Camcorder video formats

[CHasR]

OK...
I'm looking for a consumer 'hard-disc'/digital(SD) camcorder,
with *decent* sound,
(dosent have to be some hi end, hi-bit, $$$$, cutting edge wing-ding,)
...that produces video files in a widely accepted format (such as mpeg, avi, etc),

AS OPPOSED TO
Camcorders that produce vid files in some damn proprietary format that either needs conversion, or has to get uploaded to a third site to be converted, or isnt recognized by zillions of programmes, or the a/v sync's out when transferring to another device over a cable.

for musical applications.

thx for replies in advance.

[eskin]

There pretty much are only two standards based formats these days:

MPEG-2 in standard definition

and

AVCHD for HD (h.264 in an MPEG-2 transport stream wrapper)

Pretty much all modern video editing programs can handle both. Both Canon and Sony have cameras that generate either or both formats.

JVC I think still has a proprietary MPEG-2 based HD format, but I'm pretty much 100% Canon for video the past few years.

I use a couple year old Canon HF-10 for all my video work these days, its produces AVCHD files on SD or SDHC cards which can be edited natively in Sony Vegas, Final Cut Pro and most other packages. If you are looking for a standard def camera, Canon has several in their FS series that would meet your needs. Sony also has several with similar features at similar price points (around $300). A used HF10 can be found for less than $500.

Cheers,

Michael

[CHasR]

I have in my hands a canon fs300, that produces video files under the "MOD" extension. They are unreadable by youtube, windows media player, & quicktime. Although there are downloadable softward conversion programs which convert the file types, they invariably un -sync the audio & video.

[fearfaoin]

I have in my hands a canon fs300, that produces video files under the "MOD" extension. They are unreadable by youtube, windows media player, & quicktime. Although there are downloadable softward conversion programs which convert the file types, they invariably un -sync the audio & video.

Sometimes those are just standard MPEG files
with a different extension to force the unaware
to use their software. Try changing the extension
from .MOD to .MPG and see if your software picks
it up without having to convert it.

Playing and editing
MOD video can be viewed on a computer with a player that is capable of reproducing MPEG-2 video. Renaming the file extension from video.MOD to video.MPEG might help software like VLC Media Player to recognize it as a valid format. This video can be easily authored for watching on a DVD player without recompression, because it is fully compliant with DVD-video standard.

[eskin]

I agree, generally .MOD files are just MPEG-2 files and changing the file extension to .mpg will make them playable in many programs.

You should also consider using the free VLC Media Player to play any file that you're having an issue with. I've been using it for nearly all my media playback for years.

VLC is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux at:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/


Cheers,

Michael

[CHasR]

I agree, generally .MOD files are just MPEG-2 files and changing the file extension to .mpg will make them playable in many programs.

thanks for replies,
tried the file extenson rename route a while ago: also didnt work (then or now).
but, I will check that VLC programme out.

[fearfaoin]

tried the file extenson rename route a while ago: also didnt work (then or now).

Boo. That sux.

[CHasR]

Im havin a heckuva time with this fearfaoin...

[Tootler]

I have a Panasonic Camcorder that creates files with a .MOD extension. The VLC media player has always played them OK as has the Linux Totem Movie Player, but my computer (Running Ubuntu Linux) has always assumed the format to be an audio one. The renaming has worked for me as I now get a thumbnail on the File Browser so I can see what is on the videos - though I notice the thumbnail has a 4:3 aspect ratio even though I mostly record in 16:9 aspect ratio. VLC displays the aspect ratio OK but Totem Movie Player assumes 4:3 and I have to reset it from the menus.

With each video .MOD file, there is an associated file with a .MOI suffix. I assume this contains some metadata, but as it is a binary file, I can't read it. Does anyone know what the .MOI files are?

I can recommend VLC media player. I have used it both in Windows and Linux and it will play almost anything. The interface seems very basic at first, but everything you need is there in the menus.

If you need to convert formats, I can recommend WinFF. It is available for Linux and Windows (but not for Mac, by the look of it). It's open source and highly customisable. The video editor I use needs the files in .DV format and though it converts on the fly, I prefer to convert all my clips before loading them into the video editor.