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iMovie MTS conversion

bludebkk

bludebkk


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When I downloaded the movie files (.MTS) from Sony camera, iMovie transfered them to Quicktime movie files at the same time. Does anyone know what kind of quality the files got transfer to? Are there any options for me to choose for best quality?

Right now I use only iMovie for editing.

Thanks,

Blu
 
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chas_m

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The free MPEG Streamclip should be able to convert them to the (lossless) Apple Intermediate Codec for editing. It might require the $20 Apple MPEG-2 Playback Component to work.
 
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bludebkk

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chas_m said:
The free MPEG Streamclip should be able to convert them to the (lossless) Apple Intermediate Codec for editing. It might require the $20 Apple MPEG-2 Playback Component to work.
Click to expand...

I am staying away from AIC because it doesn't work for me. What I want to do is edit the MTS movie file from Sony in Mac at the FULL resolution. I use iSky to convert the files OK but iMovie won't let me Import the file at the full sizes. Only smaller files. Would FCP or Premier work? I have asked this question in many places but no luck. I think it's a top secret.
 
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Nethfel


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iMovie supports AIC, AIC is limited to 1440x1080 or 720p30. iMovie will not support the raw (highly compressed) mts files.

FCP will import at pretty much any resolution as it supports a LOT more codecs - the mts files will need to be transcoded (usually handled when the camera is connected and log and transfer is performed - this may be different in fcpx as I still use FCP6 and FCP7) - if you've extracted the mts files out of the avchd structure (never do this in the future :) ) you'll have to transcode them yourself then import into FCP. MPEGStreamClip may work, but it fails on quite a few mts I've tried to throw at it in the past (but since it's free, it's worth trying).
 
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Kevin Monahan


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bludebkk said:
What I want to do is edit the MTS movie file from Sony in Mac at the FULL resolution. Would FCP or Premier work? I have asked this question in many places but no luck. I think it's a top secret.
Click to expand...
It's no secret that Premiere Pro CS5/CS5.5 works natively with a file like this. In other NLEs (like FCP), you would have to transcode prior to working on it. In Premiere Pro, just import the file and start working. Good luck.
 
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bludebkk

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Thank You all. Great Info.

I'm learning as fast as I possibly could. I'm doing it as I go.
 
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bludebkk

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Kevin Monahan said:
It's no secret that Premiere Pro CS5/CS5.5 works natively with a file like this. In other NLEs (like FCP), you would have to transcode prior to working on it. In Premiere Pro, just import the file and start working. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Would this work with Premiere Elements? I'm referring to the PE 10 for Mac. If I get one. Until I'm better at it then I will get the Pro.

As for the FCP, if I transcode to HD mov file, would quality still be the same?

Thx.,

Blu
 
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bludebkk

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Nethfel said:
iMovie supports AIC, AIC is limited to 1440x1080 or 720p30. iMovie will not support the raw (highly compressed) mts files.

FCP will import at pretty much any resolution as it supports a LOT more codecs - the mts files will need to be transcoded (usually handled when the camera is connected and log and transfer is performed - this may be different in fcpx as I still use FCP6 and FCP7) - if you've extracted the mts files out of the avchd structure (never do this in the future :) ) you'll have to transcode them yourself then import into FCP. MPEGStreamClip may work, but it fails on quite a few mts I've tried to throw at it in the past (but since it's free, it's worth trying).
Click to expand...

Please explain, extracting the MTS file out of avchd? I set the camera at avchd and record in MTS file. Is that what you mean?

Thanks,

Blu
 
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bludebkk

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I also read an old post that referred to the MTS file. He said, i7 quad core is necessary when working with MTS files. I'm using i5 dual core and probably going to be stuck with this for a while unless the economy comes out of a Coma.
 
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bludebkk

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Nethfel said:
iMovie supports AIC, AIC is limited to 1440x1080 or 720p30. iMovie will not support the raw (highly compressed) mts files.

FCP will import at pretty much any resolution as it supports a LOT more codecs - the mts files will need to be transcoded (usually handled when the camera is connected and log and transfer is performed - this may be different in fcpx as I still use FCP6 and FCP7) - if you've extracted the mts files out of the avchd structure (never do this in the future :) ) you'll have to transcode them yourself then import into FCP. MPEGStreamClip may work, but it fails on quite a few mts I've tried to throw at it in the past (but since it's free, it's worth trying).
Click to expand...

Which is better, mts or mpeg?
 
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codda


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bludebkk said:
I also read an old post that referred to the MTS file. He said, i7 quad core is necessary when working with MTS files. I'm using i5 dual core and probably going to be stuck with this for a while unless the economy comes out of a Coma.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I work with MTS files on a c2d no problem...From a Panasonic AVCHD....
 
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AngryRedTicTac


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Using the right program you can edit AVCHD with a G5, I had to do that until I got my Mac Pro. It's slow, but an i7 is hardly necessary....

In general, the .mts file is going to be a better quality than an mpeg due to the transcoding needed to get the mpeg, but .mts isn't a traditionally editable format for most users. I generally created AIC files from my Vixia's footage offlne so I could move video in and out of FCP quickly using elderly equipment rather than waiting for FC to import at it's speed. FCPX looks to remove that altogether, another month and I'll have scraped up enough cash to know for sure ;-)
 
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bludebkk

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So far, I've now got great result using the PE10 with my old i5 2core. Takes a little time to render and if the movie are long, the monitor playback is a little annoying but other than that everything is exactly what I was looking for.

I use the mts file that I download from the camera, edit, add sounds and render in to a full 1080 or 720 with amazing quality.

Thank You for all your help.

Happy Camper.
 

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