Hello all,
I read the searched threads and did not find much from the last month or so, so I wanted to start a new thread to gather the updated information and opinions. If it matters I have a 2.33 ghz Core 2 Duo macbook pro with 2gb of ram and a 256mb video card. But I'd like to keep it a little more general so it can apply to all mac users.

It seems in short there are the following questions:

1. Is it possible to import and edit AVCHD video on a Mac? (the answer is pretty clearly yes)
2. Is it possible to import, edit and export full resolution AVCHD video (1920x1080) on a Mac? (the answer to this seemed to formerly be no at a reasonable price point)
3. What kind of hardware do you need to do this at an effective, reasonable level? (here is where you can comment on if my computer is good enough! :-) )

Feel free to comment on the hardware, software and particular camcorders you are using if you feel it pertinent. Also, I spent several hours reading and searching through the forums and did not find anything from the last month or two that answered the above. Since technology changes so rapidly and software is updated so frequently, I thought we'd get an updated thread for Mac users.

Thanks in advance!

Your mac is certainly better-suited than my 1.83GHz mini. Only the last part of this process is a No (the exporting in full 1920 x 1080). I've seen a couple of applications that promise to do it, but at the moment I don't have enough empty storage to try them.

The latest OS X revision, 10.5.4, really brought AVCHD compats to the Mac. The Panny SD9 creates an .mts file structure that frustrated early editors. What a surprise when I saw how easily it was detected and imported into iMovie 08. Of course, that's where the dream ends, because there doesn't seem to be an option for full export (There is one choice of saving as a .mov file, but it takes very long, and expands your file size to something 20 X that of the raw AVCHD. I am sure it high quality, but I don't have the space, or time to wait for it to complete.

iMovie doesn't burn discs, and iDVD is not easy for the novice to learn. When I need to make a family DVD. I export project out as a high quality mp4. iTunes will open mp4 by default, and burn directly to standard DVD without all the iDVD bullstick. On a regular TV, which is what all my family owns, you can't see the loss. They think it's great, and the over-saturated colors created by the Panny SD9 help the overall color on a older TV.

For the time being, I have my perfect editing solution, my mac mini.

Final Cut Express' last update (4.0.1) added easy setups for 1920x1080 AVCHD importing at either 60i or 50i. I've not had a chance to play with those settings yet, I'll try to shoot some test footage of the dogs over the weekend and play.

1. Yep. Pretty simple. Just need the latest iMovie (though I prefer to import with 08 then open the .mov file in 06 for the rest)

2. Yep. See 1.

3. Not sure, but my 2.16Ghz C2D Macbook Pro with 3.3GB RAM (2-2GB pairs) works great.

Now how do you play it back? Not sure yet. consumer HD is a new bird for sure. iMovie exporting to AppleTV will only do 540/30 @ 4Mbps. I'm looking at Popcorn Hour or a PS3 as alternatives. Apple is pushing iTunes rentals which require a heavier compression.

I purchased my HF10 a month ago. I was wondering if its possible to edit with imovie from an external usb drive. I don't have any room on my mac book pro and have been downloading all of my son's football games to an external drive for future processing.

Also, I will be editing movies for home use and occasionally making copies of games for other parents. Is FCE a worthwhile purchase?

In case anyone cares, someone posted a sample clip from an HF-11 on-line, the file structure is

[14:57] nightowl:~/Desktop % unzip -t CanonHF11-30p.zip
Archive: CanonHF11-30p.zip
testing: AVCHD/ OK
testing: AVCHD/AVCHDTN/ OK
testing: AVCHD/AVCHDTN/THUMB.TDT OK
testing: AVCHD/AVCHDTN/THUMB.TID OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/ OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/BACKUP/ OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/CLIPINF/ OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/CLIPINF/00000.CPI OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/INDEX.BDM OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/MOVIEOBJ.BDM OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/PLAYLIST/ OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/PLAYLIST/00000.MPL OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/ OK
testing: AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00000.MTS OK
testing: AVCHD/CANON/ OK
testing: AVCHD/CANON/00000.MPL OK
testing: AVCHD/CANON/CINDEX.TMP OK
testing: AVCHD/CANON/INDEX.BDM OK
testing: AVCHD/CANON/THUMB.TID OK


I was able to download the AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00000.MTS file via FTP directly into my eGreat EG-M31B (analogous to Popcorn Hour A110) and it plays flawlessly.

(I'm interested in the OP's post as well because I just have a measly 2.16 Core Duo 17" MacBook Pro with only 2 GB.)

I was wondering if its possible to edit with imovie from an external usb drive.
Yes. I store all my files on a FW800 external (FW400 should be fast enough as well).

I was able to download the AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM/00000.MTS file via FTP directly into my eGreat EG-M31B (analogous to Popcorn Hour A110) and it plays flawlessly.

Do the clips play back without gaps between each? On a PS3 you can only play 1 clip at a time.

Yes. I store all my files on a FW800 external (FW400 should be fast enough as well)..

I'm a total noob at this. Does the external drive show up in the event library or do I have to load the movie on to my laptop hard-drive, edit and then export edited movie into external drive.

Like all scratch-space utilizing applications, you must designate the drive in your preferences, or the software selects default location.

Like all scratch-space utilizing applications, you must designate the drive in your preferences, or the software selects default location.

Thanks