Best .MXF to MPEG-2 Converters (for Premiere Pro)

[Ryan Holmes]

[Omar Ayoub] “I found out that MPEG-2 was the best for editing in Premiere Pro CS6.”

Where did you learn this? The MXF files you shot originally should work fine in CS6. Then you wouldn’t have to transcode or degreade your quality at all (MPEG-2 being a lossy codec that throws away information – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-2

If you want to transcode the footage to something intermediate I would recommend DNxHD (if on a PC) or ProRes (if you’re on a Mac). Those two codecs are good mezzanine codecs that handle recompression well and standup well in other areas of post-production (color grading, graphics, compositing, etc.).I would not transcode your MXF files to MPEG-2.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Omar Ayoub]

Hey Ryan,
Unfortunately nothing worked as far as importing my .MXF files into Premiere Pro (I have no idea why it isn’t), which is why I decided to convert the files. I’ve also been reading about DNxHD and I came across these threads on the Adobe forum:
https://forums.adobe.com/message/4156906 (2011)
https://forums.adobe.com/message/4997147 (2013), but says that “PP doesn’t support DNxHD in an MXF wrapper”. If, as per your recommendation, DNxHD is the best intermediate format for Windows and it works on Premiere Pro CS6, what is the best .MXF to DNxHD converter?

[Ann Bens]

Maybe you are missing some features. Canon’s mxf files work just great in CS6.
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/kb/features-presets-missing-premiere-pro.html

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Adobe Certified Expert Premiere Pro CS6
Adobe Community Professional

[Mark Landman]

Omar,

I have an XF100 and the files work fine on my Mac copy of CS6. It helps to bring the files in through the file browser instead of trying to drag & drop them through the finder.

Mark Landman
PM Productions
Champaign, IL

[Ryan Holmes]

[Omar Ayoub] “”PP doesn’t support DNxHD in an MXF wrapper”. If, as per your recommendation”

You can also wrap DNxHD in a Quicktime .mov format. That would play fine in PPro. But see Ann’s post first as you should be able to play MXF files from your Canon natively (without transcoded) in CS6. I play files from the Canon C300 natively in CS6 routinely without problems, and that format is nearly identical to your XF105 camera.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Tim Kolb]

First off, PPro CS6 definitely handles your Canon MXF files…second, they’re already MPEG2 payload…

If you have a fully registered copy of the software you should have the codecs you need…MXF DNxHD support is a separate issue.

TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,

Adobe Certified Instructor

[Omar Ayoub]

It’s true, I’ve read countless references that say that .MXF should play perfectly in Premiere Pro CS6.. I agree with Ann when she says that my version is missing a lot of features but I can’t do much about it at this point…
If I want to wrap my DNxHD in a Quicktime .mov format, what software do I need and how do I go about that?

[Ryan Holmes]

I typically use Prelude or Media Encoder to log footage and transcode it. But if you’re PPro isn’t reading the MXF correctly then it’s possible that Prelude and/or Media Encoder won’t work right either.

You probably need to carve out a couple hours to completely uninstall and reinstall CS6 and get your MXF settings working.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Paul Neumann]

Same here. Have 2 xf100’s and 2 xa25’s. Canon files are smooth as silk in cs6. Copy the entire card to a drive and access it through the media browser.

[Mark Landman]

sorry..I meant Media Browser, not File Browser.

Mark Landman
PM Productions
Champaign, IL