Frederick Wilson

Q: Using Free AVCHD Converter?

Hello,

 

From all I can tell, using AVCHD camcorders (eg my Cannon Vixia HF100) with Macs is...not easy. In my case, I have that camera and the requisite SD card and about 30 videos I want to get off the card onto my iMac HD. I also want to enable my daughter to use the camera for projects and easily get the video into her computer for editing (school projects).

 

I have found the "Free AVCHD to MOV" converter app in the Mac app store, and--on first glance--it seems to be able to do a variety of things I might need. Here's where I could use some advice....

 

First, for most of the videos on that SD card, I'd be happy with the 1080 quality I normally get off our iPhone 6S; should I ask it to use the "1080p iPad iPod" setting for conversion to a file on our MacMini?

 

Second, if my daughter wants to use videos off the camera to edit school projects in FCP or FCX, what conversion should she use? These might be for "higher end" output, but not for professional production? (And, if there's any kind of guidance on the various factors, please point me that way!)

 

Thanks!

 

Tiger

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Jul 25, 2016 5:39 PM

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Q: Using Free AVCHD Converter?

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  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Jul 25, 2016 7:47 PM in response to Frederick Wilson
    Level 7 (32,668 points)
    Video
    Jul 25, 2016 7:47 PM in response to Frederick Wilson

    Frederick Wilson wrote:

    …using AVCHD camcorders (eg my Cannon Vixia HF100) with Macs is...not easy. …

    ????

    Both, FCPX and preinstalled iMovie handle AVCHD easy: go to Import, done.
    No manual conversion needed.

  • by Ian R. Brown,

    Ian R. Brown Ian R. Brown Jul 26, 2016 2:19 AM in response to Frederick Wilson
    Level 6 (18,658 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 26, 2016 2:19 AM in response to Frederick Wilson

    The world is full of Mac Myths !

     

    Karsten is correct  .  .  .  Macs have never had a problem using AVCHD to the best of my knowledge.

     

    This misunderstanding seems to arise from the fact that some camera makers continue to peddle in their instruction manuals the myth that Macs can't handle AVCHD and as a result they include a shooting mode called "iFrame" which they say is Mac friendly.

     

    This is completely untrue  .  .  .  maybe 6 years ago Macs (without FCP) might have had problems with AVCHD but for the last few years even iMovie has been able to use it.

     

    Incidentally, my old 2008 iMac is able to edit it with no problems.

  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Jul 26, 2016 2:35 AM in response to Ian R. Brown
    Level 7 (32,668 points)
    Video
    Jul 26, 2016 2:35 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

    ... and another root for that myth:

     

    macOS 'hides', for good reasons, the structure of AVCHD ... so, those tinkerers who insist to orphanize mts-files, don't 'see' the innards of the AVCHD-package ...

     

    ... FC/pro7 indeed didn't handle AVCHD  - it wasn't invented then. Was it??

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Jul 26, 2016 4:19 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Jul 26, 2016 4:19 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    Karsten Schlüter wrote:

     

    ... FC/pro7 indeed didn't handle AVCHD  - it wasn't invented then. Was it??

    As I recall FCP 7 wouldn't work directly with the transport streams but would work with AVCHD via Log & Transfer if it could "see" an intact card structure as a mounted volume. Perhaps it also needed a manufacturer plug-in? Seems so long ago…

     

    Russ

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jul 26, 2016 5:07 AM in response to Russ H
    Level 10 (118,107 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 26, 2016 5:07 AM in response to Russ H

    7 let you transcode AVCHD on ingest. Pretty similar to the way X works. Didn't handle the codec natively.

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Jul 26, 2016 5:46 AM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Jul 26, 2016 5:46 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

    Ah yes. Transcoding to Pro Res…more than an incidental detail.

     

    Russ

  • by Frederick Wilson,

    Frederick Wilson Frederick Wilson Jul 29, 2016 4:48 PM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 1 (35 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 29, 2016 4:48 PM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    Hello,

     

    Thanks for your reply. The SD card in question has 30 videos; iMovie shows only 7. So, I'm not sure this is so straightforward. If you have any ideas for how to fix that, that'd be great.

     

    Alternatively, if you have suggestions on the settings I inquired about, I'd welcome those too!

     

    Tiger

  • by Ian R. Brown,

    Ian R. Brown Ian R. Brown Jul 30, 2016 12:07 AM in response to Frederick Wilson
    Level 6 (18,658 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 30, 2016 12:07 AM in response to Frederick Wilson

    Are you plugging the camera into your computer via a USB cable or removing the card and inserting it directly into your Mac?

     

    You should take the card from your camera and either insert it into the computer's card slot or plug it into a USB port with the aid of a USB card reader.

     

    If you just plug your camera directly into the computer it will only display the AVCHD files and any clips you have shot using 1080/50p (that's the 50p and 60p mode available on many cameras) will not show up.

     

    Regardless of this, the bottom line is that anything (AVCHD or 1080/50p or 1080/60p) your camera shoots can be imported directly into FCP X without any intermediate software  .  .  .  if you can't, you are doing something wrong.

  • by Ian R. Brown,

    Ian R. Brown Ian R. Brown Jul 30, 2016 12:17 AM in response to Frederick Wilson
    Level 6 (18,658 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 30, 2016 12:17 AM in response to Frederick Wilson

    I am not sure what you mean about advice on the settings?

     

    You don't use any format settings when you import from your SD card. You simply import it as it is using the FCP X or iMovie import window.

     

    It's only when you have finished editing the project that you need to choose an export setting based on where you want to use the video.

  • by Frederick Wilson,

    Frederick Wilson Frederick Wilson Jul 30, 2016 6:34 AM in response to Ian R. Brown
    Level 1 (35 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 30, 2016 6:34 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

    I have done both, and the result is the same: only seven movies show in the iMovie import window for the camera (CANNON). When I look at the movies on the camera (and in the Free AVCHD converter), there are 30.

     

    As for Final Cut, I don't have the new version, though my daughter might use it at summer camp, so I can't try that.

     

    Back to the original question, though, I'd welcome any suggestions, since it seems the iMovie route isn't working.

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jul 30, 2016 6:52 AM in response to Frederick Wilson
    Level 10 (118,107 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 30, 2016 6:52 AM in response to Frederick Wilson

    Do you have mixed formats in the card? Please post screenshots of the card content and the package contents. There is no reason iMovie or any other applications that work with AVCHD would see only 7 of 30 clips unless there's a defect on the card. That it can be read on the camera does not mean that the card works correctly in a card reader. What are the specs of the card?