Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Import Sony FDR-AX700 4K Video to iMovie

For Mac users who have just shot some UHD 4K XAVC S video with Sony's newly released FDR-AX700 4K HDR camcorder, you can create hollywood-style trailers and stunning movies with the free but professional NLE editing software - iMovie offered by Apple. But how about the workflow of FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S format with iMovie?

Media compatibility of FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S with iMovie

It is well known that Apple has updated iMovie 10.1 for Mac with support for 4K editing. In addition, you will also be able to load XAVC S media from your Sony camera to iMovie for Mac. Although some XVAC S footage will appear blank or black when it is shot at 100fps or 120fps, however, you can easily fix that by updating your iMovie to the 10.1 version or later from the Update pane of the Mac App Store and then reimport the same clips from your camera as part of a new event.

Work Sony FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S with iMovie on slow Mac computer

Although you can directly import Sony FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S to iMovie with no resolution or format incompatibility issue. However, there are still another important issue we should take into consideration: how about when you are running a slow Mac computer.

Unlike FCP X or Premiere Pro CC, iMovie lacks the ability create compatible Proxy file with smaller file resolution to enhance the playback performance in iMovie. Therefore, you will inevitably encounter video stutters or lagging issue when playback 4K video with iMovie on slow Mac computer. Are there any other workable solution to fix this annoying issue?

Related article: Edit Sony FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S with FCP X

Compress FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S to 1080p for iMovie smooth editing

The good news is that you can downscale 4K video to 1080p with some 4K Video Compressor. The application we highly recommend to you here is called Pavtube Video Converter for Mac. The application has perfect importing support for the 4K XAVC S video shot with Sony FDR-AX700. Thanks to its batch conversion mode, you can load multiple video into the application at one time for conversion to save your precious time.

With this remarkable application, you can efficiently compress FDR-AX700 4K video to iMovie compatible file formats such as MPEG-4, MPEG-2, QuickTime MOV, DV & HDV, etc. For those people who want to get a high performance and high quality and less processor intensive workflow with iMovie, we highly recommend you to encode 4K XAVC S to iMovie most favorable Apple Intermediate Codec with our application.

Pavtube Video Converter for Mac is available to install and download on macOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X El Capitan, Mac OS X Yosemite and Mac OS X Mavericks. The program also offers some beneficial video editing functions for you to trim video length, crop video black borders, add transparent watermark, insert external srt/ass/ssa subtitle, etc.

Step by Step to Compress and Transcode FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S to 1080p AIC for iMovie Editing

Step 1: Load Sony FDR-AX700 4K video.

From "File" drop-down option, select "add Video/Audio"to add Sony FDR-AX700 4K XAVC S video files into the program.

Load Sony FDR-AX700 4K video

Step 2: Choose output file format.

From "Format" drop-down option, choose iMovie high quality and high performance editing codec by selecting "iMovie and Final Cut Ex..." > "Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC)(*.mov).

Output iMovie most favorable editing codec

Tips: Click "Settings" on the main interface to open "Profile Settings" window, in video section, from "Size(pix)" drop-down list, choose "1980*1020" or "1080*720" to compress 4K to 1080p or 720p for smooth workflow in iMovie.

Step 3: Edit Sony FDR-AX700 4K video.

By default the Edit icon is grayed out. To activate the Edit menu, you have to select an item first. When a video or movie is selected, click the pencil like Edit icon on the left top tool bar to open the video editor window, here, you can play and preview the original video and output effects. Also you can flip or rotate video, trim, crop, add watermark, apply special effect, edit audio or insert external subtitle.

Edit Sony FDR-AX700 4K video

Step 4: Start the conversion process.

After all the settings is over, go back to the main interface and hit right-bottom "Convert" button to start to convert Sony FDR-AX700 4K video to iMovie best compatible 1080p Apple Intermediate Codec odec format.

When the conversion is completed, launch iMovie on your Mac computer to import converted video to iMovie for smooth editing workflow on either fast or slow Mac computer.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Edit DJI Zenmuse X7 4K Video with iMovie

The Zenmuse X7 is a compact Super 35 camera with an integrated gimbal made for high-end filmmaking that delivers stunning resolution and image quality. Its compatibility with the Inspire 2 offers the best in next-level professional aerial cinematography. This camera system offers multiple recording options, including 6K video at 17:9 and 16:9 aspect ratios, DCI 4K at 30 fps, and UHD 4K at 60 fps in Cinema-DNG format; it also supports DCI and UHD 4K in ProRes and H.265/H.264.

