xdcam ex codec at DVinfo.net

Fernando Kanano · October 15th, 2009, 03:47 PM

Hello,

I'm sure this has been discussed many times before, but I wasn't able to find a satisfying answer to my particular problem:

I shot footage with my EX1 camera (720p, 24). Got on my Mac and used XDCAM Transfer to import the footage to my hard drive. When imported, I got .MOV files (insted of the .MP4). I can edit these on FCP without any problems. I do all of my work on Mac systems, and I've never had problems with EX1 clips before. However, this time I need to give the raw footage to my client so he can edit it himself. He uses a PC, and so far it's been impossible to make either After Effects or Sony Vegas recognize the .MOV files XDCAM Transfer gave me. AE and Vegas do recognize .MP4 clips, but the problem is I used XDCAM Transfer to import all the clips into my hard drive and it converted all of them to .MOV. I formatted the SXS card so now I don't have access to the original .MP4 clips. Any ideas on how to get AE or Sony Vegas to read the .MOV clips? You're help would be very appreciated.

Charles Newcomb · October 15th, 2009, 04:18 PM

I just took an .mov file I had ingested via XDCam Transfer and brought it into MPEG Streamclip, then exported it as an AVI from there. I imported that AVI into Sony Vegas and it worked fine.

You'll have to do them one at a time; but it's do-able.

Perrone Ford · October 15th, 2009, 04:21 PM

The PC won't recognize the .mov files. They have to be transcoded. You might as well export them as pro-res from the Mac. This is one reason why we preach to preserve the original file structure in your backups. You can get to either platform from there with just a re-wrap and no transcoding.

Jason Bodnar · October 15th, 2009, 07:50 PM

Use the Free Sony Clip Browser instead of XDCAm Transfer in this case and export the clips as MXF files... Works great in Vegas and AE or just about any other NLE, I do this all the time via my Mac.

Craig Seeman · October 15th, 2009, 07:53 PM

This is why you ALWAYS use ClipBrowser (with CRC ON) and back up the BPAV folders.
Going down a generation with another lossy encode is also wrong.

FCP can unwrap it back to MP4. No additional loss.
Sorry to point to another forum but here's a quick tutorial on that.
Final Cut Pro timeline to XDCAM EX MP4

Charles Newcomb · October 15th, 2009, 09:27 PM

Egads... the poor guy asked for help with a problem and three out of the four responses were lectures about what he SHOULD have done. What's up with that?

Dave Morrison · October 15th, 2009, 09:35 PM

Tough room, huh?

;-)

Perrone Ford · October 15th, 2009, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Newcomb

Egads... the poor guy asked for help with a problem and three out of the four responses were lectures about what he SHOULD have done. What's up with that?

Well, in re-reading the responses, each offered a solution to the current issue, and several offered advice on how to prevent it in the future. I hardly think that constitutes as a "lecture". Especially considering the longest response was exactly 4 sentences.

Fernando Kanano · October 16th, 2009, 12:20 AM

I want to thank all of you very much for helping me out. I used Craig's method and it worked like a charm. Starting today I will use Clip Browser instead of XDCAM Transfer, and I'll backup my stuff with the original files. Before this particular issue that came up, I was very happy editing transcoded .MOV files in FCP, but I've learned my lesson. By the way, is there a loss in quality when transcoding to .MOV? I've been editing like this ever since I got my EX1 camera and always thought there was no loss in quality. Was i right?

Again, thank you all so very much. Your input has been very useful for this, and for my future projects.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Newcomb

I just took an .mov file I had ingested via XDCam Transfer and brought it into MPEG Streamclip, then exported it as an AVI from there. I imported that AVI into Sony Vegas and it worked fine.

I should have thought about using MPEG Streamclip. Thanks for mentioning it, Charles. I'll keep it in mind for next time. Although I have to say that since I'm not too familiar editing .AVI files, I rather stick with QuickTime.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Seeman

FCP can unwrap it back to MP4. No additional loss.
Sorry to point to another forum but here's a quick tutorial on that.

That did it. Thank you so much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

The PC won't recognize the .mov files. They have to be transcoded. You might as well export them as pro-res from the Mac.

This was going to be plan B after Craig's suggestion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Bodnar

Use the Free Sony Clip Browser instead of XDCAm Transfer in this case and export the clips as MXF files... Works great in Vegas and AE or just about any other NLE, I do this all the time via my Mac.

