AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video, which stores video on DVD discs, hard disk drives, non-removable solid-state memory, and removable flash memory such as Secure Digital and Memory Stick cards.

AVCHD and its logo are trademarks of Panasonic and Sony.

History

Developed jointly by Sony and Panasonic, the format was introduced in 2006 primarily for use in high definition consumer camcorders.

Panasonic released the first professional AVCHD camcorder in autumn of 2008, followed by Sony in the first quarter of 2010.

Favorable comparisons of AVCHD against HDV and XDCAM EX solidified perception of AVCHD as a format acceptable for professional usage. Compared to HDV 720p, AVCHD uses a more advanced compression format (AVC vs. MPEG-2.) At 720p resolution, AVCHD has an even greater advantage over HDV, due to a higher video bitrate (18.3 Mbit/s CBR) vs (up to 24 Mbit/s VBR.)

Unlike the competing HDV format, which primarily recorded to magnetic tape, AVCHD recorded video to a random-access filesystem, simplifying the process of downloading footage to PC.

In 2011, a new revision of the specification, AVCHD 2.0, was announced. It added support for 1080p50, 1080p60, and stereoscopic (3D) video, and increases the maxmimum system bitrate to 28Mbps in these new modes.)

Overview

For video compression, AVCHD uses the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (AVC) standard, supporting a variety of standard, high definition, and stereoscopic (3D) video resolutions. For audio compression, supports both Dolby AC-3 (Dolby Digital) and uncompressed linear PCM audio. Stereo and multichannel surround (5.1) are both supported.

Aside from recorded audio and video, AVCHD includes features to improve media presentation: menu navigation, slide shows and subtitles. The menu navigation system is similar to DVD-video, allowing access to individual videos from a common intro screen. Slide shows are prepared from a sequence of AVC still frames, and can be accompanied by a background audio track. Subtitles are used in some camcorders to timestamp the recordings.

Audio, video, subtitle, and ancillary streams are multiplexed into an MPEG transport stream and stored on media as binary files. Usually, memory cards and HDDs use the file system, while optical discs employ UDF or ISO9660.

At the file system level, the structure of AVCHD is derived from the Blu-ray Disc specification, but is not identical to it. In particular, it uses legacy "8.3" file naming convention, while Blu-ray Discs utilize long filenames (this may be caused by the fact that FAT implementations utilizing long file names are patented by Microsoft and are licensed on a per unit sold basis). Another difference is location of the BDMV directory, which contains media files. On a DVD-based camcorder the BDMV directory is placed at the root level, as on the Blu-ray Disc. On the HDD-based Canon HG10 camcorder the BDMV directory is located in the AVCHD directory, which is placed at the root level. Solid-state Panasonic and Canon camcorders nest the AVCHD directory inside the PRIVATE directory. Following a standard agreed upon by many still camera manufacturers, solid-state camcorders have a root-level DCIM directory for still images.

AVCHD has been designed to be compatible with Blu-ray Disc format and can be authored without re-encoding on Blu-ray or DVD discs, though not all Blu-ray Disc players are compatible with AVCHD video authored on DVD media, a format known as AVCHD disc.

AVCHD recordings can be transferred to a computer by connecting the camcorder via the USB connection. Removable media like SDHC and Memory Stick cards or DVD discs can be read on a computer directly. Copying files from an AVCHD camcorder or from removable media can be performed faster than from a tape-based camcorder, because the transfer speed is not limited by realtime playback.

Just as editing DVCPRO HD and HDV video once demanded an expensive high-end computer, AVCHD editing software requires powerful machines. Compared to HDV, AVCHD requires 2-4x the processing power for realtime playback, placing a greater burden on the computer's CPU and graphics card. Improvements in multi-core computing and graphics processor acceleration bring AVCHD playback to mainstream desktops and laptops.

Media

AVCHD specification allows using recordable DVD discs, memory cards, non-removable solid-state memory and hard disk drives as recording media.

DVD disc

When AVCHD standard was first announced, recordable DVD disc was the only recording medium. To reduce camcorder size, manufacturers opted for a 8 cm disc, sometimes called miniDVD. Recording capacity of a 8 cm disc ranges from 1.4 GB for a single-sided single layer disc to 5.2 GB for a double-sided double layer disc.

Pros:

DVDs are familiar to most consumers, thus considered user-friendly.

Recordable DVDs are relatively cheap.

Recorded disc can be played back in most Blu-ray Disc players.

Discs can be used for long-term storage of recorded video.

Cons: The longevity of recordable DVDs is argued to be much shorter than expected.

Rewritable DVDs cost more than write-once discs.

DVDs have to be "finalized" to be played back on set-top players (though DVD-RWs can be unfinalized again).

Double-layer recording is less robust than single-layer recording.

