If you are having troubles working with JVC GC-XA2 H.264 footage in iMovie or FCP X, you may wish to read this post. It presents a smooth workflow for JVC GC-XA2 60p MP4 and iMovie/FCP X.
The JVC GC-XA2 ADIXXION Full HD Action Camera is a lightweight and rugged action camera that is compatible with a variety of optional mounts for use in a variety of conditions, environments, and activities. Highlighted by JVC’s “Quad Proof” design, the GC-XA2 is waterproof down to a depth of 16.4′, shockproof from falls up to 6.5′, freeze-proof to temperatures as low as 14°F, and completely sealed off from dust penetration thanks to an IP6X dustproof rating. It also features a fixed focus, 160° wide angle lens with a bright f/2.4 aperture. Plus, you can use the integrated 1.5″ LCD monitor for shot preview and instant playback.
Video Recording Modes of JVC GC-XA2 Action Camera include:
Full HD 60: 1920×1080 60p (NTSC)/50p (PAL), 22Mbps CBR
Full HD30: 1920×1080 30p (NTSC)/25p (PAL), 12Mbps VBR
HD960: 1280×960 30p (NTSC)/25p (PAL), 12.5Mbps VBR
HD60: 1280×720 60p (NTSC)/50p (PAL), 12Mbps VBR
HD30: 1280×720 30p (NTSC)/25p (PAL), 8Mbps VBR
WVGA: 848×480 30p (NTSC)/25p (PAL), 5Mbps VBR
High Speed REC: 720p 120fps (NTSC)/100fps (PAL), 4x slow motion playback
The GC-XA2 employs H.264/ MPEG-4 AVC compression method and stores video recordings in an MP4 wrapper. According to JVC, the GC-XA2 Full HD Action Camera works with iMovie/Final Cut Pro X. However, due to user feedbacks, sometimes iMovie/FCP X can’t handle the GC-XA2 MP4 footage stably and reliably. That’s mainly because H.264 is a codec ideal for capture and delivery, but not quite suitable for editing.
In order to make iMovie/FCP X recognize GC-XA2 60p video well, you’d better convert the 1080/60p to Apple IntermediateCodec (AIC)/ProRes codec, which iMovie/FCP X will read and handle well. To performance format conversion, third party software is required. Considering the ease of use and excellent output quality, you can give HD Video Converter for Mac a shot, which is fully compatible with the most recent Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
[Guide] How to transcode JVC GC-XA2 MP4 recordings for editing in iMovie and FCP X?
Follow these steps:
Step 1: Open up HD Video Converter for Mac as a JVC GC-XA2 Video Converter for Mac. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load your source media.
Step 2: Select output format for your editing program
To convert JVC GC-XA2 video to AIC for iMovie, from ‘Profile’ list, choose ‘Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ column. This output format is also suitable for editing in Final Cut Express.
To transcode JVC GC-XA2 video files to ProRes for FCP X, select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Final Cut Pro’ column. The ProRes codec is also workable in its former version FCP 6 and FCP 7.
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: Custom video and audio settings (optional)
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: Begin JVC GC-XA2 MP4 movies to MOV Conversion on Mac
When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start format conversion. Once the conversion process is complete, you can click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated AIC MOV files or ProRes MOV files for editing in iMovie or FCP X with optimum performance.
Tips:
If you don’t want to wait for the entire conversion process, you can tick off ‘Showdown computer when conversion completed’ and go away to do other things.
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