http://www.mirillis.com/splash.html

If you own an HD Video Camera – you must have run into issues playing those files on your PC.  I have a Sony and it comes with its own software. Although it is nice for organizing and sorting your videos, it doesn’t have a very friendly video player.  I found it really hard to use its video player to use as a stand alone player.

Some people claim that VLC Player will play those files, and VLC does but it freezes after playing two seconds of the video (at least for me).

So anyways, I searched online and came across this player…

Its called ‘Splash’ and it played my HD files without any issues.  Here is the link to download it:  http://www.mirillis.com/splash.html

Their lite version is out for free and they will be soon coming out with their PRO and other versions.

So, I hope this helps anyone looking for a small and fast m2ts file player!

I managed to get a little bit of use out of the EG-M34A NMT device, and so far I am quite happy with it.

Because of the extensive DVD collection we have, it’s hard to actually find a movie when you want to watch it. Because I always backup every DVD (at least the ones I enjoy) to a harddrive, it’s easier to just find it on the computer than to spend a few hours digging through DVDs. Because my main portable device for video playback is an iPod Touch, all my movies are encoded in a format that plays on it. To watch these on TV, I used to transfer them to my iPod Nano (3G, which plays the iPod Touch formatted files perfectly), and use the iPod Video (5G) dock to connect it to the TV (never gotten around to get another dock, because you never know what they change in a future model). It works pretty good for watching movies, but I never managed to get a good understanding of the remote for the dock, so watching a few TV episodes is a bit of a pain.

With the NMT, I use an old 100GB laptop harddisk that came from my Dell laptop. I always use 7200rpm drives for computers I work on, so the 5400rpm drive was not doing anything.

The NMT has, strangely, an external sata port that uses internal cables. Hooking up the harddrive to the (included) cable makes it work great, and it even reads NTFS formatted drives (needed for large HD video files).

With this combination, I’ve managed to watch some Battlestar Galactica episodes in HD (720p) format on my 32″ Philips LCD TV, and it looks great. I had some issues with one file, but that was due to corruption in the file itself for some reason. Now all I need with it is a good sound system.

All in all, the EG-M34A is a great purchase for me.

(remember, if you do get one, update the firmware first. It takes a while though, to update, download the update from their website (don’t update through the device itself) and copy both the bin file and the html file to an empty pendrive)

It was about time to replace the old XBOX1 I used for playback of my video file collection. While XBMC worked fine for most videos, due to the limited performance of the XBOX itself (733mhz processor), it was not capable of playback of my iPod Touch optimized video files.

For a while now I have been looking around for an NMT, a Network Media Tank. This is a device that you connect to the TV, and it can play video files from USB devices such as a pen-drive or an external harddisk. Some have a network connection as well, which enables it to stream video from a computer network share.

The EG-M34A is cheap and offers all I wanted. I have looked at a variety of different brands, models, but this one appeared to be capable of all I need, which is basically play everything I throw at it.

Yesterday, FedEx delivered it, and while the box is quite small, it works as advertised. I had to do a firmware upgrade to enable some newer features, but after that, it played the HD stuff I prepared for it without any problems.

I have not done much else with it, but expect some more info in a few days.

The first beta version is available for registered users.

DVD Catalyst 3.82, the next version of DVD Catalyst 3 is currently available in beta form.

While most things are fully functional, there might be some issues.

Whats new:

To clean things up a little, 2 new TABs have been added in Global Settings.

*Boosterpack TAB, containing the settings for turning off boosterpack, as well as room for future options.

*Advanced TAB, containing additional settings that do not really fit in the other tabs, or are for more experienced users.

The Advanced Tab includes the following:

*AVCHD framerate. Some camera files do not report the video information properly, causing severe issues with conversions.
This is used for those files.

*Run before conversion: run a program (or bat file) before the conversion starts.
*Run after conversion: run a program (or bat file) after the conversion is finished.
these are usefull to stop and restart a program that might interfere with the conversion. These options actually run anything. The Browse dialog is set to look for All Files, enabling you to pick whatever you want to run. You could pick a program, but also a wav file or an mp3 to play when conversions are complete. To test-run the file, click on the filename in DVD Catalyst after you selected a file. Note that the execution of the file is NOT monitored by DVD Catalyst. it will not wait for a script to finish.