To use both sides of a double-sided disc it must be flipped over, because camcorders have pickup from one side only.

AVCHD DVDs cannot be played back on regular DVD players.

The AVCHD specification limits data rate for DVD-based AVCHD camcorders to 18 Mbit/s, but no DVD-based AVCHD camcorder manufactured to date is capable of recording at data rate higher than 12 Mbit/s (Canon, Sony) or 13 Mbit/s (Panasonic).

A single-sided single-layer 8 cm DVD can fit only 15 minutes of video at 12 Mbit/s, 14 minutes at 13 Mbit/s.

DVD pickup mechanism is very susceptible to vibration.

8 cm DVDs cannot be used in many slot-loading drives and may even damage the drive.

The capacity of DVD discs has reached its limit.

As capacity of memory cards grew while their price dropped, DVD discs quickly fell out of favor. No DVD-based AVCHD camcorders have been produced since 2008.

While DVD discs are no longer used for acquisition, they are becoming popular as distribution media. Many authoring programs offer "AVCHD" profile for recording high definition video on a DVD disc. Such AVCHD discs are incompatible with regular DVD-Video players, but can be played in many Blu-ray Disc players. A conventional single-layer 12 cm DVD disc can store approximately half an hour of video recorded at 18 Mbit/s.

Hard disk drive

A hard disk drive was added as an optional recording medium to AVCHD specification shortly after the new video standard had been announced. Presently, capacity of built-in HDDs ranges from 30 GB to 240 GB.

Pros:

Higher capacity than other media types, which allows for longer continuous recording.

Cons: Sensitive to atmospheric pressure. The HDD may fail if the camcorder is used at altitudes above .

Vulnerable to mechanical shock or fast movement.

All HDD-based AVCHD camcorders employ non-removable disks. To transfer video to a computer the camcorder must be connected with a USB cable. Most camcorders require using an AC power adapter for this operation.

The sound of moving magnetic heads may be heard in the recorded video when recording in quiet environment.

Replacing a damaged HDD requires disassembling a camcorder and cannot be done by a consumer.

Solid-state memory card

Many tapeless camcorders record to memory cards, such as SD/SDHC cards or "Memory Stick" cards. Solid-state memory cards offer rewritable storage in a compact form factor with no moving parts. With transfer speeds ranging from 10 MByte/s to 20 Mbyte/s, it takes about 1 minute to transfer 1 GB of video.

Panasonic and Sony chose removable flash memory as recording media in their professional AVCHD lineups, AVCCAM and NXCAM respectively.

Pros:

Compact and lightweight.

Does not require time for spin-up and initialization.

Not vulnerable to magnetic fields.

Can withstand a wider range of air pressure, humidity and vibration than HDDs.

Can be easily backed up to DVD for viewing and for long-term archiving.

Can store mixed media content, including still images like snapshot photos and still-frame captures.

The recording section contains no moving parts, thus operation is almost silent; also a camera can be made more compact and less prone to mechanical damage in case of being dropped.

Most new computers, some TVs and Blu-ray Disc players, as well as many personal portable media players have built-in card readers and can play AVCHD video directly from a card.

Cons:

More expensive per minute of recording than a built-in HDD or DVD media.

Cards may wear out more rapidly than expected.^{dead link} Not reliable for long term storage, especially the cards made with MLC technology, because of narrower acceptable level of discharge compared to SLC cards.

Vulnerable to electrical damage, such as static discharge.

A bad memory card can cause data corruption, causing loss of one or more clips.

Loss of data can occur if a card is removed or power is turned off while the card is being recorded to.

Older card readers designed for MMC and SD cards may not read high capacity cards.

Easy to misplace due to small form factor.

Non-removable solid-state memory

Some AVCHD camcorders come with built-in solid-state memory either as a sole media, or in addition to other media.

Pros:

Allows making a camcorder smaller if no other media is used.

Always available for recording, in case other type of media is full or missing.

Cons:

Because recording media is non-removable, a camcorder must be connected to a computer with a USB cable to transfer video. Usage of an AC power adapter is often needed as well.

Non-removable media cannot be shared, sent or stored separately of the camcorder.

If damaged or worn out, non-removable media cannot be replaced like a memory card.

Video formats

AVCHD specification supports a number of video resolutions, including standard definition, high definition, and stereoscopic (3D) video. (See table below.) However, most many recorders only support a subset of the video resolutions defined in the AVCHD specification.

The licensing body of the specification defines a variety of trademarks to label products compliant with a specific set of features or capabilities.

In general, consumer AVCHD recorders typically support only a handful of the video resolutions allowed in the AVCHD standard, and are usually limited to AC-3 audio. Playback equipment and professional recorders generally support all resolutions.

