How can I import Panasonic HC-X900M AVCHD to FCP (X)?


Summary: If you are looking for a solution to get FCP to work with Panasonic HC-X900M AVCHD footage smoothly, you may wish to read this post. It explains how to transcode HC-X900M AVCHD to ProRes so as to use them in FCP with optimum performance.

Panasonic HC-X900MHow to edit Panasonic HC-X900M AVCHD footage in FCP X?
“Hi, there all, would you help please? I am a retired Civil Engineer still working in the Foundation Construction Industry. I used a Panasonic HC-X900M camcorder to record a vacation trip to Italy and Israel. Now I want to edit them in FCP X. However, I could not edit my AVCHD videos that I took on my Panasonic HC-X900M as I had not changed the record setting to iFrame (MP4). Does anyone know how to fix this? Appreciate any and all feedback/help. Thanks.”

Videography capability of Panasonic HC-X900M
Recording Format: [AVCHD] AVCHD 3D/ Progressive / [iFame] MP4
Compression Method: [2D] MPEG-4 AVC/ H.264 / [3D] MPEG-4 MVC/ H.264
Recording Mode: 1080/ 60p (28Mbps / VBR) , (1920 x 1080) / HA (17Mbps / VBR) , (1920 x 1080) / HG (13Mbps / VBR) , (1920 x 1080) / HX (9Mbps / VBR) , (1920 x 1080) / HE (5Mbps / VBR) , (1920 x 1080) / iFrame (28Mbps / VBR) , (960 x 540) / AVCHD 3D (28Mbps / VBR) , (1920 x 1080) / SbS (17Mbps / VBR) , (1920 x 1080)

If you have any issues while importing Panasonic HC-X900M footage to FCP (X) for further editing, you can use Video Converter for Mac to transcode Panasonic HC-X900M AVCHD to Apple ProRes, the native editing codec of FCP in advance, which FCP 7/6/X recognizes and works well. The Video Converter software works great and does exactly what it says it would, quickly and efficiently. The result is fine and the workflow is easy. Free trial version is provided for you to test the conversion quality.

Download a demo of Video Converter for Mac
Panasonic HC-X900M Video Converter for FCP

Panasonic HC-X900M and FCP (X) workflow – how to convert X900M AVCHD to ProRes for use in FCP 7/6/X?

Follow these steps:
Step 1: Run Video Converter for Mac as a professional Panasonic HC-X900M AVCHD to ProRes Converter. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load source video to it.
Panasonic HC-X900M AVCHD to ProRes Converter

Step 2: Select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Final Cut Pro’ column. The ProRes codec is workable in FCP X and its former version FCP 6 and 7.
convert Panasonic HC-X900M mts to prores
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.

This Panasonic HC-X900M AVCHD to FCP Converter program offers a couple of ProRes formats for users to choose from, including Apple ProRes 422, Apple ProRes 422 (HQ), Apple ProRes 422 (LT), Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy), and Apple ProRes 4444, you can select one as target format depending on your requirement in post production.

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.

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 Panasonic HC-X900M MTS Video to ProRes conversion.

Step 5: Click ‘Open Folder’ to get generated ProRes QuickTime files for using in Final Cut Pro X/7/6 with optimum performance.

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