I tried using Clip Browser to see if i could convert the .MOV files to .MXF, but curiously enough, CB wouldn't read the .MOV clips. Did I get you right? or were you referring to future projects?

Kind regards,
Fernando

Craig Seeman · October 16th, 2009, 05:46 AM

Since there are NLEs that use either the EX MP4, MXF, MOV, keeping the BPAV allows one to hand sources to anyone. The FCP trick means you can even hand edited sequences to someone.

Re-wraps are lossless. ClipBrowser can re-wrap to MXF. XDCAM Transfer re-wraps to MOV. No loss in either.

Calibrated Software has a neat set of plugins for around $80 each that are XDCAM and EX specific. You can use the MP4 directly in FCP. No need to re-wrap to MOV. They also have a plug-in so that you can use the MOV in non FCP systems (Mac and Windows) so if backed into a corner buying that plugin would allow the client to use the MOV.

XDCAM EX MP4 in Mac
Calibrated{Q} MP4-EX Import for OSX

XDCAM EX MOV in Windows and non FCP Macs
Calibrated{Q} XD Decode

Fernando Kanano · October 16th, 2009, 09:39 AM

Thanks so much for the explanation, Craig. I'll definitely look into those plug-ins. I wasn't aware they existed, but now they seem like a viable option. You've been very helpful, and I appreciate that very much. Have a good one.

Craig Seeman · October 16th, 2009, 10:00 AM

Those Calibrated Software plugins are a bargain considering what you gain.

If you're a Final Cut Pro user:
You no longer need XDCAM Transfer
Alternative you no longer need to use Log & Transfer
You save time by avoiding the re-wrap to MOV
You save hard drive space since you don't need have an MOV copy at all.
The clips work just like MOVs complete with matching time code, etc.

If you do have MOVs (whether EX camera or EX edit masters) it might be more efficient to buy the plugin for your client than having to find a way to convert all your files. Your client doesn't even need an NLE. Their EX MOV plugin works inside Quicktime.

Alister Chapman · October 16th, 2009, 10:07 AM

If you don't have FCP you need both the MP4 plugin and XD-Decode to play back MP4's, plus you do have to drill down through the folder structure to get to each individual MP4 file.

Craig Seeman · October 16th, 2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

plus you do have to drill down through the folder structure to get to each individual MP4 file.

It's easy enough to do a search and pull all the MP4s out.

With FCP I've also found it easy to import the whole mess and then do a search in FCP and delete the whole mess except for the MP4. I should probably post it as a video tutorial.

Scott Howard · October 16th, 2009, 12:38 PM

I downloaded the trial version of the Calibrated Software based on this thread. It's nice to use the MP4s on the timeline and not having the wasted space for the .mov's. But I'm still figuring out the naming. And having to search for each clip is a potential dealbreaker. I have a summers worth of BAVs on my harddrive that are numbered not named. Any tips to sort throught them would be appreciated.

I could name them in XDCam transfer - which I don't use at all - and then move them. But that's not much of a time saver vs. using L&T.

I wish someone would get all these pieces of software together and create one that had more seamless transfer and naming options.

October 15th, 2009, 03:47 PM	#1
Fernando Kanano New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 18	xdcam ex codec Hello, I'm sure this has been discussed many times before, but I wasn't able to find a satisfying answer to my particular problem: I shot footage with my EX1 camera (720p, 24). Got on my Mac and used XDCAM Transfer to import the footage to my hard drive. When imported, I got .MOV files (insted of the .MP4). I can edit these on FCP without any problems. I do all of my work on Mac systems, and I've never had problems with EX1 clips before. However, this time I need to give the raw footage to my client so he can edit it himself. He uses a PC, and so far it's been impossible to make either After Effects or Sony Vegas recognize the .MOV files XDCAM Transfer gave me. AE and Vegas do recognize .MP4 clips, but the problem is I used XDCAM Transfer to import all the clips into my hard drive and it converted all of them to .MOV. I formatted the SXS card so now I don't have access to the original .MP4 clips. Any ideas on how to get AE or Sony Vegas to read the .MOV clips? You're help would be very appreciated.

