Advanced Mac OS X HD/SD Editing Systems 
Ask the Product Manager
In this segment of Ask the Product Manager, I will answer a question submitted by numerous users. Their question is:
“How can I utilize .MXF XDCAM files within Media 100?”
By simply taking advantage of a couple of software tools, users have the ability to take these .MXF files and transcode them into .MOV files. Once the .MOV files have been created one can simply import them into any Media 100 system and begin to edit. The two software tools that are going to be used are:
1. Sony XDCAM Transfer software (free download available at: www.servicesplus.us.sony.biz/sony-software.aspx?model=PDZ-1
2. QuickTime Pro
Let’s examine this a little further.
The Sony XDCAM Transfer Software is an application that takes .MXF files and imports them directly into QuickTime Pro. After downloading and installing the XDCAM Transfer Software, simply navigate to your Applications folder and launch ‘XDCAM Transfer’. Upon launch you should see this:
Next, we will add a .MXF file to the application. To do this, simply click on the ‘ADD’ button in the lower left corner of the window. You will next be presented with a standard Import window which requires you to navigate to the location/folder of where you XDCAM files reside.
Select the .MXF file or files and then click ‘OK’. You should then see the folder name listed in the ‘Source’ column within the application, the clip image or list view where the clips from the selected source are shown, the clip player where the currently selected clip can be reviewed and the info view where you can find detailed information.
The clip player allows for playback of your XDCAM file, as well as, providing you with some basic editing features. Along with simple play/pause capability, there is J,K,L functionality and the ability to change in-and-out points on the clip before importing in QuickTime. Since the project I’m working on only requires a 2 second clip, lets move the CTI to the 2 second mark and click on the out-point button to create the shorter clip.
Now that the XDCAM file is loaded into the transfer software the next step is to import the file directly into QuickTime Pro. First, we need to setup the transfer file to import the file directly. Navigate into the XDCAM Transfer Software Preferences (XDCAM Transfer > Preferences).
Once the preferences window is open, locate the area that reads “Open imported files in” and change the default application to QuickTime Player.
After the change has been made, close the preferences window. We are now ready to import the XDCAM file directly into QuickTime. Click on the ‘IMPORT’ button in the bottom right corner of the window. After clicking on ‘IMPORT’ you should see a progress bar appear in the clip image. Once completed, the QuickTime Player will launch automatically and playback is now possible. Notice how quickly the clip is imported into QuickTime!
Now we will transcode the XDCAM file into a Media 100 HD codec file. You can choose any codec supported by Media 100, but for the sake of this tutorial I used the Media 100 HD codec. Navigate to File > Export to open the ‘Save Exported file as’ dialog window.
Click on the ‘Options’ button to open the ‘Movie Settings’ window.
Now, click on the ‘Settings’ button within the ‘Video’ panel. We can now choose our compression type. As I stated before, I’m using the Media 100 HD codec for this tutorial, so under ‘Compression Type’ select “Media 100 HD”. Motion settings can remain at default, Compression settings should be Millions of Colors, 10-bit for the Bit Depth and Field Dominance should be set to Upper Field. Click ‘OK’ upon completion.
We are now ready to export this file. Close the ‘Movie Settings’ window by clicking on ‘OK’ change the name of the clip to be exported (if you want to), select your destination for the exported file and click ‘Save’. Upon completion of the export, you will have a file that is capable of being used with all Media 100 applications.
If there is a question that you would like answered, please send an e-mail to: askthepm@media100.com