Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Sony Alpha 7R and iMovie/FCE Workflow- Transcode a7R MTS files to AIC for editing

This article teaches you how to easily convert and import Sony Alpha 7R MTS footage into iMovie or Final Cut Express for further editing on Mac (OS X 10.9 Mavericks included).

Sony is well known for innovating in the camera sphere, basically because it can. The A7R Full-Frame Camera is the world's lightest interchangeable lens full-frame camera. The R in the A7R's name stands for resolution, so the emphasis here is on getting the highest possible picture quality, and it facilitates a host of features including full HD video recording and a quick auto-focus algorithm.

'Our Sony a7R arrived five days ago and we, my wife and I, have had a chance to put the camera through its paces. It is excellent for capturing memories on vacations, birthdays, sports activities. And  it can capture Full 1920 x 1080 HD uncompressed clean-screen video files.' 

However, one problem makes me headache, I cannot get the video files in .MTS (AVCHD) format from my Alpha 7R into iMovie or FCE. What's the problem? How to realize this goal for native editing Sony 1080 60p/60i mts in iMovie or FCE?

Since Apple hasn't added full supported to the 1080/60 mts recordings within iMovie/FCE, and you have to change Sony Alpha 7R MTS videos to iMovie/FCE acceptable AIC .mov format. This is the best solution to import and edit Sony Alpha 7R AVCHD mts footage in iMovie/FCE.

For this case, a professional Sony MTS to AIC application - Pavtube MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac comes to help you which is your first choice to transcode Sony Alpha 7R AVCHD footages to AIC MOV for iMovie. Here is a step-by-step tutorial for your to figure out your Sony Alpha 7R MTS/M2TS iMovie/FCE problem:

Preparations

1. Copy your MTS videos from Sony Alpha 7R to computer hard drive.

2. Free Download Pavtube Sony MTS to iMovie/FCE Converter on Mac, install and launch it.

Brief Steps

Step 1. Drag and Drop source MTS videos to Pavtube Sony MTS to AIC Converter. Or click "Add Video" to import the mts footage from Alpha 7R



Step 2. Set up output format for Sony Alpha 7R AVCHD to iMovie/FCE Conversion.

From "Format" list, choose "iMovie and Final Cut Express > Apple InterMediate Codec (*.mov)" for output.


Step 3. Press the big "Convert" button to start transcoding Sony Alpha 7R AVCHD MTS to AIC MOV for using in iMovie/FCE. The program adopted advanced audio and video sync technology; never let you troubled by the audio and video issues.

Once finished, click "Open" to get converted MOV videos.

Then you could open up iMovie/FCE, and go to "File > Import > Movies…" to import converted video files to iMovie/FCE for further editing.

More Tips:

1. If you want to merge multiple MTS files into one for easy editing, please tick the box "Merge into one file" to merge all the imported clips.

2. In case the MTS footage is taken under interlacing mode, just click "Edit" to go to Video Editor, and hit Effect to select the Deinterlacing and interlacing lines will be eliminated. (Checked by default)

3. This Sony AVCHD Converter for iMovie/FCE optimized its conversion speed with multi-thread technology, so that you can convert the MTS 1.5 or 2 times faster than other similar programs. Its built-in codec will not install any codec on your computer, so as to avoid the unexpected codec problem.

Read More:

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

DNxHD Converter for Avid - Transcode Sony HDR-CX330 MTS to DNxHD for Media Composer and Xpress Pro

Summary: This guide aimed at to solve your issue with importing and editing Sony HDR-CX330 AVCHD footage smoothly in Avid MC and Xpress Pro, just follow it to get your Sony AVCHD footages working in Avid easily with native DNxHD codec.

Rounding up the bottom are the HDR-PJ275, HDR-CX330, and HDR-CX240. Sony HDR-CX330 is a new 9.2 MP Exmor R CMOS sensor Handycam Camcorder from Sony. This device boasts a 2.7 inches Clear Photo LCD display with Full HD 1920×1080 video at 60p and still images.


