Continue reading »]]> Q: “I recently bought a new Sony Alpha 57 camera. I use an iMac with iMovie for my videos. I shot some video on the AVCHD 60p format and cannot open in iMovie.

I am trying to convert the file to iMovie compatible format. But seems no software can read my videos, I am using the latest Mountain Lion, it’s that the problem?”

A: If you are using Mountain Lion, you need to pay attention to AVCHD files, as there is something changed on Mac 10.8. It shows AVCHD as a jpg not a folder, so many converters on the Market will not read the files due to structure changed. I am an older user of Pavtube MTS Converter for Mac, I just got update from Pavtube that they have added AVCHD support on Mac 10.8, you can download a trail version from below to give a try.

http://www.pavtube.com/mts-converter-mac/
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The Sony Alpha A57 SLR Digital AVCHD Camera with innovative Translucent Mirror Technology. With a 16.1MP APS-C Exmor HD CMOS sensor, directs incoming light to the CMOS image sensor and the AF sensor at the same time, allowing full-time continuous AF during both still and video shooting. Thus, you can sharpness when recording full HD 1080p video or photographing at up to 12 fps. If you want import and edit Sony Alpha A57 1080p file in iMovie and solve some trouble about incompatible format on your Mac, the professional MTS Converter for Mac is the best choice for you, which is also proved to be compatible with Mac OS Mountain Lion. It can not only transcode A57 AVCHD files to AIC for iMovie, but also provide you with some simple editing features, such as merging several videos into one file, deinterlacing the original footages, cropping video size, trimming video clips, adding special effects and text/image/video watermarks to output videos, thus it will be on the top of your list.

The best MTS/M2TS to iMovie Converter review from a User: I have been very satisfied with the conversion performance. I usually just get it set up with a large batch and let it run over night. The next day all of my files are ready to go. Bellow is the user steps sharing, please follow it.

First Free Download AVCHD to iMovie Converter for Mac

Step 1. Load 1080p MTS/M2TS files from Sony A57 to the professional AVCHD to iMovie Converter for Mac.

Connect the Sony Alpha SLT-A57 to your Apple with USB 2.0. Launch AVCHD to iMovie Converter for Mac and then click the “Add video” button to import your Sony A57 1080p MTS/M2TS files. You can tick the box in front of the file you want to convert. If your MTS/M2TS files have already been transferred to your Apple hard drive, you can easily drag them to the best Mac AVCHD to iMovie Converter.

Tips:
1. If you have multiple 1080p MTS/M2TS files, you can select the “Merge into one file” box to merge them into one single file for iMovie so that you can play these files without interruption.

2. Double click the selected file and you cam preview it.

Step 2: Select an output format for iMovie and set the output folder.

Click on the “Format” and you will get a dropdown menu. Move you pointer to “iMovie and Final Cut Express > Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) (*.mov)”. The Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) is the compatible format for iMovie and FCE. Then you can set the output folder by clicking “Browse” icon as you need.

Step 3: Click on the “Settings” icon to adjust audio and video parameters.

Click the “Settings” icon and you will go into a new interface named “Profile Settings”. 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.

Tips:

1. 1920*1080 as video size and 30fps/29.97fps as video bitrate are the most suitable video parameters for editing in iMovie.

2. If you want to reduce the video size, you can change video size from 1920*1080 to 1440*1080 or 1280*720.

3. Deinterlacing has been chosen as default, so you needn’t worry about how to deinterlace 1080i videos.

Step 4. Transcode Sony A57 AVCHD MTS files to AIC for iMovie with 30fps and 5.1 channels on Mac.

Click the “Convert” button, start convert Sony A57 1080p MTS files to AIC on Mac immediately. You can find the process in the “Conversion” interface.

Step 5: When the Mac AVCHD to iMovie conversion is 100% completed, open “iMovie” and click “File > Import” to transfer the converted Sony A57 MTS footages to iMovie.

The best AVCHD to iMovie Converter for Mac is not only helpful to get footages from Sony A55 into iMovie on Mac, but also does a great job in converting AVCHD to ProRes 422 for FCP, MPEG-2 for Adobe Premiere Pro, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, AIC for FCE, etc.

Continue reading »]]> AVCHD was jointly developed by Sony and Panasonic in 2006, it is a high definition (HD) digital video camera recorder format recording 1080i and 720p signals onto MiniDVD discs, MiniDV tape, Hard Drive, and digital camera Memory Cards, by using advanced Video Coding (AVC) compression (also known as MPEG-4 part 10 or H.264) to achieve high-quality images and low data rates. AVCHD camcorders record on a variety of file-based media, including 80 mm DVDs, hard disks, and flash memory (such as Secure Digital cards and memory sticks).

