Windows Moviemaker glitch rendering AVCHD

Megan and the kids at school are making a video to enter in the "Hands Across Australia" thing.

There is a song provided and the kids write a rap that goes in the middle and then take some video and edit up a music clip.  This has to get uploaded to someplace or other.

Footage was filmed using two cameras.
1 Our Sony HDR-CX110E. Records High Definition AVCHD files onto an SD card.
2. The schools Sony that records standard definition onto a SD card.

One of the kids has done the editing - Fantastic!!!.
He used Windows Moviemaker - Could'nt be simpler you say - a simple tool for a simple task.  What could possibly go wrong.......

He showed me that whenever he cut to some of my footage there was a momentary freeze.

I replicated the fault.  Have a look at the 7 second position




THE SOLUTION

Software:
 1.  iWisoft video converter   http://www.iwisoft.com/videoconverter/  videoconverter.exe
 2.  ReNamer  http://www.den4b.com/?x=products&product=renamer   Renames multiple files.
(Also on the computer I used to fix the problem, I had the k-lite codec pack installed.  Not sure if that made a difference but handy to know)


Procedure:
I tried a few different approaches but as luck would have it, Windows moviemaker is willing to load in files with the wrong extension.

So what I did was rerender the offending High Definition AVCHD files as AVI files using DV codec.  Then renamed them back to the original file names.  The software used does all of this in a batch mode.


iWisoft video converter

In iWisoft video converter, I created a new profile based on the AVI one but selecting the codec as DV.  I called this profile AVIDV.

Then I used iWisoft video converter to convert all my files to AVI with the DV codec.


The iWisoft converter also messed about with the file names.
        00000.MTS became 00000_1.avi

Using ReNamer,
 I renamed all the from avi to .mts and deleted the _1 off them.  There were hundreds of files so no way could this have been done manually.

This is a screen grab.  The main window is the lower one and the "Edit Rule" window opened when I clicked the +Add button.  In this rule I am getting rid of the underscore and the number.

One of the really good things is now the main window shows what is about to happen but it does not do it until I click the "Rename" button.

Again this screen grab is of two windows.  The main window is below and in the top window just here on the left, I am changing the extension to .mts (note you do not type the dot)


Again the program shows the preview effect of applying both rules and then I press the "Rename" button to make it happen.












Windows Movimaker
I copied the windows Moviemaker project file (Mymovie.wlmp) to a new location.  So it lost track of the original source footage.

Then I opened WindowsMovimaker and of course, the windows Moviemaker project file (Mymovie.wlmp) was looking for the original files with a .MTS extension.  It highlighted all the files it does not know about.

I double click on one of them and navigated to the new file (the AVI file with the MTS extension) and selected it.  Moviemaker accepted that and managed to maintain the in and out edit points and it went and found the rest of the files in the same directory.

Rant:
The problem seems to be worked around.  But what a pain.  I expect mre from Microsoft.  This is a simple program used by consumers who own consumer camcorders.  You would think that it would all work together.  The internet is full of people complaining about windows moviemaker glitches.

Next time
a) Do not use Windows Moviemaker
b) Use the Serif MovieplusX6 (or ????)