MTS video problems

[sp09]

Hey
I recently got a hold of my bands footage from our last gig to edit it and put onto dvds with graphics and such. It was recorded on a Panasonic HD camera with SD cards and the videos are MTS files. I tried converting them to AVI but the picture quality was lost and looks much worse that the original files. I guess I have 2 questions
1) Can I load and edit MTS files in Final Cut?
2) Is there a converting method that will keep the picture quality?

Thanks
Paul-Mark

 

[VideoCave]

First an AVI file is for a PC not a mac. You want to convert the files to an .mov using ProRes422 codec.

Second, there might be a plugin for FCP to where you can just drop the MTS file directly in the timeline and edit as normal. I know/and use one for the MXF file format and don't need to waist HD space by converting to an MOV first.

Look on Canon's website, they might have a stand-alone converter app where you can batch convert multiple files if there is no plugin available.

 

[CaptainChunk]

Which version of Final Cut are you using?

If you're using FCP 6 or 7, this conversion is normally done with the Log and Transfer tool. However, it won't read the MTS files if they're not in the folder/image structure of the original SD card. On a Mac, you would otherwise have to use an application like VoltaicHD to convert these files to a codec like ProRes - and it's painfully slow.

For future reference, you can actually use Disk Utility in OS X to create disk images (.dmg) for the cards on a hard drive prior to reusing them. L&T will read from these disk images just as it would from the camera.

Second, there might be a plugin for FCP to where you can just drop the MTS file directly in the timeline and edit as normal. I know/and use one for the MXF file format and don't need to waist HD space by converting to an MOV first.

AFAIK, no plugin exists for that.

 

[sp09]

Which version of Final Cut are you using?

If you're using FCP 6 or 7, this conversion is normally done with the Log and Transfer tool. However, it won't read the MTS files if they're not in the folder/image structure of the original SD card. On a Mac, you would otherwise have to use an application like VoltaicHD to convert these files to a codec like ProRes - and it's painfully slow.

For future reference, you can actually use Disk Utility in OS X to create disk images (.dmg) for the cards on a hard drive prior to reusing them. L&T will read from these disk images just as it would from the camera.

I do have the SD cards. How would I do this from Disk Utility?

 

[cgbier]

You copy the whole file structure from the SD card to your harddrive, then point Log & Capture to that copy and let it do its thing.

 

[CaptainChunk]

I do have the SD cards. How would I do this from Disk Utility?

Open Disk Utility, select the SD card from the list, and then click the "New Image" button near the top of the window. Under the Image Format pull-down, select "read only" and select "none" under the Encryption pulldown. Then, navigate to the location you want to save the image and click Save.

Easy.


You still didn't specify which version of FCP you're using though. If it's version 6 or 7, you'd ingest the SD cards or disk images using Log and Transfer (Cmd+Shift+8 is the shortcut).

 

[legreve]

Hey
I recently got a hold of my bands footage from our last gig to edit it and put onto dvds with graphics and such. It was recorded on a Panasonic HD camera with SD cards and the videos are MTS files. I tried converting them to AVI but the picture quality was lost and looks much worse that the original files. I guess I have 2 questions
1) Can I load and edit MTS files in Final Cut?
2) Is there a converting method that will keep the picture quality?

Thanks
Paul-Mark

Too much hazzle advice around here...

Use ClipWrap... End of story.