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

[Omar Ayoub]

After an arduous process of sifting through all the .MXF workarounds I could find, I decided to save myself some time and uninstall Premiere Pro then re-install it / re-activate it. Surely enough, all the formerly missing sequence settings and format support is now there. Thank you all for your insistence that I should stick to .MXF.

On another note: I opened my .MXF files and they now work wonderfully. My sequence settings are (25fps, 1920×1080, Preview file-format: 1-frame only MPEG as opposed to one of the P2 DVCPROHD options).

I shot an interview in a wide-shot so that I can have the option of zooming in to a medium shot or a close-up shot later on in the editing phase (since I have enough HD quality to go for this and since I saw this done in a number of documentary films). My question is, do I make the sequence resolution smaller than the original video resolution (1080 for example), so that I can help make the close-ups lose as little resolution as possible when I enlarge the videos? (I also want to use a lot of low-quality mobile phone videos, so I need an all-encompassing sequence preset..)

[Ryan Holmes]

[Omar Ayoub] “I make the sequence resolution smaller than the original video resolution (1080 for example), so that I can help make the close-ups lose as little resolution as possible when I enlarge the videos? “

You can use a 720p timeline (which is HD) or you can even use a standard definition timeline. If you use a 1080 timeline you’ll be zooming in on footage past 100%. Once you do that your footage will begin to get softer as you move past 100%.

[Omar Ayoub] “(I also want to use a lot of low-quality mobile phone videos,”
If you’re going to do this, then it seems quality is a secondary issue anyway. A losing sharpness on your 1080 footage looks to be the least of your problems then.

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

[Omar Ayoub]

I’m going to create two sequences, a 720p and a 1080p and work on both.

My last question for the thread: I was looking for some video effects (old VHS, overexposed film, ..) that I can apply. Is there any resource for such effect plug-ins (that don’t look to generic) besides Red Giant, and can I find some which apply to Premiere instead of just After Effects?

[Tim Kolb]

[Omar Ayoub] ” I was looking for some video effects (old VHS, overexposed film, ..) that I can apply. Is there any resource for such effect plug-ins (that don’t look to generic) besides Red Giant, and can I find some which apply to Premiere instead of just After Effects?”

Digieffects Damage is what you seek.

TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,

Adobe Certified Instructor

[Omar Ayoub]

Alright, I’ll be sure to check that out.
Thank you Ryan, Ann, Tim, and Paul for all your help 🙂

[Kayla Wang]

Well, for this case, you may try TransMXF, it has both windows and Mac version. It can transfer MXF into 1080p MPEG-2 for Premiere, I think it should meet your acquirement.