Owners of AX2000

[Johnnie Caraballo]

Originally Posted by Daniel Paquin

I am a MAC user and the program provided by Sony does not work on a MAC.

In the meantime, the Log and transfer function provided by FCP makes an excellent job. There are no audio gap which occurs.

When copying AVCHD files from the SDHC cards you MUST copy the entire AVCHD structure onto your hard drive. The FCP log and transfer function will take of everything.

Thank you. I'm going to assume then that they same process works on Final Cut Pro X

[Michael Liebergot]

Marc, if you want to join clips and not have to transcode to ProRes, but simply rewrap the files, I highly recommend a program called ClipWrap.

When you import files into FCPX the original files on the cards are not recognized by FCP as they are PC format (.mt2) files. So they eitehr have to be re-wrapped in a Quicktime (.mov) wrapper or transcoded to ProRes.

Clipwrap can re-wrap the files and also seamlessly join them together so there are no gaps at all.
As long as you have FCP installed on your system, it will also let you transcode the files to ProRes, DVDPROHD, SD etc. It's very stable and re-wrapping is real fast.

Also a not, when you re-wrap a file there is no image degradation what so ever, as all the program is doing is swapping out the PC wrapper for a MAC wrapper.

[Daniel Paquin]

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

When you import files into FCPX the original files on the cards are not recognized by FCP as they are PC format (.mt2) files. So they eitehr have to be re-wrapped in a Quicktime (.mov) wrapper or transcoded to ProRes....

MTS files created by the camera should never be imported individually, you will sure have problems with the audio. This is why it is better to copy the entire AVCHD directory structure onto your hard disk. And then use the Log and transfer FCP function.

As per the no lost in the quality with Clipwrap, I never tried it and cannot say anything. However a 60 minutes video sequence can easily take up to 80gb when transcoded with the FCP log and transfer function. All depends which ProRes format you choose, I usually go with ProRes LT.

The only way for you to see the differences is to tried both options. You will then see where are the gains and the lost.

[Michael Liebergot]

Daniel you are right about importing off of the cards.
Like suggested I always transfer the entire file structure of the cards onto a hard drive to start. I do this anyway, because I have backup of every project on 2-3 drives for redundancy.

When using Log and Transfer in FCP, definitely go for ProResLT. I have done lots of testing, and there is negligible difference between LT and 422. However you CAN'T capture to ProResLT in FCPX, as you ONLY have the option to transcode to ProRes422 or ProResProxy on import.

If you decide to work in native AVCHD in FCPX, you can simply import without transcoding. FCPX will then re-wrap your files in an .mov wrapper.

As I suggested before, ClipWrap will work with your .m2t files just fine as well, and is faster than FCP when rewrapping the files. Also you can join spanned clips in ClipWrap, whihc can't be done in FCP. And transcoding to ProRes can be done in ALL flavors if needed (444,422,LT, and Proxy). I have tested these extensively against FCP transcodes, and there is no visible difference. but ClipWrap is faster transcoding as well.

If you transcode to ProResLT, expect about a 3.5X file size increase from the original AVCHD files.

[Daniel Paquin]

Thanks Michael,

Very good information, I will look at Clipwrap more closely.

I was not thinking to go at FCP X, now you've convinced me. I will only acquire Compressor 4.

[Ryan Douthit]

The NX5U (ergo AX2000) and Final Cut Pro X work beautifully together. Lots of options to edit native or to work with transcoded files (which transcode transparently in the background while you're working with the native files.) You can see the first clip I edited with the NX5U and FCPX in the Samples section (Truck Racing)

[Johnnie Caraballo]

I downloaded the entire file structure on my hard drive.
Used the "AVCHD" folder and all of it contents.
When using Final Cut Pro X - I point to that file directory and it doesnt not recognize ANY file inside that folder for import.

How is everyone importing in Final Cut Pro X?

There is no "Log and Transfer" its been removed on FCP X.

Thank you for your time.

[Johnnie Caraballo]

OK I got it!
You have to use the "Import from Camera" NOT "import files"..

They now all show up.

It sees the memory card as a virtual camera, but the camera interface is still just a fancy file browser.