Edit DJI Zenmuse X7 4K with iMovie

For Mac users, you can turn the Zenmuse X7 4K video into stunning movies or trailers by loading DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video to iMovie. The following will talk about the workflow of DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video with iMovie.

iMovie has included 4K video editing support since the version 10.1, however, this doesn't mean that you can throw any 4K video to it. As for DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video, it only has the capability to handle 4K H.264 and 4K Prores video, but will fail to recognize the 4K H.265 and 4K Cinema-DNG video.

Transcode DJI Zenmuse X7 4K to iMovie

To fix the codec incompatible issue, it would be a good option for you to transcode the unsupported 4K H.265 or 4K Cinema-DNG video shot with DJI Zenmuse X7 4K to iMovie favorable Apple Intermediate Codec.

If you are looking for a simple to use application to get the job completed, we highly recommend Pavtube Video Converter for Mac to you. The program has full importing support for all the unsupported 4K video including 4K H.265 and 4K Cinema-DNG video recorded with DJI Zenmuse X7. Thanks to its batch conversion mode, you can load multiple DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video into the application at one time for conversion to save your precious time.

Here, you can efficiently encode DJI Zenmuse X7 4K H.265/Cinema-DNG 4K video to iMovie most favorable Apple Intermediate Codec. As an intermediate format that features high performance and quality, being less processor intensive to work with than other editing formats.
Edit DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video

The program can also work as a simple Mac video editor to assist you to complete some simple video editing work. You can trim unwanted video segments from the video, crop video to remove the black bars, add transparent text watermark, apply special rendering effects, insert external srt/ass/ssa subtitles, etc.

Step by Step to Transcoded DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video to AIC for iMovie Editing

Step 1: Import DJI Zenmuse X7 4K videos.

From "File" drop-down option, select "add Video/Audio"to add DJI Zenmuse X7 4K H.265/Cinema-DNG 4K files into the program.

Load DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video

Step 2: Choose output file format.

From "Format" drop-down option, choose iMovie best editing codec by selecting "iMovie and Final Cut Ex..." > "Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC)(*.mov).

Output iMovie best editing codec

Step 3: Edit DJI Zenmuse X7 4K videos.

By default the Edit icon is grayed out. To activate the Edit menu, you have to select an item first. When a video or movie is selected, click the pencil like Edit icon on the left top tool bar to open the video editor window, here, you can play and preview the original video and output effects. Also you can flip or rotate video, trim, crop, add watermark, apply special effect, edit audio or insert external subtitle.

Edit DJI Zenmuse X7 4K video

Step 4: Start the conversion process.

After all the settings is over, go back to the main interface and hit right-bottom "Convert" button to start to convert DJI Zenmuse X7 4K to iMovie best compatible Apple Intermediate Codec editing format.

When the conversion is completed, launch iMovie on your Mac computer to import converted video to iMovie for smooth editing workflow on either fast or slow Mac computer.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Import Canon XF400/405 4K MP4 to iMovie

The new professional camcorder - XF400 and XF405 from Canon can record UHD 4K video at up to 60p in MP4 format with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression codec. For Mac users who wish to turn your 4K footage into stunning movies with a free but professional Mac NLE editing application, iMovie is absolutely your first and best choice. The following article will show you how to get a smooth workflow of Canon XF400/XF405 4K MP4 with iMovie.

Can iMovie handle 4K video?

It's no loner a secret that Apple has updated support for 4K video editing on both iMovie for Mac and iMovie for iOS devices since the iMovie 10.1 version. That's really a good news for those people who have the needs to work 4K video with iMovie.

Media compatibility of Canon XF400/405 4K MP4 with iMovie

Although iMovie can now handle 4K resolution video editing, however, it doesn't mean that you can throw any 4K video with any container file formats and compression codec to it. The fact is that you will have no problems to import the 4K H.264 video recorded with iPhone 5SE/6/6S Plus to iMovie, how about the 4K MP4 video shot with Canon XF400/405?

The answer is that although iMovie has included native import support for the 4K H.264 MP4 video, however, you won't get a high quality and performance workflow if you try to work H.264 video directly with iMovie. The main reason is that H.264 is a mathematically intense. It takes some serious computer horsepower to decode its compression. In addition, as it is so mathematically challenging, it takes longer to render H.264 files than other formats. If you wish to get a best editing workflow of 4K video with iMovie, we highly recommend you to encode Canon XF400/XF405 to Apple Intermediate Codec, which is an an intermediate format that features high performance and quality, being less processor intensive to work with than other editing formats.

