How to transfer XAVC for Mac FCP 7?


Run into issues transferring XAVC footage for Mac FCP 7? No worry, this post explains a workaround to transcode XAVC .mxf files to ProRes codec for ingesting into FCP 7 flawlessly.

Final Cut 7 refuses import XAVC files
“Hi, I’m trying to import XAVC .mxf files from a Sony F5 into Final Cut Pro 7, but FCP 7 just refuses to import! The files were sent to me on a portable drive, I copied the footage to my editing drive. When I attempt to import the files, they are grayed out. Any ideas on this? Thanks for any help you may offer.”

If for any reason you have had no success trying to import XAVC footage for Mac FCP 7, we would recommend converting the footage first. Here’s a simple guide displays how to encode XAVC .mxf videos to FCP 7 preferred ProRes codec.

How to convert XAVC to ProRes for importing to FCP 7?

Software requirement
HD Converter for Mac
transferring XAVC footage for Mac FCP 7

Follow these steps:
Step 1: Run HD Converter for Mac as a professional XAVC to FCP 7 Converter. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load source video to it.
transcode XAVC .mxf to ProRes for ingesting to FCP 7

Step 2: Select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format for opening with FCP 7
From the Format bar, 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 former version FCP 6 and the most recent version FCPX. When loading them into FCP (X), you needn’t wait for a long time for rendering. To create smaller files, transcode your source files to Apple ProRes 422 (LT).
Final Cut 7 refuses import XAVC files
Apple ProRes 422 – Higher quality than Apple ProRes 422 (LT);
Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) – Keep original video quality for editing in FCP;
Apple ProRes 422 (LT) – Get a smaller file sizes than Apple ProRes 422;
Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy) – SD levels – 480i/p and 576i/p. Used in offline workflows.
Apple ProRes 4444 – Edit and finish 4:4:4 material.
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 XAVC MXF files to ProRes MOV conversion.

Step 5: Click ‘Open Folder’ to get generated ProRes QuickTime files for transferring and editing in Final Cut Pro 7 with optimum performance.

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