Standard definition recording (AVCHD-SD)

AVCHD-SD is a standard definition video format that employs AVC video compression. The shoulder-mount Panasonic HDC-MDH1, available on Southern-Asian markets, as well as its AG-AC7 cousin are capable of recording AVCHD-SD video. Several new models from JVC like the GZ-HM650, GZ-HM670 and GZ-HM690 can record AVCHD-SD video too. AVCHD-SD is not directly compatible with most consumer DVD players, but can be played on a Blu-ray Disc player.

Panasonic also offers MJPEG and iFrame formats in other consumer models to record standard definition video. The professional AG-HMC80 and the AG-AC160 camcorders can record DV video.

Sony camcorders that offer standard definition recording use MPEG-2 compression in a format that is compatible with the DVD-Video specification.

Canon AVCHD camcorders do not record standard definition video, although some newer models can re-encode high definition video into standard definition video compatible with DVD-Video standard.

720p

The AVCHD specification supports 720-line progressive recording mode at frame rates of 24 and 60 frames/s for 60 Hz models and 50 frames/s for 50 Hz models.

Many of digital compact cameras made by Panasonic, such as the DMC-ZS3/DMC-TZ7, DMC-FT1, DMC-FZ35/DMC-FZ38, and DMC-ZS-7/TZ-10 offer 720p video recording with effective frame rate of 25 or 30 frames/s in a format called AVCHD Lite (see below).

In the professional market, the AG-HMC150 and AG-HMC40 were the first AVCHD models to offer 720p recording in addition to 1080i and 1080p. They have been joined with the NXCAM models from Sony.

1080i

All AVCHD camcorders except for AVCHD Lite models are capable of recording 1080i interlaced video. For some models this is the only recording mode offered. Early models captured anamorphic video with horizontal resolution reduced to 1440 pixels. Newer models offer higher data rate and full 1920x1080 resolution, while in some cases keeping the anamorphic format for use with lower recording data rates.

Interlaced video had been originally designed for watching on a cathode-ray tube television set. Material recorded for interlaced presentation may exhibit combing or ghosting when it is , filmed out or watched on a computer or another progressive-scan device without proper deinterlacing.

All modern flat-panel television sets have a built-in deinterlacing engine to cope with interlaced video. When watching interlaced video on a computer some software video players blend two fields of each interlaced frame together, causing combing; when such video is scaled down it may exhibit ghosting instead of combing. Better codecs and media players either use content-adaptive algorithms or allow choosing a deinterlacing scheme manually. Video hosting websites like YouTube use progressive scanning for streaming videos, and automatically deinterlace interlaced videos. Automatic deinterlacing does not always produces the best possible quality, thus YouTube suggests its users deinterlace their videos prior to uploading.

Some 1080i AVCHD camcorders can capture progressive video and record it within an interlaced stream, borrowing techniques from television industry. In particular, Progressive segmented frame (PsF) is utilized in some Panasonic (25p Digital Cinema), Canon (PF25, PF30) and Sony camcorders. The technique is used in some 60 Hz versions of Canon (PF24) and Panasonic (24p Digital Cinema) camcorders and in the Panasonic GH1 hybrid digital still/video camera for recording 24-frame progressive video. Most editing tools treat progressive video recorded within an interlaced stream as interlaced, though some editing systems and most standalone Blu-ray Disc players are capable of recognizing the pulldown pattern to recover the original frames using the process known as inverse telecine.

1080p

In the consumer market, 60 Hz variants of some Canon, Panasonic and Sony models are capable of recording native 1080p24 video.

In the professional and prosumer markets, AVCHD camcorders such as the Panasonic AG-HMC150, the Panasonic AG-HMC40, the Sony HDR-AX2000 and the Sony HXR-NX5U, are capable of recording in all three high definition formats: 1080i, 1080p and 720p. Sony camcorders do not support film-like frame rates — 24p, 25p, 30p — in 720p mode.

In 2010, Panasonic introduced a new lineup of consumer AVCHD camcorders with 1080-line 50p/60p progressive-scan mode (frame rate depending on region). While this mode is not compliant with current AVCHD specification, it uses the same compression schemes for video and audio, the same container files and the same folder structure as AVCHD-compliant recordings. Panasonic advised that not all players that support AVCHD playback could play 1080-line 50p/60p video.

In 2011 Sony introduced consumer and professional AVCHD models also capable of 1080-line 50p/60p video recording. Like Panasonic, Sony uses AVCHD folder structure and container files for storing video, with the same maximum bitrate of 28 Mbit/s.

Panasonic models have no special marks for progressive-scan capability. Canon models, capable of native 24p recording, have a prominent 24p Native Progressive mark. Sony models capable of 50p/60p recording or of 24p recording are also identified with appropriate marks.

Branding

Panasonic and Sony developed several brand names for their professional as well as simplified versions of AVCHD.