*SRT subtitle font scale: video files with SRT subtites tend to convert subtitles really small. this fixes that.

*Ask for DVD track selection: Rather that using DVD Catalyst automatic scanning, this will enable you to manually select the tracks you need.
Handy for those DVDs with a lot of tracks, or if you had issues, and restarted DVD Catalyst and remembered which track you need.
Shows playtime of the tracks, and has a preview as well.

*Shutdown DVDCat when done. closes dvdcat when conversion are completed.
*shutdown computer when done. (has been in dvdcat since the beginning) turns off computer when conversions are done.

To play with the beta, use the “Email Us” button in DVD Catalyst 3 to contact us.

We would like to receive clips of videos that have issues with DVD Catalyst.

We are working on trying to improve support for AVCHD and other HD video formats, and while we managed to find a few sample videos, we could use some more.

While mainly we are working on getting Video Camera formats such as ts, m2p, m2ps, m2t, m2ts, mod to work better, any other video format you are experiencing issues with will be looked at as well. If you have a digital video camera, and are experiencing issues with it’s video files in DVD Catalyst, please create a small clip (a few seconds), and email it to us, and we will do our best to get it to work properly.

Thank you,

Mitch,

DVD Catalyst Support

Because DVD Catalyst uses the opensource mplayer/mencoder tools for it’s conversion engine it can read and create a huge number of video formats.

DVD Catalyst can read (convert) the following video files and formats:

DVD: Recorded as well as commercial (rental/store bought) DVDs.

DVD ISO: ISO files in a variety of different file formats. (usually backups of DVDs created using other software).

DVD FOLDER: Folders containing VOB and IFO files. (usually backups of DVDs created using other software).

SVCD/VCD: Commonly used in Asia, or backups created from DVD using other software.

MKV: Anime / BRrips etc.

DIVX/XVID/AVI: DVD rips (DVD backups), internet downloads etc.

MPEG1/M1V/MPEG2/M2V/VOB: Recordings (Camera/TV Card), DVD backups etc.

WMV / DVR-MS / VC-1: Windows Media formatted files, Media Center recordings etc.

AVCHD / MTS / M2TS / MT / TS / TP / M2T / M2P/ TRP : HD Camera recordings. Some formats work already, however, better support will be added in 3.82.

OGM : Open-source video format (Anime).

MOD : MPEG2-based video camera recordings.

FLV : Flash Video, video from websites like YouTube.

3GP / 3G2 / AMR / H263 : Cellphone camera recording format.

M4V / MP4 / MPEG4 SP : MPEG 4 Simple Profile, used for some camera recordings.

MOV / MP4 / MPEG4 AVC / H264 / x264 : MPEG4 Advanced Coding Profile, HD video format used in BluRay(rips), HD TV recordings, iPod/PSP optimized files.

And more (most of the ones listed here)

If for some reason DVD Catalyst ignores the files you add, you can use the “Add file(s)” button which lets you bypass the file-extension check. DVD Catalyst will try and access the file as a video file, and if it can do something with it, it will enable it for conversion.

DVD Catalyst can write (create) video files using the following formats:

H264 MP4 : The best-quality video format at this time. Used for all HD content, including Apple iTunes video and BluRay.

h264_ipod : DVD Catalyst h264 format, with specific settings for compatibility with Apple’s devices. It is also the most compatible H264 format, and is playable on most devices that can play H264 video.

h264_ipod_hq : DVD Catalyst h264 format, settings optimized for quality, while retaining compatibility with most devices.

h264_appletv : DVD Catalyst h264 format with specific settings for AppleTV, outdated, use h264_ipod instead.

h264_appletv_hq : DVD Catalyst h264 format with specific settings for AppleTV, outdated, use h264_ipod_hq instead.

