How to Import AVCHD 1080/60p Files into Final Cut Pro 7?

Summary: With this awesome guide, you can smoothly import and edit 1080/60p AVCHD files in Final Cut Pro 7 by transcoding/converting AVCHD to ProRes MOV format.

We usually saw camera users encounter issues when attempting to importing or editing 1080/60p AVCHD footage within Final Cut Pro 7. Let's see some frequently asked questions on this.

Q1: How to Import Panasonic AVCHD 1080/60p Files into Final Cut Pro 7?

And if there is no direct way [I certainly haven't found one, but I'm no expert], what additional software would be used? I want to import the files from a Panasonic HDC-HS700 onto an Intel Mac laptop [Mac OSX 10.5.8]?

Q2: FCP 7 and Sony HDR-XR160 60p AVCHD footage?

Is the Sony HDR-XR160 camcorder compatible with FCP 7? Can the 60p avchd files be imported directly into FCP7 with log and transfer?

Q3: Cannot Ingest 1080/60p AVCHD .MTS files in FCP 7?

I am trying to Ingest 60p .mts files into Final Cut Pro 7. I dragged all of the files from an SD card onto one of my External Hard Drives.

I open up Final Cut Pro 7, Go to Log and Transfer, Navigate to the AVCHD folder then to the BDMV folder then finally to the STREAM folder. In the STREAM folder sits all of the .mts files. They are all greyed out and I cannot Ingest them. They will not add to the Log and Transfer Window in FCP 7. What am I doing wrong? How can I Ingest these files into FCP 7 so I can edit with them?

As you see, many folks are talking about how to import 60p AVCHD files into Final Cut Pro 7 for editing without problems. Well, don't blame to the Final Cut Pro 7, the reason that you can't successfully ingest those recorded AVCHD footages on 1080/60p to Final Cut Pro is limited by the FCP itself. Currently 1080/60p or 1080/50p footage is a very non-standard format and it’s unsupported in FCP 6/7 even the lastest FCP X. As far as i know, to solve those problems, the most important piece of the equation is that transcoding 60p AVCHD files to Final Cut Pro native formats (Apple ProRes encoded .mov is highly recommended).

To help those who wanna edit 60p AVCHD footage in Final Cut Pro, here I share with you a simple guide on how to convert AVCHD to Apple ProRes MOV format for FCP 7 editing flawlessly.

Downloading the App - Brorsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac

Overall, the program is a professional yet easy-to-use AVCHD to MOV Converter on Mac OS X which can not only convert Sony, Panasonic, Canon etc recorded AVCHD to Apple ProRes codec videos for Mac editing, but also provide simple video editing functions for you. The mac MTS to ProRes Converter can convert HD videos from HD camcorders or DVs (like JVC, Panasonic, Sony and Cannon) for editing in Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Pro X, Final Cut Express, iMovie, Avid MC, Adobe Premiere Pro etc. Just download it and follow the tutorial below to get the work done.

Guide: Transcoding 60p AVCHD to Apple ProRes MOV for FCP 7

Step 1: Download and install Brorsoft MTS to ProRes Converter for Mac.

Step 2: Launch the program, click "Add" button and browse to the AVCHD footages either from scratch disk or cam HDD for loading to the converter.

Step 3: Click on “Format” bar and set a FCP 7 friendly format in dropdown-list. You are advised to “Follow Final Cut Pro” template and “Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)” format.

Tip: AVCHD has a much higher compression ratio than Apple ProRes, so the ingested files are significantly larger than the original files. For example, a 2-minute native AVCHD file is about 200–300 MB. After transcoding MTS to the Apple ProRes 422 codec, the file size can be as large as 2 GB. If you prefer smaller file size, choose “Apple ProRes 422 (LT) (*.mov)” instead. The “Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy) (*.mov)” format offers file size at SD levels and is recommended for 480i/p and 576i/p shootings.

Step 4: Click "Convert" button to start transcoding 60p AVCHD files to Apple ProRes MOV for Final Cut Pro 7 under Mac OS.

Some more helpful features of the Free Mac MTS to MOV Converter:

1. Click the “Settings” button and customize proper video/ audio parameters if necessary. Video size, bitrate and fame rate are flexible and can be adjusted as you like. E.g. Set video size to 1920*1080 when you feel like to keep 1080p as the source file features. Or set smaller bitrate to further cut down export file size. You may skip this step as well.

2. Editor (next to "Add" icon)- click to set deinterlace, denoise, mute, volume up, trim, crop, etc.

Once the MTS to ProRes 422 conversion is done, you can transfer 1080p AVCHD 60p footage into Final Cut Pro 7 for editing smoothly on Mac with ease.

Source:
hdcamcorderconverttips.altervista.org/blog/fcp-7-60p-avchd-workflow-transcoding-avchd-mts-to-prores-for-fcp-7/