Future MacOS/FCPX won’t support DNxHD/HR or CineForm among other codecs

[Shane Ross]

Wait…DNxHR is considered “legacy” by Apple? It’s the current codec Avid offers. DNxHD is also still in heavy rotation. I get losing Sorenson and Cinepack…those are 1990s throwbacks. But DNxHR? Apple trying to make it’s little island further from the mainland?

Created with software? Like…EditReady? Or Avid conversion?

Shane
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[Shawn Miller]

[Andrew Kimery] “”In Final Cut Pro, you might see an alert that legacy media files won’t be compatible with future macOS releases.

Legacy media files are compatible with macOS Mojave, but they won’t be with future macOS releases. Legacy media can include footage recorded with cameras like Sony HDCAM-SR cameras, footage from GoPro cameras recorded in the CineForm format, video files in the Avid DNxHD/DNxHR format created with software, footage shot with many other older cameras, or files modified with older software.””

This is interesting… “video files in the Avid DNxHD/DNxHR format created with software“. Does this mean that videos captured with hardware recorders are okay? It seems short sighted to drop support for such a popular codec. There aren’t many cameras that record in Cineform, so I sort of understand that… but DNxHD/HR?

Shawn

[Jeremy Garchow]

I haven’t looked very far in to this, but is this a 64 vs 32bit codec situation?

[Oliver Peters]

It’s hard to say what that info actually means. It could very well only apply to these codecs when in QT .mov wrappers. IOW, DNx might still be fine when it comes in its proper .mxf wrapper. Or, it might not.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com

[Damiano Galassi]

“Legacy” means QuickTime 32bit decoders. The next version of macOS will drop 32bit software, so if the only Avid DNxHD/DNxHR decoder is a 32bit component, it won’t work. Apple’s VideoToolbox components API is not public yet, so either Avid works with Apple and make a new 64bit component, or Apple makes its new component API public, or it won’t work anymore.

[Bouke Vahl]

Considering Adobe and LibAVcodec have Avid codecs not relying on QuickTime, the work is not what it is about.
I fear there is a standoff where both parties want to see money to get the Avid codecs included, and Apple has the deepest pockets by far and absolutely no reason to be kind to Avid.
(And, from my point of view, Apple likes to dictate the market, get everyone addicted and then drop all support to go after something else that seems capable of earning a nickel more and you all will be crying again.)
So, there will be a third party solution to make it happen, but it will be a hack as no – one wants to pay the fees, and it will be sued to death within a few months. (Or at least threatened…)

Bouke
http://www.videotoolshed.com

[John Pale]

I’m guessing this applies to Avid DNXHD/HR Quicktime files…but would MXF still be readable? I wonder if re-wrapping the files to MXF would get around this.

On a related note….in Mojave, I get the warning that QuickTime 7 player is 32 bit and will be unsupported in future releases. This means that only the severely limited Quicktime X will function. Ugh.

[Bouke Vahl]

I GUESS you are totally wrong.
The codec is the issue, not the wrapper. Do you really think that ProRes in a QT coat will not be supported?

Do NOT mix QT player with QT files, and do note that a QT file can be a gazillion things besides a video and one or more sound tracks, but that will all be gone in the future I’m afraid.
(Remember Motion? That could generate QT .mov files being nothing more than XML that created an animation on the fly in the player.)

Bouke
http://www.videotoolshed.com

[Claude Lyneis]

Apple recommends making a master file, when a project is complete, especially if it used formats that won’t be supported in future versions of FCPX. As I understand a master file is typically an uncompressed 422 output version of the project and it can be edited by loading it into a new project. This doesn’t address the issue of media not in the master file that remains in an obsolete format. So adding that media later by further editing will still be problematic.
Do I have that right?
I would guess there might be other third party programs developed that could convert the obsolete files into a usable format for FCPX.

[Bouke Vahl]

Excuse me?
If Apple makes a stupid decision and/or is too cheap / lazy / arrogant to do what any pro would do, how makes that perfectly good file formats ‘obsolete’?
And, whatever Apple says may NOT be the truth. Apple also says that I have to pay for support that I should get for free as that is the law, and Apple says that I must give them my credit card just to turn on a device I paid for.
I follow my own plan, makes more sense.

Bouke
http://www.videotoolshed.com