We were using Avid MC and Xpress Pro to cut the 60p mts footage from Sony CX330, but we had difficulty when importing the video files. Then can't handle the AVCHD files well. some the footage looks washed out and the preview is loggy. This was mainly an issue with Avid. Is there anyway to solve the problem?

As the 1080/60p frame rate is so high and the codec is not friendly to Avid for editing, to edit your Sony CX330 1080/60p MTS in Avid MC and Xpress Pro smoothly, the best solution is to transcode MTS format to DNXHD codec which is best supported by Avid.

What you need:

Pavtube MTS/M2TS converter for Mac which can be used as the best Sony AVCHD MTS Converter. It is free, clean and safe to install and use. With it, you can effortlessly transcode MTS to DNxHD MOV, ProRes, Apple Intermediate Codec, which maximum editing quality and efficiency when working with Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro and iMovie, and it works well and converts flawlessly. The Windows version is MTS/M2TS Converter. Below is how.

Convert Sony CX330 1080/60p AVCHD to DNxHD for Avid MC and Xpress Pro


1. Download the top Sony MTS to Avid Converter, follow the prompts to install the program. Run this program. Click "Add" to load Sony CX330 MTS video files or directly drag the files into file list.


2. Click "Format" bar to determine output format. For natively editing in Avid Media Composer and Xpress Pro, you are recommended to choose Avid Media Composer -> Avid DNxHD (*.mov), this format is best for Avid MC and Xpress Pro native editing.


3. (Optional) If you would like to customize the video and audio parameters, you can click "settings", adjust the parameters as you want, like Video Codec, aspect ratio, bit rate, frame rate, Audio codec, sampling rate, bit rate, channels.

4. Click "Convert" to start to convert Sony CX330 60p AVCHD to Avid DNxHD codec for natively editing.

Now you may have known the easy way to convert Sony CX330 MTS to Avid MC and Xpress Pro, after conversion, import the converted video files to Avid MC and Xpress Pro and you can edit it smoothly without problems.
  • Click here to learn how to load the converted DNxHD video to Avid Media Composer. 
  • Clikc here to konw how to import video files to Avid Xpress Pro.
PS:

1. If you need to know more conversion application on MTS video, such as Sony MTS to FCP, you can view Pavtube MTS column which has so many solutions.

2. If you want to watch AVCHD recording MTS videos on your widescreen TV through a regular DVD player, first you need to burn recording MTS to DVD.

Read More:

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Top MTS to FCP Converter- Fast convert Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCHD to Prores HQ for FCP X

Description: Can't import Panasonic AG-HMC150 mts files to Final Cut Pro X? Follow the article below, you will get to know the easy way to transcode and deinterlace Panasonic AVCHD footage to Prores HQ for editing in FCP X editing.

The Panasonic AG-HMC150 is a camcorder designed to record in high definition on standard SecureDigital (SD) and SHDC memory cards. While SD-based camcorders have been gaining ground in the consumer market, the AG-HMC150 has the ability to record AVCHD images at significantly higher bitrates. The ability to record up to 24Mb/s onto a single SDHC makes the camera not only incredibly versatile, but allows users to record onto inexpensive media.

AVCHD was jointly established by Sony Corporation and Panasonic Corporation in 2006 for use in their digital tapeless camcorders. But practically speaking, importing AVCHD to FCP might be tricky, due to the version of FCP, your Mac processor (PowerPC- or older Intel-based Mac don't support AVCHD editing) , and the model of camcorder. Thus, many users report that they can't import AVCHD files from AG-HMC150 into FCP X using camera import.

I just downloaded a MTS/M2TS Video converter and I'm using it to convert Panasonic AG-HMC150 MTS files into Apple HQ prores 422, yet the converted files look damaged. I attached a photo of what the results look like. I must finish this editing project by tomorrow- please advise!

