Overview
There are a plethora of video formats, and even more image formats that all of us photographers and videographers have to manage. One of the most vexing and difficult to manage is the AVCHD format, especially on macOS and its predecessor OSX.
It’s hard to find good information on this format, and how it works. Let us share with you what we know.
What is AVCHD?
AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) is a format for digital recording and playback of high-definition video developed jointly by Sony and Panasonic.
Originally created in 2006 for professional use, it began appearing in high end consumer camcorders in the late 2000’s and eventually DSLRs as a means to capture HD video. AVCHD is accepted as an excellent format for capture of high frame-rate video, and is almost identical to the format used internally on Blu-ray discs.
An AVCHD file is actually not a single video file, but a hierarchical file structure derived from the file structure you would find on a Blu-ray disc, containing multiple video clips.
It’s similar in that way to the internal structure of an iPhoto Library, which may be why Apple chose to handle it sort of like an iPhoto Library.
Summary
Even though Apple doesn’t provide much support for AVCHD and MTS files, there are some applications that can help you utilize these files and stay organized at the same time.
If you are interested in ways to automatically extract MTS files from your AVCHD files and manage them like the rest of your video library, check out Silent Sifter.