AVCHD Lite

AVCHD Lite identifies a subset of AVCHD format, in which HD-recording is limited to 720p/30. The 720p/30 video is recorded in the AVCHD 720p/60 format by storing every other frame, and using a bitstream flag to tell the playback device to play each frame twice. Announced in January 2009, the Panasonic DMC-ZS3/DMC-FT1/DMC-TZ7 digital cameras were the first digital cameras to offer AVCHD-lite movie mode. Since then, Panasonic has added AVCHD-lite to more of its digital cameras, such as the Lumix GF1 Micro Four Thirds, Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2, Lumix DMC-FZ35/38, Lumix DMC-TZ10/ZS7, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX75, Panasonic LX5, LEICA D-LUX 5, LEICA V-LUX 2.

AVCCAM

AVCCAM is the name of the professional AVCHD camcorder product line from Panasonic's Broadcast division, and is a marketing brand for "AVCHD with professional features."

These professional features include 1/4-inch progressive 3CCD sensor, XLR microphone input, variable-rate overcranking (up to 2.5x at 1080p24), uncompressed PCM audio, solid-state media, and recording at AVCHD's maximum bitrate (24Mbps.) The aforementioned features are not exclusive to AVCCAM. For example, 3CMOS is available in Panasonic's high-end consumer camcorders, while 24Mbps is widely available from rival manufacturers (Canon, JVC, and Sony.)

NXCAM

NXCAM is the name of Sony's professional video lineup employing the AVCHD format. NXCAM offers 1080i, 1080p and 720p recording modes with data rate up to 24 Mbit/s. Unlike AVCCAM, NXCAM does not offer film-like frame rates — 24p, 25p, 30p — in 720p mode.

NXCAM camcorders, as well as consumer Sony AVCHD camcorders unveiled in 2010, record onto widespread SDHC cards as well as onto Memory Stick Pro Duo/Pro HG Duo cards.

Playing back AVCHD video

Recorded AVCHD video can be played back in a variety of ways:

Direct playback — video can be played on a television set from a camcorder through HDMI or component-video cable.

AVCHD disc — AVCHD video, recorded onto DVD disc can be played on most Blu-ray Disc players or on a PlayStation 3 gaming console.

Blu-ray disc — AVCHD video, recorded onto Blu-ray disc can be played on any Blu-ray Disc player.

AVCHD memory card — AVCHD video, recorded on an SDHC or Memory Stick card can be played on select Blu-ray Disc players, HDTV sets, on a PlayStation 3 gaming console and on some other set-top media players.

USB playback — video files, recorded on an external storage device like a hard disk drive or a USB "stick" can be played on select Blu-ray Disc players, HDTV sets, PlayStation 3 gaming console, set-top media players and from a computer.

Computer playback — any media and target format that is supported by a particular computer hardware and software can be watched on a computer monitor or TV set. Presently, the default media players from Apple (QuickTime) will not play AVCHD natively, additional (free) software is required. Some Windows 7 editions are able to import and play AVCHD video natively, having files with extensions M2TS, MTS and M2T pre-registered in the system. (Windows 7 starter edition does not support AVCHD files itself, and a third-party player must be installed.) In editions of Windows 7 which do support AVCHD files, Windows Media Player is able to index content of these files, while Windows Explorer is able to create thumbnails for each clip. Windows 7 does not support importing of AVCHD video metadata such as thumbnail images, playlists, and clip index files. Joining AVCHD video files during the import is not supported either.

Compatibility within brands

There is a known incompatibility within the Panasonic brand. The original HD Writer importing and editing software, which was shipped from 2006 to 2008, cannot recognize the current 1080i format or the newer formats like 1080p50 or 1080p60. The newer HD Writer AE can read the newer 1080i format and versions 2 and higher can read 1080p (in both frame rates).

AVCHD as distribution format

DVD disc with AVCHD video recorded on it is known as AVCHD disc. AVCHD discs cannot be played in a standard DVD player, but can be played in many Blu-ray Disc players. Smooth playback is not guaranteed if overall data rate exceeds 18 Mbit/s. It is possible to create simple menus similar to menus used for DVD-video discs.

AVCHD content can also be recorded on SDHC cards and played by many television sets, Blu-ray Disc players and media consoles. Data rate on memory cards is officially limited to 24 Mbit/s.

Blu-ray Disc media is not supported by AVCHD specification, though some software packages allow authoring AVCHD content on Blu-ray Discs. AVCHD encoding and container are compatible with Blu-ray Disc format, but the naming convention is different. For better compatibility with Blu-ray Disc players, AVCHD video can be converted into Blu-ray Disc format without re-encoding audio/video streams. The resultant disc will play in any Blu-ray Disc player including those that do not explicitly support the AVCHD format.

