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Avid Xpress Pro + new Sony EX1: compatible???
Hi there,
I would very much like to buy the new Sony EX1 (for the last few months I’ve been renting HDV cameras and it’s getting expensive), but I want to know for sure that if I shoot my next project (in mid-December) on an EX1, I’ll be able to edit it. I run Avid Xpress Pro (version 5.7.5) on a Mac (right now non-Intel, but I’m getting a new Intel Mac Pro soon; right now OS I’m running 10.4.10, and probably sticking with it for a while before going to Leopard).I’m not technically-gifted, shall we say, so I wasn’t really able to understand this advice, that I got on another forum a few weeks ago:
“Avid Xpress and Media Composer has been able to use MXF for some time now. I’m thinking though that HQ files might have to be converted, after the MXF rewrap, to a DNXHD type file because currently there isn’t an MPEG 2 35mbit codec for those platforms. So I’m guessing that may end up being a slow process. On import you’ll have to choose a DNXHD codec like DNXHD 145 or DNXHD 110. Hopefully Avid will quickly adopt a new long GOP 35mbit setting like they did for HDV “smart splicing” in a “near future” release. But, I’m sure you will be able to edit in any number of project types, including 720/60p, 1080/24p, etc.using DNXHD and use MXF vs. OMF. The SP datarate 25mbit should currently work fine, and should be much faster injest in an HDV project setting”More recently, I got this note from a fellow Avid (though not Xpress Pro) editor:
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5 Replies
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You should ask some of the guys at the Avid users group:
https://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/thread/289210.aspx
One of the guys said he was going to have his camera in today. I am attending a demo of the camera on 12/13; I will get some footage to play with and see how it works for me.
Regards,
Joe Womble
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Thanks Joe,
I appreciate the reply.
I’ve posted myself silly on the Avid Xpress Pro (Mac) forum. I’ve also posted, to no avail, on the CC CineAlta HD site. Not much interest, it seems.
But I did just get word from someone else, so here’s an update:This guy, by the way, does indeed have the EX1 and Avid Xpress Pro… but on a PC.
And he’s able to do this:
– shoot 25Mb/s
– export MXF files (via clip browser) to his PC
– import these MXF files into Avid Xpress Pro.So now I know you can shoot with the EX1 (25Mb/s anyway) and edit it in Xpress Pro. On the PC side…
The only question now is:
will clip browser (for the Mac) export MXF files?Cheers,
Malcolm -
I’ll certainly ask at the demo on the 13th.
Regards,
Joe Womble
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The answer, at the moment, is no. You can’t. There are probably going to be workflows (such as the 25Mb/s one you mention) but in general native support for the full-raster MPEG-4 wrapped 35Mb/s HDV signal recorded on EX is not supported.
However Avid have (somewhere) expressed their plan to include support, given that it’s fairly similar to the existing XDCAM HD formats, it shouldn’t be too long, I’d expect support within the next couple of months.
The EX-1 has received rave reviews – and I’ve just talked a cameraman friend out of buying an HVX, at least until he tries the EX-1, so I think demand will be strong.
I reckon XDCAM EX, and specifically the EX-1, is an HVX-killer.
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Well, I’m sad to say that I couldn’t get any answers today on the Avid workflow at the Sony demo. Not from the demo artist, and not even from the Sony people. They were showing the footage imported to FCP, and it worked impressively well with that software (on a MacPro laptop). I shot some footage and loaded it into FCP using the Sony utility without a hitch. Probably a bit quicker loading the footage and transferring it with Mac and FCP than my HVX200 on Avid PC.
The camera looked great, maybe a bit better on depth of field than the HVX200. I wouldn’t want to shoot a lot of handheld with it unless all of the shooting was at waist level based on the left-side-heavy nature of this camera. Regardless you always need to use your left hand to balance the camera, unless you have a shoulder or chest brace. Otherwise, leave it on the tripod and you can make pretty pictures. All of the footage I shot was 35 mb/s, by the way.
My reseller did offer to allow me to demo one for a couple days to try it if I want.
Regards,
Joe Womble
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