Calibrated Software MXF Import v3 - Manual (Page 29)

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Editing on a DNxHD Sequence
When viewing the unrendered files in the Canvas Window from a FCP Sequence with DNxHD set as the Sequence
codec, DNxHD-RGB-REFMXF & DNxHD-RGB-GAMMA-REFMXF & XDCAM-MOV are visually the same; however
DNxHD-709-REFMXF is much brighter than the other 3 files.
Please make sure that you have setup the ‘Advanced Options’ for the DNxHD Codec in the Sequence settings to match
the height/width, framerate and bitrate of your DNxHD files in your sequence.
When selecting to Render All in the FCP Sequence:
(a) “Always Render in RGB with Color Levels set to 709 in Advanced Options of DNxHD Codec” – DNxHD-
RGB-GAMMA-REFMXF & DNxHD-RGB-REFMXF are visually the same; however DNxHD-709-REFMXF is
much brighter than them. XDCAM-MOV file is much darker than all three DNxHD files.
(b) “Always Render in RGB with Color Levels set to RGB in Advanced Options of DNxHD Codec” – results of
this test appear to be the same as Test (a) above
(c) “Render in 8-bit YUV with Color Levels set to 709 in Advanced Options of DNxHD Codec” - DNxHD-RGB-
GAMMA-REFMXF & DNxHD-RGB-REFMXF are visually the same, and DNxHD-709-REFMXF and XDCAM-
MOV are visually the same is and are much brighter than DNxHD-RGB-GAMMA-REFMXF & DNxHD-RGB-
REFMXF.
(d) “Render in 8-bit YUV with Color Levels set to RGB in Advanced Options of DNxHD Codec” - DNxHD-RGB-
GAMMA-REFMXF & DNxHD-RGB-REFMXF & XDCAM-MOV are visually the same, however DNxHD-709-
REFMXF is much brighter than the other three files.
(e) “Render all YUV material in High-Precision YUV” – the results of this test were the same as Test (c) with Color
Levels set to 709 in Advanced Options of DNxHD Codec and Test (d) with Color Levels set to RGB in Advanced
Options of DNxHD Codec
DNxHD files appear to play in realtime on a DNxHD Sequence; however we did not mix and match different types of
DNxHD resolutions, bit rates or framerates on a DNxHD Sequence.
While not tested, it could be possible that RGB-
based effects performed on a ‘Render in 8-bit YUV’ Sequence could
produce similar color shifts that are found when ‘Always Render in RGB’ is selected for a Sequence.
Possible Issue in 2.3.7 Avid QT Codecs for 709/RGB Color Levels: It appears that when working with DNxHD MOV files with SMPTE Color Level
Settings and DNxHD MOV files with RGB Color Level settings on the same DNxHD Sequence that the DNxHD MOV files with SMPTE Color Level
Settings (when unrendered)
can ‘appear’ to look like Full Range RGB on the Sequence at times. This is being investigated.
RECOMMENDATION
Whenever you change
the ‘dnxhd’ options – please be aware that if you had ‘Auto-Rendering’ enabled in FCP then you
would have to re-render any sequences that had been auto- rendered in FCP with a different ‘dnxhd’ option.
We did not perform any ‘Send to Compressor’ export tests, nor in-depth rendering/effects tests, nor did we
perform any in-depth editing speed tests, and no third-party hardware I/O boards were used in this test. All visual
comparison tests were performed on the computer monitor by sight.
If you are editing on a ProRes Sequence in FCP7, it appears that playback/editing of DNxHD video will NOT be in
realtime until the DNxHD is rendered to ProRes on the sequence. Also it appears that ONLY
the ‘dnxhd’ option: Full RGB
(0-255) & Gamma Ext. will render DNxHD to have the same color levels as other rendered FCP-supported video
compressions (like XDCAM MOV). It is NOT recommend to use either
‘SMPTE RGB (16-235)’ or ‘Full RGB (0-255)’
when editing on a ProRes Sequence as that could produce unexpected color level shifts.
If you are editing on a DNxHD Sequence in FCP7, it appears that playback/editing of DNxHD video will be in realtime
although no exact speed tests were performed and no third party i/o cards were tested. Also it appears that setting up a