It's been working great so far. I haven't had a ton of time to play with it, but I've been using it to convert files to MPEG-2 from AVCHD. Here are a couple of things I need to investigate further:

I started converting a large number of files overnight and in the morning the computer had restarted and only 14 of the files had been converted. There was a message informing me that Windows had installed an update that required an automatic restart of the computer, so I assume PowerDirector had nothing to do with that. I'll try it again tonight.

I see that the MPEG-2 files are in stereo, whereas the AVCHD files are in surround sound. I have to see if the stereo indication is correct.

But these are small complaints in the larger picture of having or not having the AVCHD capability.

Thanks for your kind welcome to the forum. I've been reading here for a while. I've only just recently joined so that I could post messages.

I'll continue to keep everyone informed as to my results.

Clark

Hi Clark,

Thank you for the update.

I am kind of new to video editing, but one hint I picked up from this forums is that people try to disable all the automatic updates and virus scans. Video processing is a heavy consumer of computer resources, and you don't want anything interfering with your project.

I too like to start the video rendering and then go to bed.

It is hard to find all the automatic update programs. Seems like very program has their own.

Brady

Hi Everyone,

I just want to give a bit of an update. I had downloaded the latest Power Director patch from the website and I've been using Power Director to convert my AVCHD videos to MPEG-2.

I think the videos look great. My concern about the audio being downgraded to simple stereo was unfounded. My computer has not restarted either, so I assume that was due to the Windows update.

I use Power Director when I watch my videos on the computer because Microsoft Media Player and Sony Motion Picture Browser pause and skip when I play hi-def video, but the Power Director viewer is always clear and smooth. In hi-def, it almost seems like I'm looking out of a window rather than at my computer screen.

I had uninstalled Power DVD when I was having problems installing Power Director, but now I have to get that reinstalled and see how well it plays my video.

Thanks for all the help.

Clark

Hi Clark,

By now, I have converted a couple hundred AVCHD files using PowerDirector. I seem to be getting excellent Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

What are you seeing that indicates 2 channel stereo?


Brady

Hi Brady,

When you right click on a converted clip in the media window of PowerDirector and select Properties, in the Audio area it says Channel: Stereo.

When I look at the same MPEG-2 clip information using the program that came with my camcorder, it says Dolby 5.1 Surround.

Like I said, my fears were unfounded. PowerDirector is converting the video flawlessly.

Clark