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.
Final Cut Pro X fully supports AVCHD.
But it is not possible to import single .MTS files.
You will have to back up the full contents of your SD card, with all directories and files and the use the import
from camera and then go to archive.
That is necessary, because AVCDH is a stream and there's additional info saved on the card.
Anyway: if you backup AVCDH, back up the full card with all directories. I always do this for every project.
If you've already thrown everything aways and only kept the .mts files, maybe you could convert them with handbrake to mp4 to at least be able to use them. I don't know of any other method right now out of my mind.
Maybe somebody else can help?
Does VLC open it? Can MediaInfo find out exactly what it is?
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 ...
If MediaInfo has no more info then the file is probably broken, probably missing some component or is incomplete.
Thanks - that is what i have been suspecting.
Best
Have you tried using Movist ?
Hi - no, it sems it was a file transfer/copying problem ...
All appears good right now.
Thanks
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.
The best way I think is to import the media into FCP copying it to an external location. Then the files are available to Motion.
Regarding the quality question you have, ClipWrap doesn't degredate AVCHD video quality at all, and its super quick! You should try it out. That app is a godsend!
If you don't care for the AVCHD file structuring and just want the raw AVCHD videos (.mts files) to backup. Just browse your memory card down to the "Stream" folder (private>avchd>bdmv>stream) and the .MTS files all live there.
Personally, when I do my editing, I do it the individual .MTS re-wrapped way, not the FCP import method (which needs the private folder structure). I guess you can say I'm impatient and cannot wait for the FCP importing / transcoding job to finish before editing. Takes too long imo.
Thanks, J. I took a look at Clipwrap in the Mac App Store. I'll consider it, but at $50 bucks there will be some hesitation about pulling the trigger...
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).
The Peachpit books are good. Ruck Young's easy guide is a great place to start. I'm working on an advanced book.
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
Stuart, you have an email address I can contact you at?
Sure, J, stuart.c.hancock@mac.com
Import of AVCHD .MTS files
