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XDCAM transfer problem with FCP 7
Please forgive the ignorant nature of this question, but I am trying to troubleshoot for some of my graduate students. They have been hired to transcribe and transfer about 20 hours of XDCAM EX footage and deliver high rez mov files to the chief editor on the project. In looking over the footage and studying the bit rates I am a bit concerned that they may have inadvertently ingested this footage at ProRes 422 proxy or LT and not regular ProRes 422. The VBR for the MOV files all come in at 35 Mb/s. Does that same right for ProRes422 (non-proxy or LT)? Sorry I am a bit sleep deprived and hence the somewhat convoluted description. I shoot and edit with DVCPRO HD (P2 media) and am not as familiar with the XDCAM files. I also cannot get a clear answer to my question about how they logged and transferred. I just wonder if they did not use the proper program settings or failed to use the XDCAM plug-in. Any suggestions would be most welcome. I will gladly accept admonishments if you could just be kind enough to throw a girl a life jacket!
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10 Replies
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XDCAM-EX records in 35mbps. XDCAM-EX cameras like the EX1, EX3, & PMW 320 record a maximum bit rate of 35mbps, (HQ). I believe XDCAM HD records HD422 at 50mbps. The XDCAM HD is optical disc based and XDCAM EX records onto SxS cards. However there is a new XDCAM-EX camera that now records HD422 onto SxS cards at 50mbps, (that cam is the PMW-200)
How did they bring the footage into the computer? XDCAM Transfer is a free download from Sony that converts the footage into FCP ready files.
Hope that helps.
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FCP 7 supports native XDCAM EX 35Mbs Long-GOP codec so, using log and transfer in FCP, the files should have stayed native and simply re-wrapped into an .mov container. They should not have been converted to ProRes at all. The best way to check is go to the folder assigned to the scratch disk where the .mov raw files were imported to, right click on an .mov file, and click on info. A box with info should open and the codec should be MPEG2-GOP. If not, let me know what it says and I can trouble shoot from there.
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Thank you so much, Michael. The clip is listed as MPEG-2 video with Linear PCM audio. So am I correct in assuming that when you edit with these MOV files in FCP you transcode to ProRes when editing/outputting?
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Oops, correction. In looking at the MOV clips in the capture scratch folder, I noticed that they are listed as XDCAM EX
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they are EX files rewrapped to .mov by one of the transfer plugins). FCP wants.mov files so when you import using L+T, XDCAM Transfer or XDCAM Browser the EX .mp4 file wrapper is replaced with a QT .mov wrapper. the files stay in their native codec (EX), which FCP supports. you can edit in the EX codec or convert to ProRes using Media Manager or Compressor. the EX codec performs well in FCP; you may want to consider staying in it and then, if you need to deliver in 422/444 or do any complex grading/keying/etc, up convert just your EDL to ProRes.
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Sorry to disagree, but I find that EX footage only performs “marginally” well in FCP7. If you start to color grade or apply filters, you become subject to crashes, and slow performance. Rendering to 422 on the timeline means that every time you lose render (while applying filters) you are back to unstable EX, until you re-render.
I recommend converting EX footage to ProRes 422 BEFORE importing into FCP 7.Al Davis
Visual Velocity
Brookline, MA -
the crashes and hangups are probably due to the hardware acceleration on your video card; FCP shows marked differences in how it handles MPEG footage based on what card is used
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Gents,
Am about to junk my 7-yr old HDR-HC1 (ya…) for a NX-5U or PMW-200; a Yugo to Porsche move no doubt.
Once captured, I understand that transferring .mxf files from the PMW, one should NOT log and transfer (FCP 7), but copy the entire card to the HD, then Log and Transfer from that new folder?
If this is a cumbersome workflow for those smart fellas that do post for a job, vice mine as a hobby, I may just go with the NX5U.Thoughts please.
My use: HD post on travel blogs, vacations around the globe.Respectfully yours,
Bob -
We can import and transcode Sony MXF files into FCP 7 with both Log&Transfer and XDCAM plug-in. But we have to connect Sony XDCAM camcorder to Mac for rendering video. And as far as I know XDCAM plug-in doesn’t support SD MXF video.
So we’d better convert MXF to ProRes firstly for taking into FCO 5/6/7 smoothly editing.
FCP X can native support MXF files without any plugin.
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just to clarify:
We can import and transcode Sony MXF files into FCP 7 with both Log&Transfer and XDCAM plug-in. But we have to connect Sony XDCAM camcorder to Mac for rendering video. And as far as I know XDCAM plug-in doesn’t support SD MXF video.
FCP 7 and X can render out to any XDCAM format using Content Browser (7 or X) or XDCAM Transfer (7 only).
Neither Log and Transfer nor the Sony plugins transcode XDCAM. They only rewrap to the native codec in a QT wrapper.
FCP X can native support MXF files without any plugin.
FCP X will not take XDCAM files without the Sony Import from Camera plugin (works within FCP, no separate UI) or Sony Content Browser (separate app that runs as a plugin)
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