F5: F5/F55 XAVC licenses?

C

captslomo

Well-known member
I hate to start with "A friend of a friend..." story, but:

Just had a conversation with a fellow shooter, who had a discussion with another shooter who had recently delivered some F5 XAVC files to a cable network. The editor there couldn't open the files, and when contacting Sony, was told there was a $1500 "license" required for (non-camera-owning) end users.

I find this a little hard to believe, given that AVID has already released a plug-in download for XAVC, and that the codec itself is listed as "open source" by Sony.

Anyone else get wind of this issue?
 
Sounds like the answer got distorted coming back to you.

I suspect the answer they got was they needed a Rovi plugin, and the Rovi or Sony salesman told them one of the biggest plugin packs was $1500. Rovi seems to specialize in extracting enterprise-level money for "codec solutions"

XAVC is a Sony name for the latest "level" of h264/MPEG-4. It's essentially open to decode.

You're just ahead of the curve, most NLEs haven't been updated yet to deal with XAVC. It's a safe bet Premiere CS 6.5 will support out of box, as will the next revision of FCPX. FCP7 will always be left out going forward.
 
+1

The $1500 is the highest price Rovi codec package. XAVC compatibility will soon extend across all NLE platforms and there will be no need for Rovi.

Ned
 
Unfortunately, I have been asked not to divulge any more specifics. But this sounds an awful like the "used to be free but now you pay!" XDCam browser family of Sony follies, and not a codec pack issue.
 
captslomo said:
Unfortunately, I have been asked not to divulge any more specifics. But this sounds an awful like the "used to be free but now you pay!" XDCam browser family of Sony follies, and not a codec pack issue.
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No. There are already free 3rd party tools to watch/edit/decode/transcode XAVC files. There will be more. There is no conspiracy.
 
captslomo said:
Unfortunately, I have been asked not to divulge any more specifics. But this sounds an awful like the "used to be free but now you pay!" XDCam browser family of Sony follies, and not a codec pack issue.
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Seriously?

You asked a question, and you are given the answer, and then you come up with a conspiracy theory?
 
Not exactly. After being told there may have been a Rovi misunderstanding above, I had two more enlightening conversations with the people involved; the content of which I am not at liberty to divulge, unfortunately. It may now have been partially solved, however, as it seems AVID and others have been coming out with some XAVC access software for NLEs. Meanwhile, try downloading the latest XDCam Content Browser (which has been free since XDCam arrived) for free after June 1st...or for more than one piece of hardware for yourself now. It's not really a conspiracy...it's an initial shockwave of a brave new world of incremental licensing...and not just on Sony's part.
 
captslomo said:
...it's an initial shockwave of a brave new world of incremental licensing...and not just on Sony's part.
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Ok, maybe, but $1500 to work with XAVC is just plain incorrect FUD.

XAVC, for the vast majority of editors and producers, is going to be free.

If some producer is freaking because they can't watch the day's work, tell them to download VLC.
 
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I will not advertise for Rovi, but can advise they have codec packs ranging from $350 to over $1000.

Since installing their "trial version" on March 5th and reporting Premiere CS6 crashes (I never ONCE experienced before) I have reported the issue, provided sample 4k XAVC clip and CS6 project file and never heard back from them.

Their support is absolute s*%t and I wouldn't use their plugin if it were free, let alone hundreds of dollars.
 
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starcentral said:
I will not advertise for Rovi, but can advise they have codec packs ranging from $350 to over $1000.

Since installing their "trial version" on March 5th and reporting Premiere CS6 crashes I never ONCE experienced before I have reported the issue, provided sample 4k XAVC clip and CS6 project file and never heard back from them.

Their support is absolute **** and I wouldn't use their plugin if it were free, let alone hundreds of dollars.
Click to expand...

Love it. Smashing endorsement :-)
 
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