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Dukey

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 25, 2011
79
0
Hey I shot some video that is all incapsulated in a AVCHD file. When I double click it, it goes straight to quick time. I tried to export out of quicktime but it doesn't give me the option to export it at 422 Apple ProRes. So when I export it as an 1080p .mov file, the files size is approximately half the size of avchd file which I can only conclude as a loss of quality.

I know you can log and transfer in final cut and maybe even in Premiere but I was also looking for a better way to do this. I tried dragging files to compressor, mpeg stream clip but it doesn't seem to read it. I was wondering what the best solution would be to get best quality and into ProRes 422. Thanks.
 

gibkibonzo

macrumors member
Oct 16, 2012
33
3
Hey I shot some video that is all incapsulated in a AVCHD file. When I double click it, it goes straight to quick time. I tried to export out of quicktime but it doesn't give me the option to export it at 422 Apple ProRes. So when I export it as an 1080p .mov file, the files size is approximately half the size of avchd file which I can only conclude as a loss of quality.

I know you can log and transfer in final cut and maybe even in Premiere but I was also looking for a better way to do this. I tried dragging files to compressor, mpeg stream clip but it doesn't seem to read it. I was wondering what the best solution would be to get best quality and into ProRes 422. Thanks.

Since you mentioned Premiere, I advise using its partner Media Encoder. It has no problem reading AVCHD, just remember to download ProRes export presets from Adobe website.

Still, I find FCP7's Log & Transfer a quite fast way to transcode this format into ProRes. It seems to use over 90% of my CPU while regular timeline rendering fails to go above 50% most of the time...

Hope this helps. :)
 

USAntigoon

macrumors regular
Feb 13, 2008
240
970
Rochester Hills, MI
Clipwrap

I use Clipwrap to convert all my AVCHD files into ProRes 422.. Then I import the media. (I also have no problems importing directly into FCPX 10.1.1 from the SD card but it shows in H264 in the Inspector..)
I prefer ProRes and the Clipwrap. The latter allows me to "stage" my clips prior import into FCPX.
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
By default it most likely opens up in QT Player X (which is a hair above useless). In your Utilities folder should be a copy of QT Player 7 and if you open it up in that you should get a lot more export options.
 

Dukey

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 25, 2011
79
0
Thank you for your help. I downloaded the latest quicktime 7 but when I tried to open the avchd video I get a "the movie could not be opened, the specified file fork does not exist" I think it's because the avchd file contains like 12 video clips (its also around 18gbs) but when tested qt7 with a single non avchd clip I see the option to export to proress.

When I double click the file quicktime x opens a window that shows which video clip I want to open. Weird, I'm trying to find another workflow around this.

I will try adobe encoder.
 

Dave Braine

macrumors 68040
Mar 19, 2008
3,983
352
Warrington, UK
I believe the latest iMovie converts AVCHD to ProRes when imported. You'll find the imputed video files in Home Folder>Movies>iMovie Library. Right/Ctrl click and choose Show Package Contents to access the files.
 
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
I believe the latest iMovie converts AVCHD to ProRes when imported. You'll find the imputed video files in Home Folder>Movies>iMovie Library. Right/Ctrl click and choose Show Package Contents to access the files.

iMovie supports ProRes now? I thought it was still limited to Apple Intermediate Codec. Hmm.

One could try the following two methods involving free applications to get editable or playable video files from .MTS files.
 

freshbread

macrumors member
Nov 1, 2008
37
0
I use Clipwrap to convert all my AVCHD files into ProRes 422.. Then I import the media. (I also have no problems importing directly into FCPX 10.1.1 from the SD card but it shows in H264 in the Inspector..)
I prefer ProRes and the Clipwrap. The latter allows me to "stage" my clips prior import into FCPX.

I second. Though often I simply use the re wrap feature. It allows me to view and edit without restriction and choose the codec for output later. Plus it's quick, rather than transcode everything. Bottom line, good software.
 

Unami

macrumors 65816
Jul 27, 2010
1,329
1,521
Austria
I think it's because the avchd file contains like 12 video clips (its also around 18gbs) but when tested qt7 with a single non avchd clip I see the option to export to proress.

osx (mountain lion or later) now hides the avchd folder structure and shows the avchd/private/.... folder as single quicktime files - to get to the video files, you have to right-click -> show package contents a few times.

not sure if qt7 can read the .mts - files anyways.

I also have no problems importing directly into FCPX 10.1.1 from the SD card but it shows in H264 in the Inspector.

that's correct - avchd video uses h.264 compression
 
Last edited:

ColdCase

macrumors 68040
Feb 10, 2008
3,358
276
NH
I found "Bigasoft Prores Converter" works much better especially with source video with glitches or other issues. It will convert just about any format to Prores. The free version lets you do one video at a time where paid app can batch several and take full advantage of your CPU.

The other free apps (like Free AVCHD to Mov, Any AVCHD Converter, AnyMP4 AVCHD Converter) seem to work fine for glitch free pristine source material. I found "Free AVCHD to Mov" is best and most tolerant but that just may be me. I do a lot of conversion to Prores and I'm too impatient for FCP's built in importer (which also seems to stalls and crashes on glitchy video). The paid Bigasoft app just seems to work for all but the poorest video (it will quickly tell you if there is an issue it can't correct) and saves me so much time. It will also convert to other formats but I don't use that feature.
 
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BBargiel

macrumors newbie
Aug 1, 2015
1
0
Hello, I am also trying to convert AVCHD to Apple ProRes 422, and no luck with either. Clipwrap and Bigasoft are paid apps, and do not convert my footage that is over 1 min. What to do? can somebody send me a link to make these apps work for free? thank you.
 

ColdCase

macrumors 68040
Feb 10, 2008
3,358
276
NH
Hello, I am also trying to convert AVCHD to Apple ProRes 422, and no luck with either. Clipwrap and Bigasoft are paid apps, and do not convert my footage that is over 1 min. What to do? can somebody send me a link to make these apps work for free? thank you.

They provide one minute of conversion so you can check if their software is compatible with your workflow and produce acceptable results with your video. Other apps put a watermark on their video until you pay them for a license. Its a nice way to test drive and kick some tires before making a whopping $25 to $50 investment :) If you want to convert more than a minute, then you must buy a license (so they can pay their software engineers) or use one of the several free converters. Free converters may have improved over the past year, but with challenging video its nice not to have to spend hours only to find artifacts that render the video useless. The paid software typically work better in challenging situations and provide more control over the transcoding details, but if you have prestine camera footage, then any of the free apps work well enough.
 

Tommyboy40

macrumors newbie
Aug 17, 2015
2
0
Why do you need Pro Res or what is your final use for the Video? Unless you intend grading and serious post production the file sizes will become an issue. A one and a half hour video will be 120GB and quite a few computers will struggle to play it without dropping frames. Depending on your cameras make, you can also make most record in quicktime
 
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