Its quite possible we'll see native AVCHD editing (and sequence settings) in the next version of FCP. It already has support for native XDCAM support, which is similar in AVCHD, although higher quality and a little high bitrate. What makes AVCHD unique, and able to record long lengths of HD footage with very little storage space is it's use of Long-GOP compression. Long-GOP allows motion video without creating every individual frame. Only x amount of frames per second are created. The rest are virtually created by way of interpolation.
This saves enormous of hard drive space, but requires playback and editing software to re-create those frames not recorded. XDCAM also uses Long-GOP, but uses a higher bitrate and different algorithm; bringing increased quality HD with a small increase in hard drive space.
Between the two, XDCAM is for pro use and thats most likely why they implemented that format first. But AVCHD is growing in popularity. A small rumor is circulating stating that the next version of Final Cut Pro could support native AVCHD editing. Currently, it is supported but must first be transcoded into an intermediate format such as ProRes. Intermediate formats are not by nature designed to be very portable or for distribution.
They are for working in a a very high quality arena, allowing for great flexibility in mixing formats, composites, etc. But that is how AVCHD is currently supported in FCP. You must "log and transfer" your material, which begins the process of converting the AVCHD files into ProRes 422. This takes a long time, making the idea of a "tapeless" workflow seem not worth it, since it takes longer than real-time on most workstations to do this transcode. On the other hand, XDCAM footage is brought into FCP via the File>Import>XDCAM route. Downloading and installing a small, free plugin from Sony is all you need to beforehand.
Log and Transfer plug in software utility for XDCAM
The footage is copied from the XDCAM media (such as the SxS solid-state cards) and the material is immediately available for editing in FCP. When importing from the SxS cards (XDCAM EX format), the transfer has a top speed of 800Mb/s. The import process simply transfers the media and "wraps" it in QuickTime; a very quick process you won't even notice. One hour of footage "captured" and ready-to-edit in 10 minutes or less. When native AVCHD editing is possible in Final Cut Pro, the workflow will become very similar to how we work with XDCAM today.
Charles Angelis
Final Cut Cafe
http://www.finalcutcafe.com
The mission of Final Cut Cafe is to provide educational support and resources for students, teachers and practitioners of digital media, filmmaking, video production and post-production in a collaborative, discussion based format. Our moderators are Apple Certified Trainers, digital media educators and industry professionals.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