Many software vendors support AVCHD mastering. In particular:

Cyberlink PowerProducer can author a compliant AVCHD disc, or BDMV on DVD media. Ulead DVD MovieFactory Plus 6 with HD Power Pack can master AVCHD discs with menus. Various Sonic products can author AVCHD discs using HD/BD Plug-in. Compressor 3.5 is capable of authoring AVCHD discs; subtitles are not supported. Nero Vision 9 can create an AVCHD disc with data rate up to 18 Mbit/s, or an AVCHD-compliant folder for distribution on an HDD or a memory card with data rate up to 24 Mbit/s.

Sony DVD Architect 5 can author AVCHD-compliant discs with menus using AVC encoding as well as non-standard discs using MPEG-2 encoding. In both cases data rate is limited to 18 Mbit/s.

Panasonic HD Writer AE can author AVCHD content on DVD discs, BD discs and on SD cards. MultiAVCHD can author AVCHD discs as well as Panasonic-compliant AVCHD memory cards. Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus with updates can author AVCHD content on DVD discs, BD discs. Pinnacle Studio 11.1.2 and higher offers AVCHD disc output.

Blu-ray Disc players with "AVCHD" logo play AVCHD discs authored either on 8 cm or 12 cm DVD discs. Players without such a logo are not guaranteed to play AVCHD discs.

Compatibility with Blu-ray Disc players

Although AVCHD shares many format similarities with Blu-ray Disc, it is not part of the Blu-ray specification. Consequently, AVCHD-playback is not universally supported across all Blu-ray Disc players. In addition, non-standard developments such as 1080-line 50p/60p recording mode employed in some camcorders, are neither AVCHD- nor Blu-ray compliant.

As the creators of AVCHD, Sony and Panasonic support AVCHD playback in their Blu-ray Disc players. In particular, the Sony BDP-S1, Sony BDP-S300, Sony BD507, the Panasonic DMP-BD10, the Panasonic DMP-BD30K, the Panasonic DMP-BD35, the Panasonic DMP-BD60K, the Panasonic DMP-BD80K, and the PlayStation 3 can play AVCHD discs. In addition, some Panasonic and JVC Blu-ray Disc players (e.g. Panasonic DMP-BD60K, Panasonic DMP-BD80K) support AVCHD playback from SDHC memory cards.

In one instance, AVCHD playback was removed from a Blu-ray Disc player already on the market, the Samsung BD-P1200. Firmware update 2.3 removed AVCHD support from the BD-P1200.

Recordable DVD Recordable DVD, USB Recordable DVD, USB Recordable DVD, SD card Recordable DVD, SD card Recordable DVD Recordable DVD Recordable DVD Recordable DVD Recordable DVD, USB Recordable DVD, others? Recordable DVD, SD card

+Blu-ray Disc players known to play AVCHD discs
style="text-align:left;"	Make and model !! Media !! Full HD !! Comment
	Recordable DVD
style="text-align:left;"	LG BD370	|	Yes	No playback from USB
style="text-align:left;"	Oppo BDP-83	|	No info	Supports AVCHD playback from a USB device; also supports the main menu.
style="text-align:left;"	Oppo BDP-93	|	Yes	Supports AVCHD playback including FullHD videos (firmware revision 1108).
style="text-align:left;"	Panasonic DMP-BD60/BD80	|	Partial	FullHD video plays with hiccups from a DVD-R disc, plays normally from an SD card.
style="text-align:left;"	Panasonic DMP-BD85/BD65/BD45	|	No info
style="text-align:left;"	Pioneer BDP-51FD	|	Partial	DVDs recorded in the AVCHD format can be played. FullHD video plays with hiccups.
style="text-align:left;"	Pioneer BDP-320	|	Yes	DVDs recorded in the AVCHD format can be played. FullHD videos can be played (firmware revision 3.69a).
style="text-align:left;"	Samsung BD-P1400	|	No info	Supports playback of AVCHD discs as of firmware release 1.6.
style="text-align:left;"	Seiki BD660	|	Yes	Plays AVCHD discs including FullHD (firmware release BDP V4.2 F6).
style="text-align:left;"	Sony BDP-S270/S370/S470/S570	|	Yes	Plays AVCHD, including FullHD, from DVD and USB media (firmware release M04.R.735).
style="text-align:left;"	Sony PlayStation 3	|	Yes
style="text-align:left;"	Toshiba BDX2000	|	No info	Supports playback of AVCHD format files recorded on disc or SD card

1 In the table above FullHD means a capability to play back 1080p50 or 1080p60 videos, depending on region.

A more extensive list of Blu-ray players that support AVCHD is listed here.

Hardware products

Canon

Depending on model, Canon camcorders offer 1080-line interlaced, PsF, and native 24p recording.

