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XDCAM Transfer | Quicktime Playback
Two questions in one post from a very new EX-3 user…
I’ve noticed that XDCAM Transfer won’t play clips recorded in SP mode – only HQ. Is there another codec I need to install or a setting I need to enable to make this work, or is it not designed to play those clips. The interface and workflow seem much smoother on the XDCAM Transfer as opposed to the XDCAM EX Clip Browser. Does anyone have recommendations on why one would be better to use than the other?
Second question – is there any way to get the MP4 files to play in QuickTime, or should I always use the XDCAM applications for playback?
Thanks,
Brent
Brentwood Video Productions
Brentwood, California -
8 Replies
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I haven’t messed around with SP mode at all, to be honest. Is this on a PC or a Mac?
The two apps have distinctly different purposes. I use Clip Browser for folder management and XDCAM Transfer for everything else (playback and review, marking subclips, etc).
Cf
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It’s a Mac. I had to use SP to get Firewire out – I got stuck in a situation where I had to use the camera for a studio shoot before I felt really comfortable with it, so I recorded to OnLocation for a little extra confidence.
So let me see if I understand the purposes… you use ClipBrowser to transfer the footage from the card to the computer, then do your review, logging, etc in XDCAM Transfer?
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XDCAM Transfer wraps the file to MOV for use in FCP. I would think it should handle SP files as well because they too need to be wrapped to MOV although I haven’t tested this. It would be an interesting problem if it genuinely can’t.
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My understanding is that XDCAM Transfer can handle any format that can be recorded on the EX cameras. It sounds as if you might have something missing, although if your versions of XDCAM Transfer and FCP are reasonably recent, you should have all the codecs you need.
There is an easy way to find out; on XDCAM Transfer’s Help menu, there is a ‘Check Installed Components’ item. Click on this and it will bring up a window showing everything it needs and whether its installed.
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Okay, that’s the problem. I’m editing in Premiere, so I don’t have the FCP codecs. One of the items in red on my list is the XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX (CBR) codecs. Since the HQ modes are VBR, and the SP modes are CBR, this would explain why I can’t play them.
So how do I get those codecs without having FCP? And would this also explain why I can’t view footage in QuickTime?
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I assume Mac version of Premiere.
ClipBrowser shouldn’t need the codec installed. Premiere CS4 should handle the MP4 directly.
XDCAM Transfer is to create MOVs for FCP for the most part.
While HQ requires the EX codec, SP I believe is HDV compatible so it should, in theory, handle just like an HDV file in your system. -
Right, Clip Browser plays all of the clips fine, and they import into Premiere just fine as well. The only issue is getting them to play in XDCAM Transfer. Doesn’t sound like that’s going to work for me though.
I’m not planning on doing a lot of shooting in SP – the only time I would need that is studio setups where I’m monitoring/recording with OnLocation.
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[Brent Critchfield] “The only issue is getting them to play in XDCAM Transfer.”
Why would you need that? You’re using Premiere.
If you need to convert them to MOV in XDCAM Transfer you can still do that. There’s a Preference that says use even though no codec installed. It’ll convert them to MOV but you still won’t be able to play them.Calibrated Software has an $80 plugin that will allow you to play EX MOV in Quicktime and use in NLEs (I believe) on non FCP systems.
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