If you are having issues importing Sony a7R II XAVC S 4K footage to Avid Media Composer for editing, you may wish to read this post. It presents an easy way of converting Sony a7R II XAVC S 4K MP4 files to DNxHD .mov for use in Avid with optimum performance.
The Sony A7R II is quite an attractive and unique camera which features a high resolution 42.4 MP back-illuminated full-frame sensor – something no other camera manufacturer offers at the moment. This sensor design both improves low-light operation and speeds up data throughout, enabling fast high-resolution stills and UHD 4K video recording.
Onto video, the major addition is internal UHD 4K 3840 x 2160p recording at 30 or 24 fps with the XAVC S format at 100 Mbps. This is possible using either the Super 35 crop mode, with no pixel binning, or the full-frame readout. Full HD 1920 x 1080p is still readily available at up to 60 fps and HD 1280 x 720p is possible at up to 120 fps. Additionally, the a7RII benefits from the inclusion of the S-Log2 Gamma and S-Gamut settings as well as fully customizable picture profiles, which makes the Sony A7R II one of the hottest cameras on the market for video recording.
Issues importing Sony A7R II XAVC-S files to Avid Media Composer?
“Hi, I’m trying to import 4K video recordings from the new Sony a7R II to Avid MC 8. The camera uses a flavor of MP4 that is called XAVC-S. I have tried the traditional importing method, but there’s no go. I have also tried the AMA plug-in created by Sony, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to support Sony XAVC-S footage. Does that mean I have to use 3rd party software to convert formats? If so, does anyone know of a good XAVC-S Converter that is worth trying?”
In that case, you will need to use third party solution to process format conversion. That’s called “transcoded editing”. “Transcoded editing” may also needed in some situations when you have bugs, crashes and other system issues working with Sony a7R II XAVC S 4K footage in the Avid apps.
The following content explains the detailed steps required to convert Sony a7R II XAVC S 4K footage to QuickTime .mov with DNxHD codec for use in Avid with optimum performance.
Software requirement
HD Video Converter
You can download a demo version (for both, PC and Mac) to have a try. They are not free but it is totally worth it.
Process for rewrapping Sony a7R II XAVC S 4K footage to Avid editable codec
Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as a Sony a7R II XAVC S 4K Converter for Avid. When its main interface pops up, click ‘Add File’ to input your source media.
Step 2: Choose output format for Avid MC
From ‘Profile’ list, select ‘Avid DNxHD (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
Important: If you’ve loaded a number of video clips to do batch conversion, please do remember ticking off ‘Apply to All’ option before you start.
Step 3: Custom video and audio settings
If necessary, you can click ‘Settings’ button and go to ‘Profiles Settings’ panel to modify video and audio settings like video encoder, resolution, video bit rate, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio encoder, sample rate, audio bit rate, and audio channels. 3D settings are also available.
Step 4: Start Sony a7R II XAVC S 4K footage to DNxHD MOV Conversion
When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start format conversion. As soon as the conversion is complete, you can click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the exported DNxHD MOV files for use in Avid apps with optimum performance.
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