Summary: If you are looking for a Canon AVCHD importer to import Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD footage for editing in Avid, Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas smoothly, you may wish to read this post. It displays the best workaround to work Canon XA10/20/25 MTS files with Avid, Premiere and Vegas.
“I’ve recorded a bundle of .mts video files using a new Canon XA25 AVCHD video camera. I want to edit them in Avid MC 5.5.3. I can import the AVCHD-files in MC 5 but it is buggy and takes a lot of time. I know direct AMA support with the AVCHD codec was introduced with the 64 bits Avid and MC 6. Does that mean I have to upgrade to MC6 or higher version? Besides the AMA plugin, is there any other way to get Avid MC 5 working with Canon XA25 AVCHD files natively? How can? Many thanks for your help.”
If the AMA plugin is incompatible, you’ll need to find software to rewrap or convert that AVCHD into either rewrapped H.264 MOV, or something like DNxHD. In this article, we would like to explain how to convert Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD footage to Avid, Premiere, and Vegas editable files in simple steps.
Software requirement
HD Video Converter
You can download a demo version (for both, PC and Mac) to have a try. They are not free but it is totally worth it.
How to convert Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD files to MOV for Avid, Premiere and Vegas?
Follow these steps:
Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as a professional Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD Converter. When its main interface pops up, click ‘Add File’ to input your source media.
Step 2: Select output format for your NLEs
1) Convert Canon XA10/20/25 MTS files to DNxHD for Avid MC
From ‘Format’ bar, select ‘Avid DNxHD (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
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.
2) Convert Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD files for Premiere
If you are running Premiere Pro on a Windows PC, you can from ‘Format’ bar, select ‘Avid DNxHD (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
If you are using Premiere Pro on a Mac, you can select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Final Cut Pro’ column.
In addition to DNxHD and ProRes, you can also select ‘MOV (AVC) (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas’ option.
3) Transcode Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD MTS video for Sony Vegas
Click the drop-down list besides ‘Profile’, choose ‘Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas > MOV (AVC) (*.mov)’ as the most compatible format for Vegas with best quality. You can choose ‘MPEG-2 (*.mpg)’, or ‘WMV (VC-1) (*.wmv)’ as well.
This method is also available when you want to edit Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD files in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Step 3: Custom video and audio settings
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: Start Canon XA10/20/25 AVCHD files to MOV Conversion
When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start format conversion. As soon as the conversion is complete, you can click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the exported MOV files for use in Avid apps, Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas with optimum performance. Nothing could be simpler or more immediate.
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