Sony HDR-AZ1 and FCP 7/X Tutorial – Transcode Sony AZ1 XAVC S/MP4 to ProRes

Run into incompatibility issues editing Sony HDR-AZ1 XAVC-S MP4 footage in Final Cut Pro 7? If so, keep reading, and you will find the best solution here.

Over the last two years, electronics giant Sony, have brought six new cameras to the POV camera market, under the Action Cam brand, offering arguably the stiffest competition to GoPro's dominance. Like GoPro, with each new model, Sony have added both incremental and headline-grabbing features to their products, meaning they're definitely worth taking seriously.

Sony Cam Mini HDR-AZ1 - Sony release most capable POV camera to date, named the Action Cam Mini, model HDR-AZ1. This new Action Cam Mini is compatible with USTREAM services where you can live stream all the action to friends and family watching online. It also supports full HD video (1080p), 120 fps frame rate video shooting in MP4 as well as the XAVC S codec, which records at high data rate of 50 mbps resulting in highly-detailed video content.

Well, XAVC-S format differs from XAVC in that it uses GOP codec of H.264/AVC for video file compression; it’s not an ideal editable format for NLE based on many users’ experience. So, how to make Sony AZ1 XAVC S clips workable in FCP 7/FCP X perfectly?



To achieve the goal, a professional XAVC S converter is needed. Overall, Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac is the best choice for you. It allows users to prepare Sony (4K) XAVC S videos to be standard compatible for FCP X, FCP 7 effortlessly. It can help you transcode XAVC-S to Apple ProRes for FCP with several simple steps. Just do some clicks on your mouse with your finger, you can easily convert XAVC S files to ProRes .mov on Mac and then import XAVC S video into FCP for editing smoothly. Besides, it allows you to do some premiere editing work on Mac before transcoding like cropping, trimming, adding watermark, etc. Now download it and follow below steps to convert XAVC S files to Final Cut Pro.

Download XAVC S to FCP Converter:

(Note: Click here for OS X 10.5)

Step by Step Guide: How to transfer XAVC S from Sony HDR-AZ1 to FCP X/7 for editing

Step 1: Import XAVC S videos

Install and run the XAVC S to ProRes Converter on your Mac, then run it. Click on "Add", and browse your files; select all the XAVC S files you wanna convert.



Step 2: Choose ProRes as output format

Click the "Format" bar and select Final Cut Pro > Apple PreRes 422(*.mov) as output format.



Tips: Adjust video, audio settings

Click the "Settings" button and customize proper video/audio parameters including Video size, bitrate and fame rate and mroe. Usually 1920*1080 video size and 30fps video frame rate are recommended for FCP editing.

Step 3: Start XAVC S to ProRes conversion

After all necessary settings, hit the convert button to start the XAVC S to ProRes 422 conversion on Mac OS X.

Once the conversion process shows in 100%, click Open to get the output videos. Create a project and start editing Son HDR-AZ1 XAVC S video in Final Cut Pro 7 or FCP X with light speed.

See also:

XAVC S to Avid
XAVC S to iMovie
XAVC S to Final Cut Pro
XAVC S to Adobe Premiere
XAVC S to Sony Vegas Pro
XAVC S Format Introduction
XAVC S to ProRes Converter
XAVC S to Windows Movie Maker
Source: Sony Action Cam Mini HDR-AZ1 to Final Cut Pro workflow