HD Camcorder to Apple TV2?

[Itogator]

Hello and thanks in advance for any replies.

I am in the market for a new camcorder. Previously, I imported from my SD camcorder into iMovie 08, edited the movie and used the "share to iTunes" feature to get the movie into apple TV. Is this the best way to have been doing it?

My main question is with HD camcorders. They are either 1080i (AVCHD) or 1080P. Since Apple TV doesn't support 1080p, I will probably buy the 1080i as having my home movies on apple tv is very important to me. What would be the best way to get the best video quality from my home movies into the atv2?
Should I just continue to dump it into iMovie 08 and share to iTunes? Should I shoot my video in less than 1080i since atv can't handle that either? I'm confused and would greatly appreciate some feedback!

Thanks again

 

[Papanate]

Hello and thanks in advance for any replies.

I am in the market for a new camcorder. Previously, I imported from my SD camcorder into iMovie 08, edited the movie and used the "share to iTunes" feature to get the movie into apple TV. Is this the best way to have been doing it?

Best? Or the best way without spending money?

My main question is with HD camcorders. They are either 1080i (AVCHD) or 1080P. Since Apple TV doesn't support 1080p, I will probably buy the 1080i as having my home movies on apple tv is very important to me.

No. Buy the best you can afford...you can always dumb down but you can't 'smarten' something up in a camcorder.

What would be the best way to get the best video quality from my home movies into the atv2?

The best way would be to give the A-TV whatever it wants. The really difficult method with the most money being spent for a small improvement (considering you still want to use iTunes) would be to shoot in the highest definition your camera permits then import it into iTunes where it will get crushed almost beyond recognition.


Should I just continue to dump it into iMovie 08 and share to iTunes? Should I shoot my video in less than 1080i since atv can't handle that either? I'm confused and would greatly appreciate some feedback!

Thanks again

 

[Che Castro]

iPhone 4

 

[Itogator]

Best? Or the best way without spending money?


Thanks for your reply. I use iMovie because it's very easy to use. You mentioned there may be a better option but i would have to spend money. I'm willing to spend money if it means better video quality to apple tv. My concern is more with how will a HD camcorder look on apple tv and how much will the video be "dumbed down" to meet apple tv requirements.

I appreciate your feedback.

 

[tbayrgs]

Best? Or the best way without spending money?


Thanks for your reply. I use iMovie because it's very easy to use. You mentioned there may be a better option but i would have to spend money. I'm willing to spend money if it means better video quality to apple tv. My concern is more with how will a HD camcorder look on apple tv and how much will the video be "dumbed down" to meet apple tv requirements.

I appreciate your feedback.

I'll agree with Papanate--don't base your camcorder purchase on the limits of the TV because it's fairly likely those limits will improve in the future. Get the best you can afford because you can always encode a copy that will work on the TV while keeping an unaltered version for later use.

 

[Macman45]

I Agree

I'll agree with Papanate--don't base your camcorder purchase on the limits of the TV because it's fairly likely those limits will improve in the future. Get the best you can afford because you can always encode a copy that will work on the TV while keeping an unaltered version for later use.

I have two high end HD cameras, both are AHCD and I shoot in the highest res I can. Software to reduce file size etc. without effecting quality seems to be your main issue here. Final Cut Pro will do it nicely, but I'm guessing you don't want to spend that kind of money on such a high end application.

Trouble is, apart from iMovie which you already have, I can't think of an "In between" app. There must be one... I wonder fig Aperture would do this? Others here will know more about it's capabilities, but I seem to remember that it can deal with video as well as stills?

If it does, it could be an ideal solution for your editing issues. As stated above, buy the best camera you can afford, don't be limited by ATV's capabilities.

 

[Itogator]

I have two high end HD cameras, both are AHCD and I shoot in the highest res I can. Software to reduce file size etc. without effecting quality seems to be your main issue here. Final Cut Pro will do it nicely, but I'm guessing you don't want to spend that kind of money on such a high end application.

Trouble is, apart from iMovie which you already have, I can't think of an "In between" app. There must be one... I wonder fig Aperture would do this? Others here will know more about it's capabilities, but I seem to remember that it can deal with video as well as stills?

If it does, it could be an ideal solution for your editing issues. As stated above, buy the best camera you can afford, don't be limited by ATV's capabilities.

Thanks for your reply. Someone actually gave me Final Cut Pro a few years back with an extra key. I installed it but found it almost impossible to use. I gave up and ended up deleting it. What is it that Final cut can do with regards to apple tv that imovie can't? It seems to me the issue is with apple tv only accepting 720p more than an imovie issue?

Thanks again