As MTS recordings are not the preferred format for Final Cut Studio, if you want to edit AVCHD video with high quality on Mac with Final Cut Pro X, you can convert AVCHD to FCP compatibel Prores .MOV before editing.

Here recommend you the top HD Video Converter for Mac which can help you to convert AVCHD to Apple ProRes 422 preserving the original quality that get MTS files to edit in FCP X successfully. Plus, this Mac AVCHD converter also supports converting AVCHD MTS footage to iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Express and more to meet your needs. What's more, some easy-to-use editing features like trimming, cropping, adding watermark, deinterlacing, etc are combined with the convert program.

What's more, With Pavtube AVCHD MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac, you can also add *.srt, *.ass, *.ssa subtitle to a video/movie files. Here I share a guide of how to add subtitles and some free subtitle files download website: 
Now, follow the step-by-step guide transcoding and deinterlacing Panasonic AG-HMC150 MTS video to Final Cut Pro X.

Step 1: Free Download and install MTS to FCP Converter to your Mac. It's excellent AVCHD Converter which can convert nearly all Sony/Canon/Panasonic camcorder videos to any formats you need, such as Apple Prores 422 MOV, Apple InterMediate Codec MOV, QuickTime MOV, etc. Then import your AVCHD files.

 movie-to-fcp

Step 2: Click the format bar, and move mouse cursor to "Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422(HQ) (*.mov)" as output format for editing in Final Cut Pro X.


The Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) codec offers the utmost possible quality for 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 sources (without an alpha channel) and provides the following:

  • Target data rate of approximately 220 Mbps (1920 x 1080 at 60i) 
  • Higher quality than Apple ProRes 422 
Tips:

1. You can also select Apple ProRes 422(LT) which will give smaller file size.

Learn more Apple ProRes, please refer to Types of Apple ProRes Codecs
2. You can deinterlace and edit the 1080/60i mts videos in this program before converting to other formats on Mac OS. Trim, crop, add watermark or adjust effect as you want.

By the way, if you need to remove interlace for the media file, just click on "Edit", you will see a Video Editor panel where you are able to easily edit your 1080i HD video by using several powerful editing functions. Click on "Effect" tab, and check the deinterlace option.

Step 3.
Click "Convert" button to start converting/deinterlacing Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCHD videos to FCP X on Mac OS.

After a shot conversion, you will be able to import mts videos to FCP X  for editing without rendering. With it, you can also get the mts video to recognized by FCP X. Just have a try. Good luck!

Read More:

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Transcoding Sony FDR-AX100 4K XAVC-S footage to AIC mov for iMovie or FCE

iMovie or FCE won't import XAVC S files from Sony FDR-AX100 smoothly. The easy workaround is to transcode Sony 4K XAVC S video to a more friendly AIC codec for editing. Here is how.

There are only a few consumer-level options for shooting 4K video, but Sony clearly has a plan for stepping forward and bring the goods in this department. The new AX100 camcorder not only shoots 4K, but as a host of other awesome-sounding specs to attract video shooters. The footage from AX100 will be encoded using the XAVC-S codec and record to Class 10 SDXC cards.


While, there are a few issues when it comes to ingesting, loading and editing 4K XAVC-S files recorded by Sony FDR-AX100 in your non-linear editing software, like iMovie and Final Cut Express.  Keep reading and below is a quick and easy solution for solving the problem. 

To import Sony AX100 XAVC-S files to iMovie or FCE, the best way is to convert 4K XAVC-S to iMovie/FCE compatible AIC codec. To finish this job, a professional XAVC-S to AIC Converter for iMovie/FCE is necessary, and here, Pavtube XAVC-S Video Converter for Mac is highly recommended here.  Now I share the guide with you how to convert Sony FDR-AX100 XAVC S footage to iMovie/FCE friendly format using

How to convert Sony FDR-AX100 XAVCS media to AIC for iMovie/FCE

Step 1. Install and launch the Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac, click "Add Video" to load XAVC-S videos.



