I really would like to purchase Final Cut Pro X but I would like to check one thing. I need to know if Final Cut Pro X will import .MTS AVCHD files. These were recorded on a Panasonic 1080p Camcorder. I also have 1080i footage. I understand the methods of importing into Final Cut but I don't know if FC will work with these files. I would like to import then edit and then output to bluray.
Many thanks in advance.
Steven
Mac OS X (10.6.7)
Hi,again.
To sum it up:
When working with AVCHD you have two options.
1. You can import directly from the SD Card — go to import from camera for that.
2. You can copy the full — with all folders, exactly everything that is on the card — contents of the SD card to a folder on your hard drive an archive it that way. If you want to import an archived SD card later on you can go to import from camera and then go for the open archive button, then point to the folder where you keep the back up of that specific card.
It is not possible to import .mts files on their own.
AVCHD on Final Cut needs camera data that is included in the other folders of the SD card.
That's why it's called "Import from camera", even if you only insert the card directly.
If you only backed up the .mts files and that's all you have you will have to convert them outside of Final Cut beforehand. I recommend to make the best of the situation and just download the free tool called "Handbrake".
With Handbrake simply convert the .mts files to mp4 with the same bitrate. You won't lose that much quality. It's really no big deal.
So, if your camera records with AVCHD 17 Mbit for example, convert to mp4 with 17 Mbits. And then import to Final Cut.
In the future be more careful of what you do: read the documentation before you delete something and try to keep a full backup of your cards. I always have a card backup in the project folder, because AVCHD doesn't need that much space anyway.
Hope that helps.
Hi Tom
You may be able to help as I am quite lost.
I received two very large files - about 35 Gb each - as ".mov" files but each containing the text "MTS-1080p50" as part of their file name. I think it is safe to say that they are of an MTS container (or whatever the correct terminology is), as they certainly do not want to be imported into QuickTime, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, etc.
My challenge is to at least get these things open and readable / playable as the messages I am getting is that they do not contain either a video or audio stream, yet the source suggests they do.
Could a trial of ClipWrap help out here?
Thanks - much appreciated
Wayne
No, VLC does not play.
MediaInfo says:
"MPEG-4 (QuickTime): 35.7 GiB"
Whilst that makes sense to me as a ".mov" file, it makes no sense that it will not open.
QT7 says:
"The movie could not be opened. The file is not a movie file."
QT10 says:
"QuickTime Player can't open "cam1-concat.MTS-1080p50.mov". To see if additional software is available that will enable QuickTime Player to open the movie, click Tell Me More."
VLC doesn't say anything - it just doesn't play ...
Hi Tom, Quick question if you know. The reason I would like to be able to open individual AVCHD clips is to use them in Motion, which, unlike FCPX, doesn't seem to recognize the individual clips. I've been reading through the posts and still am unclear on how I would create an archive of the AVCHD folder on my Mac in order to be able to access individual clips. I guess the short question(s) are: is there any way to do this without using a converter, and if not, do you have any recommendations for a converter that wouldn't sacrifice the quality of the clips?
Thanks.
Thanks, Tom. As a relative newbie to FCPX and Motion 5, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions. I do have one more, actually: there aren't many guides out there to either application, but do you have a recommendation as to which are the best? I'm assuming the Peachpit guides (learned Logic Pro through Peachpit), but if there's something better, I'm all ears. I wish Apple had hard copies of the manuals available (I use the PDFs heavily but like something in print to refer to).
Stuart Hancock wrote:
I took a look at Clipwrap in the Mac App Store.
Unless I'm missing something, you shouldn't need need Clipwrap for your purposes. Motion should now open a stand-alone mts file.
Russ
Looking forward to it Tom. One thing I'm noticing when examining the titles on FCPX and Motion is how out-of-date they are. Hence my reluctance to buy, but then again, I'm running out of tutorial videos (MacProVideo, etc.), and find most of the videos tend to leave out a lot of essential information. E,g,, the whole matter of dealing with AVCHD in the discussion we're having...
I don't know, Russ, I'm not seeing the stand-alone mts files listed when I'm in Motion, just the general AVCHD library when I open my SD card. For the time being, I'll probably just export the clips I want to work on in Motion from FCPX. If you know of a better solution, I'll be happy to hear it.
OK, help me understand your workflow, Tom. You import your AVCHD video from the archived card structure -- what settings do you use for importing? Leave files in place? No transcoding? I'd like to try a test project per your recommended workflow and methodology and evaluate the results for myself. If I am understanding you correctly, you are saying there is no benefit to editing in ProRes -- and that FCPX is capable of editing files without it. When you say that the output file goes to ProRes, you are losing me -- because when I output for 1080p devices, the resulting output file is not a huge ProRes file.
Thanks for the explanation of your workflow -- this is a very clear explanation of the rationale behind your suggestions. One last question: if you had the option of shooting in MP4 or AVCHD, what would your preference be and why?
me too.
What about 1080 60p?
Anyone? This would be my only interest in FCPX
How about 1080/60p avchd files?
No mistake. my camcorder its new and truly shoots in 60p as an option. Premiere pro can edit the files. I movie cannot. Sony Hdr-cx560v
Windows movie maker can edit the files... So can premiere elements with a tweak. fcpx should be able to.
I certainly will. I'm on the road today...i can post it later this evening. thank you for your help.
Import of AVCHD .MTS files
