Convert AVCHD MTS to ProRes MOV - Import Sony XR500 MTS to Final Cut Pro

Sony HDR-XR500 provides HD recording with 120Gb HDD and 6-megapixel CMOS sensor. The HD videos are stored as 1080i .mts, which is not the preferred compression for editing on FCP. The Apple Final Cut format is Pro Res footage. How to get Sony HDR-XR500VE MTS to Pro Res for Final Cut Studio?



After searching solutions for MTS to ProRes, I got the workaround with Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac and the Apple Compressor, which comes with Final Cut. I convert the MTS files from Sony HDR-XR500E to the highest quality codec at same frame rate and size as the raw footage, and then output Pro Res with Apple Compressor. If you would also like to go further with detailed explanation, just keep reading.

Step 1. Import Sony XR500E videos to Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac.
Connect Sony HDR-XR500VE camcorder to Apple computer with USb cable, and transfer the .mts files from camcorder to Apple hard disk drive. Run Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac as the perfect Mac AVCHD camcorder converter, and click the "Add" button to load .mts files.

Step 2. Choose MOV format for Apple Compressor.
Click the "Format" option, and navigate the mouse cursor to Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov) as output format. The Sony HDR-XR500 to FCP converter will transcode 1080i MTS to MOV for FCP with H.264 video codec and most original settings as the raw footage, like fps, 1920x1080 resolution. To get the highest video quality, just click the "Settings" button and choose high quality for video bitrate.



Step 3. Convert Sony XR500 MTS to MOV for Compressor.
Click the convert button under the preview window, and the conversion from Sony HDR-XR500VE MTS to MOV for Apple Compressor starts right away.

Step 4. Output ProRes for Final Cut.
After the conversion is finished, import the high quality footage to Apple Compressor, and select ProRes encoding for all the footage at the same fps and size.

Then I can edit the footage and re-encode to tape, DVD and web. With the above steps, I can control the quality and time of the output even there are mixes of formats like SD and HD videos at different fps. Hope you enjoy workaround to convert AVCHD MTS to Apple Compressor for ProRes, and then edit in Final Cut.