Down-convert Panasonic GH2 MTS footage from 1080p to 720p for editing in FCP/Premiere

Summary: In this article, you can learn the best way to convert Panasoni GH2 AVCHD MTS to a file that FCP/Premiere can recognize on Mac(Mavericks 10.8 included) with downsizing 1080p HD video to 720p.

                                     


Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 updates the highly acclaimed if rather pricey GH1 Micro Four Thirds system camera. As such the GH2's styling is closer to that of a baby DSLR than its sibling's, the GF2 compact camera form. While stylistically similar, its size is roughly a third of the size of Olympus' Four Thirds E-5 DSLR, and closer in fact to that of a bridge camera. Except unlike a bridge camera, the Panasonic's added appeal is the ability to swap the lens in use. Therefore it's fair to say that for those who like the feel of a DSLR but not the attendant bulk, the GH2 is potentially a very attractive proposition. It's in effect a DSLR 'lite'. 

Easiest way to convert GH2 1080p .mts to 720p?

I'm a Director, DP-Editor/Gaffer. I do commercials and corporate work. I got my Panasonic GH2 and I shot all the .mts footage myself about Teaching Practices in Public Schools in Maryland. I like One-touch HD video recording and manual controls. And now I need to down-convert GH2 MTS footage from 1080p to 720p for storage and editing in FCP&Premiere. Is there any easy way (free or nominal fee)? 

Why we need to downsize the HD video?

By google search, you can see many folks are asking about how to downsize 1080p to 720p. It is my impression that if I edit with actual 720p files, it will be less strain on the system both in editing and rendering as well has hard drive space. In fact, it really does. After reducing the big video size, we will edit more smoothly, save space and make 1080p video playable on protable device like iPad.

An easy to use 1080p to 720p Converter

As in the above case, you have the need to find a professional MTS Converter for FCP/Premiere to downsize 1080p HD video to 720p. Pavtube MTS Converter for Mac is exactly the one ease of use. I have used it on my project, it is helpful in down-converting Panasonic GH2 1080p full HD video to 720p video quickly and transoding GH2 MTS file to FCP/Premiere editable Prores codec, then I can wok well with GH2 mts file in FCP and Premiere. Overall first impression is excellent. Below I will share the step-to-step guide to you.

Simple way to downconvert GH2 1080p to 720p for editing in FCP/Premiere

Step 1. Download Pavtube MTS Converter for Mac. This professional Panasonic MTS Converter can help you convert 1080p AVCHD MTS files to rich formats for use on Mac(Mavericks 10.9 included). 

Step 2. Install and launch this 1080p to 720p MTS Converter. Import 1080p MTS footage from GH2 to it. 
  


Step 3. Click "Format" bar to choose format for output, you can choose Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 HQ (*.mov) for editing in FCP and Premiere Pro.

Step 4. You can click “settings” to customize the output parameters, adjust the resolution, bitrate as you want. To down-convert 1080p to 720p, you just need set Size(pix) to 1280*720. That is the exact 720P.

Step 5. Click convert button to start converting Panasonic GH2 1080p AVCHD MTS to Prores for FCP and Premiere editing with 1280*720 definition.

As long as the conversion is done, you will get the 720p mov video files in full screen from its destination folder, and then you can import the files with 720p resolution to FCP/Premiere editing smoothly on Mac (including Mavericks 10.9).

Read more guides here: 

Panasonic G3 AVCHD to FCP
Panasonic DMC-FZ200 MTS to iMovie
Make Panasonic LX7 compatible with Avid MC
Panasonic Lumix GH3 MTS in FCP X
Edit Panasonic HC-V720K 1080 60p/50p MTS in FCP X
Panasonic HS900 AVCHD work with iMovie/FCE
Work with Panasonic V700 1080/50p AVCHD  in FCP

Mix Canon XF300 MXF to ProRes with multiple audio tracks for FCP X

Summary: In this tutorial, you will learn the way importing/editing Canon XF300 MXF files in FCP X smoothly by transcoding MXF to Prores on Mac(including Mavericks 10.9).

Q1: Just got a Canon XF300, it provide extraordinary image quality. I am wondering how to load my videos from XF300 to FCP X directly? Is MXF a supported format for FCP? Is it possible to keep multiple audio tracks?

Q2: Which software do I need to convert XF300 mxf files to be readable in FCP X ? I have more than 200 MXF files, I need to batch process them. Can anyone help regarding this conversion? Can I preserve the multi-track adudio?

