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Final Cut Sucks
I shoot with the Sony NXCAM and edit with Sony Vegas. No problems here. However, there are times, most recently, that I will provide my clients the raw footage for their editing team. This week, thinking that my client would choke on AVCHD files I converted them to Ciniform AVI files. This did not work. They are editing on Final Cut, which uses a proprietary codac, so files have to be trans-coded to edit in Final Cut. I need to find a Win 7 application that can trans-code the AVCHD files into MOV files so I can avoid the frustration from my clients. I have read about Clipwrap, but the folks at Clipwrap say they are a Mac house only. Anyone know a similar product to change AVCHD files into MOV file on a Win 7 PC?
Scott Gifford
Scott Gifford Studios -
5 Replies
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Voltaic is a Mac or PC application that can transcode AVCHD files, but the question is what would you transcode them to? Voltaic on the Mac can transcode to ProRes (if you have that codec installed) but that’s not an option for the PC version. It’d be a shame to transcode the original files to a lossy format (that you have the codec for) as MOVs only to have the Mac guys transcode again to, say, ProRes MOVs It does have a demo version so give it a whirl.
Clipwrap is nifty because it doesn’t have to transcode, but it can wrap AVCHD in a MOV wrapper, thus opening up the files to use by Quicktime-based applications:
- .MTS file (AVCHD codec) -> .MOV file (AVCHD codec) (performed by Clipwrap with no recompression)
- .MOV file (AVCHD codec)-> .MOV (ProRes codec) performed by FCP or Compressor etc.
Using Clipwrap, I can keep the original small AVCHD files in a MOV wrapper and convert at any time.
Can you bring a .MTS into Vegas and export straight into a .MOV without transcoding? Explain to the recipients that they’re receiving an AVCHD file that will need to be converted to ProRes and they should be OK with that. Be easier if they bought ClipWrap themselves 🙂
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I also have had clients who wanted “raw footage” but in a quicktime format. Since you use Vegas, it does allow you to create a MOV file that you can pass on to your clients. I have used this and while not ideal – it appears to work.
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Additionally, Final Cut NOW handles AVCHD files – so if they are using FCP – make sure they have the latest updates to FCP and give them the real raw footage.
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awesome, to hear about FC working with AVCHD. Smart move on Apple to have this solution. Mainly due to Sony & Panasonic creating AVCHD cameras! I appreciate everyone’s input, gotta love the cow!
Scott Gifford
Scott Gifford Studios -
Give your clients the original files as they are in your card, card by card, separately on one folder each, if they have a quad the conversion to AppleProRes is very fast. they only have to go thru the process card by card on the hard disk.
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