October 15th, 2009, 04:21 PM	#3
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	The PC won't recognize the .mov files. They have to be transcoded. You might as well export them as pro-res from the Mac. This is one reason why we preach to preserve the original file structure in your backups. You can get to either platform from there with just a re-wrap and no transcoding. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

October 15th, 2009, 09:35 PM	#7
Dave Morrison Major Player Join Date: May 2002 Location: West Central Florida Posts: 762	Tough room, huh? ;-) __________________ EX1, Nikon D750 http://www.morrisonphotographics.com http://www.heritagefilm.com

October 16th, 2009, 10:07 AM	#13
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	If you don't have FCP you need both the MP4 plugin and XD-Decode to play back MP4's, plus you do have to drill down through the folder structure to get to each individual MP4 file. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

October 16th, 2009, 12:38 PM	#15
Scott Howard New Boot Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Pierre, South Dakota Posts: 12	Would like to see that. I downloaded the trial version of the Calibrated Software based on this thread. It's nice to use the MP4s on the timeline and not having the wasted space for the .mov's. But I'm still figuring out the naming. And having to search for each clip is a potential dealbreaker. I have a summers worth of BAVs on my harddrive that are numbered not named. Any tips to sort throught them would be appreciated. I could name them in XDCam transfer - which I don't use at all - and then move them. But that's not much of a time saver vs. using L&T. I wish someone would get all these pieces of software together and create one that had more seamless transfer and naming options.

October 15th, 2009, 04:18 PM	#2
Charles Newcomb Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Salida, Colorado Posts: 561	I just took an .mov file I had ingested via XDCam Transfer and brought it into MPEG Streamclip, then exported it as an AVI from there. I imported that AVI into Sony Vegas and it worked fine. You'll have to do them one at a time; but it's do-able.

October 15th, 2009, 07:50 PM	#4
Jason Bodnar Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 376	Use the Free Sony Clip Browser instead of XDCAm Transfer in this case and export the clips as MXF files... Works great in Vegas and AE or just about any other NLE, I do this all the time via my Mac.

October 15th, 2009, 07:53 PM	#5
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	This is why you ALWAYS use ClipBrowser (with CRC ON) and back up the BPAV folders. Going down a generation with another lossy encode is also wrong. FCP can unwrap it back to MP4. No additional loss. Sorry to point to another forum but here's a quick tutorial on that. Final Cut Pro timeline to XDCAM EX MP4

October 15th, 2009, 09:27 PM	#6
Charles Newcomb Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Salida, Colorado Posts: 561	Egads... the poor guy asked for help with a problem and three out of the four responses were lectures about what he SHOULD have done. What's up with that?

October 16th, 2009, 05:46 AM	#10
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Since there are NLEs that use either the EX MP4, MXF, MOV, keeping the BPAV allows one to hand sources to anyone. The FCP trick means you can even hand edited sequences to someone. Re-wraps are lossless. ClipBrowser can re-wrap to MXF. XDCAM Transfer re-wraps to MOV. No loss in either. Calibrated Software has a neat set of plugins for around $80 each that are XDCAM and EX specific. You can use the MP4 directly in FCP. No need to re-wrap to MOV. They also have a plug-in so that you can use the MOV in non FCP systems (Mac and Windows) so if backed into a corner buying that plugin would allow the client to use the MOV. XDCAM EX MP4 in Mac Calibrated{Q} MP4-EX Import for OSX XDCAM EX MOV in Windows and non FCP Macs Calibrated{Q} XD Decode

October 16th, 2009, 09:39 AM	#11
Fernando Kanano New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 18	Thanks so much for the explanation, Craig. I'll definitely look into those plug-ins. I wasn't aware they existed, but now they seem like a viable option. You've been very helpful, and I appreciate that very much. Have a good one.

October 16th, 2009, 10:00 AM	#12
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Those Calibrated Software plugins are a bargain considering what you gain. If you're a Final Cut Pro user: You no longer need XDCAM Transfer Alternative you no longer need to use Log & Transfer You save time by avoiding the re-wrap to MOV You save hard drive space since you don't need have an MOV copy at all. The clips work just like MOVs complete with matching time code, etc. If you do have MOVs (whether EX camera or EX edit masters) it might be more efficient to buy the plugin for your client than having to find a way to convert all your files. Your client doesn't even need an NLE. Their EX MOV plugin works inside Quicktime.