Encode Sony a6500 XAVC S to QuickTime for iMovie

Does iMovie include support for Sony a6500 XAVC S footage? For those who failed to edit Sony a6500 XAVC S .mp4 video footage in iMovie, this guide may shed some light. It explains a workaround to transcode Sony a6500 XAVC S files to iMovie preferred Apple InterMediate Codec in simple steps.

"Hi there, I tried to edit XAVC S video files from my Sony a6500 with iMovie on an old MacBook Pro. It was a disaster. Guess I need to convert the files to more editing friendly format. What is the recommended workflow? If anyone has a better understanding of this please tell me more. Thanks for any help."

Personally, I like converting my compressed media (including XAVC S footage from Sony a6500) to AIC .mov for editing with iMovie. The files edit so much better than the originals, and the quality is good enough to use for final export. The following guide presents the conversion steps.

How to convert Sony a6500 XAVC S footage to iMovie preferred AIC .mov?

To transcode Sony a6500 XAVC S files to AIC for iMovie editing, do as below: Step 1: Import source files With Video Converter for Mac, you can click "Add File" to load video files that you want to convert into this program.
Step 2: Select output format Click "Profile" to select "iMovie and Final Cut Express" > "Apple InterMediate Codec(AIC) (*.mov)" as output format. AIC .mov is iMovie's favorite editing codec, which iMovie will read and handle well.
Tips: If necessary, you can click "Settings" button to modify video and audio parameters like encoder, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, aspect ratio, sample rate, and audio channels. You can also "enable 3D Settings" to add 3D effect to your source media.
Step 3: Click "Convert" to start Sony a6500 XAVC S to AIC conversion for iMovie. As soon as the conversion is complete, click "Open Folder" to get the generated AIC .mov files for editing in iMovie with optimum performance. Hope it helps.