Transcode Sony a7S II XAVC S to FCP/Avid/Premiere Native Codec

A tutorial presents the best workflow for importing Sony a7s II XAVC S in Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro.

Sony a7S II supports 4K recording at up to 100Mbps bit rate with minimal compression noise. The files are saved in XAVC S format with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression codec. If you are going to edit Sony a7S II XAVC S with FCP/Avid MC/Adobe Premiere, just read this page to get some hints that enables you have a smooth workflow.

Based on our testing, we found when directly import Sony A7S II XAVC S video into those NLE, sometimes error messages will pop up, the rendering process last forever, or the editing work not smooth at all. The basic reason is that the video shoot under the XAVC-S mode with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression codec cannot be natively supported by Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro. They need to render the XAVC-S mode into other compatible mode if XAVC-S(MP4) can be recognized. What's more, working Sony a7S 4K files requires a powerful CPU and Graphics. Generally speaking, even the NLEs such as the FCP X, Avid, iMovie has ability to handle the 4K video, editing in an old or low configuration PC/Mac can be a pain.

The ultimate solution is to transcode Sony A7S II XAVC S to the best native format or codec for each NLE like ProRes MOV for FCP, DNxHD MOV for Avid MC, AIC MOV for iMovie/FCE, MPG to Premiere, etc. Here you need a Sony XAVC-S converter to achieve the goal.

Here Brorsoft Video Converter (Windows/Mac) is recommended for you, which can hold the XAVC-S files from Sony A7S II camera so well. You can directly choose the preset format for the NLEs Such as the FCP, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Avid, etc or some players like QuickTime. Just download it and follow the step-by-step guide below.

Guide: Transcode Sony A7S II XAVC-S for FCP/Avid/Premiere

1. After running the XAVC S converter app. Click "Add video" or"Add from folder" to load your XAVC S files from Sony a7s II.



2. Click "Format" bar, choose output format from its drop-down list:

A. Select “Final Cut Pro” > “Apple ProRes 422 (HQ)” or “Apple ProRes 422 (LT)” or “Apple ProRes 4444” as the desired format for editing XAVC S in Final Cut Pro.
B. Select “Avid Media Composer” > “Avid DNxHD(*mov)” as the desired format for editing XAVC S in Avid Media Composer.
C. Select “Adobe Premiere/Sony V…” > “MPEG-2 (*.mpg)” as the desired format for working XAVC S in Premiere Pro.

Tip: You can click the Settings to adjust output video and audio parameter settings according to your own preference.

3. After all the setting is over, hit “Convert” button to start Sony A7S II 4K XAVC S to the native supported codec. When the conversion is done, you can click “Open” button to get the generated video files. Now, you can import the converted Sony A7S II files to FCP/Avid/Premiere with the native codec and edit smoothly.

Related Guides:
Encoding XAVC to ProRes for Final Cut Pro
Editing 4K XAVC to PowerDirector
Import and Edit Sony a7II XAVC S in Avid Media Composer
Using Sony a6500 XAVC S in Avid Media Composer
How to Play Sony FS7 XAVC in Quic
Sony FDR-AX100 XAVC S to FCP/P