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AVCHD in Final Cut Express

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dougz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2009
3
0
Hello all-

My basic question: can I preview .MTS files in Final Cut Express without Importing them?

The details: just got back from a trip, and I have about 700 .MTS clips (250GB total) saved onto a hard drive (transferred from the camera).

Adobe Premiere has a Media Browser that shows me a list of files on my computer and any connected external drives, and then I can preview play those files before importing them. From what I can tell, Final Cut Express has no such browser - is that correct?

I can only find the option to Capture (which I think needs to be done from the camera rather than a drive) or Import (which I don't want to do because it will take up so much space and I want to use less than half of my clips.

Is there a way to tell FCE's Media Browser to show me the contents of my drives, rather than just clips I've already imported into the project? Can I preview .MTS clips before import?

Thanks.
 
CaptainChunk

CaptainChunk

macrumors 68020
Apr 16, 2008
2,142
6
Phoenix, AZ
You can preview and log AVCHD clips from a mounted camera in FCE via the Log and Transfer window. I don't think it's possible without transcoding otherwise.

In your case (MTS files stored on a hard drive), you would have to use an application like VoltaicHD to preview and transcode the files. It's a $35 program, but once the MTS files are copied off the camera to another storage device, FCE wouldn't know what to do with them.
 
Courtaj

Courtaj

macrumors 6502a
Jul 3, 2008
701
0
Edinburgh, U.K.
CaptainChunk is correct. Final Cut will only handle AVCHD files when it finds them in their original file structure (either by connecting the camcorder or using a memory card reader), not isolated .mts files. You could download VLC, a free media player which, among other things, can play .mts files, then transcode the ones you like using Voltaic - which, incidentally, is a very time-consuming process, typically taking around 12x real time to import your clips, whereas FCE will do the job in 1.2-1.5x real time, depending on processor oopmh.
 
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dougz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2009
3
0
Thanks, guys, for your thoughts. All helpful information.

CaptainChunk, you are correct. Once I moved my files from camera to hard drive they were no longer readable by Final Cut or iMovie. I looked at Voltaic but was put off by the lengthy conversion time and massive files.

Incidentally, their program HD Quick Look is helpful - it allows you to view .MTS files as preview thumbnails in the Finder, rather than just blank white icons.

And Courtaj, thanks for pointing out VLC. I use it all the time for other things and I had tried several times to launch .MTS files but it always crashed. Turns out I needed to upgrade from 0.8.1 to 0.9.9 and now VLC plays my .MTS files no problem. That is just what I needed.

I appreciate your help.
 
L

lapino

macrumors regular
Mar 6, 2009
238
11
I am unable to play AVCHD files fluently with the latest VLC on my late 2008 MBP 15". Is this normal? When playing back a 24mbps 1920x1080 file, it stutters every few seconds. Maybe a setting in VLC?
 
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dougz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2009
3
0
Same for me. I think VLC just has to work so hard to read those big compressed files off of the camera and convert them in real time.

I'm just using it to preview files so I can take notes and import them into FCE or Premiere later.

If your files are still on the camera, I think iMovie '09 is the best option for playback. In Capture mode, it shows you thumbnails and you can play clips almost full-screen if you stretch out the window.
 
S

Sounds Good

macrumors 68000
Jul 8, 2007
1,692
57
Courtaj said:
Final Cut will only handle AVCHD files when it finds them in their original file structure (either by connecting the camcorder or using a memory card reader), not isolated .mts files.
Click to expand...
Question about this: Let's say we copy the entire file structure by inserting the memory card and simply copying the main folder onto our hard drive, like so:

> AVCHD
>>> AVCHDTN
>>> BDMV
etc...

Would we then be able to use Final Cut Express?


I'm thinking of moving from PC to Mac, and this one is a biggie for me! :)
 
Courtaj

Courtaj

macrumors 6502a
Jul 3, 2008
701
0
Edinburgh, U.K.
Sounds Good said:
Question about this: Let's say we copy the entire file structure by inserting the memory card and simply copying the main folder onto our hard drive, like so: > AVCHD >>> AVCHDTN >>> BDMV etc...
Would we then be able to use Final Cut Express?
Click to expand...
Yes - though I always copy the entire contents of the card just be be sure (everything from the root directory down). But if you just copy the files to a hard drive then you'll need to copy them back to a memory card in order to import them. The other option is to use OS X's Disk Utility and make a disk image (.img) file of the memory card, save this on a hard drive, and mount the image when you want to import. Final Cut won't discriminate between this and a mounted camcorder.
 
S

Sounds Good

macrumors 68000
Jul 8, 2007
1,692
57
Courtaj said:
...if you just copy the files to a hard drive then you'll need to copy them back to a memory card in order to import them. The other option is to use OS X's Disk Utility and make a disk image (.img) file of the memory card, save this on a hard drive, and mount the image when you want to import.
Click to expand...
Hmm. Seems like a bit of a hassle. I think AVCHD is a bit easier on a PC, isn't it?
 
L

lharvest

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2007
129
122
Courtaj said:
Yes - though I always copy the entire contents of the card just be be sure (everything from the root directory down). But if you just copy the files to a hard drive then you'll need to copy them back to a memory card in order to import them. The other option is to use OS X's Disk Utility and make a disk image (.img) file of the memory card, save this on a hard drive, and mount the image when you want to import. Final Cut won't discriminate between this and a mounted camcorder.
Click to expand...

You DO NOT need to copy the files back to a memory card for FCE to import them. I do this all the time - copy file structure to my hard drive and the use Log and Capture to view and/or import the files into FCE.
 
P

PenguinMac

macrumors member
May 21, 2010
96
0
Sounds Good said:
Hmm. Seems like a bit of a hassle. I think AVCHD is a bit easier on a PC, isn't it?
Click to expand...

I have 3 years worth of MTS files from my PC, and I plan to use ClipWrap to change the MTS containers to MOV for editing on the Mac. I couldn't edit AVCHD files on my PC because Adobe. Premier Elements would only save them in an MTS file, which isn't portable and won't play on many PC's and Macs. I'm hoping for better output options on the Mac.
 
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