There are different types of data formats. All of them are designed with the only purpose – so that you can optimally store and conveniently work with a wide variety of data types. All of us know about MP4, MP3, and MOV. But the available data formats do not end here. And in this post, we will talk about a more rare video format – AVCHD.
Sony and Panasonic have taken a step towards high-quality video and developed the AVCHD format, which can be referred to as Advanced Video Codec High Definition. This video codec is based on the MPEG-2 algorithm and is designated as 720p or 1080i. Although it has a quality of 1920 x 1080, most video players on Windows or Mac do not support this file type. What can we say about iPhones? You will have to wrestle with video files with the AVCHD extension in case you have not worked with them before.
What to Do?
How can you watch AVCHD on your iPhone? What to do if your gadget simply doesn’t recognize a file? If you face the problem above, there are two options for you – to convert AVCHD videos to a supported format or sync them with your iPhone. Let’s consider both methods in more detail so that you could make the right choice.
The AVCHD format imposes some additional restrictions on data formats, namely:
- Video and audio are stored in the MPEG Transport Stream container;
- Audio in AVCHD cameras is stored in AC3 (Dolby Digital) format.
Both features make it difficult to extract the data and play the video.
Solution #1 – Convert a File on a PC & Transfer It to Your iPhone
The AVCHD format was created by default for camcorders, but it is not compatible with iPhone, iPod, Android, the iMovie program, QuickTime, and more. Hence, if you strive to play your old recordings on many other devices or systems, it is highly recommended to convert AVCHD to MP4 format. It’s actually not difficult, you can convert AVCHD to MP4 with no loss of quality with almost any video converter.
Any video conversion software can be used to convert the AVCHD extension to a more common format. You just need to open the file as an existing project and re-save it by selecting a target format.
If you still can’t open the file, double-check the file extension to make sure it actually reads “.AVCHD;” otherwise, you might be dealing with a completely different file extension that just looks like AVCHD.
Solution #2 – Sync AVCHD Movies With iPhone
AVCHD movies can’t be played on an iPhone. Video files must be transcoded to iPhone-friendly format to be accepted by iTunes so that you could transfer AVCHD video to iPhone. For this, you just need to perform the below:
- Import AVCHD MTS/M2TS to an AVCHD MTS to iPhone converter;
- Select an output format for your iOS device and set the output folder;
- Adjust audio and video parameters if you wish so;
- Start converting your AVCHD MTS/M2TS videos.
Once you are done with file conversion, you will be able to get the output files for your iPhone by clicking on the “Open” button. To make this process automatic, you can sync the AVCHD MTS/M2TS files to iPhone via iTunes easily with the high video quality.
Find the Best Solution
The high-definition (Full HD) format is familiar to every video enthusiast. Everyone understands that HD video is much better than conventional DV. High-quality 4K is not yet available to amateurs, and 25 frames per second for 4K is not serious. But many owners of such video cameras have many questions related to the video recording format. The technical specifications of the camcorders indicate that the camera shoots in the AVCHD format.
If you wrestle with this file extension and cannot play the multimedia file on your iPhone, then any of the two above methods will come to the rescue. Choose the one that works best for you and enjoy videos in high-res.
