If you came upon issues working with AVCHD footage in DaVinci Resolve, you may need to rewrap the MTS files to a format that is best suitable for use in Resolve. This post will show you a how-to guide.
AVCHD import issue in Davinci Resolve, how to resolve?
“Hello, can anyone help please. I’m doing a closing video for an event. The thing is that Resolve gives me really bad preview with pixels. My source files are AVCHD .mts clips. I’m working on an iMac which is 3.4 Ghz i5 with 8Gb DDR3 RAM 2 GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 775M. I can play the footage in QuickTime player without any issues. What could be wrong? Isn’t resolve compatible with .mts files? Is there anything I can do to go through this? Thanks for any help.”
In our experience, AVCHD .mts files are recognized by Resolve, but they still have some issues if on a basic system. The AVCHD format is more demanding on your system. To fix this issue, we would recommend re-wrapping your footage first. Check the guide below and learn how to rewrap your AVCHD footage to Quicktime file .mov using a program called HD Video Converter.
How to convert AVCHD MTS files for DaVinci Resolve?
Here’s what you need
HD Video Converter
Follow these steps:
Step 1: Run HD Video Converter as a professional MTS to DaVinci Resolve Converter. From the main menu, click ‘Add File’ button to add .mts video files from a camera, a card reader or a folder stored on your computer that contains your mts footage.
Step 2: Choose ProRes 422 or DNxHD as output format for DaVinci Resolve
To convert AVCHD MTS to ProRes 422, from “Profile” bar, choose ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Final Cut Pro’ column. The ProRes 422 is a good option for the .MTS files, and the file size is reasonable.
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.
To convert AVCHD MTS to DNxHD for Resolve, from ‘Profile’ bar, select ‘Avid DNxHD (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
Step 3: Click “Settings” button to custom video and audio parameters on ‘Profile Settings’ panel. (Optional)
Step 4: Click ‘Convert’ button to start converting AVCHD video to Apple ProRes 422/DNxHD.
Step 5: After conversion finished, click “Open Folder” button to get the exported ProRes 422/DNxHD QuickTime files for using in DaVinci Resolve with optimum performance.
Also read
Sony XAVC (S) workflow with DaVinci Resolve
Transfer AVCHD footage to Mac and edit MTS clips within FCP 7
FCP 7 not recognizing my MXF file – convert MXF to ProRes for FCP 7
How to open and edit Canon XA10 AVCHD mts in Final Cut Pro?