Topic: Need Video Editing Software

[Voltage]

Hey everyone.  I am a small time light guy.  I recently picked up a Cannon Vixia HF M300 and a mic to record my shows.  I have been playing with my camera for the past couple of days and none of the editing tools I have on my PC seem to do very well editing the .MTS (AVCHD) files.  I have Sony Vegas, Roxio Creator 2011, and Power Director 9.  Every time I edit a file I lose quality and the video is a little choppy.

I want to keep the HD quality, because obviously I want the lights to look good.  Do any of you know of any good software or any tricks that may help me out?  Thanks.

[sabre]

Sony Vegas works fine with MTS files.  I've used Vegas Pro 9 and Vegas Pro 10 on files from a high definition Sony video camera (1920 x 1080i AVCHD 25Mbps) and had no quality issues whatsoever.

What codec/resolution/bitrate are you exporting your edited videos to?

[Voltage]

What codec/resolution/bitrate are you exporting your edited videos to?

I'm kind of a noob, so you went over my head a little bit.  But this is what I am rendering to.  (HD 1080-60i (1920x1080, 29.970 fps))  Is that what you were asking?  What codec/resolution/ bitrate would you suggest?  Thanks for the help.

[sabre]

It looks like you're rendering using the correct settings. I'm not sure why your footage would look worse after rendering... Sorry...

[Voltage]

I'm trying it again to make sure I'm not doing something wrong.  What type of files do you save your edited files as?  Maybe that is my issue.

I love Sony Vegas.  So I would love to continue using that if I can.

[sabre]

In Sony Vegas 10, I would use these settings.

When starting a new project, select this template:
HD 1080 60i - 1920 x 1080 29.970 fps

When rendering:

File --> Render As...
Save As Type: Mainconcept MPEG-2
Template: Blu Ray 1920 x 1080-60i 25Mpbs video stream

What setting are you using to record on your Canon Vixia HF M300 ?

[Voltage]

That worked!  I guess this was 100% user error.  MPEG-2 files aren't supposed to have audio right?  I also rendered as an  AVCHD file and it worked as well.  Thanks for setting me straight.

What file types do you suggest for uploading to YouTube, Facebook, etc.?

[spyder9]

The below link will answer everything that is video.  I've been referring to it for years. 

http://www.videohelp.com/

[Voltage]

Awesome link.  Thanks!

[sabre]

MPEG-2 files aren't supposed to have audio right?  I also rendered as an  AVCHD file and it worked as well.  Thanks for setting me straight.

I don't have an answer re: your MPEG-2 question.

When you render a clip, Vegas will encode the audio and video separately and depending on the container you select will combine them into one file.
MTS is a container - usually consisting of MPEG-2 or AVCHD video and AC3 audio.
If you click on the "Custom" button on the "Render As..." dialog and look through the tabs you will see options for encoding audio and video.

[Voltage]

Yeah, the more I research editing these file types with Vegas, the more impressed I am with the program.  I already had a great editing tool on my computer.  I just wasn't using it right.

[Red Boink]

Vegas is light on hardware and powerful in function...  I've been using it for years since it was an audio editing program by sonic foundry..  What is your system hardware configuration?