h264_5.1 : DVD Catalyst h264 format with 5.1 audio. only for PC playback, not compatible with any known device. (.mov)

h264_5.1_hq : DVD Catalyst h264 format with 5.1 audio. only for PC playback, not compatible with any known device. (.mov)

h264_5.1_mp4 : DVD Catalyst h264 format with 5.1 audio. only for PC playback, not compatible with any known device. (.mp4)

h264_5.1_hq_mp4 : DVD Catalyst h264 format with 5.1 audio. only for PC playback, not compatible with any known device. (.mp4)

h264_xbox : DVD Catalyst h264 format specifically for XBOX360, not compatible with any other device. (.avi)

h264_xbox_hq : DVD Catalyst h264 format specifically for XBOX360, not compatible with any other device. (.avi)

h264_ps3 : DVD Catalyst h264 format specifically for Sony PS3, not compatible with any other device. (.avi)

h264_ps3_hq : DVD Catalyst h264 format specifically for Sony PS3, not compatible with any other device. (.avi)

h264_psp : DVD Catalyst h264 format specifically for Sony PSP, not compatible with any other device. (firmware 3.10+)

h264_psp_hq : DVD Catalyst h264 format specifically for Sony PSP, not compatible with any other device. (firmware 3.10+)

h264_psp2 : DVD Catalyst h264 format specifically for Sony PSP, not compatible with any other device. (firmware 2.00+) This format is very picky in file naming, folder location on the PSP, and is not recommended for use at all. Upgrade your PSP, and use the other format for better quality.

MPEG4 SP : Less demanding video format (older devices)

mpeg4_ipod : Most compatible MPEG4 SP format, compatible with most devices that can handle MPEG4-SP. Used in “Fast” profiles for Apple iPod / iPhone / Apple TV due to better performance on older computers. Less quality though.

mpeg4_psp : DVD Catalyst MPEG4 format specifically for Sony PSP, not compatible with any other device. (firmware 1.00+) This format is very picky in file naming, folder location on the PSP, and is not recommended for use at all. Upgrade your PSP, and use the other format for better quality.

amv_mp2 : specific video format for cheap Asian mp4 video players. (.amv)

Audio MP3 : Converts any DVD or video file to an MP3 audio file. (.mp3)

flv_mp3 : Creates video files in Flash Video format, compatible with internet websites and flv players.

H263 / 3GP / 3GP2 : Low quality video format for processor-limited devices (cellphones)

3gp1_aac: basic 3gp video file, compatible with most cellphones such as Nokia and Motorola (.3gp)

3gp1_aac_mp4: 3gp video file with .mp4 file extension used for Sansa Connect.

3gp1_amr-nb: basic 3gp video file, most compatible with anything that can play 3gp files (.3gp)

3gp1_amr-wb: variation of the above, using slightly modified settings, not used.

3gp2_aac: 3gp2 video file format(.3g2), not used.

AVI / MPEG4 ASP

msmpeg4_mp3 : basic AVI video file, requires no codec install on computers that have Windows Media Player 7 or higher installed. Used by DVD Catalyst for inbetween file for some video formats.

divx_mp3 : divx encoded avi file, optimized for Nokia Internet Tablets

divx4_mp3 : divx4 video file format, used for some older Epson, Blackberry and Creative Zen models.

divx4_copy : divx4 video format with the original audio left untouched. Not used.

divx5_mp3 : divx5 video file format, compatible with any device capable of (Certified) DIVX playback.

divx5_copy : divx5 video format with the original audio left untouched. Used for some HQ profiles.

divx5_mp3_cam : special conversion format, recommended to be used for low quality conversions, such as cellphone recordings to another format. Using any other format with these kinds of files might fail conversions.

divx5_mp3_palm : special conversion format specifically intended for use with older PalmOS devices.

xvid_mp3 : opensource version of DIVX, compareable to divx5_mp3.

xvid_mp3_sansa : xvid format with specific settings for the Sansa Fuse.

xvid_mp2 : xvid video format with mp2 audio, usable for some older devices. Not used by DVD Catalyst at this time.

xvid_copy : xvid video format with the original audio left untouched. Used for some HQ profiles.

MPEG / MPG

mpeg2_mp2 : Standard MPEG2 video format with MP2 audio

mpeg2_mp2_hq : Standard MPEG2 video format with MP2 audio with additional quality settings enabled

mpeg2_copy : Standard MPEG2 video format with original source audio

mpeg2_mp2_hq : Standard MPEG2 video format with original source audio with additional quality settings enabled

and more

Free AVCHD Converter is a freeware tool designed to convert all your MTS and M2TS files. AVCHD is a great format for the recording and playback of high definition video and is widely used in the current HD consumer camcorders. This format uses video compressed in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format for obtaining great quality at high resolution and stil maintaining small file size. The AVCHD format is used by camcorders like Canon HF10, HG20, Sony HDR-SR1, HDR-SR11, HDR-XR100, Panasonic HDC-SD9 and a lot more.

