AVCHD-video (.MTS) to AVI, fast and easy way

[uhappo]

EDITED FOR LATEST INFO

I just tried this again on a new install, 9.10 64-bit.

1.

sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion zlib1g-dev

2.

svn checkout svn://svn.mplayerhq.hu/mplayer/trunk mplayer
cd mplayer
./configure
make
sudo make install

Then, just do it (this command does not downscale the picture)

mencoder 00001.MTS -o 1.avi -oac copy -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=10000 -fps 50 -vf scale=1920:1080

There's also another variation, a bit higher quality but about 3 or 4 times larger file size.. There's no point, actually, but anyway (if someone knows how to make video quality ALMOST identical but with smaller file size, let us know...)

mencoder 00001.MTS -o 1.avi -oac copy -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vqscale=2 -fps 50 -vf scale=1920:1080

This script just works, just follow the commands above and you should be good with it!

And then converting the whole directory:

sudo apt-get install csh

Make a file, name it convert and place it in /bin -folder. Then open the convert-file and put the stuff in it:

#!/bin/csh

# For NTSC change -fps 50 tp -fps 60000/1001 below

foreach f ($*)
   mencoder $f -o ${f:r}.avi -oac copy -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=10000 -fps 50 -vf scale=1920:1080
end

Allow the file to execute as a program. Now, just go to your .MTS-folder and write

convert *.MTS

See all your files converting...

ORIGINAL POST

You probably don't need the codecs, but here they are anyway. Try first without them
http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html

Next

svn checkout svn://svn.mplayerhq.hu/mplayer/trunk mplayer
./configure
make
make install

Then

mencoder 00001.MTS -o 1.avi -oac copy -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=10000 -fps 50 -vf scale=1280:720

This did change a .MTS-file, made with Sony DCR that outputs 1920x1080p-video, to 1280x720- AVI-video. I appears in your home folder. Nice and easy, and FAST! I had a 3,1gig MTS-video that lasted about 30 minutes. Transform took 60 minutes and resulted video was 1gig.

No more hazzles, this just works.