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MTS to ProRes Conversion for FCP7???
Boys & Girls,
I know you’re the best, so in spite of the fact that I’ve read myself blue in the face here, someone is gonna tell me what a dunce I am:
I take an .MTS file and I want to pop it into an FCP7 ProRes timeline.
1. Although Log & Transfer accepts AVCHD files, and as far as I understand (but correct me if I’m wrong, I’m asking for it), that’s what .MTS files are, right? (Recorded on a HD Sony camcorder @ 1080p50) Nonetheless, Log & Transfer doesn’t want it.
2. So I follow the advice I read (especially Shane’s repeated suggestions) and put up 50 bucks for ClipWrap 2, and even when I choose ProRes 422 (LT) I get files 6 x the size of the original .MTS, and it literally takes forever in spite of my little investment today to boost my RAM from 4 to 8 Gb (unfortunately I was not lucky and my MBP 15″ didn’t accept 16 Mb of Ram, although some apparently do).
3. Streamclip has been suggested frequently but it does NOT accept .MTS files! Why is it being suggested?
4. Compressor does not accept .MTS files 🙁
5. I also invested in Wondershare (the standard freeware AND the Ultimate), and that works well and faster than anything I’ve used yet, but it only goes to h264, so you have to convert again to ProRes, which again takes time and space (although you can always trash the h264 files when you’ve reconverted).
6. I’ve used the Quicktime 7 Pro Export using QT Conversion to convert h264 to ProRes, and that works but that’s slow too, and I have my doubts about the quality of the results.
Is there a faster method I have failed to read in the posts, and if so, which one can produce ProRes files that are maybe not quite so tremendous? My project is going to the web, maybe even to DVD, but not sure about that yet. All in all I’ve got about 100 Gb of original .MTS footage to work with, so you understand my issue.
Last but not least, I wasn’t careful the first time when I created this projected, and I used h264 settings throughout the sequences, so of course I got stuck with lousy playback and editing comfort and this is a multi-cam rock concert, so we’re talking 1 to 3″ average edits. Instead of going through the hours and hours of reconverting all the .MTS files into ProRes LT with ClipWrap and ending up with 6 or 700 Gb of footage (that 1:6 ratio I mentioned earlier!), I’ve sent the h264 files to Compressor via FCP7, which works fast enough and produces files about twice the size of the .MTS. Barely comforting but better than 6 x the size. Then of course, by reconnecting the media, the thing runs like hell.
I’m looking forward to your suggestions, many thanks!
Michael Brown
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2 Replies
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You need different editing software. One that does what you need. Adobe Premiere Pro does what you need. It works with .MTS native…no transcoding. FCP does not…it requires not only transcoding, but to ProRes, and those files will be bigger. There is no way to make ProRes without the file size increase. ProRes LT is as light as you get…unless you use the low low quality ProRes Proxy, which is meant for use not at full quality, for relinking to master footage later.
So you either have to deal with the conversion times, deal with the large file sizes…or switch your editing software.
The good news is threefold:
1) Adobe Premiere is so close to the way FCP works, it’s very easy to transfer to that platform.
2) There is a 30-day FREE fully functional trial demo, so you can play around, edit this for free for 30 days.
3) The cost is not that great. You buy it outright for a lot, or pay a monthly fee of $50 to use it, and always be current. Stop paying when you don’t use it. So if you need it for three months, you pay $100 (first month free), instead of the $1700 to buy it. Even if you use it for a full year…that’s $600. Duuuuuuude.
So my suggestion is to stop trying to wrestle with FCP, and switch to Premiere.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
The $50 rate requires a 1 year commitment. Month to month is $75/mo. Still, can’t beat that.
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