AVCHD - how to extract single files in AVCHD format.

Hello All!

I am working on a MacBook Pro (OS 10.8), FCP 7.0 and have shot a video with a Sony HXR-NX5. This camera stores everything in AVCHD format. For editing I have already converted each clip to Apple Pro Res 422 using Log and Transfer in FCP.

I need to send 2 of the long clips (about 4 hours in total) to another country. The converted clips in Apple Pro Res 422 are huge (about 240 GB). In the AVCHD they are much smaller, as the complete AVCHD (which has many more clips - about 12 hours) is about 130 GB.

>>So my question is, is there some way to extract individual clips from the AVCHD, while maintaining the more compact AVCHD format?

In the worst case I will need to buy another hard drive and mail it, but I am just trying to not lose so much money on this gig. If I had smaller clips I could buy a cheaper SD card and mail it.

Thanks a lot in advance!!

Kind regards,
Robert

Just go into the Stream folder and take out the .MTS files. Just be aware that the other side will not be able to use Log and Transfer in FCP7 because that requires the entire file system from the original memory card to be intact. However, there are tools and newer editing software that can handle single .MTS files.


www.derekmok.com

Hi Derek,

Thank you very much for your reply and your advice. I am not sure what you mean by the stream folder? The only thing I have is the 127 GB AVCHD file.

Thank you,
Robert

One single file? Sounds unlikely. Are you looking at the "file" or the "folder"? I haven't used this camera, but Canon AVCHD cameras often have a file system like this:

[Card/Volume Name] - AVCHD - BDMV - Stream - [List of .MTS files]

What exactly does your file system look like? Post a screen capture if you can.

[img]http://www.derekmok.com/guest/lafcpug/lafcpug_banner_signature_v110_dm.jpg[/img]
[b]www.derekmok.com[/b]

Hi Derek,

Thanks for your reply. It is all in just one file called AVCHD. Here is a screen shot (hope this works - not sure if you will see a pic - just drag and dropped into here).

/Users/robertpittman/Desktop/Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 11.13.19 PM.png


Then when I double click on the file I get this opening up in quicktime. I can open up individual clips to view in quicktime but cannot for example just drag a single clip to teh desktop.
/Users/robertpittman/Desktop/Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 11.15.52 PM.png


Thank you!

Nope, the screenshots did not come in. How do I do this? Dragging and dropping them in did not work.

Upload to an FTP site and then paste the image URL in.


www.derekmok.com

Robert: The main meat of AVCHD recording is contained in .mts files. What to do now depends on how many .mts files were created for those two long clips. If the clips total about 4 hours, and if the recording was on an SDHC card, then each clip was recorded in several .mts files. In this case the .mts files alone won't allow you to reconstitute the clips. When working from the .mts files alone you will lose one frame at every joint between .mts files. It is necessary to have additional metadata contained elsewhere in the AVCHD to make perfect joints. If you can live with these lost frames, you can send the .mts files to your correspondent.

If you don't want to lose those frames you can use ClipWrap in rewrap mode to convert the desired parts of the AVCHD recording. This will create one .mov file for each clip from the several .mts files, reassembling without reencoding the AVCHD. The .mov files are the same H.264 at the same 24 Mbps data rate, or whatever you used.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany