Importing MXF files (originated from Panasonic HVX200/P2) into Avid

[cbrougham]

The CPR is available from http://www.avid.com/onlinesupport/downloadcpr.asp

Go to "Editor DNA SOFT", and at the bottom is "XpressPro_5.6.6_PC_Mac". You can select either the PC or Mac version from there.

[bherr]

Thanks, cbrougham!

Navigating Avid's product family is a lot like navigating its editing application. Maybe I'll get the hang of Avid-ese eventually.

[Brandon Rice]

I downloaded 5.6.6 and it's working great!

[Tom_Borg]

I wonder how it works with CPR. it says its oriented to a specific issue. I have 4.6 . May i have dongle or updating problem if i instal the CPR of 5.6.6 ?

[DC]

I have 4.6 . May i have dongle or updating problem if i instal the CPR of 5.6.6 ?

Yes, you'll need to purchase a dongle update going from Avid Xpress Pro v4.6 to v5.6.6. The rule of thumb is that every .5 (halves and/or wholes) version release, you'll need to pay an upgrade fee. Obviously, the further you are behind, the more you'll end up paying.

[S.E. Hardy]

Hello -
I'm asst. editing a feature. I don't know how much info is needed for someone to answer my questions, but I'll give you as much as I know.
We shot onto P2 cards, transferred onto a external hard drive and backed up onto 2 dual layer DVD's. We are on an Avid Media Composer (Educational Edition, but I don't know exactly what version, I can check when I go back in on Wednesday). I put each P2 card into the MXF file, with each P2 cards audio and video files pulled into its own folder. Then I imported them using the Media Tool (I made the mistake of re-naming all of the shots and saving without having binned the files, therefore losing all my file names) So I renamed them all and binned them. We have 2 monitors, but right now one of the monitors is being routed to a wide screen HD TV so that the editor can watch all of the dailies and make his notes. And that's about where I am.
I have 2 problems:
1) We have been getting artifacts on the screen, usually at the bottom when there is fast camera motion. We have tried playing in Full screen mode and it is still there, on both the TV and the comp monitors. We have changes the resolution of the playback and it is still there when its on high (green). Does anybody have any ideas as to what is causing this? My editor (who also directed it) is worried that it might be on the original files, but to me it seems much more likely to be a playback, or Avid problem. Any ideas???
2) Is an offspring of the first: Today the editor asked if I had kept a log of the orig. P2 assigned names of the files and of what I changed them to (I didn't). He thinks that maybe the problem is from the hard drive that we copied the files to before we put them on the RAID of the editing computer, so if we have to re-import from the DVDs, we would want to know which files; does the Avid hold the original P2 assigned file names anywhere other than in the MXF file? Or is there a way to (easily) trace which file corresponds to which P2 MXF files?
This is my first project on an Avid and my first HD project, so I have a double learning curve, any help on any of this would be very (very, very) much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
~s.e.

[DC]

. . . I put each P2 card into the MXF file . . .

Do you mean you put each P2 card into the MXF folder?

1) We have been getting artifacts on the screen, usually at the bottom when there is fast camera motion. We have tried playing in Full screen mode and it is still there, on both the TV and the comp monitors. We have changes the resolution of the playback and it is still there when its on high (green). Does anybody have any ideas as to what is causing this? My editor (who also directed it) is worried that it might be on the original files, but to me it seems much more likely to be a playback, or Avid problem. Any ideas???

Hmmm, at first I thought it might be a monitor problem. But you say it happens on both monitors. Perhaps a setting in Avid? Can you provide link to a short clip showing an example of this artifacting? This might help us better determine the problem.

2) Is an offspring of the first: Today the editor asked if I had kept a log of the orig. P2 assigned names of the files and of what I changed them to (I didn't). He thinks that maybe the problem is from the hard drive that we copied the files to before we put them on the RAID of the editing computer, so if we have to re-import from the DVDs, we would want to know which files; does the Avid hold the original P2 assigned file names anywhere other than in the MXF file? Or is there a way to (easily) trace which file corresponds to which P2 MXF files?