With the help of the Free AVCHD Converter you will be able to easily convert your HD files from your camcorder’s MTS or M2TS format to AVI, MPEG2, DVD format, iPod, Mp4 or Wmv format. There are even some presets defined to help you convert quickly and easily without having to set all the conversion parameters manually. No more hassle and wondering what to use to play and share the clips you shoot with your HD camera, because you’ll be able to easily and quickly convert them to different popular formats and also to lower the resolution if needed without sacrificing too much of the quality.

- Download Free AVCHD Converter V1.0
- Download Free AVCHD Converter V1.0 (mirror 1)
- Download Free AVCHD Converter V1.0 (mirror 2)
- Download Free AVCHD Converter V1.0 (mirror 3)

With advanced HD (High-Definition) video conversion technology, Xilisoft HD Video Converter can easily convert among HD video formats, convert video to HD, convert HD videos to SD (Standard-Definition) videos. The HD video converter supports most of HD video formats such as AVCHD (mts, m2ts), H.264/AVC, MKV, MPEG-2 (ts), DivX, HD WMV, MPEG-4 and Quick Time.

Besides, Xilisoft HD Video Converter can easily convert among high definition videos, convert HD video to SD video, extract audio from video, and convert among audios. The HD converter can also make JPG, GIF, BMP and PNG pictures into videos, as well as capture pictures from various videos. The HD converter also offers you various settings like adjusting file size and splitting file. Have a nice enjoyment on the HD movie conversion!

Xilisoft HD Video Converter Features:
- Convert HD videos including AVCHD (mts, m2ts), TS, H.264/AVC, MKV
- Convert among general videos like AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, DivX, RM, MOV, FLV
- Convert HD videos to SD videos and audios
- Create videos and SWF/FLV file from pictures
- Support multi-core CPU for maximum conversion speed
- Video-to-picture conversion for getting shots out of video
- You can run the HD converter in background

- Download Xilisoft HD Video Converter 5.1.23.0508
- Download Xilisoft HD Video Converter 5.1.23.0508 (mirror 1)
- Download Xilisoft HD Video Converter 5.1.23.0508 (mirror 2)
- Download Xilisoft HD Video Converter 5.1.23.0508 (mirror 3)
- Download Xilisoft HD Video Converter 5.1.23.0508 (mirror 4)

ADOBE PREMIERE CS4 VIDEO FORMAT WORK AROUND After purchasing a new SONY AVCHD format Handycam and discovering it’s .m2ts files were not compatible with CS3 Premiere, I took it back to the store and down traded to a standard definition Sony DCR-SR220. I believed it would be compatible with its straightforward and “old” .mpeg files … too bad … it wasn’t either. Since installing CS4 I have discovered that Premiere is now compatible with a range of AVCHD formats and my old but new SONY Hi Def camera would have worked fine … aarrrggghhh! So began the long process of trying to find a workaround. 100’s of forums, trials of 3rd party video transcoders and many frustrating hours later the solution is found. The solution makes you wonder why Adobe never included such an ability in their own encoding software. Microsoft comes to the rescue with Windows Movie Maker embedded in their OS. Here are the simple steps to making your Mpegs useable in Premiere CS4

 1. Open Windows Movie Maker.

2. Import the .mpeg files that you want to use in Premierre.

3. Drag the .mpeg files into the timeline of Movie Maker.

4. Publish the movie to your computer.

5. Choose the format “DV .avi PAL and choose the location of your outputted .avi files.

6. Continue with publishing process until it is finished.

7. Close Movie Maker.

8. Open Premiere.

9. Import the newly created .avi files, drag them into the timeline and hey presto they have sound and they have the same quality that they were created with.

10. Sit pondering why Adobe didn’t make a transcoder that could handle .mpegs as part of its media encoder. Go figure.

P.S.  Managed to import Mpegs straight from my sony camera into Premiere with sound intact.  All working fine.  Those updates must really work.  Sigh…

Heute möchte ich auf einen interessanten Post in Georgs Forum hinweisen. Wer selbst bereits HDTV oder sehr lange Videos in PowerDirector bearbeitet hat, wird vielleicht selbst schon einmal die beschriebene Erfahrung gemacht haben. „Hajo“ aus Georgs Forum weiss Rat.