Best tool to encode 4K H.264 MP4 to AIC for iMovie

Here, you can get the job easily completed with a powerful yet simple to use application called Pavtube Video Converter for Mac (review). The program can assist you to convert Canon XF400/405 4K H.264 MP4 to iMovie most favorable Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) with best quality and super fast encoding speed. The program supports batch conversion mode, so that you can load multiple Canon XF400/XF405 4K video into the application for conversion at one time.

Pavtube Video Converter for Mac keeps constant update for the new Mac OS, therefore, feel free to install and download it on your Mac computer even if you have upgraded to the new macOS High Sierra 10.13. The program itself is very easy to use, no matter experienced user or fresh could handle it very well. The result file produced with the program are pretty high quality, the quality of the converted video is almost identical to the original video.

Step by Step to Transcoded Canon XF400/XF405 4K to AIC for iMovie Editing

Step 1: Import Canon XF400/XF405 4K videos.

From "File" drop-down option, select "add Video/Audio"to add Canon XF400/XF405 4K H.264 MP4 video files into the program.

Load Canon XF400/XF405 4K video

Step 2: Choose output file format.

From "Format" drop-down option, choose iMovie best editing codec by selecting "iMovie and Final Cut Ex..." > "Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC)(*.mov).

Output iMovie AIC format

Step 3: Start the conversion process.

After all the settings is over, go back to the main interface and hit right-bottom "Convert" button to start to convert Canon XF400/XF405 4K video to iMovie best compatible Apple Intermediate Codec editing format.

When the conversion is completed, launch iMovie on your Mac computer to import converted video to iMovie for smooth editing workflow on either fast or slow Mac computer.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Import Sony RX10 IV 4K XAVC S to FCP

Sony has just announced its latest flagship point-and-shoot camera the RX10 IV to extend its Cyber-Shot line-up. With the camera, you can shoot UHD 4K video at 30/24 fps with exceptional clarity. The advanced XAVC S format also assists you to record at a high bit rates up to 100 Mbps. For Mac users, when the shooting work is completed, you can import Sony RX10 IV 4K XAVC S to Final Cut Pro - Apple's signature professional video editing software for doing some doing some precise and intuitive timeline editing. The following article will talk about the workflow of RX10 IV 4K XAVC S with FCP.

Can FCP natively import RX10 4K XAVC S video?

The previous version of FCP, version 7, is not compatible with XAVC or XAVC S. Only the latest version - Final Cut Pro 10.1 (Final Cut Pro X) adds general QuickTime support for XAVC. For Mac OS X 10.9 and later users, you can download a special plug-in (PDZK-LT2 V.1.2) created by Sony for faster and fluid workflow of XAVC S footage with Final Cut Pro X 10.1 and later.

To install the plug-in and ingest XAVC S material into FCP X:
- Insure that the version of FCP supports the chosen XAVC mode
- Install the XAVC/XDCAM plug-in for FCP (PDZK-LT2 V.1.2).
- Click the Import button on the left-hand side of Project.
- Locate the footage from card (SxS, XQD or SD) in Devices.  
- Click on any of the clips and choose Import Selected.
- Confirm in the new window to:
Copy files in Final Cut Events folder (to work with native XAVC files)

Best workflow of RX10 IV 4K XAVC S with FCP 7

For users who are still using FCP 7 or previous version which lacks the ability to directly ingest XAVC S, you will need to perform a format transcoding process. Here, you can get the job easily done with our best Mac XAVC S Converter - Pavtube Video Converter for Mac. Which can assist you to easily transcode RX10 IV 4K XAVC S to FCP 7 best favorable editing codec - Apple Prores, which is intended for using during video editing. This intermediate codec retains high quality then end-user codec while still requiring much less expensive disk systems compared to uncompressed video.

In addition, as 4K video editing is only available for Final Cut Pro X 10.1 via HDMI on certain Mac computers. Therefore, to get a smooth workflow of 4K video with FCP 7, it would be much ideal for you to compress 4K to 1080p by changing the output file resolution as "1980*1020" in the program's "Profile Settings" window.

How to to Convert and Compress X10 IV 4K XAVC S to 1080p Prores for FCP Editing?

