Using Sony a6500 XAVC S in Avid Media Composer

To import and edit Sony a6500 XAVC S footage in Avid Media Composer flawlessly, the easy workaround is to convert XAVC S from Sony a6500 to Avid MC compatible DNxHD .mov video. Here is how. 

Sony just announced the A6500 camera, a followup to the A6300. There’s a 24.2-megapixel APS-C sensor, 425 phase detection autofocus points, absurd 100-512009 ISO range. Besides, it also supports 4K video recording in Sony’s new XAVC S codec. However, if you want to import Sony a6500 XAVC S to Avid Media Composer for editing the movies, you may find the high quality XAVC S format is not recognized by Avid. So what’s the matter? And what’s the available workflow for Sony a6500 and Avid Media Composer?

In general, we can try Sony’s AMA plugin to import some videos like MXF, MTS to Avid for editing. But when we tried AMA, the plug-in does not seem to support XAVC-S. Well, XAVC S codec is a new one, and is not widely supported, including Avid Media Composer 4/5/6/7/8. To make the Sony a6500 XAVC S files compatible with Avid MC, the easy workaround is to convert XAVC S to DNxHD, which ensures best results when using in Avid Media Composer. Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac is the solid tool to help users make the XAVC S to DNxHD .mov transcoding on Mac OS X(Sierra and El Capitan included).

With it, you effortlessly encode/re-encode XAVC S footage shot from Sony a6500 to Avid MC highly compatible DNxHD MOV, ensuring maximum editing quality and efficiency when working with Avid Media Composer. Besides, its also exports advanced encoders like Apple Intermediate Codec, Apple ProRes, MPEG-2, etc. allowing you to convert video to seamlessly fit iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, etc. If you are handle XAVC S files on Windows PC, please get Video Converter. Below are the steps on converting XAVC S to DNxHD for Avid.

Converting Sony a6500 XAVC S for Editing in Avid Media Composer

Step 1: Import XAVC S videos

Install and run the XAVC S to DNxHD Converter on your Mac, then run it. Click on “Add”, and browse your files; select all the XAVC S files you wanna convert. If you want to combine all the files together for easy importing to Avid, please tick the box “Merge into one” on the main interface.



Step 2: Choose DNxHD as output format

You just need to go to “Avid Media Composer -> DNxHD (*.mov)” as the best video format for editing XAVC S in Avid with good video quality.



Tips: Adjust video, audio settings

Click the “Settings” button and customize proper video/audio parameters including Video size, bitrate and fame rate and more.

Step 3: Start XAVC S to DNxHD conversion

After all necessary settings, hit the convert button to start encoding XAVC S to Avid DNxHD on Mac OS X. Once the conversion process shows in 100%, click Open to get the output videos. Create a project and start editing Sony a6500 XAVC S in Avid Media Composer 5/6/7/8 smoothly.

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