FCP X MXF convert?

PhilC

PhilC

Member
I know this is basic so humor me. What's the easiest / most cost effective way to convert MXF files to a format compatible with FCP X.
Thank you,
Phil
 
Thanks for your help. I have the footage saved on an HDD and when I try to import it shows up grey in window?
 
Hi PhilC, If you just copy the individual files to a HDD that will not work. I have a Panasonic HVX202, and what I do is copy the complete P2 card contents to my HDD. I then go to Import From Camera in FCP X, select Open Archive (top left corner of window) and search for the P2 folder. It will show thumbnails images of all clips and the nice feature is you can play and mark sections of clips before importing them into FCP X. Hope that helps.

Update: Make that - Open Archive (bottom left corner)
 
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Hi Stephen,
Thanks for the help. I actually have stored footage from a project shot a few years ago. It is no longer on the P2 cards and only exits on an external HDD but as full CONTENTS with all folders in tact. Is there nothing I can do with this now? A friend edited the project with an AVID and another friend edited a different project (same camera) in FCP 7 no problems.
Thanks,
Philip
 
Hi PhilC, Ok, just to clarify, you need the P2 directory structure complete with (lastclip.txt) at the root directory. You can place the whole P2 directory in another folder, but that txt file must be in the root of the directory structure. When you go to Import From Camera/Open Archive you need to select the folder/directory name with the txt file in it. Do not try to open a sub folder with the video. FCP X will only recognize the structure if you click on the folder name immediately above which holds the lastclip.txt file. Does that make sense.

Steve.
 
Hey Steve, Thanks for being so patient with me. I cannot figure out where the "LASTCLIP.TXT" is located at this point. My workflow leading up to this point was as follows: load P2 cards into P2 store, connect P2 store to computer (was a PC at the time) copy CONTENTS folders onto a HDD. An editor pulled the media onto a scratch drive and began pulling into AVID on a MAC. I am puzzled with this.
Phil
 
Hi PhilC, I am pretty sure that the a P2 Store creates a partition for each ingest of a card ( have never used one ), e.g. they look like multiple HDD's. So when the media was copied a LASTCLIP.TXT would have been put a the root and you will have the following directory structure on each partition:
\Contents\AUDIO
\CLIP
\ICON
\PROXY
\VIDEO
\VOICE
The six sub folders are in CONTENTS folder.

If when the contents folder was copied from the P2 Store, is it possible the the TXT file on each of those partitions was left behind, and only the FOLDER called CONTENTS was copied to the HDD. If that is the case there is away to recreate the LASTCLIP.TXT file but I am not sure how it is done as I have never had to do it yet.

Maybe someone more experienced in this area can point you in the right direction. There may be a post about it on the forum.

I am pretty sure Barry Green would be able to help you in this situation.

Steve
 
Go to Panasonic's Pass website and use their P2CMS application to move the files.it does not need the last text file to handle the files. Never,never use rag and drop from the finder to copy he files. If you do you do so at the peril of damaging your files. Yes, I know many folks do this all the time. It is faster, but sometimes.......
 
Without the LASTCLIP.TXT file, you could have trouble. It's part of the MXF file structure.

Here's what you do, three methods.

1- Use Disk Utility to make a Disk Image of each individual P2 card. This is the safest thing to do.

2- Copy the CONTENTS folder along with the LASTCLIP.TXT, both of which are on the root of your P2 card, into a unique FOLDER on your hard drive.

3- Launch FCP X while the P2 card(s) is mounted on your Desktop, and point to them, Import From Camera, Open Archive and point to the P2 card, then Create Archive. You'll have access to that archive directly inside of FCP X, and that archive keeps your original P2 card's file structure in tact. It's the same as option 1, but done inside FCP X.
 
When you Import try navigating to inside the Contents folder and see if FCPX will recognize the directory structure
 
PhilC said:
I know this is basic so humor me. What's the easiest / most cost effective way to convert MXF files to a format compatible with FCP X. Thank you, Phil
Click to expand...

There is also Raylight X which we just released at http://dvfilm.com/raylight/X

It's much faster than the built-in tool for importing P2 MXF files and does not re-wrap the files so you save on hard drive space.

Also it allows you to re-map the P2 metadata into the columns in the Event List. This allows you to search and sort clips by metadata, like for example Shooter, Reporter, or Place Name.

The quality is the same as the Media Importer since you are always playing back from the original MXF files using the Apple codecs.

The sound tracks are imported automatically with the video.

You can also export an edited video to a P2 card from the timeline, without using Compressor. The FCP X surround sound format is automatically converted to 4-channel P2 Audio format.
 
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