As you can see, you will meet some stuttering problem when editing Canon XF300 MXF footage in FCP X on Mac (including Mac Mavericks). In fact, FCP does not support direct editing of Canon XF300 MXF in the timeline. If you want to edit Canon XF300 MXF in Final Cut Pro X, you first need to convert Canon MXF video to FCP compatible ProRes codec.


Required Tool: Pavtube iMix MXF

It can help us to convert Canon XF300 MXF to ProRes for FCP X editing with retaining higher quality and keeping multiple audio tracks. Below are some useful tips for you and you will know how to import Canon XF300 MXF to Final Cut Pro X on Mac (including Mac Mavericks).

Step 1. Add Canon MXF footage to the Canon MXF Converter.

Run Pavtube MXF audio Mixer. Click "Add" to load the source Canon MXF files. When the Canon MXF files are loaded to the MXF Converter, you can view the videos from the Preview window.



Step 2. Set Prores MOV as output format for Canon MXF to FCP X conversion.

Click on "Format", and select output format from the drop-down list. Follow "Multi-track Video>Multi-track Apple ProRes 422(*.mov) for editng XF300 multi-track MXF files in Final Cut Pro 6/7.



When set output folder, or click the icon folder in Output box and browse to the destination folder.

Step 3. You can click settings button to adjust the output video's parameters, such as resolution, bitrate, codec and frame rate, etc.

Step 4. Convert Canon XF300 MXF to Prores 422 for importing to Final Cut Pro X.

Click "Convert" button and the selected Canon XF305 MXF files will be converted to Prores 422 .MOV. You may check the converting progress and set auto shutdown in the convert window.

After conversion, click "Open" folder to find converted Canon XF300 footage for importing to FCP X. The importing steps reference here:

How to direct import media files to Final Cut Pro X on Mac

Additional Editing Features of the MXF Converter for Mac

- Trim, combine, de-interlace Canon MXF footage, capture Canon XF300 frame.

Trim Canon MXF clips: Click "Edit" to enter video editor, by default the "Trim" tab is activated, so just set start time and end time to include the duration you want to remain, cutting others out.

Combine/Join Canon MXF files: If you would like to join several files together, just select these files and check the Merge into one box.

De-interlace Canon MXF: Some footage may be saved as interlaced video with Juggled edges and ghosting. In that case you can set deinterlace effect to eliminate the combing. Follow "Edit"-> "Effect"-> "Deinterlacing".

Capture frame from Canon MXF: To thumbnail video frame, you may click the "Snapshoot" button when it plays to your favorable frame.



Tips:


If you don't want to get multi-track videos or your videos has less that two audio track to be converted, the latest version of Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac is designed to output each audio/video track separately.

Learn more:

Transfer Canon C300 MXF to FCP/Quicktime for editing on Mac
How to Edit Canon C300 MXF recording on iMovie?
Edit Canon XF100 MXF files in iMovie/FCE
Solve Canon XF105 MXF to iMovie importing problem
Convert Canon XF300 MXF to ProRes for FCP/Premiere Pro
Import Canon C300 MXF to Avid Media Composer
Mix Canon C500 MXF to multi-track ProRes for FCP 6/7

Tricks for importing Canon Legria HF M306 AVCHD MTS files to FCP X

Summary: If you are facing the issue when importing and editing Canon Legria HF M306 AVCHD footage in Final Cut Pro X, here recommend you the best Mac Canon MTS to ProRes Converter to achieve your goal smoothly.

Canon Legria HF R306 camera, as an update of entry-level Legria camcorder range at CES 2012, is a Full HD compact camcorder, featured with a 1/4.85in CMOS sensor, 32x optical zoom, 51x intelligent zoom, a 3in colour touchscreen monitor and a whopping 8GB of internal storage space. That specification is already pretty good for a camcorder of this price, but Canon has gone even further by adding Wi-Fi connectivity, which means you can transfer recorded videos to your PC without a USB cable and stream videos to DLNA-enabled TVs and games consoles. All of this is recorded straight to memory card so you can quickly and easily share your movies with friends and family.

I have just got a Canon Legria HF M306 camera and I have taken it on my trip. After recording some footage HF M306, I wanna share this with others. To get better effect, just now I'm trying to get the AVCHD recording from it into Final Cut Pro X, but without much success, that is, I can get the Canon to show up on my desktop, but can't seem to get FCP X on my Mountain Lion to capture the video from the M306 camera using the USB Cable. 

