Moving Raw XDCAM Files from SXS Card to FW Drive Via MBP Express Slot

[Don Greening]

[Grant Cronyn] “On Location, I will plug the SXS card into the Express Slot of my MBP, and then transfer (drag and drop) the raw files from the SXS Card to My FW drive.”

Make sure you create a new folder on your connected hard drive each time you transfer the contents of a card. Give it a unique name (such as card 01 offload 01, etc.) then transfer the complete BPAV folder on the card to that folder. Don’t alter the BPAV folder name in any way. This is the reason why each card offload needs to have its own unique folder.

[Grant Cronyn] “(I don’t want to import or preview the files as i’m only running FCP 5 on my powerbook.) “

You don’t need FCP 6.0.2 (minimum) to preview your EX clips. All you need is Sony’s Clip Browser software on your Intel-based Macbook Pro to view the files. It’s a free program and it’s recommended that you use the Clip Browser to transfer your BPAV folders anyway, rather than the drag and drop method. The reason here is that with CRC checking enabled the Clip Browser will make sure there are no errors during the transfer process. So it’s a win-win thing with Clip Browser: you get to preview your clips on the Macbook Pro and also transfer your video with a program that makes sure everything is transfered properly.

You can find the Clip Browser software here:

https://www.sony.ca/xdcamex/support.htm

Don’t forget to also download and instal the SxS software driver at the bottom of the page for your Macbook Pro, otherwise the SxS cards will not be recognized as an attached device when you insert them into your Express 34 slot.

– Don

[Clint Fleckenstein]

Second that. Use the free Clip Browser software, it’s fantastic. You can open multiple “Explorer Windows” and drag folders in between them. You can create new folders, combine folders, split them (to DVD or DVD-DL sizes, for example) for archiving, and even make subclips from in-out points. It’s fantastic…and one of the most important features is the CRC error checking when it transfers the files. You won’t get that by simply dragging and dropping folders.

One other thing is that the BPAV structure remains invisible in Clip Browser, which means you don’t have to go through the effort of keeping it intact. Just name folders the way you want, drag and drop your footage, and it will worry about all the files and folders needed to make sense of your clips later.

Cf

[Grant Cronyn]

Hi Don and Clint,

Wow, thanks for the great info! My stress level has decreased substantially.

One more question, will the sony Clip Browser and Driver software run on OSX 10.4 Tiger or does it need to be leopard? My mbp is still running tiger.

Grant

[Scott Howard]

Hey Grant,
It all works with 10.4. I do this all the time in the field and it works great.
Like they say, just create a folder on the external drive (you can drop all the cards into that folder, the key is not to have your top level folder be the BPAV.) Then in Clip Browser, set the preferences so it copies to that folder. It will give each download a unique name in that folder. Hit the copy all button and away it goes.
I have 10.5 on my MacBookPro and 10.4 on my MacPro tower and work between them seamlessly.

[Grant Cronyn]

cheers! thanks very much scott!

[Ed Kukla]

shouldn’t I be seeing the bpav folder in the destination drive after doing a “copy all”? I don’t.

What is the purpose of checking “convert in mxf for copying ex…” in the preferences?

If I copy some clips from card to hard drive then shoot more clips on the same card, how do I transfer the additional clips to the same hard drive/same folder?

Thanks