Don Greening
Forum Replies Created
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Have you tried using XDCAM Transfer to recombine the problem clips instead of Clip Browser? Have you tried selecting in and out points of your problem clip sections within XDCAM Transfer and import most of the clip?
– Don
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As long as you still have the original BPAV folders from the SxS Pro cards on a hard drive you can navigate to each one the same way as if they were still on the cards. XDCAM Transfer will re-create the data again just like it did the first time.
[Adam Alphin] “Does XDCAM Transfer keep a running database or allow you to save a database per project?”
Yes, it does keep a database of each BPAV folder provided you haven’t previously deleted it. Even if you have deleted it the program will do it again for you when navigating once more to the copied BPAV folder(s) and importing them.
[Adam Alphin] “Is this done in FCP instead?”
No, but there are programs such as CatDV that will log your native XDCAM EX clips (or .mov clips) for use in FCP. You can choose what clips you want to use and then export an MXF file from CatDV. Final Cut Pro will read the MXF file and all your chosen clips with their associated meta-data will be imported directly into FCP’s browser. This works really well for projects that reference large numbers of clips.
– Don
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[anthony Faulkner] “Surely i don’t have to do it in camera?”
You can do it in the Mac OS Finder. With the card still mounted on the desktop double-click to open, highlight the BPAV folder and drag it to the trash, then empty the trash. Done.
– Don
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[Scott Morrison] “1. Is it absolutely necessary to use the clip browser to get the clips of the card then import them into FCP with the transfer tool or is it okay to just use the transfer tool. Do you loose any quality this way?”
Think of the Clip Browser as a copy tool and XDCAM Transfer as a program that converts the native EX .mp4 files into a format that FCP can use for editing. This is an oversimplification of what these two programs do but this is essentially what they’re designed for.
You can use XDCAM Transfer to import your files directly into FCP without any loss in quality.
[Scott Morrison] “2. After importing the clips and disconnecting the camera, in the source bar of the xdcam transfer tool the card is still showing up, should i keep that? delete it? is there any crucial clip information stored there that i should archive anywhere? “
What’s left in the XDCAM Transfer window after you eject the camera/card is the data for all the clips. If you deleted all the info and navigated again to that particular card the same data would show up again. You can choose to keep the data or delete it, depending on your particular workflow. Personally I delete the card data after I’m finished importing the clips.
[Scott Morrison] “3. my third and final question is, once all is said and done what is the best/proper way to erase the clips off the sxs card and ready it for use again? “
There is more than one way to delete media off the SxS Cards. In the Camera you can choose to do a simple delete or a reformat of the card. Deleting only gets rid of the card directory and leaves any camera profiles you’ve written to the card (for transferring to other EX cameras). Reformatting will not only delete the clips but will also get rid of the camera profiles, if any, on the card.
You can also use the Mac’s finder to delete clips off any SxS Pro Card that has been mounted on the computer’s desktop. When I’m transferring BPAV folders to a attached hard drive on-site I use the finder to empty the cards before returning them to my camera operators.
Some folks treat deleting SxS Pro Cards the same way they delete info from SDHC or CF flash cards used for still photography: by reformatting every time. The reason? A photographer friend of mine who teaches photo classes swears he’s seen ghost images of previous photos underneath new ones on a CF card when just using the delete function. Reformatting, he says, will stop that from happening. I can’t help wonder if the same thing might happen with an SxS Pro card.
For the record I’ve never seen this happen when simply emptying a card using the Mac’s Finder.
– Don
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If your new computer is running Snow Leopard then make sure you have the very latest SxS driver from Sony:
https://www.sony.ca/promedia/drivers.htm
If you don’t then this is probably the reason why your SxS card is not showing up on the desktop. Note the version number of the SxS driver currently installed on your machine and compare it to the version at the provided link above.
I think you also need the latest XDCAM transfer Tool in order for that to work with Snow Leopard. I’m just going by what others have said as I’m still running Mac OS 10.4.11
– Don
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Look around on the camera by the actual card slot area. You should see a “Slot Select” button. When you push the button the green light should toggle back and forth over each card slot. Green light means that card is active and ready to record.
Shoot your regular footage to the SDHC card slot. Stop recording and switch slots. Record your specialty shots to the SxS Pro card.
– Don
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[Phillip Velasco] “i see the clip i recorded, but the import button is light grey which won’t let me import it.”
If you’ve got a clip that spans two cards the files from both cards need to be present (and visible) in the XDCAM Transfer window in order to successfully recombine the 2 pieces into one clip. So you either:
- transfer each card’s BPAV folder to a hard drive and navigate to each one within XDCAM Transfer or
- put both cards into your EX camera and import both cards using the camera’s USB connection.
If you don’t need the whole clip you can select in and out points for the first part of your clip and import anything between those points.
– Don
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[Chris Babbitt] “And thank you for being so prompt. “
Your welcome, although I didn’t have much choice. I just happened to be walking by my laptop and there was an audible alarm going off along with red flashing letters on the screen that said:
“Chris Babbitt wants something!!”
– Don
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[Sveinung Bokn] “I might try to reset the camera. HOw do I do that? “
By going to the OTHERS menu and using the Reset All function.
If you continue to have issues with your camera take it back to the dealer and tell them about it. They’ll either send it in to Sony and give you a loaner while it’s being repaired or replace it with a new one. I would ask the dealer for a new one.
– Don
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Hi Chris,
I wasn’t aware that you shot in 60p. If you mentioned that in an earlier post I must have missed that. Just use 59.94 as your editing time base then. Avoid changing to an interlaced timeline since your footage is progressive. 60p will be fine for MPEG2 compression for DVD.
– Don