Hemisphere GPS R320 GNSS Receiver:

Technical Notes:

95 minutes of raw footage from five separate sites were condensed into this 3:53 minute video.

Final Cut Express v4.01 was used to transcode the AVCHD data because I’ve finally learned there is less rendering involved than when the footage is imported using iMovie ’11 and then exported using an .XML extension. For example, many cross fades and color correction filters do not require renders when the footage is imported directly by Final Cut Express v4.01, but will require constant re-renders if you follow the .XML path.

I also learned that creating a DVD of the raw footage is ‘simpler’ — here is my new workflow for this:

1.) import the 1920x1080p AVCHD footage using Final Cut Express v4.01
2.) select all the imported clips and drop them onto a sequence timeline
3.) File->Export->QuickTime Movie->(do not make it self contained)
4.) open iDVD (shudder)
5.) create a project (Widescreen 16:9 Aspect Ratio)
6.) drag the movie created in step#3 into a suitable drop zone
7.) burn the disk
8.) playback will be compatible with any standard DVD player (use DVD-R disks!)

iDVD Advanced Tip:

- for up to 60 minutes just use “Best Performance” encoding (default)
- for up to 90 minutes use “High Quality” encoding
- for up to 2 hours use “Professional Quality” encoding

Encoding level can be set via Project->Project Info->Encoding

This is a handy method of ‘rapidly’ (that’s a little joke there) producing HD-DVD widescreen playable disks for customers who want to see the raw footage and don’t care or don’t want any extra video editing. The resulting product will play in a standard DVD player which makes most people happy, and lets you dodge that Blu-Ray burner capital investment just a little bit longer.