Congratulations man. You chose what I and the rest of the world call the Right way.
MTS files are Multiplexed Transport Streams. If you remove them from the AVCHD context folder structure, especially with some older AVCHD variants, you will destroy the linkage. For some reason, this makes audio output impossible from premiere. I had to export the two files separately then reattach on my output stage. This is a preposterous waste of resources.
Prelude will only view AVCHD from some cams if the camera is connected, forget a disk image. It won't work with older AVCHD. It gets blocks through the camera, which translates them to another sizing before moving the files (i mean data blocks). It's a bit like the old macrovision schema in that respect; a standard block size is filled with the data, but random areas are left clear when being blown up to a larger block size and a computer or Java device doesn't care, it only reads the good blocks, as the copy is still good.
Quicktime now doesn't care where a file comes from as long as the data has a format list (file header) that matches something it can play. Because quicktime sees AVCHD similar to Final Cut, as a footage file with markers for clip breaks, it will read the file just fine, catching the MTS data and properly reading the overlaps, as well as the clip points. MTS files usually don't break 4gb, due to the disk formats used in cameras, and the datachunk memory. However, smaller MTS files may actually be separated clips. Unfortunately it's not always the case. Depending on your camera, you may get 2 and 4gb data chunks, only 2, or only 4. I've seen it happen. Quicktime reads the data properly from the MTS linkage. You can output your clips from there, and them ingest into premiere compatibles. There is one downside. If your footage is interlaced, it will force a top field first conversion, dropping quality by a massive amount.
AVCHD formatting:
Multiplexed means they are combined audio and video, and they are similar in design to the old VOB datachunks of DVD's. The only real difference is that they hold a different compression size and overlap structure, along with a different clipping mark style. In VOB, you could have clips that are separate videos in the same chunk, and there was a marker there to show the break. In MTS, you simply don't add the overlap mark at the end of the file, close the file chunk right at the clip point, and start a new file.
To fix interlace problems:
Yes one more step to get the interlace back in order. No you cannot simply reencode it. It won't help. You'll get a bigger mess. I've tried it. The best method is the Field Splitter method. You put the video into two video tracks, right click the top, set to upper, right click the bottom and set to Lower in a LOWER FIELD FIRST timeline. For most 1080i, you're at 29.97 frames per second, so set that, but set interlaced lower field first. Output that video to something and it will look a little better.
The only real one step fix is a dedicated AVCHD transcoder. THey don't care about the camera blocks, they just grab MTS files and output to a single long file. You could use final cut, and send a transcode to compressor, with the correct settings. It is still the only way to grab these files correctly.
Where do I get all this?
Study the files, study the formats, study on the internet... And in libraries.
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