Step 1: Load RX10 IV 4K XAVC S video.

Download the free trial version of the program. Launch it on your computer. Click "File" menu and select "Add Video/Audio" or click the "Add Video" button on the top tool bar to import RX10 IV 4K XAVC S video files into the program.

Load RX10 IV 4K XAVC S video

Step 2: Define the output format.

Clicking the Format bar, from its drop-down list, select Final Cut Pro 7 native compatible editing codec "Apple Prores 422(*.mov)" under "Final Cut Pro" main category.

Choose FCP 7 best favorable editing codec

Step 3: Compress 4K to 1080p.

Click "Settings" on the main interface to open "Profile Settings" window, from "Size(pix)" drop-down list, select "1980*1020" to compress 4K to 1080p.

Compress 4K to 1080p

Step 4: Start the final conversion process.

After all setting is completed, hit the "Convert" button at the right bottom of the main interface to begin to transcode and compress Sony RX10 IV 4K XAVC S to FCP 7 smooth editing 1080p Apple Prores format.

When the conversion is finished, click "Open Output Folder" icon on the main interface to open the folder with generated files. Then feel free to import video to Final Cut Pro for the further professional post editing workflow.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Best VirtualDub Alternatives

As a free and open-source video capture and video processing utility for Microsoft Windows, VirtualDub is mainly designed to perform the basic functions of editing and encoding instead of going with highly advanced level of tasks. In addition, VirtualDub was made to operate exclusively on AVI files. For those people who are looking for a cross-platform editing software with more powerful editing tools and enhanced media importing capability, you will definitely wish to find some VirtualDub alternative. The following will share you 5 best VirtualDub alternatives.

Best VirtualDub Alternatives

Top 1: Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate

As a cross-platform video editing software, Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate is not only available on Windows 10/8.1/8/7, but also has perfect compatibility with the new macOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X El Capitan, Mac OS X Yosemite, Mac OS X Mavericks, etc (get Mac version). The program has full support for various media types including commercial 3D/2D Blu-ray disc and DVD disc and also 4K/2K/HD/SD digital video in virtually any file formats including H.265/HEVC, Prores, MXF, XAVC/XAVC S, TS, H.264, AVCHD (MTS/M2TS), etc.

With this beneficial video editing tool, you can complete the following video editing work:
- Flip video horizontally or vertically, rotate video clock-wise or counter clock-wise
- Trim or cut video to leave only the specific parts that you want
- Crop video to remove black bars or unwanted size area
- Add video/image/transparent text watermark to video
- Apply special rendering effects such as Gray, Flip Color, Aged Film, etc
- Change video picture effect such as brightness, contrast and saturation
- Deinterlace interlaced video into progressive form
- Remove/replace audio in video
- Add external SRT/ASS/SSA subtitle to video
- Merge separate video into one file
- Split large video into smaller parts by file size, count or length

The program supports batch conversion mode, so that you can load multiple video into the program for editing at one time. What's more, it supports various digital format options and also devices and applications preset profile formats. Therefore, you can better playing, editing, share the exported editing video.

Top 2: Avidemux

Avidemux  is very close to VirtualDub on the basis of functions. It even runs on more platforms including Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. It's designed for simple video cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports more file types than VirtualdDub, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. Tasks can be automated using projects, job queue and powerful scripting.

Top 3: AVS Video Editor

AVS Video Editor can be an optimal alternative to Windows movie maker, given that you prefer a solution that lacks professional features but lets you perform the video creation task in a few minutes or so. AVS Video Editor supports a wide range of media formats, as both input and output and there is a wide codec support too. The interface is very similar to movie maker that you can start editing videos without any kind of preparation or related stuff. It also has a good level of support for native media formats and you can work well with your popular cameras and devices. It also helps you to share your output videos through several platforms such as Facebook and Flickr. Going further, you'd find multi-lingual support, Blu-ray video authoring, etc. In short, it's good to go for AVS Video Editor.

Top 4: Windows Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker is a free video editing software for Windows. You can easily edit, edit and share your videos with a few simple drag-n-drops. The editing features include adding video effects, transitions, titles/credits, audio track, narration and more. When the editing is done, you can directly share your video via the web, email or CD.

Top 5: Pitivi

Pitivi is the name of a free and open source video editor for the Linux operating systems and devices. Pitivi is based on the state of the art and open source editing technologies that will make you able to collaborate with the artists across the globe in addition to simple editing and touching.