Calibrated Software MXF Import v3 - Manual (Page 31)

Page | 28
‘dnxhd’ options for FCP X 10.0.6
Control file used was the XDCAM-MOV file.
Test was performed on a Mac OSX 10.6.8 system with all of the latest updates.
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.
FCP X - Event Viewer Window
When viewing files in the Event Viewer Window from the FCP X Event in the Event Viewer Window, DNxHD-RGB-
GAMMA-REFMXF & DNxHD-RGB-REFMXF are visually the same
– and are also visually the same as the XDCAM-MOV
file; however DNxHD-709-REFMXF is much brighter.
This would lead us to the conclusion that in the first two tests above, DNxHD is being decoded to RGB data hence the
reason that DNxHD-709-REFMXF is much brighter since it is decoding to SMPTE RGB range while the other files are
decoding to Full Range RGB.
Also it appears that the added Gamma Extensions does NOT make an impact when viewing DNxHD data in the Event
Viewer Window in FCP X.
FCP X
– Project Viewer Window (Editing on a ProRes422 Sequence)
When viewing the unrendered files in the Project Viewer Window from a FCP X Project with ProRes422 set as the
Project codec, DNxHD-RGB-GAMMA-REFMXF & DNxHD-RGB-REFMXF are visually the same
– and are also
visually the same as the XDCAM-MOV file; however DNxHD-709-REFMXF is much brighter. Thus it appears that the
added Gamma Extensions does NOT make an impact when viewing DNxHD data in the Project Viewer Window in FCP X.
When rendering the DNxHD files to ProRes on the FCP X Project Sequence, DNxHD-RGB-GAMMA-REFMXF & DNxHD-
RGB-REFMXF are visually the same
– and are also visually the same as the XDCAM-MOV file; however DNxHD-
709-REFMXF is much brighter
So the Gamma Extension appears to NOT make a difference in FCP X.
RECOMMENDATION
It would appear that FCP X is requesting RGB video from the Avid QuickTime Codecs and FCP X is expecting the RGB to
be in Full Range RGB Color Levels. So you should only work with
DNxHD MXF files using the ‘Full Range’ option or
with DNxHD MOV files embedded with the ‘RGB” Color Levels in FCP X.