Avid creates database files in each MXF directory that keeps track of all that - Media Management. I would think if the MXF file names remained unchanged, Avid would be able to re-link once you re-imported. Did you rename the clips in the Media Tool window OR did you rename the actual MXF files? If you did the latter, you might be kinda screwed.

[S.E. Hardy]

So it looks like its an Avid thing... we took the same footage and put it into FCP and there were no artifacts.... weird.
Thanks!

[dustinsleeping]

Hello

I am new here and I have just come across this thread.

I am shooting a short film this weekend using an HVX200 w/ the P2 Store. I will be dumping the footage to am external hard drive on the set using a Dell laptop and a G-Raid 500gb Hard Drive. I will then bring the hard drive back to my Avid Xpress Pro HD system (PC) and edit.

But...

I am having the same problem as a lot of people...I cant get the Avid to see the MXF files. I shot some test footage and I did the whole Avid MediaFiles folder bit (as descibed in the 1st post on this thread) and nothing.

The folder I made looks like this in my computer...

E:\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\1

Is it the direction of the slashes that is causing the problem? Should it look like this...

E:/Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1

...and if so how do I cange them to look that way?

Any help or advice would be totally appreciated.

Thank You.

Dustin Lane

[Joe_Digital]

You shouldn't have to create the "1" folder -the recent versions of software generate this folder.

What I will say is that I am still having this curious issue of missing A1 audio files even though they physically exist and I can play back from my HVX and the A1 audio is still on the P2. The transfer to the hard drive shows the file is there, and upon import via media tool, the clip shows up, plays back fine -except!- A1 is showing as online but there is no audio, and no sample plot can be generated, which means all I'm hearing is camera mic audio from Ch. 3 &4. And I'm using 5.7.

[Joe_Digital]

Interesting: Here's another curious bit: if I import directly from the camera now, the A1 audio appears and I get my sample plot. This is opposed to copying the media from the HVX to the HD and then importing as MXF files via media tool. I still don't get why this is different because obviously the rest of my shoot had my offloading media to my laptop and burning MXF files to DVD which I then copy over to the MXF folder...

Will try to keep intrepid minds updated.

[Joe_Digital]

It's as though the Avid is 'reminded' that the A1 is there and thus relinks once you try to re-import the master clips. Sure enough, when I exit the progrma, turn off the camera and go back into the Avid, the A1 is there as it should have been all along.

Not very cool in my view as it creates uncertainty.

[Joe_Digital]

In dealing with Avid this is partly what I've been told:

If you have a volume that has a /Contents folder on it, then it should be seen by the P2 functions within the Avid without having to Import it. Though you can, you should no longer have to use the Media tool to get to your media.

Also, the driver for that camera might be need to be updated. The supported version for all P2 devices: v1.06.0047 for software version 5.7.

That said I still don't have a clear answer on why my A1 files are offline even though they exist...

Another update from Avid: The issue is with the camera. Early in the beta release, we had a prototype HVX-200 camera that exhibited the same behavior. We sent it
back to Panasonic when we got a "release version" HVX-200 camera, and that camera did not have the problem. So, if the customer has a early version of the HVX-200 camera, he should contact Panasonic.

Also, the camera firmware version on his camera is old - the new one is 2.03-00-0.00, released in October 2006. I know that this firmware update solved some audio issues, so it may work for the customer. Unfortunately, the footage that he has already shot is probably not going to be fixed.

The customer can download the Panasonic P2 driver, firmware updates,
manuals, etc. here:

https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro...stp2m/p2indexe.
html

The customer is going to need a SD card and card reader to upload the new firmware to the HVX-200 camera. I have already done this with the
HVX-200 cameras that we have in Engineering. The manual shows how to do this.

[Joe_Digital]

I appear to have found a software which enables me to open the MXF files and rename. If I put the newly named file onto my Avid drive and use the Media Tool the file appears renamed and it works fine.

I am using MOG software on the PC, and it has just saved me a few thousand dollars as I thought the A1 audio was lost.

[DC]

Good work around, Joe. Thanks!

What is "MOG" software?