How can I get FCP 7 recognizing Sony a6500 4K XAVC-S footage? If you are having issues importing a6500 4K XAVC-S media to FCP 7 for further editing, you may wish to read this post. It elaborates a workaround to transcode a6500 4K XAVC-S to ProRes for use in FCP 7 with optimum performance.
FCP 7 won’t ingest 4K XAVC-S files from Sony a6500
“Hi there, I have a bundle of 4K recordings captured with my new Sony a6500 camera. I wanna edit them in FCP 7, but it won’t recognize them. Is there any thing I can do to make FCP 7 accept a6500 4K XAVC-S files? I’ve learned that FCP X does support XAVC-s codec, but I don’t really want to switch to FCP X. Any other solutions? Please suggest. Thanks.”
To be able to use a6500 4K XAVC-S files in FCP 7 smoothly, we would recommend processing ‘transcoded editing’. That means you transcode 4K XAVC-S footage from Sony a6500 camera to a more “edit” friendly codec like Apple ProRes .mov prior. Here’s how.
How to convert a6500 4K XAVC-S files to ProRes for FCP 7 editing?
Here’s what you need
HD Converter for Mac
With this converter program installed, you can effortlessly encode/re-encode XAVC S footage shot on Sony a6500 for editing in non-linear editing systems (NLE) like FCP 7, FCP X, iMovie, DaVinci Resolve, Edius, Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer and more with optimum performance. Just download & install it and keep reading for a brief how-to on each process.
Follow these steps
Step 1: Run HD Converter for Mac as a professional Sony a6500 XAVC S to FCP 7 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 7
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 most recent version FCP X. When loading them into FCP, you needn’t wait for a long time for rendering.
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 a6500 XAVC S 4k footage to ProRes MOV conversion.
Step 5: Click ‘Open Folder’ to get generated ProRes 422 QuickTime files for transferring and editing in Final Cut Pro 7 with optimum performance. You’re now ready to edit!
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