Calibrated Software MXF Import v3 User Manual
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is NOT used as the Sequence Renderer. The reason we have currently labeled this BETA is that it has not been tested
out with round-tripping to Avid MC by exporting back to DNxHD MOV files using the Avid QuickTime Codecs; however
this option is not made for that goal in mind
– rather it’s for using DNxHD MXF files on ProRes Sequences or other types
of FCP Sequences where the DNxHD Codec is not used as the Sequence Renderer.
Also, this option should not be used
with DNxHD MXF files where the video was recorded with Log Curves.
This is the option where YUV will be converted to Full Range RGB when RGB is requested by an application from the
Avid QuickTime Codecs. You will lose any super white/super blacks values when YUV is converted to RGB but full range
RGB is used by many more applications so viewing the Full Range RGB would look normal (i.e. it would not look washed
out).
With this option, Calibrated{Q} MXF Import will also
add a ‘Gamma Image Description Extension’ set to 2.22 for HD or 2.2
for SD when presenting the MXF file information to the QuickTime framework. This Gamma Image Description Extension
is a little used QuickTime property that enables the file rather than the codec to declare the Gamma of the video in the file,
and in doing this we can get around the fact that the Avid QuickTime Codecs
will report YUV as ‘Platform Gamma’. This
‘Gamma Image Description Extension’ will let FCP & FC Studio apps know that the DNxHD has the same YUV Gamma
as ProRes, and display and process the YUV from the DNxHD Codec in a similar manner as the ProRes Codec. (see the
‘dnxhd’ options for Final Cut Pro 7, Compressor and FCP X sub-sections below)
This option has not been tested with round
–tripping to Avid MC, and while round-tripping may work in applications with the
Avid QuickTime Codecs
– it may not work in all applications as expected. This option is meant for users wanting to use
DNxHD MXF files in FCP or FC Studio application with ProRes Sequences or other types of FCP Sequences where the
DNxHD Codec is not used as the Sequence Renderer, and exporting back out to DNxHD is not the desired goal. Also,
this option should not be used with DNxHD MXF files where the video was recorded with Log Curves.
QT Player will also use the information in the ‘Gamma Image Description Extension’ so this option would also affect how
DNxHD MXF files are displayed and exported in QuickTime Player X & 7.6/7.7. The YUV data will be handled in the same
way
that it’s handled in FCP with this option.
This option can also be set on Mac computers where After Effects and/or Premiere Pro are installed on the same
computer with FCP, as those Adobe applications does not use and should ignore the reported QuickTime Gamma (see
the
‘dnxhd’ options for After Effects and Premiere Pro sub-sections below)
Because of the addition of the ‘Gamma Image Description Extension’, this option does not have an equivalent DNxHD
MOV files that would be exported out of Avid MC.
How should you setup the
‘dnxhd’ options for Calibrated{Q} MXF Import?
That’s a question that’s hard to answer as it depends on the specific workflow that you are using or that you want to use.
Some of the factors you
’d want to consider are
(a) Does the application you want work in support SMPTE RGB or Full Range RGB?
(b) Do you want to preserve Super White/Super Black values?
(c) Are you using DNxHD MOV files in your workflow? If so, what Color Level setting were
they exported out of Avid MC with?
(d) Are you round-tripping back to Avid MC? (i.e. is your goal to export DNxHD MOV files
using the Avid QuickTime codecs from the application you’re working in)
To better help in your decision on how to setup your workflow
– we’ve tested how the options work in a few different
applications in the next sections. In our testing we used the Avid v2.3.7 QuickTime Codecs and a 720p59.94 DNxHD 220
MXF file, but please note that the information about how the options work in the different applications should be
considered as guidelines as your setups/workflows may be slightly different than how we tested.
Also we’re trying to upload some simple Video Tutorials in the next few weeks – if you don’t find any, please check back in
the coming weeks: