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XDCAM HD within FCP?
Our company is looking very seriously into Sony’s XDCAM HD cameras. How well does FCP play with the MXF format used with the XDCAM HD system? Avid has a really nice workflow built right in to accommodate XDCAM, including direct support for offlining using the XDCAM proxies created at the same time as the High Rez. Does FCP support XDCAM footage directly or do I need to ingest it and turn it into something else like DCVPRO HD?
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5 Replies
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Flip4Mac has an MXF importer for FCP for use with XDCAM. I suspect they will support XDCAM HD when it hits the market.
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FCP needs to translate the MXF wrapped footage to Quicktime before it can use it, but once translated it is happy with the native codecs (MPEG IMX or DV)
Apple doesn’t support this MXF to QT translation directly, but a third party QuickTime component from Flip4Mac (aka Telestream) allows this from within FCP.
(see https://www.flip4mac.com/mxf.htm )XDCAM HD format (MPEG-2 MP@HL) is not currently supported by QT, but I am given to understand that it is being worked upon. Equally we can assume that Flip4Mac will want to offer their support too.
Ingesting to a different codec is of course possible but somewhat detracts from the IT centric workflow
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We’ve had very good experience with IMX-Standard Def. Been using it for over two years on hundreds of hours of shows. Very reliable.
The off-line proxy to full res workflow is a complicated issue that you need to research for your specific needs. Have a qualified expert run you through the process from start to finish to see if the FCP-XDCAM HD combination can do EXACTLY what you’re looking for. By the way, do the same thing with the AVID… don’t just take their word for it! Confirm with your own eyes that every step of the process works as advertised.
Mark
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Thanks guys- I was aware of the Flip for Mac product, and I’m sure they’ll have the same kind of thing available for the HD version, but the offline features really appeal to us from a collaborative newsroom, features perspective, not to mention the obvious advantages in storage and networking that would come with an offline workflow. Sony came down here and did a demo of XDCAM HD for us the other day and they said that Apple was going to be announcing something very exciting regarding XDCAM HD at or around NAB. Anyone not under NDA want to confirm or deny this rumor? Actually, I rather you would be under NDA, that way I know you’ve actually seen the product. 🙂
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FWIW Sony said the same thing to us a couple of months or so ago … but then again salesmen will be salesmen eh?
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