HR10 (DVD)

2007: HG10 (40 GB HDD)

April 2008: HF10 (SDHC, built-in 16GB flash memory), HF100 (SDHC)

September 2008: HF11 (SDHC, built-in 32GB flash memory), HG20 (60GB HDD, SDHC), HG21 (120GB HDD, SDHC)

January 2009: HF S10 (SDHC, built-in 32GB flash memory), HF S100 (SDHC), HF20 (SDHC, built-in 32GB flash memory), HF200 (SDHC)

August 2009: HF S11 (SDHC, built-in 64GB flash memory, wired LANC remote capability)

January 2010: HF S21 (two SDHC slots, 64GB flash memory, electronic viewfinder), HF S20 (two SDHC slots, 32GB flash memory), HF S200 (two SDHC slots); HF M31 (SDHC, 32GB flash memory), HF M30 (SDHC, 8GB flash memory), HF M300 (SDHC); HF R11 (32GB flash memory), HF R10 (SDHC, 8GB flash memory), HF R100 (SDHC)

Hitachi

2008: DZ-BD10HA (Three-media recording: Blu-ray Disc, AVCHD on HDD, AVCHD on SDHC)

JVC

June 2008: GZ-HD10 (HDD, MicroSDHC), GZ-HD30/GZ-HD40(HDD, MicroSDHC card, dual AVCHD and TOD recording)

January 2009: GZ-HD320 (120 GB HDD, MicroSD), GZ-HD300 (60 GB HDD, MicroSD), GZ-HM200 (dual SDHC)

February 2009: GZ-X900 (SD/SDHC card)

September 2009: GZ-HM300, GZ-HM400

December 2009: GZ-HD620

March 2010: GZ-HM1

Spring 2011: GZ-HM30 (pre-released December 2010)

Leica Camera

Digital still cameras

2010:LEICA D-LUX 5, LEICA V-LUX 2

Panasonic

Panasonic AVCHD camcorders offer interlaced, progressive scan or native progressive recording and combinations of these modes depending on a particular model. 1080-line and 720-line recording is possible depending on a model.

Panasonic AVCHD camcorders use AVC with High Profile @ Level 4.0 for all modes except 1080p50/1080p60, which are encoded with High Profile @ Level 4.2. Maximum data rate is limited to 24 Mbit/s for AVCCAM models, to 17 Mbit/s for most consumer models and to 28 Mbit/s for 1080p50/1080p60 recording modes.

December 2006: HDC-DX1 (DVD), HDC-SD1 (SDHC)

HDC-SD3 (SDHC, available in Japan only)

AG-HSC1U (SDHC, comes with portable 40 GB HDD storage)

August 2007: HDC-SD5 (SDHC), HDC-SX5 (DVD, SDHC), HDC-SD7 (SDHC) January 2008: HDC-SD9 (SDHC), HDC-HS9 (60 GB HDD, SDHC) April 2008: AG-HMC70 (SDHC) June 2008: HDC-SD100 (SDHC), HDC-HS100 (60 GB HDD, SDHC) September 2008: AG-HMC150 (SDHC)

January 2009: HDC-HS300 (120 GB HDD), HDC-HS200 (80 GB HDD), HDC-TM300 (32 GB built-in flash memory, SDHC), HDC-SD300 (SDHC, available in Europe only), HDC-SD200 (SDHC).

June 2009: HDC-TM30/HDC-TM10 (32 GB built-in flash memory, SDHC), HDC-SD10 (SDHC)

June 2009: HDC-TM350 (64 GB built-in flash memory, SDHC, available in Japan and as of October 2009, from Panasonic Stores across the UK)

September 2009: AG-HMC40 (SDHC) February 2010: HDC-TM700/HDC-SD700/HDC-HS700 (introduced 1080p60/1080p50 modes, depending on region) March 2010: HDC-SD60/HDC-TM60/HDC-HS60 December 2010 (announced): AG-AF100/AG-AF101/AG-AF102 (4/3" large sensor camera) April 2011: AG-AC130/AG-AC160

In 2009 Panasonic introduced AVCHD Lite and AVCHD to selected members of its Lumix line of digital cameras:

2009: DMC-ZS3/TZ7*, DMC-TS1/DMC-FT1* (AVCHD Lite)

2009: DMC-GH1 (AVCHD)

2010: Lumix DMC-ZS7/TZ10*, DMC-G2 (AVCHD lite)

2010: Lumix DMC-GH2, DMC-GF2 (AVCHD)

2011: Lumix DMC-ZS10/TZ20* (AVCHD lite)

2011: Lumix DMC-FX77/FX78*, DMC-TS3*, DMC-FZ47/48*, DMC-G3/GF3 (AVCHD)

to avoid European specific tax, Panasonic digital cameras for this market are limited to 30 minutes recording.

Sony

Consumer Sony AVCHD camcorders released before 2011 could record 1080-line interlaced video only, while the prosumer HDR-AX2000 and professional HXR-NX5 cameras were capable of recording in interlaced and progressive formats.

Released in March 2011, the Sony NEX-FS100 is the first professional NXCAM camcorder capable of 1080p50/p60 recording; consumer-grade HandyCam NEX-VG20 followed in August 2011.

The list of AVCHD camcoders includes:

September 2006: HDR-UX1 (DVD), HDR-UX3/UX5 (DVD), HDR-UX7 (DVD)

October 2006: HDR-SR1 (30 GB HDD)

June 2007: HDR-SR5 (40 GB HDD), HDR-SR7 (60 GB HDD)

July 2007: HDR-SR5C (100 GB HDD), HDR-SR8 (100 GB HDD)

Summer 2007: HDR-CX7 (Memory Stick Duo)

March 2008: HDR-SR10 (40GB HDD, Memory Stick), HDR-SR11 (60 GB HDD, Memory Stick), HDR-SR12 (120 GB HDD, Memory Stick)

HDR-TG1/TG3/TG7 (Memory Stick Duo)

August 2008: HDR-CX12 (Memory Stick Duo)

March 2009: HDR-XR520V (240 GB HDD), HDR-XR500V (120 GB HDD Version)

March 2009: HDR-XR200V (120 GB HDD)

March 2009: HDR-XR200VE (120 GB HDD + GPS)

March 2009: HDR-XR100 (80 GB HDD)

July 2009: HDR-CX500E, HDR-CX520E

October 2009: HDR-CX105 (8GB Memory Stick Duo)

January 2010: HXR-NX5, HDR-AX2000.

March 2010: HDR-XR550 (240 GB HDD)

June 2010: Sony NEX-5, NEX-5C (without Eye-Fi support), of both models, variants with AVCHD 1080 50i and AVCHD 1080 60i only exist

July 2010: Sony HXR-MC50E.

March 2011: Sony NEX-FS100

August 2011: NEX-VG20

In 2010 Sony introduced AVCHD to selected members of its Cybershot line of digital cameras.

January 2010: Sony DSC-HX5V (GPS+COMPASS) , HX5V-E (European version, limited to 30 minutes recording due to European specific taxes)

Software

Codecs

ffdshow is a free, Open Source collection of codecs, including an AVCHD decoder.

CoreAVC is an H.264 decoder for Windows, which can decode AVCHD as well as a variety of other H.264 formats.

Converters

Avidemux is a free open-source program that can be used to edit or convert AVCHD and AVCHD Lite files. It is also capable of demuxing and remuxing the audio and video streams into several different container formats including AVI, MP4, and MKV. (When converting AVCHD Lite .mts files from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3, the framerate must be manually set to 29.97.)

Badaboom is a media converter that uses NVIDIA GPUs to accelerate conversion of AVCHD to mobile devices.

HandBrake will convert AVCHD Lite format to MP4 and MKV (tested on OSX; other versions available), AVI and OGM are supported in versions before 0.9.4.

Roxio Toast 10 Titanium on Mac OS X will convert AVCHD to most computer formats presently available.

Total video converter is a converter for most video formats, including converting from AVCHD and burning AVCHD disc.

Editors

The following video-editing software features support for the AVCHD format:

Avid Media Composer (from version 5.0)supports AVCHD through as a transcoded to import. AMA linking is not currently supported.

Adobe Premiere Pro (from version CS4 onwards).

:* Elemental Accelerator is a third party plug-in for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 that converts AVCHD to various H.264 or MPEG-2 formats.

Adobe Premiere Elements (from version 7 onwards; only supports import, no AVCHD output)

Apple's Final Cut Pro X natively supports AVCHD through Import From Camera.

Apple's Final Cut Pro for Mac OS X. The latest version of Final Cut Pro 7 claims better integration with Apple's other professional applications and improved codec support for editing HD, DV and SD video formats, including encoding presets for devices such as iPod, Apple TV, and Blu-ray Discs.

Apple's Final Cut Express 4, Final Cut Pro 6.0.1, and iMovie '08-'09 (iMovie is bundled with all new Apple computers; Final Cut Express and Pro are sold separately) do not support editing of AVCHD clips directly. Imported AVCHD clips are automatically converted into the Apple Intermediate Codec format, which requires more hard disk space (40GB per hour as opposed to 13.5GB per hour for Standard Definition DV), a more powerful machine (an Intel-based Mac), and a more recent OS (Mac OS X 10.5). Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 "logs and transfers" the footage from AVCHD to AppleProRes by default and also gives the option of converting to the Apple Intermediate Codec. It does not allow native transferring of the *.m2ts clips nor directly editing them. The latest release of Apple's iLife suite (specifically, iMovie) has added support for AVCHD Lite cameras and camcorders. It automatically imports AVCHD files when attaching a supported camera to the computer, and it can import older MTS or M2TS files that have been rewrapped (see above) e.g. as m4v.

