Importing Sony A68 XAVC S to FCP 7 for further editing

Summary: Have you met some problems with editing XAVC S footage recorded by Sony A68 in Final Cut Pro 7? I’ll concentrate on fix the issue for you in this guidance.

Inheriting many pro-style features from the acclaimed A77 II, the A68 features Sony’s unique '4D FOCUS system' that delivers extraordinary AF performance under any shooting conditions – even in lighting as low as EV-2 where other cameras struggle. While when you try to import the XAVC S video recorded with Sony A68 to FCP 7, you'll definitely find that FCP 7 cannot recognize these XAVC S files, right?

In fact, the main reason that you can not work Sony Alpha 68 XAVC S with Final Cut Pro 7 is that the XAVC S utilizes a more tightly compressed H.264/MPEG-4 AVC XVAC S codec, which has some limitations in FCP 7 non-linear editing. To solve the video codec incompatible issues, Sony has created a special plug-in to help FCP 7/X to ingest the XAVC and XAVC S files. However, most people are complaining about the complicated operating process. Any simple alternative solution?

The answer is transcoding XAVC S to Apple Prores Codec, which has designed to work especially well as high-quality and high performance editing codec for Final Cut Pro 7, To get the work easily completed, you can download the simple to use application called Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac(El Capitan included). This program can not only convert XAVC S files to FCP 7, but also transcode other video formats recorded by Sony A68, like AVCHD, MP4 to MPEG-2.It also can enable to trim your XAVC S videos to keep the most fantastic part. Now download it and follow below steps to convert XAVC S files to Final Cut Pro.

Guide: Transcode and Import Sony A68 XAVC S to Final Cut Pro
Step 1: Add XAVC S videos

Install the XAVC S converter program on Mac and run it. Drag the XAVC S files to the software. Or you can also click "Add" button on the top of the main interface to import video to the program.



Step 2: Choose FCP 7 compatible format

Go to "Format" bar and choose "Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)" as output format for editing XAVC S footage in Final Cut Pro X/7/6.



Tips: Adjust video, audio settings

Click the "Settings" button and customize proper video/audio parameters including Video size, bit rate and fame rate and more. Usually 1920*1080 video size and 30fps video frame rate are recommended for FCP editing. Well, if you prefer to work with 4K video, you can keep the original 4K resolution.



Step 3: Start XAVC S to ProRes conversion

Click "Convert" to start transcoding XAVC S to ProRes for FCP on Mac. After conversion, you can play or edit XAVC S clips in Final Cut Pro 7 without problem.

Additional Tips:

Besides converting XAVC S to FCP, this XAVC S Converter Mac also supports encoding XAVC/XAVC S file to various video formats like Apple InterMediate Codec for iMovie, MPEG-2 for Adobe Premiere Pro, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, MOV for QuickTime player, etc.

How to Import and Edit Sony A7S XAVC S with FCP 7?

Summary: Have problem to importing Sony A7S XAVC S footages to Final Cut Pro 7 for professional editing. Read this article to find a fast and fluid workflow of Sony A7S XAVC S video with Final Cut Pro 7.

The Sony A7S is a 12MP full-frame mirrorless camera designed for both stills and video. Beyond the standard AVCHD format, the Sony A7S also supports the XAVC S codec (rewrapped in MP4 format), previously found only in Sony's high-end Handycam professional camcorders, with this excellent device you can get uncompressed 4:2:2 full HD in XAVC S format.

For Final Cut Pro 7 users, it will be very painful when you fail to import the 4K XAVC S video footage captured with your newly purchased Sony A7S to Final Cut Pro 7 for some professional post-production workflow. Perhaps you can move onto FCP X, which has upgraded with native support for both XAVC and XAVC X format, however, that will cost you a lot of money. To save your time and money, here I introduce you a more easier workaround - to convert XAVC S to ProRes codec, which ensuring the maximum editing efficiency and quality when working with Final Cut Pro. In this article, I will take the Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac as example to fast walk you through the workflow of converting Sony A7S XAVC S footages to ProRes Codec.

By running it, there's no need to set the codec by yourself: the Mac program has optimized presets (Apple ProRes)for FCP. Besides, its also exports advanced encoders like Apple Intermediate Codec, DNxHD, etc. allowing you to convert video to seamlessly fit iMovie, iDVD, Adobe Premiere, Avid Media Composer, etc. Just download the program and follow the steps on converting XAVC S to ProRes for Final Cut Pro 7.

Guide: Converting Sony A7S XAVC S to Final Cut Pro 7

Step 1. Launch the XAVC S to ProRes Converter on your Mac, then click the adding button to import your XAVC S flies from HD drive or your camcorder directly.



Step 2. Click the Format bar to get the drop-down menu and you can get the Apple ProRes codecs, including ProRes 422 (HQ), ProRes 422, ProRes 422 (LT), ProRes 422 (Proxy) and ProRes 4444. Choose the proper one you want.



Step 3. Press the “Settings” icon and you’d better set the video frame rate as 30fps, video size as 1920*1080 for editing Sony HDR-AS100V footages in FCP 7 with best quality.

Step 4. Hit the Convert button in the main interface to start the XAVC S to FCP ProRes conversion on Mac OS X.

After the conversion, you can run the Final Cut Pro and click File --> Import --> Files to import the converted files and edit them in FCP without any rendering or unrecognizable problem.

P.S. If you want to make your Sony Alpha 7S XAVC S files editable in iMovie, FCE, Adobe Premiere, Avid Media Composer, etc. the Mac XAVC S Converter will also be a great choice for you. Choose a proper output format like “iMovie and Final Cut
Express-Apple InterMediate Codec(AIC)(*.mov)” for iMovie in the second step.