MXF delivery

Hello all,

I have a client whose delivery spec says as follows:

"Each programme should be delivered as a single MXF file containing the audio and video , plus a single XML file. The video essence in the file must be encoded at a nominal bitrate of 100Mbit/s using the AVC-I codec. It must use the High 4:2:2 Intraprofile@level 4.1.

I have to admit to being somewhat out of my league here and I'm not sure that the client is entirely sure. (it elsewhere in the spec document asks for the delivery to be in H.264.)

I see that this Hamburg Media offers a plugin for a not inconsiderable sum.

If MXF is merely a wrapper, is there not a way to simply convert from QT?

Cheers,

T

They require your deliveries to be AVC-Intra at 100Mbps in an MXF wrapper. This format is used for DPP deliveries in the AS-11 standard. It's is a common broadcast delivery standard for the UK and some parts of Western Europe, not so much for the US yet. You will indeed need the Hamburg Media utility is you want to deliver DPP. Here's some more info on DPP and Hamburg:

www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/news/1043-expor...om-hamburg-pro-media

- Ronny

Thanks for that Ronny,

We are indeed in the UK.

Is this a massive learning curve? Do I need the Hamburg just for the AVC-Intra codec? Does this favour Panasonic capture over Sony? Would it be a good idea to get an outside party to undertake the process for me?

Hi Tom,

All in all the Hamburg Media MXF plugin is worth every cent providing you have enough use for it. The learning-curve for DPP and even AS-11 supplies is really low and Hamburg Media offers great support.

But, as you say, the plugin is not inexpensive. So it all depends on how often you are going to need to deliver DPP. If you need to purchase this for just a couple of deliveries you'd better hand it over to an external broadcast facility that will do the encoding for you.

No, this does not really favor Panasonic capture over Sony. In fact the DPP specification also allows you to deliver IMX at 50Mbps (also available with the Hamburg Media plugin). AVC-Intra is just higher quality.

- Ronny

Thank you again Ronny,

I know I'm asking stupid questions here, but if, say, some of the footage was shot on a Sony f5 (@50 Mbps) would this be OK to output at 100Mbps via this route? Is the difference not a qualitative one?

I am first doing a sample and it would seem silly to invest just for that. If they like the sample then I'll go for it.

Also, are AVC-Intra and H.264 mutually exclusive?

There are no stupid questions

Yes it would be perfectly okay to deliver F5 video as AVC-Intra@100 Mbps. When delivering DPP AS-11 to our UK broadcast clients we do this all the time.

You can get a trial version from Hamburg Media to do your testing.

Nope, actually AVC-Intra is compliant with the H.264/MPEG 4 AVC standard. But AVC-Intra is a proprietary codec targeted to the high-end market whereas H.264 initially was intended as a highly efficient mass-distribution codec. If you are very tech-savvy and you're not afraid of open source programming you can even create your own AVC-Intra DPP packages using an x264 encoder and a metadata application: www.obe.tv/about-us/obe-blog/item/1-oss-dpp-creation

But, as you may see, it is certainly much easier to just buy the plugin or if this is a test or a one-time job you can have it done by an external service. Prices for DPP packaging are relatively cheap anyway.

- Ronny