17 replies to this topic

[NWDiver]

So download a weeks worth of recording off our Canon XA10 to my MacBook Pro using Final Cut Pro. On return home went in Highlighted all the files and dumped them in a folder on my external hard drive. Later checked the external hard drive, all there. Went back on the MacBook deleted the files and emptied the Trash. To my shock went back to the external hard drive and nothing in the Folder can't find any of the files.

So how best to try to recover the files from the MacBook? Should I be looking for .mov files, or some other extension. Sorry really clueless on this issue.

Thanks for any help.

[Steve Douglas]

Though you do not say which version of FCP you are using. If you were editing off the card, that was a big no no. Always transfer all your media files on the card to a folder or direct to your scratch discs, which should be on your external drive. Assuming I am wrong, and you did it properly, log and transferred your media to your scratch discs which should have been on your external, deleting them from your boot drive should not have had anything to do with the media now gone missing. Perhaps you didn't name the folder and you are looking in the wrong place? Have you already erased and reformatted your card? If not, the footage should still be on it for you to download again. Oh well, here is a recent review I wrote, http://www.kenstone....ue_douglas.html It does work but takes a very long time. I would use it on your boot drive first since that is where you say you first copied it to. Then you can try it on your external. Remember that any media not backed up at least 3 times is not backed up at all.
Steve

[Joerg Trnka]

You can try to recover them from your card using:
http://www.pandorarecovery.com/
Cheers
Joerg

[Joerg Trnka]

Or on the Mac I am using DiskDrill. Available on the MacApp Store.
Regards
Joerg

[NWDiver]

Thanks for the help. The clips were on the cameras internal hard drive which we had filled. Thus moving them to the laptop on the trip and then laptop to external hard drive.

So if I look on the camera, via being hooked up to Macbook, I find the following series of files: Canon-AVCHD-BDMV-Stream. Stream seems to contain the files all in .MTS form. I try to open them and the computer says I do not have the correct program. Tried it with iMovie and Final Cut no luck.

Are these files I can use to rescue the clips? Can they be converted to something Final Cut Pro can edit? Tried Apple Help they are worthless.

Thanks.

Edited by NWDiver, 29 March 2012 - 12:33 PM.

[TheRealDrew]

Thanks for the help. The clips were on the cameras internal hard drive which we had filled. Thus moving them to the laptop on the trip and then laptop to external hard drive.

So if I look on the camera, via being hooked up to Macbook, I find the following series of files: Canon-AVCHD-BDMV-Stream. Stream seems to contain the files all in .MTS form. I try to open them and the computer says I do not have the correct program. Tried it with iMovie and Final Cut no luck.

Are these files I can use to rescue the clips? Can they be converted to something Final Cut Pro can edit? Tried Apple Help they are worthless.

Thanks.

Ah the MTS stream issue. You may want to try things like ClipWrap, which will convert the files. Not sure which version of Final Cut you are using, but in Final Cut X, for instance, you can import MTS files directly using Import from Camera, the catch is that you need to ingest from a card/disc image with the proper folder structure.

What I would do (before doing anything else)

A.) plug the camera in and the camera will mount as a drive.
B.) Use Disk Utility to make a Disc Image (DMG) of the drive (let me know if you need details on this.)
C.) Eject the Camera from the Desktop when it is done.
D.) Copy the DMG file to a couple of places just to be safe.
E.) Open one of the DMG files and see if it can be imported. Final Cut 7 has Log And Transfer which MAY do the same thing as Final Cut X depending on the camera. I have not tried it with your model, but it works, for instance, with 5D Mark II and 7D. You may need an extra plugin or you may have the support.

[Steve Douglas]

Real Drew is correct tho the Canon and Nikon DSLRs do not produce MTS video files so, in their case, ClipWrap is not needed. However, for your cams MTS files, ClipWrap definitely does the job. Here is a review of it from last year http://www.kenstone....ap_douglas.html
Steve

[TheRealDrew]

Real Drew is correct tho the Canon and Nikon DSLRs do not produce MTS video files so, in their case, ClipWrap is not needed. However, for your cams MTS files, ClipWrap definitely does the job. Here is a review of it from last year http://www.kenstone....ap_douglas.html
Steve

Yup, the dSLRs I shot did not make MTS files, sorry for not being clear on that part. FWIW, as to the MTS, I have used X with a couple of P&S that produce MTS files and it has worked well using import from camera option. Try just to bring the files in (drag/drop or import from folder) then it is a non-starter.

[Cressidiver]

FCP cant recognize MTS formats, however, you can "Log and Transfer" your files into FCP as long as you dont break the initial file format chain of folders and it will automatically reformat MTS files into MOV format, that is the only way that will work. You must transfer the top folder though, you cant L&T the stream folder, etc. and have it work. Otherwise, you will need to use some type of encoder to change them to proRes 422 or something that matches the res of your original footage. Adobe Encoder is a good one but there are other options available out there that work well.

[Cressidiver]

oh and DSLRs and Go Pros, etc shoot in H.264 format that older FCPs hate(7 and older), supposedly FCP 10 isnt phased by it but we shall see. Premiere Pro on the other hand doesnt have any issues with it. H.264 is a not an 'editing' format, it is a finished prodect format and it will save you a lot of headache and trouble to encode it all before you attempt to edit it.....just a thought

[Steve Douglas]

Cressidiver
For those files, the free MPEG Streamclip does a great job of transcoding to which ever codec you want to use. And it is free, it just does't work with MTS files.
Steve

[Cressidiver]

Steve,
I'll have to check that one out, thanks for the tip. Free programs are always nice!

[Steve Douglas]

Glad to help. You will find it bug free and very stable. There are two versions, one for Mac and another for PC. FREE is always good. Here you go, http://www.squared5.com/
Here is a tutorial for another piece of software which will also convert clips, tho not MTS.
http://www.redgiants...tm_medium=email
Steve

Edited by Steve Douglas, 30 March 2012 - 01:39 PM.

[NWDiver]

So have saved the .MTS files to external hard drive and funny thing is they play in Lightroom so that is good.

[Steve Douglas]

I was at a photo shop yesterday where a Canon rep was giving a presentation. A few weeks before that the shop called me up with a problem. It appeared that a woman had somehow lost all the files on her card and the shop wasn't able to recover them. I told them of the software I had just tested and linked in a prior post of this thread. Yesterday, while there, I asked the owner if he had gotten the PC version of the software and he said that he had and that it worked and all was well. Not sure what they had tried to use that had failed to do the job but glad to hear that it recovered the gal's files. I just hope I never have to use it for real.
Steve

[NWDiver]

Quick update, recovered files ran them through Clipwrap, easy, and now have everything back. Thanks to all for the help.

Edited by NWDiver, 09 April 2012 - 06:27 AM.

[Steve Douglas]

Glad it worked out for you. It certainly beats that sinking feeling when you think you might have lost important files.
Steve

[NWDiver]

Worse yet when you think you have lost all your WIFE'S files, lol.