The AVCHD specification allows most SD and HD dimensions and frame rates, though each camcorder usually supports only a few formats. The AVCHD color sample ratio is 4:2:0, with 8 bits per sample. Audio can be recorded in 5.1-channel surround sound with Dolby Digital (AC-3) compression or up to 7.1-channel surround sound (uncompressed). Some camcorders, such as the Panasonic HDC-SD5 camcorder, use a two-channel built-in microphone.

New trademarks:

The AVCHD Format has been updated to Version 2.0 by adding new specifications for 3D and 1080/60p,50p. New trademarks; “AVCHD 3D”, “AVCHD Progressive” and “AVCHD 3D/Progressive” are introduced.

Resolution of AVCHD:

1920 x 1080: This format is sometimes called Full HD because it contains the full 1920 horizontal pixels of the 1080-line HD format.

1440 x 1080: This is a horizontally subsampled image with 1080 lines.

1280 x 720: This is a full-resolution 720p format.

Tips: The SD AVCHD formats are not supported by iMovie, Final Cut Express, Adobe Premiere Pro, ect.

The best codec for Final Cut Express and iMovie is AIC MOV format, therefore, if you plan to edit AVCHD in iMovie or Final Cut Express, it is a good idea for you to convert AVCHD to AIC MOV. Then, you will need to a AVCHD to AIC Converter to convert AVCHD to AIC MOV for importing AVCHD to iMovie or Final Cut Express.
Requriements:

Instructions:

Pavtube MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac is an ideal application that can work smoothly with Final Cut Express, iMovie, convert AVCHD to AIC MOV files native supported by iMovie/FCE on Mac Mountain Lion (10.8), Mac OS X Lion (10.7), Snow Leopard (10.6), Leopard (10.5).

Step 1. Import AVCHD files to the program.

Install and run Mac AVCHD to AIC converter. Click “File” menu, choose “Add Video” to locate the AVCHD files you want to add.

Step 2. Select Apple InterMediate Codec(AIC)(*.mov) format for Final Cut Express or iMovie best output format.
Click “Format” bar and and set a AIC friendly codec in dropdown-list. You are advised to follow “iMovie and Final Cur Express > Apple InterMediate Codec(AIC)(*.mov) as best video format for iMovie or FCE.

Step 3. Set possible best quality for Final Cut Express or iMovie editing.

Click the “Settings” button and customize proper video/ audio parameters if necessary. Video size, Bitrate and Frame 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 “original” in video bitrate drop-down list to keep best quality. You may skip this step as well as default format works well with FCE or iMovie too.

Step 4. Convert AVCHD to AIC MOV for FCE or iMovie workflow on Mac.
Press “” icon, let this smart AVCHD to AIC Converter for Mac to do the rest for you! This avchd converter is specifically designed for Mac users, including Mac Mountain Lion 10.8, Mac OS X Lion 10.7, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, etc.

When the conversion is done, you can import the output files to iMovie and FCE without any trouble. Congratulations! You have successfully taken the first step to make your own masterpiece.

Now, start to create your masterpiece in iMovie and Final Cut Express!

Easy to use and very powerful.

Most popular AVHCD Camcorders:

Sony Handycam HDR-CX190 Camcorder: January 2012 – Sony – FullHD 1080p – HD 1080i – AVCHD – MPEG-2 – 1.5 megapixel sensor – Night Vision – USB – HDMI – Composite – 25 x optical zoom – Automatic Focus – Manual Focus – Image Stabilizing – 5.9 ounce

Sony Handycam HDR-XR260V Camcorder: January 2012 – Sony – FullHD 1080p – AVCHD – MPEG-2 – Hard Drive – 5.4 megapixel sensor – Night Vision – USB – HDMI – Composite – 30 x optical zoom – Automatic Focus – Manual Focus – Image Stabilizing – 7.2 ounce

Panasonic HDC-TM900 Camcorder: February 2011 – Panasonic – FullHD 1080p – AVCHD – 3 megapixel sensor – Night Vision – USB – HDMI – Composite – Component – 12 x optical zoom – Automatic Focus – Manual Focus – Image Stabilizing – 13.9 ounce

Canon XA10 Camcorder: March 2011 – Canon – FullHD 1080p – AVCHD – 2.4 megapixel sensor – Night Vision – USB – XLR – HDMI – Composite – Component – 10 x optical zoom – Automatic Focus – Manual Focus – Image Stabilizing – 1.7 pound

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