Is it better to edit XDCAM EX natively?

[Craig Seeman]

I edit XDCAM EX in mov wrapper without issue. I set renders to ProRes in Final Cut Pro and there’s no GOP conform during editing. I think ProRes might help if you’re doing very heavy compositing though. In the other direction you could get the CalibratedSoftware EX MP4 plugin and you don’t even have to re-wrap to MOV. That’s great if you’re in a very short turnaround situation (ENG style).

[Teri Murphy]

If a project does not require heavy compositing, do you see any downside to editing XDCAM EX natively?

[Craig Seeman]

It might be a bit sluggish on a laptop (only 2 cores).

I haven’t experienced any issues.

The final render would take a bit longer than working in an I frame codec but I still find that faster and more efficient than converting all the source to ProRes.

Converting to source to ProRes might be useful if you’re mixing codecs though. Then ProRes can be your “universal” rather than battling DVCProHD and HDV along with EX in one timeline.

[Noah Kadner]

I see no issues with FCP /QT Wrapped XDCAM EX in terms of editing and quality. The one possible workflow hangup is if you need to exchange edits and a lot of footage with a system that is not FCP. Then native MXF editing can be more advantageous. But I consider this an unusual scenario. For most editing workflows you have no issues.

Noah

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[Tim Kolb]

I assume from your response that you edit on FCP.

Adobe handles XDcam EX natively (no rewrap required, the same with P2) very well. I do use an intermediate codec for some projects (I’ve been a CineForm user since HDV showed up), but I’ve done projects with EXcam footage (35 Mbit) as my edit source with no issues. I typically master out to CineForm or uncompressed…or I archive the project and simply output through the media encoder when we need some other output file.

It’s still 8 bit, 4:2:0, and aggressively compressed, so as mentioned, if you do effects work (or even aggressive color correction), a better intermediate codec would serve you well.

(…however, if you are in a facility where you do a full project archive, 35 Mbit/s EXcam footage is a bit lighter weight to store and move than 220 Mbit/s ProRes…)

TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,

[Enrique Orozco]

… Vegas 9pro also supports native mp4 files from BPAV folders… no need to transcode to anything… even “splited” clips (coming from two cards) match precisely in the timeline … and you can keep just the original BPAV folders with their corresponding “veg” project file with minimum space on HDD or disk…..

my 2 cents….

Enrique Orozco R.
iDEA DigitalVideoStudio

[Ronnie Martin]

Edius/Grass Valley handles EXcam clips natively. All you have to do is open up the Sony software browser and highlight the clips you want and drag them to the bin. Highlight the clips in the bin and with one more click they all appear on the timeline.

Ronnie Martin

Ronnie Martin
Kato Video Productions
http://www.dirtracingvideo.com

[Ron Pestes]

I have an EX-3 and edit native files exclusively. It works great. I think if you change to Prores it will take forever to render to that codec and it could be a LLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGG time before you got down to editing if you had a large project.

Again, I edit in FCP using the EX easy setup and it works great. I then send to compressor to get it ready for DVD or web upload. I will sometimes export with Quicktime to make a Prores file if needed.

Apple Certified Master Pro FCS 2
Sony EX-3
MacBook Pro

[Teri Murphy]

We plan to use Avid Media Composer on a PC.

Does anyone have experience using Avid with native XDCAM EX files on a PC?

[Martin Phillips]

Yes, same as Ron, I’ve found no problem editing XDCAM EX natively in FCP (with the re-wrapping of course) – tried the ProRes Rendering route but all seemed slower and making self contained movies took forever. In the XDCAM EX Easy setup it all works quickly and cleanly. I’ve made a new custom Easy Setup so that I can input / output via the Kona LHi. All works well, even with layered graphics etc.