am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! at DVinfo.net

Malcolm Hamilton · April 21st, 2015, 10:35 AM

Hi there,
I had to copy my first CF card to my MBP the other evening, so I could then erase the card and use it again.
I made to sure NOT to mess with the folder structure. I simply copied the CANON XF folder on the card, intact, into a new folder on my laptop titled CARD 1 CANON, to differentiate it from the next two cards I'd be copying over later.
But now when I try to use Canon XF Utility to check the footage, the Utility doesn't 'see' this folder.
I don't understand.
I've tried everything I can think of. I've taken the CANON XF folder out of the CARD 1 folder, in case XF Utility can't see it if it's inside something else, but that didn't work. I've tried to open individual files, but that didn't work either.
Would really appreciate any suggestions!
Malcolm

Mark Koha · April 21st, 2015, 01:25 PM

Are you able to import the files in to an nle?

David Dixon · April 21st, 2015, 07:34 PM

I don't know, but did you also try putting the CONTENTS folder on the top level of the drive - that's the way it appears when you look at the card in the Finder.

CANON XF is listed at the volume level, then CONTENTS-->CLIPS001-->CLIP folders, etc. so maybe CONTENTS needs to be at the top??

Maybe make a Disc Image (using Disk Utility) of the XF folder and mounting that?

Sorry, that's all I got.

Ann Bens · April 22nd, 2015, 12:50 PM

After you have copied the CONTENTS folder from the card in its own folder e.g. CARD1.
You open xf utility and SET VIRTUAL MEDIA to CARD1. You can only do this once.
Then you are able to see the clips in xf utility.
If you have Adobe software use the Bridge to view the clips.

Malcolm Hamilton · April 23rd, 2015, 09:35 AM

Thanks everyone, for your ideas. I had to meet a deadline the day after I posted, so I started looking into other software that claimed to be able to do this sort of thing. I hate buying something that in my heart of hearts I know won't work as advertised, so luckily I remembered I own something called Episode, that I use all the time to make small, screening versions of QT files, but I'd never tried it for anything else. Anyway, I tried it, and it worked perfectly. Such a relief.
I'm still confused as to why my file structure wasn't recognized by XF Utility, so I will read over your thoughts and suggestions and see if I can figure anything out now that my deadline has been successfully met.
I do appreciate the help!
Malcolm

Ras Dashn · April 24th, 2015, 06:49 AM

Could be your camera firmware version & XF Utility not match. Try to update your XF Utility to newer version.

Jay Massengill · April 24th, 2015, 07:13 PM

What NLE are you using? Last year I discovered essentially by accident (lack of sleep) that my NLE (Sony Vegas Pro 12) could load the continuous MXF files perfectly from the copied CONTENTS folders of all 4 CF cards from the long-form project without doing anything with XF Utilities.

In fact, the first year of this annual event when I did everything I was "supposed" to do with XF Utilities, I got a lot of ghostly and intermittent memory errors at the file joints using the virtual media created by XF Utilities. Later I still had the same problem using the Export MXF command.

This past year, everything was perfectly clean and all I had to do was the two steps of copying the CONTENTS folder of each card, then importing them into my NLE.
Later realizing I had never done that before.

Mark Watson · April 24th, 2015, 09:37 PM

I am under the impression that the XF Utility software is necessary to stitch together clips that exceed a certain file size (4GB?). Use the Export MXF option under the Edit menu to save just the video files for editing. For the archival copy, use the backup function, which saves everything in one folder.

Similar discussion here
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xf...mxf-files.html

Mark

April 21st, 2015, 10:35 AM	#1
Malcolm Hamilton Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 844	am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! Hi there, I had to copy my first CF card to my MBP the other evening, so I could then erase the card and use it again. I made to sure NOT to mess with the folder structure. I simply copied the CANON XF folder on the card, intact, into a new folder on my laptop titled CARD 1 CANON, to differentiate it from the next two cards I'd be copying over later. But now when I try to use Canon XF Utility to check the footage, the Utility doesn't 'see' this folder. I don't understand. I've tried everything I can think of. I've taken the CANON XF folder out of the CARD 1 folder, in case XF Utility can't see it if it's inside something else, but that didn't work. I've tried to open individual files, but that didn't work either. Would really appreciate any suggestions! Malcolm

April 21st, 2015, 01:25 PM	#2
Mark Koha Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 243	Re: am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! Are you able to import the files in to an nle?

April 21st, 2015, 07:34 PM	#3
David Dixon Major Player Join Date: May 2011 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 495	Re: am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! I don't know, but did you also try putting the CONTENTS folder on the top level of the drive - that's the way it appears when you look at the card in the Finder. CANON XF is listed at the volume level, then CONTENTS-->CLIPS001-->CLIP folders, etc. so maybe CONTENTS needs to be at the top?? Maybe make a Disc Image (using Disk Utility) of the XF folder and mounting that? Sorry, that's all I got.

April 22nd, 2015, 12:50 PM	#4
Ann Bens Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 710	Re: am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! After you have copied the CONTENTS folder from the card in its own folder e.g. CARD1. You open xf utility and SET VIRTUAL MEDIA to CARD1. You can only do this once. Then you are able to see the clips in xf utility. If you have Adobe software use the Bridge to view the clips. __________________ ACE Premiere Pro CC Adobe Community Professional Last edited by Ann Bens; April 23rd, 2015 at 05:44 AM.

April 23rd, 2015, 09:35 AM	#5
Malcolm Hamilton Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 844	Re: am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! Thanks everyone, for your ideas. I had to meet a deadline the day after I posted, so I started looking into other software that claimed to be able to do this sort of thing. I hate buying something that in my heart of hearts I know won't work as advertised, so luckily I remembered I own something called Episode, that I use all the time to make small, screening versions of QT files, but I'd never tried it for anything else. Anyway, I tried it, and it worked perfectly. Such a relief. I'm still confused as to why my file structure wasn't recognized by XF Utility, so I will read over your thoughts and suggestions and see if I can figure anything out now that my deadline has been successfully met. I do appreciate the help! Malcolm

April 24th, 2015, 06:49 AM	#6
Ras Dashn Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: UK Posts: 31	Re: am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! Could be your camera firmware version & XF Utility not match. Try to update your XF Utility to newer version.

April 24th, 2015, 07:13 PM	#7
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! What NLE are you using? Last year I discovered essentially by accident (lack of sleep) that my NLE (Sony Vegas Pro 12) could load the continuous MXF files perfectly from the copied CONTENTS folders of all 4 CF cards from the long-form project without doing anything with XF Utilities. In fact, the first year of this annual event when I did everything I was "supposed" to do with XF Utilities, I got a lot of ghostly and intermittent memory errors at the file joints using the virtual media created by XF Utilities. Later I still had the same problem using the Export MXF command. This past year, everything was perfectly clean and all I had to do was the two steps of copying the CONTENTS folder of each card, then importing them into my NLE. Later realizing I had never done that before. Last edited by Jay Massengill; April 24th, 2015 at 09:42 PM.

April 24th, 2015, 09:37 PM	#8
Mark Watson Major Player Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Whidbey Island Posts: 873	Re: am stuck—XF Utility won't open Canon folders. Please advise! I am under the impression that the XF Utility software is necessary to stitch together clips that exceed a certain file size (4GB?). Use the Export MXF option under the Edit menu to save just the video files for editing. For the archival copy, use the backup function, which saves everything in one folder. Similar discussion here http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xf...mxf-files.html Mark