Does iMovie '11 support 1080-60p?

Hello Guy,

Thank you so much for all your help and advice on this. It's a cracking camcorder and gives beautiful results on 720p, but of course I would really like to utilise the 1080/50p resolution.

So thanks again for your detailed reply. I shall head off and try out your suggestions.

Rich

A quick question, if you can help again. Any idea where the video files are on the SD600, when connecting to my iMac? I only get a CAM_SD folder with photos on. There are no video files at all. The only way I can import video is via iMovie. But of course the 1080 video won't import into iMovie, which is why I want to access it via the folder that I SHOULD see alongside the SD_CAM folder. So where is it?

Strange, but I'm probably missing something obvious!

I'm busy answering my own questions now!

OK. The video files from the Panasonic SD600 are found via the CARD_SD folder > PRIVATE > AVCHD > BDMV > STREAM. This is where you'll find all your video files which are in MTS format. So I have found another utility that converts MTS files into formats (H.264 for example) that iMovie11 can accept. I did a test and it does indeed allow you to edit 1080/50p video in iMovie 11. My uploaded test video played perfectly at 1080p on YouTube.

The conversion software is available here: http://www.aunsoft.com/mts-converter-mac/ And you can, as I did, try it for free before you buy.

Before this thread falls apart:

1) There is no 1080p50 ot 1080p60 AVCHD spec.

2) Therefore these formats are encoded using plain old h.264AVC.

3) iM can import h.264AVC with no problem.

4) The problem is there is o setting for 60fps -- either 720p or 1080p.

5) However, it is possible to switch iM to offer 50fps or 60fps. This was posted many times months ago.

6) You need a monster computer to edit

7) There is no use for 1080p50 or 60p so after working to edit you'll have make it 50i or 60i ot 720p50 or 720p60.

When people talk about "1080p" they mean 1080p24, 1080p25, or 1080p30. There really is no 1080p50/60p other than the Pana.


Bit of a gimmick.

Joe from Hamburg (GER) wrote:
- ClipWrap, VoltaicHD and also rewrap2m4v all do not affect the quality of original footage?

VoltaicHD does affect the quality because it actually transcodes; the other two do not.

- does rewrapping increase file size of footage significantly?

No. There's very little difference, since the video and audio streams take up the vast majority of the file and they are not affected.

- is a 2GHz Intel-iMac white (late 2006) sufficient to cut and play(!) such footage with iMovie
(I lived with std DV cutting on a 400 MHz iMac DV)

You can edit the video, but it will be painfully slow. Forget about playback. I was using an early 2GHz 2006 MacBook Pro. I now have a 2.66GHz i7 MacBook Pro and playback and editing work pretty darned well.

Steve Mullen wrote:
Before this thread falls apart:

7) There is no use for 1080p50 or 60p so after working to edit you'll have make it 50i or 60i ot 720p50 or 720p60.

When people talk about "1080p" they mean 1080p24, 1080p25, or 1080p30. There really is no 1080p50/60p other than the Pana.

Bit of a gimmick.

I wouldn't go quite that far. Have you seen many of the 60p files? Check out some of the fast motion files here: http://hdcam.web-pda.info/
They are very nice. I guess one can still argue that final delivery options are limited, but if you are not printing/burning out to physical media, the files can be displayed on most HDTVs and higher-end projectors.

He said Panny meaning Panasonic 😉 Most camera do not really shoot 60p

More and more will and I hope Apple make iBluRay soon!

MilSF wrote:
I wouldn't go quite that far. Have you seen many of the 60p files? Check out some of the fast motion files here: http://hdcam.web-pda.info/
They are very nice. I guess one can still argue that final delivery options are limited, but if you are not printing/burning out to physical media, the files can be displayed on most HDTVs and higher-end projectors.

I agree. It depends on your subject matter. I bought the Panasonic so that I could shoot RC helicopter flights. If you've ever seen how fast those thing move, you'd understand that a fast progressive frame rate is very advantageous. Also, the higher frame rate gives you better slow-motion video in editing.

Daniel Slagle wrote:
He said Panny meaning Panasonic 😉 Most camera do not really shoot 60p

More and more will and I hope Apple make iBluRay soon!

Unfortunately, Blu-Ray isn't spec'ed for 1080/60p either. The only options for playback at that resolution and frame rate at present are the camcorder itself, a high-end computer, or I've heard that the WD TV Live will actually play it back, even though the specs don't say so. I haven't seen any specs for the Boxee Box yet.

Sorry, missed some of the earlier threads but see the are answered.

I edit in downgraded 720p25 in iMovie 06 HD. It does provide great quality but I believe that there is a way to edit in iMovie 09 at full 50fps. I gather to edit and play 1080p50 freely on a Mac takes a full Quad Core i7 processor but probably you'd get away with slightly less.

And I don't think the format is a gimmick. HD was originally 480p, then 720p then 1080i, now 1080p. Things change, technology moves on and the obvious future road map for development of Blu-Ray, Tv's and AV equipment is 1080 progressive at 50 or 60fps. Now that format is available in a consumer camcorder, why not use it in the knowledge that computers and editing software will catch up, probably within a couple of years.

Not at all. There is a very strong movement away from high frame rate video. Much of what is broadcast on network television for instance originates in 24fps. Most DVDs are 24fps. It's really only news and live events on television that are still 29.97fps.

You say that iMovie '11 supports 1080/60i (in AVCHD). I don't see that. The imported event may be -- but if I create a project, the only options it gives me for frame rate are 30 fps 25 fps, or 24 fps. I don't see an option for 60i.

I'm trying to keep it in 60i for smoother fast movements like it sports.

60i is 60 interlaced fields, which is 30fps, actually 29.97fps.

That's not totally true. 60i was acquired at 60Hz, whereas 30p was acquired at 30Hz. Yes, you can put an even field and odd field together and get a frame, that's true, but still 60i was acquired at a faster rate resulting in smoother apparent movement.

So, I'm still asking, how does iMovie '11 handle 60i ?

30Hz? Really? The shutter speed determines the rate at which is media is captured, and that's variable on most cameras regardless of the format or the frame rate.

Yes, iMovie '11, as every version of iMovie before it, handles 60i media.

I should have specified my question better. My mistake. I know that iMovie '11 can read 60i AVCHD video (from my Sony WX5 camera). After the video is read in, it is placed in the Event Library as an event. However, if I try to create a project, it displays a dialog box in which, among other things, asks for Frame Rate. That's where it only gives me an option for 30fps, 25fps, or 24fps.

If I select the 30fps option, does iMovie combine the fields into 30p and from that point on that's what it uses or does it actually preserve the 60i (in which each field was taken at 1/60th of a second apart)? I suspect it's the former.

I may be better off shooting my videos at 30p and not using the 60i, unless there is some way to preserve it.