How to convert Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 AVCHD Lite MTS files for editing on iMovie

The power-packed Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 hits us like a ton of bricks. Movie mode offers a number of options. While maximum resolution is 1,280 x 720 in AVCHD Lite format, the Panasonic ZS7 can output 1080i video through its mini HDMI port. AVCHD Lite offers three quality or bitrate settings: 17, 13 or 9 Mbps. In 16:9 mode, you can also record Motion JPEG format in HD (1280 x 720) and WVGA (848 x 480) at 30 fps. In 4:3 mode you can record in VGA mode at 640 x 480 and 30 fps or QVGA mode at 320 x 240 at 30 fps, both in Motion JPEG format. Optical zoom is supported, and audio is recorded in stereo.

The latest version of iMovie 9 is supposed to support AVCHD Lite videos. However, there might be some problem when Panasonic release new models. There are also some iMovie 08 users reporting that there iMovie ’08 could not recognize the AVCHD content. If you encounter any problem using AVCHD Lite on Mac, or want to edit Lumix AVCHD Lite in iMovie, it is recommended that you convert AVCHD Lite to MOV for iMovie.

How to convert ZS7 AVCHD Lite format to edit on iMovie?

Step 1. Free download, install and launch Pavtube Mac AVCHD Lite  Converter.
Once you run it, click “Add” to load the source Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 AVCHD Lite MTS files.
Step 2. Select  QuickTime (*.mov) or MP4 as output format for iMovie.
Click on the drop-down list of “Format”, and follow  “Common Video”> “MOV-QuickTime (*.mov)”. or “HD Video”>”MOV-QuickTime(*.mov)”

Step 3. Click “Settings” button to adjust video and audio parameters
Notice that which parameter to select has close relationship with the hardware configurations of your computer. For DV format, you may use default video and audio parameters, or adjust the Frame rate to 29.97, and bitrate higher for better quality, as it shows below:

If you would not like to degrade the AVCHD quality, you may retain the HD video quality by selecting “HD Video”> “H.264 HD Video (*.mov)” in Step 2 and then apply the following settings:

Video Codec H.264, Size: 1280*720p, Bitrate: 8000kbps, Frame Rate: 30/29.97,

Audio Codec: AAC, Sampling rate: 48khz, Bitrate: 320kbps, Channels: 6.

Step 4: Click “Convert” button to start converting AVCHD Lite to iMovie for editing.
After the above steps are done, you can click “Convert” button to start conversion.

And you can click “Open” button to get the generated files for iMovie. Afterwards, just import the output files to iMovie. Have fun.