Convert 1080p/1080i AVCHD MTS to ProRes to Edit in Final Cut Pro

AVCHD, the shortened form of Adavanced Video Codec High Definition, was firstly developed by Sony and Panasonic, jointly, for use in their consumer camcorders. Due to its capability of allowing large data files created by HD video recording to be captured and saved on digital media, the AVCHD (.mts/.m2ts), a proprietary form of H.264, gains its popularity among the HD cameras and camcorders, thus it becomes one of the common recording format. But thanks to its H.264 compression standard, which is great for storing detailes of your beautiful memories, the AVCHD can not be natively supported by FCP and editing 1080p/1080i MTS in Final Cut Pro is quite difficult work for photographers from the start.


In order to solve the importing issue, FCP developed the Log & Transfer, a background converting tool for transcode AVCHD footages to Prores 422 LT, one of the ProRes codecs to help Final Cut Pro work more efficiently with AVCHD contents. But it can not support all the AVCHD cameras and camcorders. Besides, the quality of the converted files has been reduced, not to mention its so many restrictions when working with AVCHD. The most important problem is that, although it is possible to copy AVCHD files directly to your scratch disk, Final Cut Pro won’t recognize these files, sometimes even the L&T. Thus, to convert AVCHD to ProRes for Final Cut Pro with a more powerful and professional AVCHD to ProRes converter is much easier.

Here recommended Brorsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac, a top AVCHD to ProRes Converter which is perfect in transcoding 1080p/1080i AVCHD to ProRes 422 to edit in FCP, including FCP 6/7 and FCP X. In addtion, it is developed with some easy and useful editing functions, such as deinterlacing 1080i files, joining imported clips together for easy ingesting, trimming section of your file, adding text/image/video watermark to your original files, replacing audio tracks, etc. With it, you can effortlessly get AVCHD files converted to ProRes codec and transfer your Panasonic/Sony/Canon/JVC HD recordings to FCP.

Guide on ingesting AVCHD footages to Final Cut Pro



Step 1: Install the free trail version of MTS Converter on your Mac and load your .mts/.m2ts files to it.

Step 2: Click on the Format box and select the FCP friendly format in dropdown-list. You are advised to choose “Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)”or “Apple ProRes 422 HQ (*.mov)” format. Due to the difference in the compresstion standard of AVCHD and ProRes 422, the converted files are significantly larger than the original ones. If you prefer smaller file size, please 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 3: Adjust video and audio parameters in the Profile Settings if necessary. You can adjust codec, bit rate, frame rate, sample rate and audio channel in the interface according to your needs and optimize the output file quality.

Step 4: Click the button for "Convert" and start deinterlacing/converting AVCHD footages to ProRes 422 for Final Cut Pro immediately.

Step 5: Click File --> Import --> Files and then you can transfer/edit your shootings in FCP without any problem.

Tips for AVCHD to ProRes conversion with AVCHD Converter
1. Joining files: Tick the box "Merge into one" on the main interface.
2. Deinterlacing 1080i: Click Edit and select "deinterlacing" in the Effect.
3. Preview: Double click on the file and you can get a preview on the converter.
4. Auto shutdown: Click Option and tick the box “Shut down the computer after conversion” before conversion starts.
5. 3D conversion. The Red-Blue/Red-Green 3D conversions are supported.

Brorsoft's AVCHD to ProRes Mac Converter is so versatile that it can also be helpful in putting AVCHD files to iMovie, FCE, Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, etc. If you want more info about the AVCHD to AIC/DNxHD/MPEG conversion, please go to the MTS Converter for Mac to get more info.

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