Calibrated Software MXF Import v3 User Manual
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Before getting
started please make sure that you’ve read over the User Guide (especially where we have sections that
deal with the application you are using), and here are just a few quick remainders:
(1) Make sure you have
installed
(2) Please be aware that if Audio and Video are stored in separate MXF files that they will be open
as separate files
and not be ‘auto-joined’ together by Calibrated{Q} MXF Import
(3) The option
‘Full RGB (0-255) & Gamma Ext.’ is a BETA option.
(4) DNxHD MXF files captured by ARRI Alexa, BlackMagic HyperDeck or other hardware devices
only have BETA support.
(5) In some of our testing, we have found that sometimes the BMD Audio MXF files can be slightly
larger or smaller in duration (plus or minus a fraction of a frame) than the BMD DNxHD MXF
file. These BMD files were created with the public BETA 2.5 Hyperdeck Shuttle Firmware from
March 1, 2012.
(6) DNxHD444 MXF files only have BETA support.
(7) ARRI DNxHD MXF files may or may not have an embedded ReelName or Sound ReelName in
the XML MetaData of the MXF file; however in keeping a consistent workflow with across all the
different MXF files we support the ReelName will still be reported as the UUID of the MXF file
and a secondary Sound ReelName is not supported.
(8) When you change any of
‘dnxhd’ options, you will have to close and re-open your application
for these settings to apply, and in rare circumstances you may have to re-import the files back
in your application.
(9) Please note that none o
f these ‘dnxhd’ options affects the actual MXF file on your harddrive –
rather these options are used by Calibrated{Q} MXF Import to describe the DNxHD video in the
MXF file when Calibrated{Q} MXF Import is opening a DNxHD MXF file for an application.
(10)
If a DNxHD MXF file was captured or created without a TimeCode Track then a ‘fake’ when this
happens TimeCode is set to 00:00:00:00 (always NDF if 29.97fps or 59.94fps) at the video rate
embedded in the MXF file. This was done so that (a) the MXF files would have a UUID
ReelName and (b) Audio only MXF files could be identified with the proper video framerate.
Please note that Audio only MXF files without any associated video framerate cannot have a
TimeCode Track associated with them.
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 here is how we generated
our test files:
Original file is a 1280x720p59.94 XDCAM HD MXF file, and then we re-wrapped the XDCAM HD MXF file into a XDCAM
HD MOV file using Sony XDCAM Transfer on the Mac. These two XDCAM HD files (one MXF and one MOV) served as
our ‘Control files’ in testing how the video should look in the application being tested. We would use either the MXF or
MOV file in an application depending on which file format the application natively supported.
Our DNxHD testing files were created as followed:
(a) The XDCAM HD MXF file was AMA Linked into Avid MC6 and then then transcoded to a DNxHD 220 MXF file.
(b) From the DNxHD 220 MXF file, we exported two DNxHD 220 MOV files from Avid MC6
using ‘Same As Source’
with one DNxHD MOV file having the 709/601 Color Level setting and the other DNxHD MOV file having the
‘RGB’ Color Level setting.
So while we are testing the different options of how Calibrated{Q} MXF Import will open a DNxHD MXF file in an
application as compared to the original XDCAM HD file
– we are also comparing that to the expected behavior when a