Step 2. Click "Format" preset and choose "iMovie and Final Cut Express-> Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) (*.mov)" as best video format for editing Sony AX100 XAVC in iMovie and FCE as well as good video quality.



Step 3. Now click "Convert" and let it go. The XAVC to AIC Converter for Mac supports batch conversion, so if you have lots of xavc videos to convert, check 'Shut down computer after conversion', and you can go away without keeping an eye on it.

Tips: When the conversion is finished, you can import the converted XAVC-S file to iMovie/FCE for editing.

Now you are free to import/edit Sony FDR-AX100 XAVC-S videos in iMovie and FCE under Mac without problems.

Read More:

Monday, February 3, 2014

Best Workaround for Editing GoPro Hero 3 Videos on PC/Mac

The article shows you the best workaround for editing GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition videos on PC/Mac by transcoding GoPro Hero 3 MP4 to PC/Mac native format.

GoPro, the action camera maker, has refreshed its entire range, including the addition of the 4k-capable Hero 3 Black Edition. The GoPro HERO3 is described as 30% smaller, 25% lighter and 2x more powerful than previous models. It is waterproof up to 60m, wearable and gear mountable. The camera-camcorder hybrid is capable of capturing ultra-wide 1440p 48fps, 1080p 60 fps and 720p 120 fps video and 12MP photos at a rate of 30 photos per second. If that isn't impressive enough, it is also Wi-Fi enabled.


For users who have tried to load 4K MP4 (H.264) video from GoPro Hero3 Black for editing, you may have found 4K video can't be imported in many editors on PC/Mac successfully. For example, could you directly import your GoPro videos to FCP X, etc. Or uplaod GoPro videos on YouTube/Vimeo?

I'm basically going to be mainly filming me doing downhill mountain biking, and also some other sports with the Gopro Hero 3 Black Edition. And later I did some editing work with the mp4 recordings, first it was fine but then very choppy. How can I get the problem fixed? Wanting suggestions on what video editing software to pick up to start making my own videos smoothly.

Why does it happen? This is because 4K video is not a supported file format for import by the time-line based video editing application. To natively import 4K video, the best method is convert GoPro Hero 3 MP4 video to PC/Mac with best codec for editing software.

Then what software can help with the workflow for editing GoPro Hero 3 mp4 video on PC/Mac without rendering?

Here Pavtube HD Video Converter for Windows/Mac is a top GoPro Hero 3 Video Converter which can transcode GoPro Hero 3 MP4 recordings to best format for Sony Vegas, Pinnacle, Premiere, Avid, Cyberlink, Windows Movie Maker, etc on Windows PC and FCP X, FCP 6/7, Avid, iMovie and Final Cut Express, etc on Mac. Now you can follow the steps below to convert GoPro Hero 3 videos on PC/Mac for editing.

1.Install GoPro Hero 3 Converter for Win/Mac, and then load the mp4 files from GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition camera. You can drag several files to the program directly.

 

2.Choose output format.

Hit the Format box, on the dropdown menu

For Mac users:
For example, select "Final Cut Pro"->"Apple ProRes 422(*.mov)". for editing in FCP 6/7/X.


If you need to edit in iMovie, please choose iMovie and Final Cut Express -> Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) (*.mov).

And for Avid MC, please choose Avid Media Composer -> Avid DNxHD (*.mov).

For Windows users:
you can choose "AVI/WMV/MPEG-2" as output format for editing with Sony Vegas/Pinnacle/Premiere/Avid/Cyberlink/Windows Movie Maker.

3. Do some settings as you want, like output resolution and bitrate.

4.Transcode GoPro Hero 3 videos to compatible format for editing.

At last, hit the "Convert" button to transcode GoPro Hero mp4 clip on PC/Mac.

