How to import video footage from Sony HDR-CX160 to iMovie

Having trouble importing video from Sony Handycam HDR-CX160 to iMovie 08/09/'11 for further editing? If so, check out the tutorial to achieve your goal smoothly.



As Sony's utra-compact, entry-level suite, the Sony Handycam HDR-CX160 HD Flash Memory Camcorder puts full 1920 x 1080p high def recording and 16GB of internal memory right in the palm of your hand. 1920 x 1080 high definition resolution lets you record your memories in exceptional Sony full high definition quality. However, when trying to do some post production work with the Sony HDR-CX160 video footae in iMovie, people often encounter the following problems:

"I am having trouble importing video from my Sony HDR-CX160 to iMovie. When I connect the camera via usb, imovie does not recognize the camera but the camera shows up as a "no name" drive on my computer. i'm using the latest version of iMovie on my mac. Is anyone else having the same trouble? Can anyone give me some advice?"

"my sony cx160 camera is supported by imovie but when i plug into my new macbook it doesn't appear in import from camera menu in imovie. how can i solve it?"

Fortunately, there is an easy way to fix this issue. As we all know, the Sony Handycam recorded videos are saved in the MTS extensions of the AVCHD format. The MTS footage is highly-compressed content which is not so friendly for editing software, especiall on Mac. Currently neither iMovie nor FCE 4 support MTS footage from Sony HDR-CX160 well, that's why you have problems when you import Sony Handycam video footage to iMovie or FCE.

The common practise for Sony HDR-CX160 MTS workflow with iMovie/FCE is, get a Mac AVCHD to iMovie Converter and transcode Sony HDR-CX160 MTS footage to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec), the well-acknowledged optimal editing format for iMovie 9 and FCE 4. By converting .MTS files to Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC)(*.mov) you save both time and trouble, as AIC video will be processed by FCE4 and iMovie naturally without rendering, and all you need is drag and drop the result video for prompt editing.

Below I will take the 3rd party software - Brorsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac to show you how to transcode Sony HDR-CX160 MTS to AIC MOV in details. Overall, the program is an easy-to-use yet professional app which can be used a Mac Canon AVCHD MTS Conveter under OS X Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.8). It is free, clean and safe to install and use.

The Steps:



Step 1: Launch the top Sony AVCHD MTS Converter for Mac, load .mts files from your Mac hard drive backed up from your Sony HDR-CX160 and then click "Format" to choose "iMovie and Final Cut Express > Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) (*.mov)" as output format which is the best compatible video format you need for iMovie.

Step 2: Start the MTS to AIC MOV conversion by pressing the big "Convert" button.

Tip: Click the "Settings" icon to make the best settings for editing Sony MTS/M2TS in iMovie on Mac. You can set the video frame rate as 30fps(25fps for 1080 50p videos), video size as 1920*1080 to keep the best output quality.



After the conversion, you will be able to get the output files compatible with iMovie effortlessly. So there you have it. Pretty Simple! Now you can effortlessly import and edit Sony Handycam HDR-CX160 AVCHD mts footage in iMovie 09/'11 without problems.

Additional Tips:
If you want to edit Sony Handycam MTS clips in Final Cut Pro X or FCP 7/6, you just need to choose the "Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)" as output format in the second step; For Avid Media Composer, choose "Avid Media Composer > Avid DNxHD(*.mov)" as output; For Adobe Premiere Pro or Vegas Pro, choose Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas> MPEG-2(*.mpg) as output.