video chopped into sections

[Chamaigne]

There seem to be only three methods for saving video to the computer.

1. Plug in the camcorder and navigate to the folder that holds the video and copy and paste it to the computer. The problem is, the video is chopped up into short segments and they do not come together seemlessly when imported into Movie Maker.

2. Remove the SD card from the camcorder and plug it into the computer. Same problem.

3. Use the software that came with the camcorder to import the video. In this case it doesn't chop it up. However, it only allows me to export the video with a proprietary file extension. There is no way for me to turn it into an MP4 or anything that any other sofware can play.  It also compresses the file and diminishes the quality of it. This is all completely unacceptable.

What I want is to be able to take a video, upload it to my computer, edit it, and share it. I want to edit video professionally. I'm not going to be limited to the editing capabilities of the provided software. I want windows to be able to play it. I also want my mac to be able to play it because I use imovie. I was told by the sales person that this computer was mac compatible. I would just roll with it and spend hours converting file types to get the files over to my Mac, but that is not an option. There is no way to do it no matter how much time I'm willing to spend.

Am I missing something?

SOLUTION:

Here's a review for the future reader:

Problem 1:  Movie files upload from camcorder or SD card to Windows computer as chopped up short movies.

Problem 2: Mac doesn't "see" the camcorder.

Solution:

STEP 1:  Transfer the whole BDMV folder from the camcorder or SD card to an external drive through the Windows computer.

STEP 2: Import through the editing software you want to use. (In this case, iMovie)  All I did was point iMovie to import from the external drive and it imported everything it detected as a movie.  This is good to anticipate, because it took some time and it imported more movies than the one I'm trying to edit. But it works! 

[VideoGeek · Accepted solution]

I'm sorry for the confusion.  I imported the AVCHD files directly into iMovie 10.1 without converting them to another format first.  I mentioned VideoStudio X8 as a Windows program that will allow you to edit directly without having to convert the video first. 

If you want to edit with iMovie, and you have version 10.1, then you should not need to convert the AVCHD files into another format before editing.  I understand not wanting to spend money when what you have should be able to handle the files.  I have a MacBook Pro (late 2011) and used iMovie to import the AVCHD file. 

One difference I saw between the Mac and the PC is that the PC shows the files during import as separate clips with the .MTS extension and the Mac, while importing into iMovie, shows the clips as a single AVCHD file. 

When I copied the files from the SD card to the Mac I copied the entire BDMV folder and then imported the clips from the Stream folder. 

Just out of curiosity, what OS X version are you using?

[VideoGeek]

What format are the files in?  Are they AVCHD files?  What software are you going to use to edit the clips?  I have both a Mac and a PC and am willing to see if I can help you find a solution that doesn't involve converting the files to another format before editing. 

Update:  I used to Corel VideoStudio Pro X8 and was able to import and join AVCHD files without any problems.  Play between the clips is smooth (no gaps, skipping or stuttering).  Granted this is not a professional editing program but it works and you can export to various formats.  When editing on my PC and Mac I use Premiere Pro CC 2015 and on both platforms I have no problem with the clips either with playback or encoding.  On the Mac, just to experiment, I was able to import the clips into iMovie 10.1.

[Chamaigne]

The fie type when I upload directly from the camera or the SD card is AVCHD. 

The fie type if I upload into VideoBrowser, (the software that came with the camera) and then export from that software is .pvbve

I want to use imovie to edit the film.

So, you took AVCHD files, imported them into Corel VideoStudio Pro X8, then exported them into _____? and then imported those into imovie?

Given that I want to edit with imovie, I hate to buy software just to use as a file converter. And it's still a lot of steps to import from camera to PC software, Export from PC software onto external drive, and import from external drive into imovie. (It's especially a lot of steps when I was told by the salesman that this camera would be able to upload to my mac.)

It's good to know that there may be a work-around if I can't get my money back on this camera, since it has been several months since I bought it.  But I think I will try. 

Can you recommend a camcorder that will upload directly to mac?

[VideoGeek · Accepted solution]

I'm sorry for the confusion.  I imported the AVCHD files directly into iMovie 10.1 without converting them to another format first.  I mentioned VideoStudio X8 as a Windows program that will allow you to edit directly without having to convert the video first. 

If you want to edit with iMovie, and you have version 10.1, then you should not need to convert the AVCHD files into another format before editing.  I understand not wanting to spend money when what you have should be able to handle the files.  I have a MacBook Pro (late 2011) and used iMovie to import the AVCHD file. 

One difference I saw between the Mac and the PC is that the PC shows the files during import as separate clips with the .MTS extension and the Mac, while importing into iMovie, shows the clips as a single AVCHD file. 

When I copied the files from the SD card to the Mac I copied the entire BDMV folder and then imported the clips from the Stream folder. 

Just out of curiosity, what OS X version are you using?

[Chamaigne]

I'm running Yosemite on a Macbook Air purchased late 2011. 

---

@VideoGeek wrote:
 

When I copied the files from the SD card to the Mac I copied the entire BDMV folder and then imported the clips from the Stream folder.

---

That sounds familiar. I read something elsewhere about imovie needs the entire contents of the camcorder, not just the AVCHD (.mts) files.

So the first step is plugging my Canon Vixia HFG20 Camcorder into my Macbook Air.  When I do, neither the operating system nor imovie "sees" the camcorder. 

Do you think if I got a USB SD card reader, that the Mac could see it?  I checked, and the SD card does have the whole file system on it, so I could move the whole BDMV folder over..... if my Mac could read it.

[Chamaigne]

I'm going to try uploading the entire BDMV folder to an external drive through the PC, then see if imove can pick up the files from the hard drive.  I'll let you know how it goes.

[Chamaigne · Accepted solution]

It worked!

Here's a review for the future reader:

Problem 1:  Movie files upload from camcorder or SD card to Windows computer as chopped up short movies.

Problem 2: Mac doesn't "see" the camcorder.

Solution:

STEP 1:  Transfer the whole BDMV folder from the camcorder or SD card to an external drive through the Windows computer.

STEP 2: Import through the editing software you want to use. (In this case, iMovie)  All I did was point iMovie to import from the external drive and it imported everything it detected as a movie.  This is good to anticipate, because it took some time and it imported more movies than the one I'm trying to edit. But it works! 

[daveclark966]

you can use Avdshare Video Converter to convert or edit your video.

[daveclark966]

you can also use Avdshare Video Converter.