.MTS files doing my head in!!!!

[steamboat68]

OK not a full quid on all the jargon and specifics.
Can someone PLEASE help me out here.
I have a Canon HG20 HD video cam.
Trying to play .MTS files on the latest VLC with my Macbook 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB Ram.

I am opening the .MTS files using the "Advanced Open File"
have done the...
"skip-filter for H264" to all
Restart VLC

but the videos are very choppy (is that's how to describe it!)

Is my mac too slow!
Is avchd 24mbps tooo high for VLC to handle?
Am I doing something wrong?

Any help appreciated

cheers

[Lotesdelere]

I have a Canon HG20 HD video cam.
Trying to play .MTS files on the latest VLC with my Macbook 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB Ram.

Is my mac too slow!
Is avchd 24mbps tooo high for VLC to handle?

Yes, your CPU is too slow. This camcorder can create videos up to 1920*1080 pixels at 24 Mbits/s. This is very CPU demanding and I'm afraid you need at least a Core2Duo at 3 GHz for a smooth playback of such videos.

[steamboat68]

yes!
I have now tried it on my new iMac and it plays the .MTS files.
The iMac is 2.8Ghz.

Can you tell me format to convert the MTS files into to get the best quality possible
so I can play on the 50" plasma?

Also did a quick test with some recordings from the cam.
If I reduce the recording quality to a lower mbps then the macbook can handle it.

seems like I need to do some more tests to find a happy medium.

cheers

[Lotesdelere]

Can you tell me format to convert the MTS files into to get the best quality possible

1920*1080 at 24 Mbits/s is overkill. This is close to the Blu-ray upper limits.
H264 at 10-15 Mbits/s max should be enough for most content or you could also resize to 1280*720 with bitrates between 6-10 Mbits/s max.

[steamboat68]

thanks for that but that would apply to the initial recording settings in cam yes?

I'm now after what format (avi, mpg,dvix, mov etc) do I select through VLC, VoltaicHD, iSkysoft etc
to give me the best format to retain the highest quality so I can play on a macbook through to the Plasma.
Also needed if I go to family & friends to show them footage.

cheers