is it worth keeping your mxf files?

rstorm

rstorm

Active member
hello,

after logging and transferring all your .mxf files to .mov files is there any reason besides archiving to keep your .mxf files? i would like to free up some space without burning 100 dvds with data.

thanks
 
I keep them.

They are the raw data files, just like video tape.

But if your project is done, and footage isn't needed, let it go.
 
I would have thought you'd keep the mxf's and get rid of the MOV's if you had to delete either.
 
the difference you might consider is the MXF files have all the metadata of the shoot, which is not contained in the movs.
 
Another significant difference is if you'd ever have occasion for a Windows user to use your footage, or if you'd ever foresee a need to work cross-platform. Because those log & transferred files are only usable on an OSX system, whereas the MXF files can be used on all platforms.
 
The other thing to consider is you can get a 500Gb or 1Tb drive now for a song - so why not archive all the files and then clear your work drive for the next project?

I buy drives in pairs and make two copies of each project for storage.
 
P2 (mxf) files are the same are your source "tapes" i say treat them the same way.

you can get a 500Gb or 1Tb drive now for a song
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i usually:

A: buy the client a drive and hand the source P2 files to them at the end of the project
B: keep the source material on my drive for 2 years (longer if i have a use for it) then buh-bye!
 
Because it's tapeless I (for my peace of mind) keep duplicate copies of all the footage across at least 2 drives (drive space is cheap now).

I used to log-and-transfer, then copy the L-A-T footage across to another drive. This works fine but then you hear horror stories of glitches and file corruptions which made me change my workflow.

Here's what I do now:

1. Write-protect the cards.
2. Log-and-Transfer the footage in FCP
3. Copy the entire contents of the cards to another drive. Each card has it's own folder. The folders containing the .MXF files can be imported into Final Cut using Log-and-transfer just as if you were downloading from the cards. FCP will even stitch spanned clips back together if you select multiple cards/folders in the L-A-T window. It couldn't be easier.

This means that I always have the untouched camera files if I need to go back to them.

I am hoping that Blu-Ray will (soon) come down in price so that I can start to archive the .MXF files.

If you have only .Mov files and you need to give them to someone using a PC they will play fine in something like Premiere. There will be a red line indicating that the files will need to be rendered but they will still play in real-time until such time as the edit is complete and then just a quick render to finish off.

Some of the cross-platform issues are gradually going away as the software and hardware becomes more sophisticated. Hurray!!!

It does seem like common sense to keep the MXF files if you can.

Dean
 
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Huh

Huh

Never thought of it that way, I consider the full-resolution MOV files to be the master copies. The MXF files are useless, they just are in-camera files to me, once the transfer is done and I have the MOV files, those are the master files, the full resolution footage that I shot. Backing up that footage is quite enough.
 
JonathanLB said:
Never thought of it that way, I consider the full-resolution MOV files to be the master copies. The MXF files are useless, they just are in-camera files to me, once the transfer is done and I have the MOV files, those are the master files, the full resolution footage that I shot. Backing up that footage is quite enough.
Click to expand...

For your workflow you may have decided it's OK but actually the MOV's are not the same as the MXF's. The MXF's have other information that could be of use later and also are the actual original footage. The MOV's are the result of an encode so are second generation.
 
And furthermore, if you throw away the MXF files, you're locking yourself into an Apple-only workflow. The MXF files will work cross-platform, so if you ever migrate to Windows or subcontract someone who uses Windows or have any reason to use the files on a Windows PC... if all you have is the MOVs, you just made your life a whole lot more complex.
 
NewHPXuser said:
For your workflow you may have decided it's OK but actually the MOV's are not the same as the MXF's. The MXF's have other information that could be of use later and also are the actual original footage. The MOV's are the result of an encode so are second generation.
Click to expand...

Are the MOVs really the result of an encode? I was under the impression that the MXF "wrapper" was the only thing lost during Log and Transfer, and that the MOV files still represent the best quality possible from that clip.

Can someone clarify?
 
I did make an assumption that the MOVs are encoded from the MXF during Log and Transfer. It may be that they are not - someone who uses that facility may advise.

When using Log and Transfer are you offered any selection of codecs?

If so then they are (I believe) encoded to get to MOV.

But as I say someone else will hopefully confirm one way or the other.
 
Definitely keep them until project is finished. Working a film now, where I just came upon some footage that needs to be re-transcoded because something went amiss. Not sure if the MXF files where retained.
 
The MXF files are useless, they just are in-camera files to me, once the transfer is done and I have the MOV files
Click to expand...
thats pretty short-sighted in my opinion. that would be like shooting a full tape. capturing a few clips from it, then throwing the rest away.

unless you just transfer complete cards... which i'd consider kinda misguided as well.
 
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