Exporting from MXF file

Hi!
I am doing a rough edit 60 GB MXF files (approx 2.5 hours of recording) to simply cut out certain parts that need to be permanently deleted from the original. I want to export them in the same quality as the original recording.

If I export the file as Source - Apple ProRes 422 the file will be 156 GB which isn't manageable.

Can anyone tell me the best way to export the files so that original quality of the recording is maintained but the files don't becomes so big?

Thank you!

When you Share->Export File... and the dialog appears you can choose Settings then the Format as MXF (Broadcast) rather than leaving it as "Video and Audio". Then, you can choose a variety of codecs, including ProRes flavors.

For more codec choices you could export a "Video and Audio" format ProRes 422 (HQ) file and then use Compressor to access some other codecs.

MXF is a file container format. It doesn't have anything to do with a specific codec. Exporting directly from FCP or by using Compressor, you should be able to pick a codec to get close to, or exactly be the same as, the source file's codec and, hence, the "original quality"...


Cheers.

Hey Davis, thank you so much for replying!

I'm really new to understanding codecs and exporting and I have a couple more (very basic!) questions...
What would be the way to find out the codec of the source file? Would that be in the camera settings, or is that information stored in the MXF file / original file folders? I'm not sure I'll be able to access the camera which shot the films which is a Sony PXW-90.

There's three options for the XDCAM which I think would the same as the source file. If I can't find out the codec of the original file could I got the file size which is closest to the source file. (Original file size is 62 GB, when I select MXF > XDCAM HD422 (50Mbps) the file size will be 68 GB).

Thank you!

RebeccaT wrote:

Hey Davis, thank you so much for replying!

You are welcome.

I'm really new to understanding codecs and exporting and I have a couple more (very basic!) questions...

What would be the way to find out the codec of the source file? Would that be in the camera settings, or is that information stored in the MXF file / original file folders? I'm not sure I'll be able to access the camera which shot the films which is a Sony PXW-90.

There are some cheap/free utility applications, like Invisor or MediaInfo, that can provide all of the detailed info about any media file. But, in FCP, if you select the file in the Browser and then click the "circled i" button at the upper right, you'll get a information inspector display of relevant info for the selected file. There is a pop-up menu at the bottom of the inspector listing that controls how much or what kind of info is provided. It is set to "Basic" by default, I believe. That setting should be enough for you to see the "Codecs" item in the list, along with frame rate, frame size, # of audio channels, etc.

From Sony's product page:
"The Sony PXW-90 records to QFHD 100 Mbps, XAVC HD Long GOP 422 50 Mbps, MPEGHD422 50 Mbps, MPEGDH420 35 Mbps, and AVCHD. "

There's three options for the XDCAM which I think would the same as the source file. If I can't find out the codec of the original file could I got the file size which is closest to the source file. (Original file size is 62 GB, when I select MXF > XDCAM HD422 (50Mbps) the file size will be 68 GB).

One of the 50 Mbps settings should come close to the original recording. The estimated 68 GB may be a bit of an over-estimation and the actual output size may be smaller.

So, you seem to be on the right track...


Cheers.

Thank you for explaining so clearly! Yes, the codec displaying in the 'i' panel is XAVC Long 422/10 50 Mbps so will go with the 50 Mbps for export. 

To extract text from an MXF file , you will need to use specialized software designed for this purpose. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to extract text from an MXF file:

1. Download and install a tool that can extract text from MXF files. Some examples of such tools include Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Final Cut Pro.
2. Open the software and import the MXF file into the project.
3. Locate the section of the MXF file that you want to extract the text from.
4. Select the section of the MXF file and then copy it to the clipboard.
5. Open a text editor such as Notepad or WordPad.
6. Paste the text from the MXF file into the text editor.
7. Save the text file as a plain text file with a .txt extension.

Your MXF file text is now ready in a plain text file format.