Issues importing Sony AVCHD .mts into DaVinci Resolve


If you run into issues importing Sony AVCHD .mts clips into DaVinci Resolve, this post may shed you some lights. It presents a workaround to transcode Sony MTS files to ProRes/DNxHD for use in DaVinci Resolve flawlessly.

DaVinci Resolve 11 fails to import Sony FS700 MTS clips
“Hi everyone, I got a new Sony FS700 camera this week and have started shooting some video with it (xxx.mts). When I imported the MTS files into Resolve 11, I found that Resolve 11 can not see the AVCHD (.mts) files from my Sony FS700. I can drill to the “stream” folder in the Sony structure but it will not display the mts files! Any suggestions on this? Please help!!!”

Actually, this is a known fact. DaVinci Resolve handles some AVCHD files well (like that from Canon and Panasonic), but others are not compatible (like Sony AVCHD .mts files). To be able to work with Sony AVCHD .mts clips in DaVinci Resolve smoothly, you will need to transcode everything to DNxHD or ProRes. Read on to learn a simple guide on how to convert Sony MTS clips to DNxHD/ProRes for editing in DaVinci Resolve.

Guide: How to convert Sony AVCHD .mts video to Davinci Resolve editable format?

Software requirement
HD Video Converter
issues importing Sony AVCHD .mts clips into DaVinci Resolveissues importing Sony AVCHD .mts clips into DaVinci Resolve
This converter is easy to use and supports many different formats. Picture quality is very good for 4K and HD conversions. It will do what you want at a reasonable price.

The steps:
Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as a Sony AVCHD .mts Converter for DaVinci Resolve. When its main interface pops up, click ‘Add File’ to input your source media.
transcode Sony MTS files to ProRes/DNxHD for use in DaVinci Resolve

Step 2: Choose output format for DaVinci Resolve
To convert Sony AVCHD .mts video to DNxHD for DaVinci Resolve, from ‘Profile’ bar, select ‘Avid DNxHD (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
transcode Sony MTS files to ProRes/DNxHD for use in DaVinci Resolve

To encode Sony AVCHD .mts video to ProRes 422 for DaVinci Resolve, you can choose ‘Final Cut Pro’ > ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as target format.
convert Sony AVCHD .mts video to Davinci Resolve editable format

Notes:
1. The ‘ProRes’ profile is only available in the Mac version of HD Video Converter.
2. 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: 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 Sony AVCHD .mts video to DNxHD/ProRes 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 DNxHD/ProRes MOV files for use in DaVinci Resolve with optimum performance.

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