Avid and EX1….Avid Fails again ?????

[Dylan Reeve]

Sony made some fairly significant changes to the XDCAM format and container for XDCAM EX (while retaining the earlier format and container for the continuing XDCAM and XDCAM HD lines). This makes the job of supporting EX slightly harder than it might seem.

Avid have committed to support EX and those in the know have suggested an ‘early 2008’ release date for EX support.

The camera has been shipping for less than two months.

[Marion Laney]

At the moment I am so angry at Sony and Avid vendors/manufacturers for misleading me into purchasing this camera that I cannot comment. Once I calm down there will be a lot to say.

Marion Laney
Director-DP-sometimes Editor
ideaWercs, inc.
Atlanta, Ga. USA
Producing in HD&35mm&SD
Food Network series “Good Eats” and others.

[Terence Curren]

My understanding is that the EX camera is supported by Avid in everything except the 35Mbps format. (HD)

I’l have a better answer after next Friday:

https://www.editorslounge.com/

Terence Curren
http://www.alphadogs.tv
http://www.digitalservicestation.com
Burbank,Ca

[Joe Womble]

Thanks for this, Terry. I attended a demo of the camera by Sony at my reseller on 1/13, and no one from the reseller nor Sony could tell me anything about the Avid workflow, and whether 25 or 35 was supported or would work. What’s up with that???

I’ve since heard that you can use the Sony utility to make .mxf files (provided you shot at 25 mb) that can be imported into Avid using the old P2 method. I’m hoping for 35 mb support very soon, and would love to hear what you find out about the workflow.

Regards,

Joe Womble
Atlanta, GA

[Marion Laney]

Thank you Terry.

Unfortunately, I have an U/W housing being fabricated as we speak based on expecting to be able to use this camera for a test in Key Largo on Feb 1st. which requires an immediate edit of the footage for workflow/audio purposes.

As I would have been using this for a project in the islands where shooting available light, 50 hertz flo’s (when the generators are running on speed)and needing to shoot 30p I cannot see a solution using the degraded SP mode.

Do the big vendors, like Sony, just not see a future for Avid?

If anyone form AVID wants send me or my editor a beta fix that works I will be happy to postpone an absolute rejection of this overhyped camera and Avid.

I expect my vendors and editors to tell when something will not work BEFORE I buy it based on their recommendations.

Marion Laney
Director-DP-sometimes Editor
ideaWercs, inc.
Atlanta, Ga. USA
Producing in HD&35mm&SD
Food Network series “Good Eats” and others.

[Dylan Reeve]

It’s not ideal, but there is a solution involving a media conversion process with the open-source utility ‘FFMpeg’ that will take the HQ files and convert to DNxHD material.

Check out the EX1 blog here:
https://www.bolanski.com/ex/

It’s not quite what we’d all like to see, but it looks like it will get the job done in the immediate term.

I’m trying to get EX1 footage onto DVCPRO HD tapes to fit into our workflow for one show at the moment.

Taking it into FCP and them playing out to HD1400 deck is not working like I think it should at the moment. I’ll be revisiting that later this week I think. I may end up transcoding with FFMpeg and taking into Avid directly. I’ll have to experiment a bit.

[Scott Davis]

Marion, Just a thought. Couldn’t you use the Sony XDCAM software to make the footage Quicktimes and then import into Avid? Not elegant but might work.

Scott Davis

[Marion Laney]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Unfortunately, I need a process that works in the Avid with data based media as a our editor is Avid only.

We will be shooting with 3 cameras, on location in multiple countries, underwater and onland in the Caribean for a nationally rated and internationaly known talent/director and generating at least 10 32 gig P2 cards of data to be archived each day and shipped back to the editor who had better have rough cuts ready to look at when we return. Just no way to do that with a work around, only a real solution. And no the 25mbit date rate is not viable as I need 720p and multiple framerates.

The way the EX1 was SOLD to me, this would have worked but, now I can only fall back to my HVX200.

As I have to have 2 UW housings and had to start that fabrication for EX1’s at least 2 weeks ago to make deadlines for testing of audio and visual. If the edit side had been figured out before delivery I could have made it work.

As it is I have told the vendor to come take it back, canceled the fab on the EX1 UW housings and have ordered off the shelf housings for the HVX. I really hate putting more money in that camera but Sony/Avid have given me no choice.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions and I wish the vaporware was real so I could really use this camera for award winning production, I guess our 2007 Peabody means nothing to Avid or Sony.

Marion Laney
Director-DP-sometimes Editor
ideaWercs, inc.
Atlanta, Ga. USA
Producing in HD&35mm&SD
Food Network series “Good Eats” and others.

[Marion Laney]

I had understood that Quicktime/TC do not play well in the Avid. Also, seems all the work arounds so far require shooting 1080i 59.97 only. No off speed work allowed or even 30p.

All this still comes down to Avid and Sony not working together for the benefit of their clients.

Unfortunately, with a hundred+ hours of footage that will have TC on an audio track I cannot hope these work arounds will really work with this much footage. Deadlines/airdates do not move in my world because of a buggy workflow.

Thanks again for the thoughts as I am sure others will benifit in the short term by this brainstorming. The only solution my producer will be comfortable with is delivery of what we thought we were buying.

Marion Laney
Director-DP-sometimes Editor
ideaWercs, inc.
Atlanta, Ga. USA
Producing in HD&35mm&SD
Food Network series “Good Eats” and others.