I am aware that Studio can output files to this format, but can it import them?

 

I have just acquired a new camera which produces this file format and although the import section of Studio sees the files and reproduces the box in the import section together with the 'tick' in the top right hand corner, I can nether preview the clip nor import it. Clicking on the clip causes Studio to freeze and I have to exit the programme.

 

I should add that I have downloaded the Sony Clip Browser programme and used it to save the clips to my hard drive. I have then gone into Pinnacle Import and that is where the above problem occurs.

Where do the clips come from? Are they recorded to an SD card?

My videos are recorded to a SD card. I have a Canon AVCHD camcorder and a Canon DSLR. I bypass the Importer and just copy the files from my SD cards to whatever folder I want and then access that folder from within the Edit screen. Never had a problem.

The files are on a Sony SxS card. I did not appreciate that one could access files directly from the edit screen without firstly importing them. I will give that a try and let you know how it goes.

Unfortunately that does not work either. I get the window which says that the scenes are detected but Pinnacle freezes at that point and no clips are imported.

These files are extemely high quality filmed using the latest professional broadcast camera which records at a bit rate of 35mbs. Are they simply too much for the programme to handle?

I have emailed Sony Professional to ask them if any addtional software is required to load these files.

Incidently, when one searches the web it can be seen that many programs including Adobe Premier and Sony Vegas have problems with these files.

There are those more knowledgeable on the subject of different mpg4 wrappers. I copy my files to a folder on the hard drive and then open them up with Studio, but these are generic mpeg4 AVCHD files.

 I don't know if MedaCoder would work at converting them to a file format Studio would like. Where is jjn when you need him....  He is the MediaCoder (a free converter) expert. 

If Bob could either give the actual video details as shown in Media Info, give the model number of the camera, or upload a brief sample of the footage to a cloud service, we would have some facts to work on  As Tony says, MP4 is a wrapper - it can contain numerous codecs and bitrates.

I'm guessing the camera is XDCam and you are shooting HD. If that's the case then I think the codec will be mpeg-2, the audio 4 channel PCM. Mediacoder might be able to do the required conversion.

 

Hi jjn Many thanks for responding. The camera is a Sony XDcam PMW320 and the codec is MPEG2 HDlong 35mbs. When you refer to conversion will any loss of quality occur as I obviously wish to retain the benefits of this camera. I am in the process of downloading the suggested program (MediaCoder). I may need some assistance, as it says that the program is quite complex.

If Mediacoder works on the file, it can be set to direct stream copy the video, so there will be no quality loss at all. However, it remains to be seen if Studio will acccept the conversion. Your codec is probably using long GOPs The audio may be an issue also.

I've just had confirmation in another thread that Mediacoder has sucessfully extracted 35mbs mpeg-2 video from MXF files.

I can convert them to MXF files using the Sony Clip Browser program.

Thay's probably just changing the wrapper, so if the mpeg-2 or audio are incompatible with Studio, they will still be incompatible.

Do you want to upload a small sample so I can test it, or do you want to try MediaCoder yourself? My experinces with Mediacoder

jjn:

Thay's probably just changing the wrapper, so if the mpeg-2 or audio are incompatible with Studio, they will still be incompatible.

Do you want to upload a small sample so I can test it, or do you want to try MediaCoder yourself? My experinces with Mediacoder

I have downloaded MediaCoder but might require some guidance on precisely how I should be deploying it. I can import a file into MediaCoder but just need to know what I put in the various sections. I guess that I should output the file as MPEG2 but am unsure about the other aspects. How can I upload a small video clip for you to test please?

Use a cloud service such as Mediafire, Box or Goole Drive if you want me to try out some settings or try this - 

Use the menu option to set everything to the default settings.

In the Video section, tick the Copy Video box. In the Containter tab, select mpeg-2. Not sure about audio but leave the defaults as they are for now. Start the trancoding, and if it suceeds, try the resulting file in Studio.

Thanks, have tried that but something is not right as the video file is only 55secs long and the time remaining just keeps on increasing. Now up to 147 mins!

 

EDIT It has now stopped and says that there is an encoding problem.

It might be quicker if I have a look? I've spent quite a bit of time with that program and it has a few foibles :-)

jjn:

It might be quicker if I have a look? I've spent quite a bit of time with that program and it has a few foibles :-)

I tried it again and it worked but the bad news is that Pinnacle would not open the file. Said 'could not be opened'.

Mediafire said that the file size was too large.

 Have you access to team viewer? That way you could get the file directly from my hard drive on my computer and play with it there.

I'd rather just download it - I'm not familair with TeamViewer. If it's something you would rather not share, then record a very short clip with you just clapping your hands in front of the lens.

Not concerned about sharing. It was just a test clip. I will have to try a clip of about 10 seconds to see if the file size is still too large.

I have shortened a clip to 7 seconds and it is uploading to Mediafire. Once it is there what do I need to do?

EDIT I have emailed the link to you. I hope it is the correct one.

Either post the link here or send it to me as a Private message. I'm not around for an hour or so, but I'll look at it later.

OK Bob - I think I've cracked it. The only issue appears to be the audio - and that might be because it is four channels. You weren't hitting the camera mic during the shot, were you?

The following setting produced a file that worked OK in both Studio 15 and 156

Reset all the setting using Revert All Setting in the file menu.

In the Video tab, check Copy Video

In the Audio Tab, selcect the format MP2

In the container tab select MPEG-2.

Now click on Start. The transcoded output seems fine in medi Plater and both versions of Studio.

If I chose Copy Audio the files worked well in S15, but had a lot of clicking in s16

If I chose AC3, the files were silent in S15.

Let me know if this works for you.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi jjn

No, I was not hitting the microphone. Still, if the pictures work that is certainly an advance. Maybe if I dtect a sound problem after following your advice above you can even resolve that.

I will let you know tyhe result as soon as I have done it.

Hi jjn

You are pure genius. It has worked faultlessly with a clip that I had recorded earlier. The only small thing that happened was that Pinnacle imported it as two clips rather than one, but the sound was fine as was the picture.

I am very grateful for the time that you have taken to help me with this.

 

PS I presume that all I need to do now is to sve the settings for MediaCoder.

Excellent!

Yes, you can set the current settings as a preset in Mediacoder in the File menu. You can also batch encode - so you can do all the files at once.

Not sure why the file was split though - was it scene detection?

Try out a few editing operations and render out a test file to be sure that the audio and video stay in sync and Studio handles the format correctly before you embark on any major projects

Hi jjn

 

I plan to have a play today to check the sound etc and to get some idea of how long the conversion process will take given a longer clip. I will let you now how it turns out.

Incidently, I found this today after doing a web search. The initial Avid page took me to the Sony site where the are downloadable plug ins for XDCAM EX. However, Pinnacle Studio is not mentioned. Since Avid include thise for other programs, surely it should not bee too difficult for them to also have a version for Studio.

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/micro-xdcam/resource.downloads.bbsccms-assets-micro-xdcam-downloads-XDCAMSoftwareDownload.shtml#apps

Unfortunately, it does not seem possible to contact Pinnacle to ask them a question directly. If the latest version of studio (16) supports XDCAM EX I would have considered purchasing it, but they may have potentially lost a sale by not being contactable.

I also found this on the Pinnacle site. It mentions Symphony but not Studio.

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/troubleshooting/en272715?popup=true&NewLang=en&DocType=1078