AVCHD is highly compressed and not ideal for editing with Final Cut Pro X you can't natively import Canon HF R306 mts in FCP X. In order to smoothly edit Canon HF R306 AVCHD files in Final Cut Pro X without crashing problem and avoid rendering, you'd better transcode the Canon AVCHD to FCP native format, say, Apple ProRes Codec with some help from a third-party software. 

Required Software:

Pavtube's AVCHD MTS/M2TS Mac - a top Canon AVCHD Converter for Mac users.

The Mac Canon MTS to FCP Converter is an easy to use yet professional AVCHD Converter on Mac OS X which can not only transcode Canon Legria HF R306 AVCHD files to Apple ProRes codec videos for Mac editing, but also provide simple video editing functions for you. Besides, the program can also 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, Adobe Premiere etc.

The following passage guides you how to convert Canon Legria HF R306 AVCHD footages to Apple ProRes 422 encoded MOV file for FCP X. If you have the same problem about editing Canon HF R306 MTS videos in Final Cut Pro X, check out the brief guide below.

Step 1. Import Canon HF R306 AVCHD videos to the top MTS to FCP Converter for Mac.
 

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



Step 3. Click "Convert" button to start transcoding Canon Legria HF R306 AVCHD files to Apple ProRes Codec for Final Cut Pro X under Mac OS.

Some more helpful features of the app:

1. Settings- click to set video resolution(1920×1080/1440×1080/1280×720/720×480), bitrate(from 1Mbps to 20Mbps), frame rate (24p/30p)

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

After a shot conversion, you will be able to load/transfer Canon Legria HF R306 AVCHD videos into Final Cut Pro X editing without rendering.

Tips: Before you try to do the conversion, if you are also a FCP X user, please make sure that you have installed the Apple ProRes Codec manually since the FCP X asks users to install it by themselves.



Realted Canon AVCHD articles:

Canon HF M500 AVCHD workflow on FCP, FCE, iMovie
How to import Canon Vixia MTS to Windows Movie Maker?
Work with Canon Legria HF20/HF200 MTS Videos on Mac
Transcode Canon C100 AVCHD on Mac
Deinterlace Canon VIXIA HF G20 AVCHD to iMovie/FCE
Transcode Canon Legria AVCHD footage on Mac

How to Import MP4 footage from Sony XCAM EX into Final Cut Pro

Summary: If you are puzzeled with the problem that you can't edit your MP4 footage from Sony XCAM EX in Final Cut Pro, here recommend you the best Sony XDCAM EX Video Converter for Mac to solve this incompatible problem.

Sony XDCAM has four different product lines: XDCAM SD, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422 differ in kinds of encoder, contain type and in recording media.

Sony XDCAM EX series (like PMW-EX3, PMW-200, PMW-EX1, PMW 150) are one of the high-end professional Sony camcorders with outstanding video quality. The footages are wrapped in XDCAM codec MP4 format at data rate of up to 50 Mbps. However, due to the codec incompatibility issue, Sony XDCAM EX MP4 footages cannot work smoothly in Final Cut Pro, which makes the editing become harsh to some extend.

Don't worry, Pavtube Sony XDCAM EX to FCP Converter can give you easy but effective solution for importing XDCAM EX MP4 footages into FCP for editing. With the assistance of the Mac MXF Converter, you can effortlessly transcode MXF file to FCP acceptable formats like ProRes .mov. Then, what you need is just to import the converted file into FCP for editing. Just follow the steps below to transcode Sony XDCAM EX MP4 to ProRes for importing to Final Cut Pro editing.

[How-to]: Transocde Sony XDCAM EX MP4 recordings to FCP with highest quality

Preparation:
Connect your Sony XDCAM EX camcorder to Mac and backup the recorded .mp4 file on Mac.

1. Install and launch the Mac XDCAM EX Video Converter. This professional HD Video Converter can help you convert Sony XDCAM EX to ProRes 422 MOV format for Final Cut Pro, more output formats are also supported.


2. Click Format bar to choose the output format. Click and choose Final Cut Pro -> Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov).


4.You can click "Settings" to customize the output parameters, adjust the resolution, bitrate as you want.



5.Start convert Sony XDCAM EX to ProRes for FCP editing on Mac.

Click the "Convert" button to start transcoding Sony XDCAN EX MP4 to Prores for Final Cut Pro immediately. 

When you get ready to convert the added MP4 videos on Mac, Click the "Convert" button to start conversion. The conversion processes will transcode MP4 to ProRes MOV videos to be compatible with FCP editing.

After the MP4 to Prores conversion finished, you can easily import video files and projects into Final Cut Pro for further editing without any trouble. Congratulations! You have successfully taken the first step to make your own masterpiece.

