Summary: If you are facing import issues while loading Sony A6000 60p AVCHD footage to FCP X or iMovie, this post may shed you some light on this by explaining how to convert A6000 AVCHD media to ProRes for FCP X and transcode Sony A6000 AVCHD footage to Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) for iMovie.
“Hi, there. I have just purchased a Sony A6000 last month, which is a super-compact mirrorless camera according to Sony. I’ve been using it to film a lot over the last 2 weeks and now I want to import A6000 footage to FCP X to do some basic editing, but it seems that FCP X can not open the A6000 AVCHD 60p movies at all. Why? I’ve imported and edited AVCHD 24p files into FCP X with-out any issues from a NEX-5N. Can anyone help me out please? MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.2).”
Like Sony A5000, the A6000 is able to shoot footage in both AVCHD codec and web-friendly MP4 format. But being different from the A5000, more than recording 1920×1080/60i and 1920×1080/24p video files, the Sony A6000 is also capable of shooting AVCHD in Full HD 1920×1080 at super-smooth 60p, which A5000 can not. If you captured loads of AVCHD 60p clips with Sony A6000, you may have import issues one or another while loading them to FCP X or iMovie to do further editing. That’s because the 60p MTS is a new format above and beyond the standard AVCHD specifications. There are rarely NLEs having native support for the 1080-60p footage. One option for this is to transcode A6000 AVCHD to ProRes for FCP X and convert A6000 MTS to AIC for iMovie using third party software Video Converter for Mac.
The Video Converter for Mac is a converter program designed for transcoding HD media, including camera and camcorder videos files to whatever format you need with best video and audio synchronization. It supported camera brands include Canon, Sony, JVC, Nikon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Pentax, Red, Blackmagic, Sanyo, and so on. With this little tool, you are able to create editable files for NLEs like FCP X, FCP 6/7, iMovie, Final Cut Express, Avid MC, Windows Movie Maker, Pinnacle Studio, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro CS 6, Sony Vegas, etc. and export playable files for iOS devices, Android devices, HD Media Players, Game consoles and more.
Download a free trial of Video Converter for Mac
How to import Sony A6000 AVCHD footage to FCP X and iMovie?
To be able to import A6000 60p AVCHD video files to FCP X and iMovie, you will need to do previous conversion using HD Video Converter for Mac. Please follow these steps:
1. Install and run Video Converter for Mac as a Sony AVCHD Converter for Apple. The main interface appears as below:
2. Click on ‘Add File’ to add your Sony A6000 AVCHD 60p footage to the program.
3. Select output format for FCP X and iMovie
To export the best editing codec for FCP X, from the Format bar, select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format from ‘Final Cut Pro’ catalogue. The ProRes is able workable in the former version FCP 6 and FCP 7.
To create editable files for iMovie, from the Format bar, choose ‘Apple InterMediateCodec (AIC) (*.mov) as output format from ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ column. Note that the AIC codec is also accepted by Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro (HD 4.5 through 5), but rarely used in Final Cut Pro as of Version 6 since it now uses the ProRes codecs instead of the Apple Intermediate Codec.
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.
4. Click ‘Settings’ button and go to ‘Profile Settings’ window to custom video and audio settings. (for advanced users)
5. When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start transcoding Sony A6000 1080/60p AVCHD footage to ProRes or AIC – the best suited editing format for using within Apple FCP X or iMovie.
6. When the conversion process is done, click on ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated ProRes/AIC QuickTime files and open them in FCP X/iMovie for further editing.
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