iChat - Convert AVCHD footage to Apple ProRes 422 encoded files for tutubebe99 - Mon Jan 17, 2011 7:00 pm Post subject: Convert AVCHD footage to Apple ProRes 422 encoded files for
Convert AVCHD footage to Apple ProRes 422 encoded files for Final Cut Pro via Pavtube MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac
What is the best solution for editing AVCHD footage in Final Cut Pro? This is a frequently asked question by FCP users. AVCHD is an HD video format jointly developed by Sony and Panasonic. AVCHD uses Advanced Video Coding (AVC) compression (also known as MPEG-4 part 10 or H.264) to achieve high-quality images and low data rates. Generally speaking, AVCHD footage is usually saved in MTS or M2TS container format, which are widely used by Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Canon camcorders. AVCHD files are not natively supported by Final Cut Pro and must be transcoded to FCP friendly codecs such as QuickTime movie and Apple Intermediate Codec before importing to FCP. To lower the, Apple introduce in 2008 the Apple ProRes family to help Final Cut Pro works more efficiently. By transcoding/converting AVCHD to Apple ProRes codec, the possible best quality is retained in post-production workflow and you can then edit the resulting media files just as you would edit in QuickTime Movie format. Besides, the rendering time is saved as Apple ProRes codecs are natively supported by FCP. The following guide tells you how to convert AVCHD to Apple ProRes 422 codec for use in your Final Cut Pro sequence.
About the software: This is an AVCHD transcoding tool for Mac OS X only. The Mac MTS/M2TS Converter deals with AVCHD footage straightly from Sony, Panasonic, JVC and various other camcorders and exports HD contents encoded in various codecs for editing and playing back. The FCP friendly codecs includes Apple ProRes family (ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422 Proxy, ProRes 4444), DVCPRO, HDV, Apple Intermediate codec, etc.
Software availability: The Mac AVCHD Converter is offered by Pavtube Studio for $29 only, and is free of update. You may download a trial of the MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac software to try it out. Notice that the trial version puts a Pavtube logo on the screen.
Step 1. Run Pavtube MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac. Click “Add” button and browse to the AVCHD footages either from scratch disk or cam HDD for loading to the converter.
Step 2. Click on “Format” bar and set a FCP friendly format in dropdown-list. You are advised to “Follow Final Cut Pro” template and “Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)” format. 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 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 3. 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.
Step 4. Click “Browse” button to set a location on your HDD for the output video file. As I mentioned above, the generated file size could be huge, so make sure there are enough disk space.
Step 5. Click “Convert” to start transferring AVCHD to Apple ProRes 422 codec. The conversion process may take long time due to huge file size but trust me-- this Mac MTS/M2TS Converter is faster than most other AVCHD transcoding tool. And it will not bother to render the converted files in FCP. After conversion just click the "Open" button to locate converted video files for FCP post-production seamlessly.
Additional Tips and Tricks for the Mac MTS/ M2TS Converter app:
1. Thumbnail- click “Snapshoot” button when previewing the video. Click “Option” to set the image format of screenshots.
2. Deinterlace- click “Editor”, switch to “Effect” tab, find “Deinterlacing” box, and check it to eliminate interlacing lines.
3. Combine files together- check the files to be merged in file list and check “Merge into one” box beside “Settings” button.
4. Trim a section of the movie- click “Editor”, switch to “Trim” tab, and input time point in start and end box.
5. Auto shutdown- click “Option” menu and check “Shut down the computer after conversion” before conversion starts.
Related software recommends:
· Pavtube HD Video Converter for Mac, which supports AVCHD conversion as well as various other source media like MOV, AVI, MXF, AVI, MP4, WMV, TS, TiVo, etc and exports HD video with Apple ProRes 422 codec for Final Cut Pro.
· Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac, which converts AVCHD videos, common videos, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc to Apple ProRes 422 codec for Final Cut Pro and to MP4, MOV, M4V videos for QuickTime player, iTunes, iPad, iPhone, iPod, etc.
Blu-ray ripping: why it takes so long?
By ripping Blu-ray to 1080p HD video clips, the Blu-ray movies can be played back freely over PC HD media players and Video DVD players as well, and are no longer restricted to play in applicable Blu-ray player only. Many movie lovers find it takes long time to rip a Blu-ray Disc to PC, especially when they choose 1080p MKV/MP4/AVI/WMV as export format. If you have a PC/laptop with Intel CORE i5/i7 processor with 6GB of RAM or above and run an effective Blu-ray ripping/converting tool exclusively, the Blu-ray ripping process could takes around an hour. Generally speaking, Blu-ray ripping process can cost 2-8 hours when working on a slower/regular PC. The higher quality you get, the longer it takes.
Time-saving solutions for ripping Blu-ray Disc to Windows 7
Is there any way to shorten the Blu-ray ripping time? Yes. Here I’d share with you some tricks for ripping Blu-ray at faster speed.
