Bwf2xml at DVinfo.net

Ryan Krickow · April 8th, 2009, 07:27 PM

I've been searching for a definitive answer to this question and still haven't been able to find one. Is the program BWF2XML necessary in order for FCP 6.0.5 to access usable timecode (rather than just a timestamp) from BWAV files? If I don't use BWF2XML do I have to sync everything using the slate? Thanks, Ryan

Luke Tingle · April 8th, 2009, 11:25 PM

bwfs TC is just a timestamp, FCP 5 reads the time stamp incorrectly , but with FCP 6 the timestamps are read correctly, making bsf2xml unnecessary.

Ryan Krickow · April 9th, 2009, 12:21 AM

Thank you!

Ryan Krickow · April 9th, 2009, 12:50 AM

I found the following info and I wanted to run it by you...

"FCP 6 does use the current project settings to interpret the playback speed and the timecode. So be very very careful with that. It's always a good idea to create a project with a setup you need match the easy setup and relaunch Final Cut. Then import all your BWAVs, open the project they should belong to and drag the files over. Final Cut will cache the BWAV settings from the "Import Project" and write to your work project. So if you don't import all BWFs in one day, this works easily. If they come a day by day you should do this procedure each day.

Another thing with BWAV files, they don't have a Quicktime Timecode, which is used in FCP to sync clips. You will see a timecode though in FCP with BWAV files, it based on the audio timestamp and is generated on the fly.
If your work includes synching video with external audio you can't do that by timecode even if you spent money and time to keep cam and audio running running in sync on the set. Same is valid for multiclips and for a certain extend also for subclips.
Be careful when you media manage projects.

That's why there is BWF2XML. It takes the audio data and puts them into QT wrapper including a matching QT timecode."

What do you make of this? Is it relevant or not? Thanks, Ryan

Andreas Kiel · April 14th, 2009, 12:29 AM

What Luke said is not totally correct.
Since version 5 Final Cut is able to read the timestamp correctly, but the way to get it was even more hidden and more problematic as with version 6.

I don't want to convince anybody to buy my BWF2XML app - just want to make aware of what can happen during the production process.
There are a lot of traps out there with external audio.

I just did build a custom workflow for a production company using the concepts of BWF2XML for external audio. This was horrible expensive for them in the first moment - now after running the tools with 2 of 10 productions they say it's worth every cent.

So search further for what can happen, a lot of things can be done to avoid trouble within a project.

Andreas

April 8th, 2009, 07:27 PM	#1
Ryan Krickow Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Hawaii Posts: 41	Bwf2xml I've been searching for a definitive answer to this question and still haven't been able to find one. Is the program BWF2XML necessary in order for FCP 6.0.5 to access usable timecode (rather than just a timestamp) from BWAV files? If I don't use BWF2XML do I have to sync everything using the slate? Thanks, Ryan

April 8th, 2009, 11:25 PM	#2
Luke Tingle Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 88	bwfs TC is just a timestamp, FCP 5 reads the time stamp incorrectly , but with FCP 6 the timestamps are read correctly, making bsf2xml unnecessary.

April 9th, 2009, 12:21 AM	#3
Ryan Krickow Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Hawaii Posts: 41	Thank you!

April 9th, 2009, 12:50 AM	#4
Ryan Krickow Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Hawaii Posts: 41	I found the following info and I wanted to run it by you... "FCP 6 does use the current project settings to interpret the playback speed and the timecode. So be very very careful with that. It's always a good idea to create a project with a setup you need match the easy setup and relaunch Final Cut. Then import all your BWAVs, open the project they should belong to and drag the files over. Final Cut will cache the BWAV settings from the "Import Project" and write to your work project. So if you don't import all BWFs in one day, this works easily. If they come a day by day you should do this procedure each day. Another thing with BWAV files, they don't have a Quicktime Timecode, which is used in FCP to sync clips. You will see a timecode though in FCP with BWAV files, it based on the audio timestamp and is generated on the fly. If your work includes synching video with external audio you can't do that by timecode even if you spent money and time to keep cam and audio running running in sync on the set. Same is valid for multiclips and for a certain extend also for subclips. Be careful when you media manage projects. That's why there is BWF2XML. It takes the audio data and puts them into QT wrapper including a matching QT timecode." What do you make of this? Is it relevant or not? Thanks, Ryan

April 14th, 2009, 12:29 AM	#5
Andreas Kiel Tourist Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Karlsruhe, Germany Posts: 1	What Luke said is not totally correct. Since version 5 Final Cut is able to read the timestamp correctly, but the way to get it was even more hidden and more problematic as with version 6. I don't want to convince anybody to buy my BWF2XML app - just want to make aware of what can happen during the production process. There are a lot of traps out there with external audio. I just did build a custom workflow for a production company using the concepts of BWF2XML for external audio. This was horrible expensive for them in the first moment - now after running the tools with 2 of 10 productions they say it's worth every cent. So search further for what can happen, a lot of things can be done to avoid trouble within a project. Andreas