When Will iMovie Support AVCHD Progressive?

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Level 2

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When Will iMovie Support AVCHD Progressive?

From Wikipedia: "In 2010 Panasonic introduced a new lineup of consumer AVCHD camcorders with 1080-line 50p/60p progressive-scan mode. In 2011 this mode was officially included into the AVCHD specification as part of 2.0 addendum and has been called AVCHD Progressive."

So... is it likely that iMovie will support AVCHD Progressive in the future? I ask because I have a 2012 AVCHD Progressive camcorder, but am considering returning it because iMovie doesn't support a format introduced 2 years ago.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010) 12GB RAM

Posted on Apr 7, 2012 3:36 AM

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Answer 1

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Karsten Schlüter

Level 7

34,086 points

Apr 7, 2012 6:17 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

Reuben Feffer wrote:

... is it likely that iMovie will support AVCHD Progressive in the future? ...

FinalCut/express 3.5 didn't support 'AVCHDlite' - but with a simple 'transplantation' of some parts of iM08 it was possible to teach this 'non standard'-codec to FC/e. AVCHD v1 supports only 1080/24p. 25p/30/50p/60p is v2.

I dare to say, due to sheer popularity, AVCHD v2 will find its way to QT/AVF ...

but …

a) this is a user to user board

b) speculation is against ToU

c) those who know don't say.

those who say, don't know.

😉

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Answer 2

Apr 7, 2012 11:26 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

Here is a blog post that explains how some people are hacking iMovie to support 60P. I haven't tried this myself so do it at your own risk.

http://ianperegian.com/My_FZ35_38_Webpage/Edit_1080_50p_and_burn_a_disk.html

If I had to guess, I would say that iMovie would support 60P at about the same time when TV sets and BluRay Players start supporting 60P. It gets very confusing for consumers otherwise, who can't understand why their movies will not play. But I have no inside knowledge.

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Answer 3

Reuben Feffer Author

Level 2

289 points

Apr 7, 2012 1:29 PM in response to AppleMan1958

Thanks for that. I'd rather not hack iMovie though. I don't want to mess things up.

I really hope that the next version of iMovie supports AVCHD Progressive. Does Final Cut Pro support it? Does Final Cut Pro support frame rates above 30 fps, such as 50 fps and 60 fps?

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Answer 4

Apr 8, 2012 3:36 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

Reuben Feffer wrote:

... Does Final Cut Pro support frame rates above 30 fps, such as 50 fps and 60 fps?

it does.

but within the 'standards' - …

AVCHD/1080/60p from cam = NoGo

same material as a manually re-wrapped mov = Yes

my 720/60p IS within specs, so direct import and handling possible (I mainly use such material for slowmos, such in my demo here)

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Answer 5

Reuben Feffer Author

Level 2

289 points

Apr 9, 2012 3:06 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

So if you use an app like ClipWrap to rewrap your AVCHD Progressive 1920 x 1080 50 fps .mts files into .mov, you can then import them into Final Cut Pro X and edit them without converting them into AIC or some other intermediate format?

Alternatively, do you know of an app that will take AVCHD Progressive 1920 x 1080 50 fps .mts files, and turn them into AIC files while halving the frame rate down to 25 fps? That way they could be edited in iMovie '11 with no trouble.

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Answer 6

Apr 12, 2012 3:46 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

Reuben Feffer wrote:

... AVCHD Progressive 1920 x 1080 50 fps .... you can then import them into Final Cut Pro X and edit them without converting them into AIC or some other intermediate format? .. .

the latest update of FCPX.4 now supports 50/60p ...

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Answer 7

Reuben Feffer Author

Level 2

289 points

Apr 12, 2012 3:49 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

So if you connect an AVCHD Progressive camcorder to Final Cut Pro X, it now shows the 50/60fps clips on your camera, and is able to import them? If that's true, that's really good news. And Final Cut is able to actually edit projects at 50/60fps and output a completed video at that frame rate?

Hopefully the next version of iMovie will also gain this feature, since AVCHD Progressive is a consumer format.

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Answer 8

hughmass

Level 3

592 points

Apr 12, 2012 11:06 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

I can confirm that my Sony A-65 will import 60P, edit and export in 59.94, and it looks great. I did have to both edit in proxy and import to then change back the preferences when I exported to make sure I exported at the highest level.

So AVCHD is now supported in FCPX.

My 3.06 intel core 2 duo handled the proxy editing just fine.

Hugh

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Answer 9

Reuben Feffer Author

Level 2

289 points

Oct 31, 2013 8:59 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

Those of you who have upgraded to iMovie 10.0 (released 22 October 2013), does this version finally support AVCHD Progressive footage? Can you put an SD card into your Mac and see thumbnails for the clips, without all of thet "NO 60p" signs that iMovie 9.0.9 shows?

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Answer 10

hughmass

Level 3

592 points

Oct 31, 2013 10:07 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

Yes, I can confirm that it will import 60P from my Panasonic FZ200, and export as 29.97. Really fast, all things considered. Looks nice.

Hugh

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Answer 11

Reuben Feffer Author

Level 2

289 points

Oct 31, 2013 10:13 AM in response to hughmass

Oh really? That's fantastic.

So, one more question. Can iMovie 10.0 keep the AVCHD Progressive clips in their native .MTS format, or does it prompt you to convert them to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) upon Import?

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Answer 12

Oct 31, 2013 10:23 AM in response to Reuben Feffer

It keeps them native.

However, I have a Panasonic TM 700 and it does not recognize the files on the camera. I have to extract the MTS files manually and then import them.

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Answer 13

dhusen

Level 1

8 points

Nov 3, 2013 12:18 PM in response to Reuben Feffer

In my experience, with a Panasonic TM-80, iMovie can see the files and import them, but if it does, it will convert them to .mov files. I too have to manually go in and extract the files in order for iMovie to leave them as originals.

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