With this GoPro Hero 3 video converter, you can easily change GoPro Hero 3 mp4 video files to PC/Mac in Sony Vegas, Pinnacle, Premiere, Avid, Cyberlink, Windows Movie Maker, FCP X, iMovie or Avid MC for editing. This software runs fast, so you can convert your MP4 footages in less time, video and audio synchronization are perfectly guaranteed.

More related tips:

Friday, January 31, 2014

Convert Panasonic AG-HPX371 P2 MXF to multi-track Prores for FCP 6/7 and Burn to DVD on Mac

Summary: In this article, you will get to know how to transcode  Panasonic AG-HPX371 P2  MXF videos to multi-track Prores for FCP 6/7 editing and burn to DVD for sharing, storing or managing on Mac.

Panasonic's AG-HPX371 P2 HD professional camera recorder moves you up to a whole new level of production quality. With a superior 10-bit, 4:2:2, full 1920 x 1080 resolution AVC-Intra codec, the HPX371 can record more image detail more accurately. Ready for global production, the HPX371 offers international HD and SD standards, including 1080i and 720p as well as industry-standard DVCPRO HD. Data is recorded onto reliable P2 memory cards.



The AG-HPX371 is a powerful answer to today's advanced video production demands. However, the thing is, FCP does not work perfectly with the Panasonic P2 MXF codec. It need to wait for a long rending time for importing Panasonic AG-HPX371 P2 MXF in FCP 6/7 on Mac Mavericks. As far as I know, to solve the P2 MXF importing problems, the most important piece of the equation is that transcoding Panasonic P2 Card MXF files to a FCP's supported video format, like Apple ProRes (422).

If you looking for a solution for this problem likewise, come and meet this multi-audio track MXF Converter for Mac. With Pavtube iMixMXF you are allowed to quickly and easily convert/transcode AG-HPX371 P2 MXF to FCP supported Prores .mov format for FCP 6/7 editing, as well as preserving all or any audio tracks and mix the multiple audio tracks into one if you need. So follow the quick tutorial below to transcode Panasonic AG-HPX371 P2 MXF with multi-track to FCP 6/7 compatible format on Mavericks and burn to DVD on Mac.

Part 1: Transcode Panasonic AG-HPX371 P2 MXF to Multi-audio track ProRes 422 for FCP 6/7 with all audio tracks preserved on Mac Mavericks

1. Connect your AG-HPX371 P2 camera to Mac and keep it on. (Please make sure you have the entire MXF file structure as it saved on your camcorder’s P2 card)



Get Pavtube iMixMXF installed. Now follow the top left two icons to load individual mxf or in batch.



2. Click "Format" and choose Multi-track Video>Multi-track Apple ProRes 422(*.mov) as the most compatible codec for FCP 6/7 editing.

format-to-multi-track-prores-422

3. Click "Settings" to free select needed video/audio tracks.

Check the tracks you need and left others unchecked, thus you can get Multi-track MOV with your needed audio streams. Note there’s a mix into one track icon on the bottom, it will combine all your checked audio tracks into single one.

settings-for-output-format

4. Click the red "Convert" and just let it go!

When completes, locate the converted MOV files from target file path by clicking "Open" icon.

Now, open up Final Cut Pro, choose File > Import > Files…to select and load the generated ProRes 422 MOV files to FCP 6/7 for editing use.

How to import P2 footage to Final Cut Pro directly from a P2 card


Part 2: Burn FCP projects to DVD on Mac


Pavtube DVD Creator for Mac adds support for MXF files burning, it can burn single file or folder structure videos, you can burn MXF/FCP projects to DVD disc in few steps, just follow it:

1. Install DVD Creator for Mac, connect your DVD Writer and insert a blank DVD. Add your videos into the DVD Creator for Mac

2. Edit movie clip and Customize your DVD menu. You can edit your videos with trim, crop, watermark, effect settings, audio replacing settings features.



3. Preview Created DVD-Video and click burn button to start burning.



P.S.