A. Rip Blu-ray to M2TS streams without en-decoding.
This is an easiest and fastest way for backing up full Blu-ray data, as it copies high-def Blu-ray M2TS to your hard drive straightly without en-decoding process. The good thing is you’ll get Blu-ray clips in the way they are made into BD, so there will not be any quality loss. All you need is Blu-ray decrypting software like Pavtube Blu-ray Disc Ripper v3.7, and the whole process takes 40min to 1 hour only on a regular PC. But there are few portable media players play M2TS streams without a hitch, so make sure your media player or PC meet the Blu-ray playing specifications first. VLC Player software is recommended for playing M2TS on PC. Learn how to copy Blu-ray Disc to lossless M2TS streams.
By processing video conversions on NVIDIA's GPU instead of your computer's CPU, Blu-ray ripping time can greatly shorted and more CPU resources can be spared for other applications, making your computer run much smoother. For instance, recently released Pavtube Blu-ray Disc Ripper v3.7, which is accelerated by CUDA (NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240), takes 90min only to rip Blu-ray Avatar to 1080p H.264 MP4 file (output size- 10GB), comparing with 270min when ripping with its previous version Pavtube Blu-ray Disc Ripper v3.6. The ripping speed can be faster when/if the GeForce GTS 240 is replaced with a more powerful CUDA enabled Graphics card. This way works only when there is an NVIDIA’s CUDA enabled Graphics card and you rip Blu-ray into H.264 encoded formats (H.264 MKV, MP4, MOV, TS, etc). Learnhow to gear up Blu-ray ripping speed with CUDA.
C. Make a concession in video quality to shorten Blu-ray ripping time.
If you do not mind losing some quality, a good way that shorten Blu-ray ripping time is setting lower output quality when ripping Blu-ray to hard drive. The smaller output video is, the short time it takes to rip Blu-ray to your computer. Again take Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper v3.7 for example; a Blu-ray movie of 20GB will be compressed to 12GB when you set “MKV HD” as output format. When you set the video “Bitrate” to “medium quality” instead of “high quality”, the file size is cut down to 8GB and the ripping time is 1/3 down meanwhile. Learn how to balance video size and quality when ripping Blu-ray movie.
D. Use a faster computer to do Blu-ray ripping.
As I mentioned above, a faster computer rips Blu-ray at faster speed. I believe that movie enthusiasts and people who intend to build a HTPC home network for sharing video contents would probably choose this ultimate solution. One of my friends told me that his newly built HTPC is able to complete the ripping of a 90min Blu-ray in half an hour, and he use 1080p HD MKV format!
Hope this post helps. More Blu-ray ripping solutions can be found at Pavtube Blu-ray Special.
Avid Xpress Pro was a non-linear video editing software aimed at professionals in the TV and movie industry. However, Xpress Pro was discontinued on March 17, 2008, and was no longer for sale after June 30, 2008. If you are using Panasonic AVCCAM cameras or some JVC cameras which record footage in the format of MTS, MOD, or TOD, you may get trouble when importing these files into Avid Xpress Pro for further editing. In that case, you just need use a practical Avid converter to convert MOD, TOD, and MTS files to Avid Xpress Pro compatible file types, like Avid DNxHD (*.mov). The following guide tells how to edit MOD, TOD, and MTS files in Mac Avid Xpress Pro in detailed steps, if you are looking for such a solution, just feel free to check it.
Step 1: Load MOD, TOD, and MTS files to Pavtube Mac Avid converter.
Run Pavtube HD Video converter for Mac as the Mac Avid converter. Click “Add” button to load MOD, TOD, and MTS files shot by Panasonic AVCCAM cameras or JVC cameras. You are allowed to add multiple files to do batch conversion at a time. Meanwhile, if you wanna combine several files into a single file, you can tick off the checkbox “Merge into one file”.
Step 2: Select “Avid DNxHD (*.mov)” as output format for Mac Avid Xpress Pro
Click on the dropdown menu of “Format”, and then follow “QuickTime Movie Format” > “Avid DNxHD (*.mov)”.
Step 3: Set advanced settings
To convert MOD, TOD, and MTS files to Avid Xpress Pro, you are allowed to click “Settings” button to adjust audio and video parameters, including size, bit rate, frame rate, sample rate and audio channel.
Step 4: Convert MOD, TOD, and MTS files to Avid Xpress Pro
Click “Convert button to start converting MOD, TOD, and MTS files to Avid Xpress Pro. When conversion is finished, you can click “Open” button to get the final output files. By then you are ready to edit MOD, TOD, and MTS files in Mac Avid Xpress Pro.tutubebe99 - Thu Jan 20, 2011 6:08 pm Post subject:
The Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper
-All-in-one Blu-ray/DVD ripper, converter, and editor.
-Rip/convert Blu-ray/DVD to AVI, MKV, MPG, and more.
-Remove AACS and BD+ encryptions up to MKB V20 from Blu-ray Discs.
-Guarantee audio and video in sync/3X faster with CUDA acceleration.
-Support using multiple cores to do conversion.
-Support selecting audio tracks and subtitles, including forced subs.
-Support “Full Disc Copy” to remain Blu-ray/DVD originals.