„Ich bin ja ein Newcomer in der HDTV Szene und sammle noch Erfahrungen.
Die Verarbeitung der Videoclps von HD-Kameras meistert PD7 ja locker, auch kürzere Filmmitschnitte (PVR) sind kein Problem. Bei einer 240 min langen Opernaufnahme (720p) haben ich u. PD7 uns allerdings fast die Zähne ausgebissen.

Nach vielen nutzlosen Versuchen führte dieser Weg zum Erfolg:
Das PVR-Video ist ein .ts-file und wird von PD7 ohne den neuen Patch nicht importiert. Ich habe daher das file mit “TsRemuxer” zu einer .m2ts Datei “umgemuxt”.

Diese neue Datei habe ich erneut in den TsRemuxer geladen und zeitlich auf jeweils ca. eine Hälfte begrenzt. Im VLC-Player habe ich mir vorher angeguckt, an welcher genauen Stelle der/die Schnitt(e) am Besten erfolgen/t, bei einer Oper ist es z.B. am Ende eines Akts. Diese “Teilvideos” lassen sich nun in PD7 bestens bearbeiten (trimmen).

Es gibt auch den “TsMuxer“, aber Vorsicht. Beim Ummuxen mit diesem Programm ist bei mir meistens die Lippensynchronität verloren gegangen. Für die Newcomer ist noch anzumerken, dass durch die “Muxerei” Video u. Audio nicht beeinträchtigt werden. Auch geht das Ganze vergleichsweise sehr schnell, das Ummuxen meines 240 min flies hat ca. 1/4 h gedauert.

Seid gegrüßt
Hajo“

• Herunterladen kann man den „TSRemuxer“ von hier (wie bei allen Download-Links übernehme ich keine Garantie für Virenfreiheit oder ähnliches!)
• Mehr zur Bearbeitung von HDTV auf Hajos Website (nach unten scrollen und auf „Erste Erfahrungen mit HDTV“ klicken)

Ich habe mir neu die Sony Handycam HDR-SR12E gekauft. Eine super HighDefinition-Harddisk Kamera. Das Video wird im AVCHD Format gespeichert. Wenn die Videokamera an den Computer angeschlossen wird erscheint ein Laufwerk mit .mts Dateien. Wenn die Szenen mit dem mitgelieferten Programm verschoben werden bekommen sie die Endung .m2ts .
Grundsätzlich können mit dem mitgelieferten Programm ”Picture Motion Browser” die Szenen abgespielt und konvertiert werden. Mir persönlich passt das Programm aber nicht. Alleine schon weil es in den Szenenordnern pro Szene noch zwei weitere Dateien anlegt und über das Programm der Speicherplatz wie auch der Dateiname nicht nachträglich geändert werden kann.
Gerne würde ich mir ein Programm wie Adobe Premiere leisten. Das übersteigt mein Familienbudget aber bei weitem. Die Windows Vista Ultimate Programme können leider nicht mit dem AVCHD Format umgehen. Gefunden als ideale Lösung habe ich für mich den Nero 8 . Er kostet nicht viel, spielt die .mts Dateien ab (die Endung muss man zwar zuerst mit dem Nero ShowTime verknüpfen) und erlaubt auch das schneiden sowie authoren von einfachen AVCHD-DVDs. Mit Nero 8 ist  man zwar auch noch weit von einem Profiprogramm entfernt und die Möglichkeiten sind recht Bescheiden. Um mit wenig Zeitaufwand eine AVCHD-DVD oder eine einfache DVD zu erstellen ist es aber optimal. Es sind genügend Möglichkeiten/Effekte vorhanden um was anständiges in wirklich kurzer Zeit zu basteln.
Wenn ihr den Nero 8 aber kauft, bitte installiert nicht das ganze Softwarepaket, sondern nur Teile die ihr wirklich braucht. Für mich war das der Nero ShowTime (zum abspielen von DVDs/BlueRays/AVCHD-Dateien) und der Nero Vision (zum schneiden und authoren). Weiter habe ich Nero WaveEditor und Nero SoundTrax installiert, falls ich neben meinen Kindern jemals Zeit finden sollte, auch die Audiobearbeitung zu machen.