1. Pavtube also have a Mac MXF to FCP converter program for users that do not need to deal with multi-track video/audio files; only $29 is needed atm. Refer to here to quick look this MXF Converter for Mac.

2. Good news for Blu-ray/DVD fans! Pavtube studio now provides ByteCopy for Mac plus iMixMXF bundle, saving $17 immediately! (ByteCopy for Mac is a multi-track featured blu-ray ripping program. With it, you can easily backup blu-ray to lossless multi-track MKV without any quality loss, transcode to multi-track MP4/MOV/ProRes and other mainstream video formats.)

Read More:

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

How to get MXF files with multiple audio tracks into Pinnacle Studio 16

Description: This is a brief guide of how to convert multi-track MXF to multi-track AVI files with the help of Pinnacle Studio 16 and Pavtube MXF MultiMixer.

Most cameras and camcorders now record videos with multiple audio tracks. Canon XF series, for example, are the most typical and widely used models which include two audio tracks, one is recorded by microphone and the other recorded by headset. Of course, more audio tracks with professional devices.

Do you happen to have these MXF videos with multiple audio tracks and don’t know how to display all of them? Wondering losing audio streams/tracks when converting to other formats like AVI? Want to edit multi-track videos in Pinnacle Studio or simply playback AVI videos with multiple audio tracks?

Here is a solution for both Windows and Mac users. Not the simplest, but could be a life-saver.

Required tool:


It’s annoying that many cameras are not accepted by NLEs directly; although there are many video converting tools claim that they can transcode MXF files with best quality, most of them still cannot perfectly preserve all the audio tracks as original. However, Pavtube MXF Multi-Mixer is absolutely an amazing multi-track video converter: it just does what it should to do as its name. It takes quite a few whiles to find this tool, but luckily I finally got it.

Mac users can find Pavtube iMixMXF here.

Part 1. Import and Convert 

We tested with a Canon XF100 video with two audio tracks. Pinnacle Studio does not recognize MXF files; so we need to convert this MXF to another format that Pinnacle appreciates.

Pavtube MXF MultiMixer interface:
Drag and drop Canon XF100 MXF to this MXF MultiMixer. By clicking the “Properties”, we can also confirm the two audio tracks. Then choose format.


Find a column named “Multi-track Video”, it only has 3 presets: multi-track MKV, multi-track MP4 and multi-track MOV. Choose MKV and hit “Convert”.

(The Mac version added Multi-track ProRes outputting presets for FCP users while Windows version not.)

Now we get a MKV file with two audio tracks.


Part 2. Load file and Separate audio tracks in Pinnacle Studio  

Import this MKV file to Pinnacle Studio 16; drag it to timeline.

Right click and choose “Detach Audio” to separate video and audio.

Now we get video and audio in two tracks.

Click the icon on the left to lock audio track; select video track, hold on Ctrl and hit Delete to trash the video track.

Now we get pure audio files as below.

Unlock it.

Double click audio track to open audio editing interface.

Click the top left icon to switc

Choose “Audio stream 1”, then back to main interface. Export it as “Audio” file separately.

Then back to audio editing interface, switch to Audio stream 2 and export it accordingly.

Now we get two separate audio tracks

Part 3. Combine video and audio; Export. 

First, we need to separate video track as well.

Drag the original MKV file to timeline; lock video track and delete audio track; unlock video.

Then we import the two audio tracks to Pinnacle library; drag them to timeline together with the single video file.

TADA! Just export them; we finally get a AVI file with two audio tracks! Free edit the multi-track AVI files in Pinnacle Studio or just playback it for enjoying.

Articles you may want to read:

How to edit MVI files in Pinnacle Studio?
How to transfer Blu-ray/DVD to Pinnacle Studio for editing?
Can I edit AVCHD/MTS in Pinnacle Studio?

Source: http://open-media-community.com/2013/12/05/get-multi-track-avi-file-in-pinnacle-studio-16/