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Broadcast quality .mxf files from Premiere?
Hello kind Premiere Pro experts. I am delivering a broadcast file and the specs are very convoluted (to me ;). I’d like to make sure I am delivering correctly as it’s a tight timeline. Could someone (pretty please) outline the settings I’d need to export a file like this from Premiere:
Fileformat
MXF according to SMPTE 377-1Operational Pattern
OP1a according to SMPTE 378MEssence Mapping
According to SMPTE 386MGeneric Container
Frame-based mapping according to SMPTE 379-1Partition multiplex
1 Header Partition, no Body Partitions, 1 Footer PartitionRandom Index Pack
PresentEssence location
Complete Essence in Header PartitionIndex table location
Complete Index Table Segment in Header PartitionDescriptive Metadata
NoneTracks in Material Package
1 Timecode Track, 1 Video Track, 1 Audio TrackTracks in Source Package
1 Timecode Track, 1 Video Track, 1 Audio Track (referencing the 4- or 8-channel AES3 audio element)Material start/end
Picture to PictureFirst Frame of content (no bars, clocks, etc.) / Last Frame of content (no adverts, trails, textless material, etc. ; that has to be delivered separate)
Timecode Material Package
Start value: 00:00:00:00Timecode Source Package
Start value: 00:00:00:00, discontinuities: noTimecode System Item
Start value: 00:00:00:00, no discontinuities; incrementing on a frame basisActive Format Descriptor
Present inside the Generic Picture Essence Descriptor -
7 Replies
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Which country is it for?
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What version of Premeire? This is an option in Media Encoder in the 2015 version and later. But…I’m confused…
[Fiona Fuchs] “First Frame of content (no bars, clocks, etc.) / Last Frame of content (no adverts, trails, textless material, etc. ; that has to be delivered separate)”
NO BARS AND TONE? No slate of information? The B&T I can possibly see, but no slate? VERY odd.
[Fiona Fuchs] “Timecode Material Package
Start value: 00:00:00:00”OK, that’s just ridiculous. US standards for broadcast demand hour 1 for show start, so 1:00:00;00. Europe wants hour 10, 10:00:00;00. Who on earth wants 00?
Shane
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Germany ????????
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It’s for Germany. The timecode stuff is pretty clear to me – I was more concerned about making sure the essence is in the header – but I’m assuming that’s all dictated by the mxf opa1 part?
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Yeah normally you would select xdcam 50mbps 25fps… then change the 25fps to interlaced upper field first. We do our stuff for new zealand tv so it would be similar but they should give you the specs. The presets are pretty good under that format, I think there is an xdcam preset. The main think with broadcast is legalising the upper limits or whites.
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Shane, the TC in and slate, etc. may be unusual but my hunch, based on how extremely technical the spec sheet is, is that they know precisely what they want, so I’m not questioning any of that. And as far as no slate e.g., this is more and more common with transcode-ready assets e.g. for iTunes, Amazon etc.
Fiona, as far as all the MXF essence and metadata structure requirements, you either ship it as is and hope it’s all ok, or to do it right, use an MXF analyzer. Yes, it is heavily technical, as online editing and QC can be sometimes. That’s why I charge more. ????
A few tools to do the job:
- IRT MXF Analyzer – a mere 4,400 EUR, but they have a cloud service you can upload your file to (hopefully it’s not long form), for ~20 EUR per file, or time-based, and also with 2 free analyses per account.
- Nablet MXF Explorer is a bargain in comparison, at $700.
- Myriad Bits MXF Inspect is… free ☺ though the author disclaims it’s not completely SMPTE-compliant. Beats not inspecting the file at all, though.
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Thanks – I did make them like that then had a look into the file with an analyzer and it seems good!
Many thanks for the information!
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