With this Sony XDCAM EX to ProRes Converter, you can easily change XDCAM EX files to FCP for editing, this software runs fast, so you can convert your XDCAM EX MP4 footages to FCP in less time, video and audio synchronization are perfectly guaranteed.


More Related Guides:

Convert Sony XDCAM MXF files for iMovie 11
Transfer Sony XDCAM footage to QuickTime MOV on Mac
Play XDCAM EX MP4 footage on Mac
How to edit MP4 files in FCP 
Sony PDW-530 and FCP
Transcode Sony PMW-100 XDCAM MXF to Premiere Pro
Ingest Sony PDW-510 XDCAM MXF to iMovie
How to import Sony PDW-F335L XDCAM MXF in FCP
Transfer Sony XDCAM EX MP4 footage to Aperture 3 on Mac
Convert Sony PMW-350K XDCAM MXF to ProRes for FCP X

Sony XDCAM workflow- Getting XDCAM HD 422 MXF files into Final Cut Pro

Summary: Follow the article below you will know before Import Sony XDCAM HD 422 MXF to Final Cut Pro 6/7 and FCP X for editing on Mac (including Mountain Lion 10.8), you need to convert Sony XDCAM MXF footage to FCP native Apple ProRes MOV format with the best Sony XDCAM MXF Converter.

Q1: "I have recorded many 1080p footages from Sony XDCAM camcorder, which I borrowed from my friends. I haven't shot or edited HD before now, so need some help setting up the project. when I import Sony XDCAM MXF files to final cut pro 7, it says that the files are not supported, I searched the forum and many people say the MXF footage need to be converted to prores codec, can you give me some suggestions and what software I need to use?".

Q2: " MXF 1080i50 XDCAM HD 422 Long GOP 50 in Operational Patern 1a.The footage was recorded from a Canon C100 into a Ninja Atomos 2 (ProRes 422). I was not yet able to find the required export setting in FCP X. And my question is the required export possible from FCPX ?" 

Sony XDCAM camcorder is professional camcorder which is great for us to take high quality full HD videos, now popular models include PMWEX3, PMWEX1R, PMW200, PMW100, PDWF800, etc.


However, you may also face the problem as above that FCP 6/7 or FCP X does not recognize the .mxf videos. To make it easier for editing Sony XDCAM HD 422  MXF videos on FCP 6/7/X, you can use Sony XDCAM MXF Converter for Mac. It can not only convert Sony  XDCAM HD 422 .mxf videos to FCP 6/7/X, but also make iteasy for merge videos.

Here is the step-by-step guide for you to convert and transcode Sony XDCAM HD 422  MXF  MXF files to Apple ProRes 422 MOV for editing in Final Cut Pro 6 /Final Cut Pro 7/Final Cut Pro X on Mac with no rendering.

1.Download Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac. This professional MXF Converter can help you convert Sony XDCAM HD 422 MXF files to ProRes 422 MOV format for Final Cut Pro, more output formats are also supported.


2.Install and launch this Sony XDCAM MXF to FCP Converter. Import Sony XDCAM HD 422 MXF footages to the converter.


3.Click "Format" bar to choose the output format. Click and choose Final Cut Pro -> Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov).


4.You can click "Settings" to customize the output parameters, adjust the resolution, bitrate as you want.

5.Start convert Sony XDCAM HD 422 MXF footages to FCP (X) editing.

When you get ready to convert the added mxf videos on Mac, Click the "Convert" button to start conversion. The conversion processes will transcode Sony XDCAM HD 422 MXF to ProRes MOV videos to be compatible with FCP editing.

After conversion, you can import video files and projects into Final Cut Pro X without any trouble. Congratulations! You have successfully taken the first step to make your own masterpiece.

With this Sony XDCAM MXF to ProRes Converter, you can easily change XDCAM HD 422 MXF files to FCP X for editing, this software runs fast, so you can convert your XDCAM footages to FCP in less time, video and audio synchronization are perfectly guaranteed. You can also find more tips and tricks on FCP in Pavtube FCP column and MXF column.

MXF Related articles:

Convert Canon XF105 MXF to FCP 6/7
Get Canon XF300 MXF into Aperture 3
Transfer AG-HPX250 P2 MXF to Avid MC
Edit Sony PMW-500 MXF in Adobe Premiere CS5
MXF editing and playing Workflow on Mac
Import C300 MXF to FCP
Transcode C500 MXF to FCP/QuickTime