Does FCP X support XAVC-L natively? How can I import XAVC-Long GOP to FCPX for further editing? If you experience any issues editing XAVC-L recordings in FCP X, you may wish to read this post. It guides you through the process of converting XAVC-Long GOP footage to ProRes 422 for use in FCP X smoothly without any hassles.
FCP X can’t handle XAVC-L files from Sony PXW-X70 well, please help
“Hi, all, I’m having troubles editing XAVC-L files from Sony PXW-X70 in FCP X version 10.2. On Import, I get the audio and a JPEG image of the first frame, but no video. Some said Sony XAVC-L codec is still not supported. Is that true? Hoping the FCPX development team is working on this, and there will be a fix eventually. But currently, is there any workaround to go about this? Please suggest a solution if you know. Thanks a lot in advance.”
Yes, it’s true. The most recent version of FCP X doesn’t have native support for Sony XAVC-L codec. To be able to work with XAVC-L footage in FCP X, you will need to transcode them to a format that is best suitable for editing in FCP X, such as Apple ProRes 422, FCP X’s favorite editing codec, which FCP X will recognize and handle well. Here’s a quick guide on how to convert XAVC-L to ProRes for FCP X editing.
How to encode XAVC-L to ProRes for FCP X editing?
Software requirement
HD Video Converter for Mac
Follow these steps:
Step 1: Run HD Video Converter for Mac as a professional XAVC-Long GOP to FCP X Converter. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load source video to it.
Step 2: Select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format for opening with FCP X
From ‘Profile’ list, move to ‘Final Cut Pro’ catalogue, and select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as target format. Apple ProRes is the best suited editing codec for FCP 7 and its former version FCP 6 and the most recent version FCPX. When loading them into FCP (X), you needn’t wait for a long time for rendering. To create smaller files, transcode your source files to Apple ProRes 422 (LT).
Apple ProRes 422 – Higher quality than Apple ProRes 422 (LT);
Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) – Keep original video quality for editing in FCP;
Apple ProRes 422 (LT) – Get a smaller file sizes than Apple ProRes 422;
Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy) – SD levels – 480i/p and 576i/p. Used in offline workflows.
Apple ProRes 4444 – Edit and finish 4:4:4 material.
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: Adjust video and audio settings (for advanced users)
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: Click ‘Convert’ to start Sony XAVC-Long GOP files to ProRes MOV conversion.
Step 5: Click ‘Open Folder’ to get generated ProRes QuickTime files for transferring and editing in Final Cut Pro X with optimum performance.
To import the transcoded files into Final Cut Pro X. navigate to File > Import > Media. In the window that comes up select your transcoded ProRes clips. DO NOT check “Create Optimized Media” OR “Create Proxy Media”. Both of these check boxes are unnecessary because we already converted the media to ProRes which means Final Cut Pro X can use the footage without “optimizing” it. Checking this box would create a redundant and time consuming second transcode of your footage.
You’re now ready to edit!
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