iPhone Accessories - Transcode Panasonic ZS7 AVCHD Lite to ProRes 422 for FCP TomJason - Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:25 am Post subject: Transcode Panasonic ZS7 AVCHD Lite to ProRes 422 for FCP
Transcode Panasonic ZS7 AVCHD Lite to ProRes 422 for FCP editing on Mac OS X Lion
Having problems when trying to import Panasonic ZS7 footage to Final Cut Pro? Not knowing why Log and transfer work improperly with the 720p Lumix shootings? Let me tell you something then. The Panasonic Lumix cameras (FZ-47, GX1, GF3, GF2, GH2, etc) shoot video in AVCHD Lite mode instead of standard AVCHD. The main differences between AVCHD Lite and the regular AVCHD: a maximum resolution of 1280 x 720p in AVCHD Lite compared to 1920 x 1080p in regular AVCHD and a less-intensive compression method - both of which make the format more suitable for less powerful camera hardware. Since Final Cut Pro doesn't like AVCHD Lite, you have to make it into something Final Cut Pro likes, for instance, Apple ProRes encoded .mov.
In order to convert the AVCHD Lite video taken with Panasonic Lumix cams to Apple ProRes codec, you'll need Pavtube HD Video Converter for Mac, a professional high-definition video converter that converts AVCHD Lite MTS videos as well as HD videos of other various formats to editable and playable video and audio formats. You may download a trial of the Pavtube HD Video Converter for Mac software to try it out. Notice that the trial version puts a Pavtube logo on the screen. So better purchase the software if you're working on a project.
Guide: converting AVCHD Lite to Apple ProRes 422 codec for Final Cut Pro:
Step 1. Run Pavtube HD Converter for Mac. Click "Add" button and browse to the AVCHD Lite footage (*.mts or *.m2ts clips) from cam HDD or SD card.
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. The ingested files could be significantly larger than the original files. 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.
