We own a Canon XF100 which outputs MXF video files. I can edit the MXF files in Sony Vegas, but have no way currently of just viewing the files (outside an editor).

WMP can't play them and VLC plays the video but the audio is sped up.

The Canon XF Utility Tool that comes with the camera is a nightmare of weird design that has only enabled me to accidentally delete card data rather than actually view it.

Surely there must be a free or inexpensive viewer for this file format on the PC. The only ones I've found cost over a $1000.

Any help in finding one would be greatly appreciated.

Michael, spend some timewith the Canon viewer, it's not that bad. I've never lost footage with it after dozens of sessions and thousands of clips. Caution is always the watchword, but i think you'll find it works pretty well.

I am trying to figure out how to use the Canon utility when clips have been copied to hdd.
Is it even possible.

I'm not sure this will help you as a Vegas user, but I just use Adobe Bridge. I tend to agree about XF Utility, and have bypassed it completely with my workflow.

When was the Bridge updated? Missed that one.
But one cannot use the Bridge if the clips are all in their seperate folder, to cumbersome.
During my last trip I had to empty the cards on a netbook so I basically copy/pasted the cards.
I would love to find a way to get all the clips in one folder.

VLC plays the video but the audio is sped up.
You can control audio speed in VLC. My mxf files play fine

Folks, you can use "export to mxf" to strip the folder structure. This leaves you with the raw files that are easy to browse with abobe or vegas.

I am trying to figure out how to use the Canon utility when clips have been copied to hdd.
Is it even possible.
Yes it is possible if you don't rename folders and/or files. If you rename the folder CONTENTS to anything else it wont work. Use the Set Virtual Media in the File menu and "point" it to the CONTENTS folder.

If you have more than one card, place CONTENTS in subfolders:
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_01\CONTENTS
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_02\CONTENTS
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_03\CONTENTS
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_04\CONTENTS

I prefer to always put the CONTENTS folder in subfolders and then it should be enough to set the virtual media to Card_01 to see all clips on card 01.

Windows 8 allows viewing thru the Media Player

Yes it is possible if you don't rename folders and/or files. If you rename the folder CONTENTS to anything else it wont work. Use the Set Virtual Media in the File menu and "point" it to the CONTENTS folder.

If you have more than one card, place CONTENTS in subfolders:
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_01\CONTENTS
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_02\CONTENTS
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_03\CONTENTS
D:\ProjectName\Media\Card_04\CONTENTS

I prefer to always put the CONTENTS folder in subfolders and then it should be enough to set the virtual media to Card_01 to see all clips on card 01.

Wow, got it finally working. Had all the cards the same way as you in subfolders.
But the utility would not let me set Virtual Media.
But then I realized I also had other video in a seperate folder in 'Media'.
Removed the folder and voila.

Windows 8 allows viewing thru the Media Player

Wow! That's significant!

When was the Bridge updated? Missed that one.
But one cannot use the Bridge if the clips are all in their seperate folder, to cumbersome.
During my last trip I had to empty the cards on a netbook so I basically copy/pasted the cards.
I would love to find a way to get all the clips in one folder.

I must admit I wondered about this when I wrote it, because Bridge would obviously have been updated when I installed Premiere Pro CS6. I have no way of telling if Bridge would have read the MXF files before that, because I had CS6 before I got the camera.

I have not been using XF Utility. Just downloading the clip folders to a named folder, and then searching that folder for .mxf files and moving them to another folder. Probably not the right way to go about it, but it works, and I still have the clip folders if I need them in the future. Shadow Protect backs this up every 15 minutes, and I do a manual back up to an external drive when I have either finished the project, or peridoically if it is an ongoing project. I just don't like XF Utility.

Windows 8 allows viewing thru the Media Player
I cannot preview Canon MXF files in Win 8 using Media Player. Do you mean Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center?

Wow, got it finally working. Had all the cards the same way as you in subfolders.
But the utility would not let me set Virtual Media.
But then I realized I also had other video in a seperate folder in 'Media'.
Removed the folder and voila.
Great that you got it working! :)

Windows 8 allows viewing thru the Media Player

I finally got around to loading Windows 8 on one of my computers (8.1, standard version, not Pro) and Media Player definitely won't play MXF files. Is there something I'm missing?

Try the free Sony XD Cam Viewer: Sony | Micro Site XDCAM (http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/micro-xdcam/resource.downloads.bbsccms-assets-micro-xdcam-downloads-PDZVX10SonyXDCAMViewerTC.shtml)

I finally got around to loading Windows 8 on one of my computers (8.1, standard version, not Pro) and Media Player definitely won't play MXF files. Is there something I'm missing?
Never worked for me. Try VLC player.

I recently upgraded to a Sony PMW 200 which outputs *.MXF format files, i'd never seen these before, coming from AVCHD, but running Windows 8 VLC Player handles these files at least from a Sony, but I would presume it would play any of that format.

I really like XF Utility. I use it to archive all my footage. Two things I especially like - as I experiment with tweaking my personal CF settings files, I can see every detail of my settings in the Utility for any clip ever shot.

Second, I love the Virtual Media option. This lets me create the equivalent of a full memory card structure on my hard drive but I can name it whatever I want and copy into it whatever I want. I do this rather than archiving entire memory cards. I just create a Virtual Media, name it for the event filmed, and I save space by not including clips that I know are not needed. Or I can put clips from one card into multiple collections for archiving.

Plus, if you don't have any other way to preview clips, XF Utility will of course play them.
(I know this is a PC-oriented thread, but hamburgpromedia.com has a free Mac-only player - MXF4mac.)

I really like XF Utility.
Yes, I like the XF utility and use it all the time. But I had remembered the post about Windows 8 and was curious if Media Player could view MXF. I did download the Sony player based on Roy Feldman's suggestion, and it is pretty handy for just clicking and viewing MXF files.

My windows media player (8.1) plays the canon MXF files just fine. A warning comes and says it may not but allows turning off the warning and it will play, that said I prefer the Sony viewer as it allows a bit more control

You can also view them in the Bridge.

Windows 8.1 - In both my installations (PC & laptop) Windows Media Player plays them perfectly, as does Media Player Classic. Media Player Classic also shows thumbnails in folders.