• Broadcasting

  Help…How to view MXF file’s embedded closed captions

  Posted by Isadora Leidenfrost on November 8, 2020 at 1:03 am

  Using a Mac and Final Cut Pro X & Adobe Premiere Pro, I have exported an MXF file of my film for Broadcast, which should have embedded the CEA-608 captions, but I don’t know how to confirm that the captions are formatted and showing up correctly. When I open the file on QuickTime there are no captions. When I open the file on a few other different media players, sometimes the captions show up, but have extra lines of code. How do I officially confirm that the file is good to go before I send it to my PBS producer?

  Christopher Smith replied 9 months, 2 weeks ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
• 1 Reply

• 

  Christopher Smith

  July 22, 2025 at 7:53 pm

  Your frustration is industry-wide, and no one wants to solve the problem with an affordable tool.

  Telestream makes an expensive tool (Switch) which allows you to view MXF files, and even drop in subtitle tracks to verify they line up with audio and video. Switch also displays any of the 608 or 708 caption tracks, and provides info on all the tracks in the MXF file.
  https://www.telestream.net/switch/overview.htm

  telestream.net

  Multiformat video player, inspection and conversion tool | Telestream Switch

  Switch multiformat video player allows you to play a variety of web and professional media formats, inspect and adjust the properties of the file and export a new file. Download and try for free.

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