Any reason to use XDCam EX Clip Browser if I shoot on SD cards only?

[Jim Gunn]

I recently purchased a used EX-1 from a friend and am using the Sony SDHC card adapter and Class 10 16 Gb SD cards to shoot on exclusively. I did not receive a disk with any software although I did find the XDCam EX Clip Browser software online. If I never use SxS cards is there any necessity to ever use the Clip Browser software? Or can I just put the SD cards in a card reader, and drag and drop the whole BP4V folder after every shoot into a new unique folder on one or more of my hard drives through Windows Explorer and just archive and/or edit from there?

[Bruce Rawlings]

For the little effort involved I think using Clip Browser with CRC gives total peace of mind. Why change the workflow that Sony has carefully thought out.

[Jim Gunn]

Bruce, thanks for replying. I probably should just install the XDCam EX Clip Browser on my new pc and try it out. I had thought that it might specifically only work with transferring files off of the SxS cards, but I guess I can transfer files off of the SD cards too.

[Dave Sperling]

Clip browser also lets you combine clips that span cards, as well as providing an easy way to view a lot of the metadata recorded in the camera.

[Jim Gunn]

Thanks Dave. I'll install Clp Broswer later and start using it. As a new Ex-1 user, everyone's quick answers to my questions have been really helpful.

[Dave Sperling]

And of course you can also use clip browser to convert your BPAV folders into MXF files which may be easier for certain NLE's to accept.
One other advantage of MXF files is that they can be played on Windows machines using Sony's (free) PDZ-VX10 XDcam Viewer software, which is an awesome HD player that gives you a great quality image and requires relatively little system overhead.

[Jim Gunn]

Dave, luckilly I use Premiere Pro 5 when I do my own editing, so I do not have to convert anything, just import the mp4s. The BP4V folder and the extra small reference files in there are nothing but an annoyance to me. My clients that do their own editing also just want the mp4s to edit in Premiere Pro or Vegas or FCP on their own.

[Alister Chapman]

Never, never, never just separate out the MP4 files from the rest of the folder structure. The other files contain important metadata and file information. If you choose to move your edit to another platform then you will need the full contents of the BPAV folder. It is possible that in a future update to CS5 that adobe might introduce full metadata support and then if you don't have the correct folder structure you may find yourself hosed.

[Doug Jensen]

Just one more point.
The question of whether or not to use Clip Browser has nothing to do with whether you are shooting on SxS cards, SDHC cards, or Memory Sticks. Whatever workflow you decide is best for you, will be EXACTLY the same regardless of the device you're recording on.

[Jim Gunn]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

Never, never, never just separate out the MP4 files from the rest of the folder structure. The other files contain important metadata and file information. If you choose to move your edit to another platform then you will need the full contents of the BPAV folder. It is possible that in a future update to CS5 that adobe might introduce full metadata support and then if you don't have the correct folder structure you may find yourself hosed.

I always copy the entire BP4V folder as it is to my hard drive. I intend to start doing it with the Clip Browser from now on. I still have all three SD cards I shot on so far intact so I can copy them again through Clip Browser since so many people think it's important. My clients only want the .mp4s however so I guess I have to copy them to Blu-Ray or something like that to send them. When I imported my test footage into Premiere Pro 5 I just imported the mp4s inside Premiere Pro and that seemed to work fine.

[Jim Gunn]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

Just one more point.
The question of whether or not to use Clip Browser has nothing to do with whether you are shooting on SxS cards, SDHC cards, or Memory Sticks. Whatever workflow you decide is best for you, will be EXACTLY the same regardless of the device you're recording on.

Thanks for clarifying. Since I purchased the camera with the Sony SD Card adapter and a 16Gb card (plus added two more new ones), that's what I will be using. As far as media, 54 minutes is significantly shorter than I was getting on a 63 minute professional mini-DV tape, but I strive to shoot less footage anyway so I will adjust.