AVS Video Editor supports videos from HD-cameras(HD Video (inc. AVCHD, MPEG-2 HD and WMV HD), TOD, MOD, M2TS.) Burn AVCHD video to CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, DVD-RAM, Double/Dual Layer on Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 7 (no Mac OS/Linux support).

Blender supports the AVCHD format on Windows and Linux systems (using a FFmpeg decoder). Blender has a little-known, very powerful video editing system with infinite layer bit-depth and integration with the 3D editing component. BlenderAVC streamlines the process of importing the files, as it is difficult and bug-prone without AVS scripts. Blender supports proxy editing at down to 25% scaling, which helps when editing AVCHD video, which is slow.

Corel VideoStudio supports importing, rendering and burning of AVCHD format in Windows system.

Elecard AVC HD Editor affords reordering, trimming and merging of AVCHD clips without the need for transcoding.

Cyberlink PowerDirector 7 is capable of editing AVCHD natively, without transcoding, intermediate formats or proxy files. Using a patented technique (SVRT), AVCHD clips can be edited and output losslessly to AVCHD or Blu-ray Disc. PowerDirector also supports GPU encoding acceleration on both ATI and NVidia graphics platforms. PowerDirector can output the finished movie to a variety of video formats, DVD, AVCHD on DVD, or Blu-ray Disc.

Grass Valley's Edius 5.5 and Edius Neo 2

Microsoft's Windows Live Movie Maker (importing only)

Dayang's Montage Extreme [ME] 1.2

Nero Ultra Edition Enhanced (from version 7 onwards) includes the Nero Vision editor and the Nero Showtime player, which both support AVCHD files. NeroVision can author DVDs in the AVCHD format.

Pinnacle Studio Plus (from version 11 onwards)

Sony Vegas 7.0e

Vegas Pro (from version 8 onwards)

Vegas Movie Studio Platinum (from version 8 onwards)

Kdenlive for Linux and BSD platforms

Openshot Video editor for Linux

Other developers have pledged their support but it may still take some time for the implementation.

Open Source codecs

The following open source codecs can decode AVCHD files: ffdshow tryouts, revision 1971 May 23, 2008, will decode AVC (H.264) format video.

libavcodec (part of FFmpeg project) is a codec library that supports AVCHD. It is used in Jahshaka and Blender, notably.

Specifications

Video

!Subtype

(AVCHD-HD)

(AVCHD-SD)

!Frame size in pixels

1440×1080

! Frame rate

25, interlaced

23.976, progressive

50, progressive

23.976, progressive

!Frame aspect ratio

! Video Compression

align = "center" colspan="4"

! Luminance sampling frequency

55.7 MHz

! Chroma sampling format

align = "center" colspan="4"

! Quantization

Audio (Dolby Digital)

! AC-3 Compression

colspan="4"

! AC-3 channel mode

! AC-3 compressed bitstream rate

Audio (PCM)

! PCM linear

! PCM channel mode

! PCM bitrate

System

! Stream type

colspan="4"

! System data rate

up to 24 Mbit/s (all other media)

! File extension (generally)

colspan="4"

! Media

SD/SDHC Memory Card

"Memory Stick"

Built-in hard-disk or flash Media

Specification addendum (AVCHD revision 2.0)

AVCHD 2.0 adds support for the following recording modes:

Video

!Subtype

(AVCHD 2.0)

(AVCHD 3D)

!Frame size in pixels

! Frame rate

50, progressive

50, progressive

25, interlaced

29.97, interlaced

!Frame aspect ratio

! Video Compression

align = "center" colspan="4"

! Luminance sampling frequency

! Chroma sampling format

align = "center" colspan="4"

! Quantization

Audio (Dolby Digital)

! AC-3 Compression

colspan="4"

! AC-3 channel mode

! AC-3 compressed bitstream rate

Audio (PCM)

! PCM linear

! PCM channel mode

! PCM bitrate

System

! Stream type

colspan="4"

! System data rate

! File extension (generally)

colspan="4"

! Media

"Memory Stick"

Built-in hard-disk or flash Media

See also

AVC-Intra: an intra-frame video format based on AVC compression scheme, offered on professional Panasonic video cameras.

iFrame: an intra-frame video format based on AVC compression scheme, marketed by Apple and offered on some consumer camcorders.

AVCREC: a standard to allow recording of broadcast HD programming on recordable DVD discs using AVC encoding scheme.

Comparison of video editing software

References

External links

AVCHD Official Consortium Web site

Category:80 mm discs Category:High-definition television Category:Video storage