Save MXF or just Import into FCP?

D

dvInsight

Well-known member
I am trying to see if I really need to save my data twice. I am not talking about backup, that's a given, but at the acquisition stage.

I am Mac based and shooting 24pn and currently have FCP 5.04. Now once a card is full I can use one of the logging tools to ingest footage, or copy it to an appropriately named and organized folder system. That would get all the MXF data in its raw format. Then I would still have to import into FCP, thus doubling my storage requirements before backup is even considered.

OR,

Can I just import directly into FCP into an organized bin structure I keep there? That is what I have been doing since it appears to be the most efficient. But I have read that when Apple unwraps the MXF file that it tweaks it in such a way that you get some frame doubling in FCP 5.0.4. Is this accurate, and if I upgraded to FCP 5.1.1 would it then make this workflow viable. By viable, I mean that nothing is going to bite me going forward.

Lastly, if I do the FCP import and then want to give my footage to a guy with PC based AVID system, is there going to be a problem there? I have heard that Apple's DVCPro Codec is only playing nice on Macs at this time.

All of this is frustrating, I understood MXF is a wrapper, but it seems that every vendor unwraps it differently and then renders it differently too. There is a need for an unwrapping shootout!

So if anyone has had a similar issue, I would appreciate the feedback.

Thanks,

Rob
 
dvInsight said:
But I have read that when Apple unwraps the MXF file that it tweaks it in such a way that you get some frame doubling in FCP 5.0.4. Is this accurate, and if I upgraded to FCP 5.1.1 would it then make this workflow viable. By viable, I mean that nothing is going to bite me going forward.
Click to expand...

Hi Rob,

Since you are shooting 720pn24 you should definitely upgrade to FCP 5.1.1. There was a major bug with this format in earlier versions of FCP. Note, any imported files from earlier versions will still display the issue in FCP 5.1.1, it was an import issue so the media files still have the problem. Files imported in FCP 5.1.1 will be fine:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303950

With regard to the workflow you have that seems fine to me as long as the orginal Contents folders are also backed up elsewhere after the import (which you said they are!)
--
Mark
 
For working with MXF/DVCPRO-HD footage, you REALLY want to upgrade to 5.1.1 for more reasons than I care to list here.
 
Thanks all,

I understand. The issues and errors in FCP prior to 5.1.1 were real and repeatable, so I obviously will upgrade.

But after that, is there any negative to just importing the into FCP on a Level 1 drive array so that the data is duplicated twice. So I am covered in the short term until what is in the capture folder can be backed up.

In essence, I am trying to skip copying the MXF Data and folder over, and then importing it into FCP. My only hesitation is that I may be losing a future option in some way.

Realistically the MXF file is not like a RAW file in a digital camera, but I do understand that different NLE's import this data differently when it gets unwrapped. I just need to know if someone has gotten burned by this other than the issues in older versions of FCP.

Hope this makes sense.
Thanks,

Rob
 
Throwing away the MXF is analogous to throwing away your tapes. These are your master files. I would archive these first and foremost with your secondary copy being the Quicktimes made by FCP.

If something goes wrong you will wish you had the MXF. I have talked to enough people that threw away their masters that my heart sinks every time I hear someone contemplating the demise of the MXF. Three words: Don't do it!

Best,

Jan
 
Last edited:
You should absolutely keep the original MXF folders, think of them as your master tapes. In this format they are the most compatible with different platforms and NLE's.
 
yes.. sometimes you can get a little glitch in the quicktime wrap when your conforming from the MXF, so always keep your masters.
 
Grrrrrr.

I was fearing that answer. Not from the point that I have tossed anything yet, but more to the ill affect of having that much data redundancy.

I come from a data background, so the purest in me would then say that the MXF has to be duped twice for redundancy, and then the same goes for the FCP workflow files.

Of course this is staying pure. Different projects will ultimately affect archiving depth.

Will FCP ever deal with MXF directly? Jan?

Thanks,

Rob
 
I don't see a problem with the current QT conversion for P2 data. Firt up, it's less CPU overhead. dealing directly with MXF data is just going to cause more CPU overhead.

I've not heard anything, as a trainer, not that we ever know anything, but we do get "leeks", but nothing about Apple changing the current scheme of using the DVCPRO-HD QT codec.
 
Thanks all,

I will keep adjusting my workflow based on the project at hand. On jobs that others will edit or be involved in I will keep the MXF data, on my own projects that I will control 100% I may keep with my FCP and DVCPro Codec workflow.

Thanks,

Rob
 
Hi, dvinsight: Have you looked at the actual size of the files you are complaining about having to archive? A typical .mxf file is smaller than when it's wrapped in .mov, and the other - sound, icon etc. files are a very small fraction of a typical Contents folder. Why risk the heart-ache for a few meg per Contents folder?
cheers
Tom
 
Jan's right, absolutely keep the original MXF! I know of one customer that ran into a hard disk formatting issue that limited the QT output file sizes! They thought they had everything in QT format and tossed the MXF to save space. Use your imagination what transpired in post.
 
After shooting both with P2 and tethered, I only see the advantage to saving the MXF for cross platform work flow. If I trust the DVCPro codec when going directly into FCP, which I do, I see no reason not to trust it going into FCP from the P2 card.

Again, this comes down to a data management decision. Back up the MXF 2X and my FCP Capture 2X equals 2X more backup than I need. When storage is 10X faster and cheaper, then maybe so. But by then we will all be shooting 4K Raw files at 120 fps and needing a 100X increasing in storage and speed. Argghhh.

I vote for a chisel and stone tablets.

Thanks,

Rob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top