Hi folks, my first post although I have learned alot here and elsewhere. If this should be in Getting Started I apologize.  I am a real Newb when it comes to video technical details and MC7 as well.  I am trying to understand the ins and outs of using AVCHD files and sync'ing with BWF recorded separately. I probably have more questions than answers. If there are links that would help please pass them along.

I have video shot by a Canon Vixia, AVCHD 1080i/24p (23.978). I have simultaneously recorded audio on a Tascam DR-40 in BWF format. I am using MC7 on Windows. I have played with Autosync but I believe that does not work becasue of the inherent lack of timecode on AVCHD files.

First a couple of general AVCHD questions:

1) If I import AVCHD (vs. AMA link) is it transcoded to DNxHD by MC7 or do I need to do that manually? Seems many think this makes editing less prone to slow-downs and problems.

2) Can MC7 display the start time of day as captured in the metadata of the video?

3) Can MC7 deduce time code from that metadata?

That would/should make BWF syn'ing easy since the TOD is the timecode used in the BWF. But I think the answer is "no". So, now on to sync methods. I can sink via "clap" by setting Mark Ins but that seems so old school when the source video knows the time of day it started and the running time.

1) In some of the clip windows I can set the start time of the clip, is that a way for me to manually set the start TOD so i can sync with BWF? Any other way to do this?

2) Is there any advantage to importing and/or transcoding to DNxHD for sync'ing purposes?

3) I have looked at AWPro Client which seems to add a timecode to AVCHD and transcode to DNxHD. Anyone ever use this for this purpose?

Any other help or comments on sync'ing these files with MC7 would be much appreciated.  Is "clap on" really the only way to do this?

Thanks,

Matt

PluralEyes by Red Giant does it. they offer 30 days free. works great...

mdombros:

I have video shot by a Canon Vixia, AVCHD 1080i/24p (23.978). I have simultaneously recorded audio on a Tascam DR-40 in BWF format. I am using MC7 on Windows. I have played with Autosync but I believe that does not work becasue of the inherent lack of timecode on AVCHD files.

Well it doesn't work for a number of reasons - regardless of whether or not there is TC on AVCHD (which there can be) a Canon Vixia doesn't have a sync input so you have no way of syncing to the Tascam (apart from a manual clapper board) - that's the main reason :)

Pluraleyes will do it if it doesn't crash, but it is a cumbersome workflow in Avid. I would suggest in general you use the old fashioned manual clapper and then sync up the waveforms as best you can (rememberign they are only within a single frame of accuracy.

mdombros:

1) If I import AVCHD (vs. AMA link) is it transcoded to DNxHD by MC7 or do I need to do that manually? Seems many think this makes editing less prone to slow-downs and problems.

It will speed up editing and make theprocess more robust andin MC7 you can do this in the background.

mdombros:

Can MC7 display the start time of day as captured in the metadata of the video?

It can display lots of metadata in a bin, but it depends on the AMA plug in and the camera manufacturer (I doubt very much you'd get TOD with Canon Vixia)  - otherwise you have numerous timecode display functions available depending on what is stored in the clip.

mdombros:

Can MC7 deduce time code from that metadata?

See above - basically no - it uses whatever timecode is attached to a clip and sequence timecode. However timecode is a form of metadata.

Regarding the rest of your enquiries all those methods would take more time than a manual clapper - and in most cases you can't change the start and end timecode of a master clip without unlinking the media.

A manual clapper board or Pluraleyes are the best solutions if you are not using sources where you can jam sync the timecode. TOD is not accurate enough between devices unless you jam sync it first.

Thanks folks, after mucking around a while, manual clapper syncing does work best and is quite easy. Thanks for the help.

Matt

Just don't do what one our producers did recently.  I have been helping her get her DSLR footage imported and one of her cameras only had the bottom of the clapper board framed.....

Actually I have just been doing an audio sync between audio tracks and the base audio track on the video so a visual has not been necessary but I can see where you would have a problem without a video reference track!