Summary:Want to edit Sony PMW-EX3 footage on Mac OS X with FCP, iMovie, Avid, Adobe, etc NLEs? Check this article you will get some hints and know how to.
Recently, I get a lot of questions from Sony XDCAM users about the best way to work with Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM MP4 material on Mac OS X:
Q1: Sony PMW-EX3 to iMovie
“I have recorded many 1080P video when I travel via Sony PMW-EX3 camera, the recordings are in MPEG-2 codec MP4 video format, now I would like to import these projects to iMovie for editing. What I want is to edit mp4 files natively in iMovie 09 on Macbook, but I always encounter importing problems, can you recommend some software which can help me import and convert Sony EX3 mp4 footages to iMovie natively?”
Q2: Sony EX3 XDCAM and FCP X
“I’ve found already that while FCPX works “natively” with the EX3 footage with the Sony plug-in, it is duplicating the material to FCPX’s “event” folder. The copy seems to be rather painless and quick, so my need for speed is not compromised. However, I am duplicating the source material, which is hurting my storage requirements. Need a better workaround of Sony EX3 to FCP X!”
Q3: Sony PMW-EX3 to Adobe Premiere Pro
“I’m having this problem that every time I import a .mp4 file from Sony XDCAM EX3 in to Adobe Premiere Pro on my Mac OS X, there’s no video just the audio. Is there a way that I can see the Sony EX3 .mp4 in Adobe Premiere correctly? ”
In fact, having issues while import and edit Sony EX3 footage on Mac is a common problem. That’s because most NLEs including Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro can’t support Sony XDCAM EX MP4 format. In order to handle Sony EX3 MP4 files in FCP/iMovie/Avid MC/Adobe Premiere easily, the easy workaround is to transcode MP4 files from Sony PMW-EX3 to a proper video format for these editing programs like ProRes for FCP, AIC .mov for iMovie.
To get the work done, you can take Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac, which is one of the best Sony XDCAM video converter tool for you. The program comes with optimized formats Apple InterMedaite Codec for iMovie, Apple ProRes Final Cut Pro, MEPG-2 for Adobe Premiere Pro, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, etc with best results. With it, you can convert Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 video to any decent format you want for working on Mac OS X. Download it and follow the tutorial below to transcode Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM MP4 on Mac(Mavericks, Yosemite and El Capitan included).
How to Transcode Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 for editing on Mac
Step 1. Launch the Sony DXCAM MP4 converter Mac and click the "Add" button to load PMW-EX3 separate .mp4 files for converting.
Step 2. Click Format on the main interface and choose a proper video format for using in NELs on Mac.
a. For editing Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 in FCP, select Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov) as the output format.
b. To improt Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM in Avid MC, choose Avid Media Composer->Avid DNxHD(*.mov).
c. Choose iMovie and Final Cut Express > Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) (*.mov) as output format, so that you can transcode Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 to AIC .mov for editing on Mac smoothly.
d. To solve Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM EX and Adobe Premiere Pro incompatibility issues, please select Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas > MPEG-2 (*.mpg) as the target format.
Step 3. Click “Settings” to set video resolution (1920×1080/1440×1080/1280×720/720×480), bitrate(from 1Mbps to 20Mbps), frame rate (24p/30p) as you like. To crop, trim XDCAM MP4 video, click “Edit” menu.
Step 4. After above settings, hit “Convert” button to start transcoding Sony EX3 MP4 for directly editing on Mac. You’re done.
Related Guides:
4K Workflow
Convert AVI
Convert MKV
Convert MPG
Convert VOB
Convert TiVo
Video Format Glossary
Edit Sony PMW-EX3 MXF files in Windows Movie Maker
How to Import media files from Sony EX3 to Final Cut Pro X
Transfer MP4 footage from Sony PMW-EX1/PMW-EX3 to Premiere Pro
Recently, I get a lot of questions from Sony XDCAM users about the best way to work with Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM MP4 material on Mac OS X:
Q1: Sony PMW-EX3 to iMovie
“I have recorded many 1080P video when I travel via Sony PMW-EX3 camera, the recordings are in MPEG-2 codec MP4 video format, now I would like to import these projects to iMovie for editing. What I want is to edit mp4 files natively in iMovie 09 on Macbook, but I always encounter importing problems, can you recommend some software which can help me import and convert Sony EX3 mp4 footages to iMovie natively?”
Q2: Sony EX3 XDCAM and FCP X
“I’ve found already that while FCPX works “natively” with the EX3 footage with the Sony plug-in, it is duplicating the material to FCPX’s “event” folder. The copy seems to be rather painless and quick, so my need for speed is not compromised. However, I am duplicating the source material, which is hurting my storage requirements. Need a better workaround of Sony EX3 to FCP X!”
Q3: Sony PMW-EX3 to Adobe Premiere Pro
“I’m having this problem that every time I import a .mp4 file from Sony XDCAM EX3 in to Adobe Premiere Pro on my Mac OS X, there’s no video just the audio. Is there a way that I can see the Sony EX3 .mp4 in Adobe Premiere correctly? ”
In fact, having issues while import and edit Sony EX3 footage on Mac is a common problem. That’s because most NLEs including Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro can’t support Sony XDCAM EX MP4 format. In order to handle Sony EX3 MP4 files in FCP/iMovie/Avid MC/Adobe Premiere easily, the easy workaround is to transcode MP4 files from Sony PMW-EX3 to a proper video format for these editing programs like ProRes for FCP, AIC .mov for iMovie.
To get the work done, you can take Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac, which is one of the best Sony XDCAM video converter tool for you. The program comes with optimized formats Apple InterMedaite Codec for iMovie, Apple ProRes Final Cut Pro, MEPG-2 for Adobe Premiere Pro, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, etc with best results. With it, you can convert Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 video to any decent format you want for working on Mac OS X. Download it and follow the tutorial below to transcode Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM MP4 on Mac(Mavericks, Yosemite and El Capitan included).
How to Transcode Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 for editing on Mac
Step 1. Launch the Sony DXCAM MP4 converter Mac and click the "Add" button to load PMW-EX3 separate .mp4 files for converting.
Step 2. Click Format on the main interface and choose a proper video format for using in NELs on Mac.
a. For editing Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 in FCP, select Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov) as the output format.
b. To improt Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM in Avid MC, choose Avid Media Composer->Avid DNxHD(*.mov).
c. Choose iMovie and Final Cut Express > Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) (*.mov) as output format, so that you can transcode Sony PMW-EX3 MP4 to AIC .mov for editing on Mac smoothly.
d. To solve Sony PMW-EX3 XDCAM EX and Adobe Premiere Pro incompatibility issues, please select Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas > MPEG-2 (*.mpg) as the target format.
Step 3. Click “Settings” to set video resolution (1920×1080/1440×1080/1280×720/720×480), bitrate(from 1Mbps to 20Mbps), frame rate (24p/30p) as you like. To crop, trim XDCAM MP4 video, click “Edit” menu.
Step 4. After above settings, hit “Convert” button to start transcoding Sony EX3 MP4 for directly editing on Mac. You’re done.
Related Guides:
4K Workflow
Convert AVI
Convert MKV
Convert MPG
Convert VOB
Convert TiVo
Video Format Glossary
Edit Sony PMW-EX3 MXF files in Windows Movie Maker
How to Import media files from Sony EX3 to Final Cut Pro X
Transfer MP4 footage from Sony PMW-EX1/PMW-EX3 to Premiere Pro