AVCHD vs HDV

[haitham786]

Which format gives a higher quality of video: AVCHD or HDV? And which one works more efficiently on Edius v4.6 for editing?

[redgum]

AVCHD is more compressed than HDV and both would be converted to HQAVI in Edius (normally) but the difference is really in the camera itself (and of course the operator)

[Jerry]

Q

Which format gives a higher quality of video: AVCHD or HDV? And which one works more efficiently on Edius v4.6 for editing?

If you are talking the codec, the big professional Panasonic will do it hands down. It is a little different than the standard AVCHD. That brings up another point you should ask. 'What are the subset rules for the codec.' I have noticed many different flavors of AVCHD. If you are planning on buying this type of camera, make sure the codec is the more widely used version. I think there was a poster on the other day that had an obscure version that he was having trouble being able to ingest into Edius. In any case, you will need a fast computer, and hard drive throughput.

If you are talking consumer level, I would have to say HDV on both counts.
Mostly because the HDV format has been around longer and better cameras are available. Also, it will work pretty decently in native form on current computers. In both cases I would suggest using an intermediate codec with which to edit, such as HQ.
AVCHD is more heavily compressed compared to HDV. This opens the doors to more motion and general artifacting.

Cameras with higher data rates than HDV (25mbs) such as Sony MPG (35mbs) and even the iframe recording methods of 100mbs up to 160mbs will give better results in quality as well as iframe editing speed.

As you get higher speeds you get higher costs.
If you are on a budget and just using for home use for recording the kids and family, either will do fine. Just remember to capture by way of HQ to get editing speed.